Primarily, I consider this manga to be such a success for one main reason: everything within it works together to reinforce the core themes of finding love in support of each others' passions. The two main characters and their hobbies fit together perfectly to deliver a compelling story focused on this idea and what it means to be passionate about something. But the main character's siblings, the two cats, the Baron, the shop owner, and the other students at school all also reinforce this theming too, all while feeling believable. The two main characters are an artist and a writer, which means they have potential to work together inherently and are easily able to encourage each other to improve. Most of these things were sadly lost in the movie.
I very much appreciate the nostalgic, often contemplative, but cute tone of the manga. It isn't afraid to take time to let the reader dwell on the atmosphere, which I strongly appreciate. The setting really helps with this mood too, being set in a relatively typical Japanese town, rather than a busy and chaotic. The art definitely helps bring this to life, with expressive characters that can show just the right amount of emotions depending on the scene. This especially applies to the main character Shizuka. It also helps that all the characters are very cute.
If there is one gripe I have, it's that the manga's ending is ever so slightly sudden, in part due to its length. There is a sequel that addresses this, but I do think this actually works in the manga's favor here for the most part. Rather than being just another "happy ever after" love story, the focus is actually instead on the growth of the characters and how they learn to do what they love. When those arcs are complete, so is the story we see. This, to me, has far more impact than it would have it was sidelined in favor of a typical shoujo romance. I do still wish we got a little bit more time focusing on this aspect more thoroughly, but it still works very well.
Overall, this manga is basically the perfect shoujo one-shot and I'd consider it a must-read for everyone interested in the genre. Don't bother with the movie or anything like that, just read this.
9/10
