this story was incredibly hyped when i first heard of it, and i am disappointed to say it didn't live up to the initial expectations. while the manga starts interesting and engaging, it is quickly revealed why the anime only adapted the first arc of this story.
characters (7/10): I assume these protagonists are the reason this manga's score was bloated, i think we can all accept that. while he turns into a total f**khead later in the story, kou mabuchi (main male chara) starts as a very interesting and ideal shoujo love interest. additionally, futaba yoshioka was one of the more real and relatable protagonists - or, at least, i enjoyed her character well enough in the beginning. the second love interest to yoshioka, touma kikuchi (?), was a sweetheart, but of course only a trope used to further the story - so forgettable that i didn't even recognize his name when i saw it. the side characters are nice to follow too, but nothing major comes from them, they're just a bit of extra fun. while i enjoyed the protagonists that Sakisaka cultivated in the beginning, all the effort put into making mabuchi and yoshioka well-rounded and fun to follow characters became a bit pointless during the second half when they stopped growing/adapting for the sake of drama. similarly to hibi chouchou, these main characters take leaps in development for the first half just to suddenly lose all memory of their changes when it's most important. makes the whole story leave a sour taste.
plot (6/10): overall, this manga has more interesting interactions than a lot of other romance options, but please tell me in what world i would want to read a story about our main character dating a boy for seemingly no good reason when she is well aware she still likes a different boy, especially after readers just followed the first couple for the entire first half of the manga. this love story starts so incredibly strong, it's heating up perfectly for the entire first half until suddenly, it comes to a screaming, crying halt - they simply sort of believe they stop liking each other and decide to entertain other people for the sake of "responsibility" or "to move on". the only reason Sakisaka manages to drag you through that hellfire of a second arc is hinged on you being interested enough to see if the characters finally learn their lesson by the end, and how nicely it could possibly end. at the same time, it's obvious they're going to get back together, so it would have been much better to just watch them grow as a couple (more like kimi ni todoke).
art (9/10): cute, pretty, enjoyable to read. i've always enjoyed Sakisaka's artwork, it immerses the reader in the emotion of the scene in a way some others can't achieve sometimes. the panelling and dialogue was also easy to follow, which i unfortunately require.
final thoughts (7/10): I really wanted and hoped for this to be the perfect romance manga - unfortunately, that can only be found in kimi ni todoke (as far as i've read). great start on both plot and characters, but things unravel quite quickly. a frustrating read, but still incredibly enjoyable when it does things right.
