Kiss yori mo Hayaku

I must admit that I didn´t read manga so much. My theory was : Where´s manga, there must be anime too. And anime is better. But this one convinced me, that manga could be sometimes better than anime and it doesn´t have to be anime too.

I totally loved the whole story and I liked characters so much.
There were moments when smile appearded on my face and almost turn into the laugh :)
And I read it in 4 days :) because, when I read one chapter I always wanted to know what happen next.
If the kind of person who likes romance stories, this manga is for you ;)

One of the classical example of a romantic comedy shoujo.

Sensei is hot and it took me a while before i got over my adoration on him... On serious note, Faster than a kiss showed how decisions can change lives for better or worse. The story involved an orphan girl who decided to stop the wheels of her life just to protect his younger brother but then her homeroom teacher stepped forward and offer her a home. Then she, without a thought, ask him to marry her and he agreed.
Their secret marriage started then...
The manga offered tons of humours and romance, i assure you that. Kazuma is a tease!!! Yet, the story showed how selfless concern and love can change course of one's life... Kazuma's selfless concern for Fumino saved her from being kept into the abyss of her loneliness and sense of discrimination... Same as Maede's same concern had changed the rejection of Kazuma against the world.
But when this selfless love turned into a deeper definition, that was when things had turned complicated between them. Just when Kazuma had decided to let go of Fumino when she could stand for herself, that was the time, he realised that he could not leave without her and when Fumino had thought that sooner, they would leave the him when the time comes, that was when she realises that her world would be never complete without him.
Just try to read this manga and see what i mean by it. :)

I personally am i fan of teacher (male) and student (female) relationships,thats why i like this manga so much. This is the best one yet.. the teacher is very nice and so is the student.. totally deserving of love! Can't wait to see the ending! I'm a sucker for these love stories.

I love this story, it's so adorable! I'll admit that from the start I was biased (I'm interested by the teacher-student relationships, as in 7th Period is a Secret), but it really exceeded my expectations. Kazu-sensei's somewhat pervy actions make me wanna laugh, but Shouma-kun's cold demeanor and sad undertones make me wanna cry - a very good thing for a Shoujo fanatic like myself.

When I was very new to reading manga, I stumbled upon this one. I thought, " Nah, not one of those teacher-student romance crap again! " (=___=)

I mean it doesn't really happen in real life that easily, does it?

But I was really curious since the Female Protagonist's Brother caught my eye, then I started reading it. Nothing to do anyway. At first, I was reading the typical macho type of shoujo romance you'd see with the cool guy in glasses and rivalries and stuff...

I thought I was done with those things on the ANIME SERIES...


But when actually reading it, there's a certain charm, that would hook the readers into reading more. The typical innocence and straight out gags. enlightened me into reading more. The more I was reading it, the more emotions of me were set out free.


It became a very positive manga to read. I actually prayed they'd make an anime version, but then it would be tough since it's student-teacher related.


It brought tears in my eyes and actual voicing was happening in my head, OSTs were springing out and even my own ANIME OPENING and ENDING was singing in my head.

I thought I may had gone mad, but no, it was just the magic of positivity and love that the manga had.It really inspired me when the teacher decided not to kiss her until she graduates. Then the time came....



THE AWAITED MOMENT


The feeling of fulfillment is definitely set in this manga, then the next thing you'll know is you'll crave more and more...


Nonetheless, it was a great read and one of my favorite romance anime ever!

I gave a high rating for this manga because it has this classic manga feeling about it. No blatant promiscuity, has dramatic background stories, well portrayed characters, good conversation, perfect comic timing and drawing, and the message is strong. I don't usually go for sensei-student romance but this one is different just because I think Ojiro Kazuma is a very patient and warm hearted guy who respects woman so much. Too bad there are no background story of why Kazuma was so willing to help Kaji Fumino and her brother, Teppei, besides the fact that he is her homeroom teacher.

Fumino has a tragic past with both her parents died when she was 15, disowned by her grandfather, and was placed into several different foster homes. She is also a strong girl who easily picks fight with school bullies and even local gangsters.

Whereas Kazuma, is a former delinquent who disowned his powerful family. After his mother passed away, he was raised mainly by handlers and rarely saw his father and then one day, he found out that his father is going to remarry and already had another son with his new wife. He felt left out and he grew up as a delinquent at school. He then turned his life around at the end, though.

Forbidden relationships are always an interesting subject to read. From incest, to yaoi/yuri (if you even classify those as "forbidden"), and now to teacher/student relationships, in the end it all depends on whether or not the relationships are presented realistically, especially considering they're looked down on from common society. "Faster than a Kiss" presents a situation of forbidden love, and does an.. alright job of playing it all out.

The story itself is quite simple. Our lead heroine, Fumino, is sick of moving from place to place with her younger brother, Teppei, since her parents died. So, she decides to drop out of school to support her brother and find a place where the two of them can live. Her English teacher, Kazuma, is the only one who comes looking for her and eventually he ends up agreeing to "marry and support the two of them" and takes her to his apartment. The story follows the two of them and how they manage to keep Fumino & Teppei's presence there a secret, while the two of them both deal with conflicting feelings of love for one other and not to mention the conflicts of family and love from others.

The main issue with the story is the questionable realism it has. Characters don't always act how you think they would be it they were put in a certain position. However at the same time it makes you think what you would do if you were them and starts getting your mind going. The plot is a fairly average one, consisting of many arcs where Fumino (and Teppei occasionally) must be rescued by Kazuma. The arcs are fairly short and for the most part only partially contribute the main plot. The story also splits off and focuses on some side characters and their own conflicts with Fumino and Kazuma, and also in time provides us some backstory on these conflicts as well.

The story isn't anything spectacular however it does rise above average than your typical shoujo manga. It gives you time to actually get to know and become attached to the characters before throwing their backstory out at you. The chapters are a bit episodic but still are able to flow in with the basic premise of a developing student/teacher relationship. The comedy and fluff moments fit in pretty well and aren't over done, either. The manga's ending is a bit cheesy and predictable but nonetheless and good conclusion to a shoujo romance. Overall, the story is indeed above average but still lacks quite a bit in terms of realism and consistency.

The artwork is very well done. Girls aren't given the over exaggerated shoujo eyes like in a lot of manga, so that's a major plus. Characters and backgrounds are of high quality, even for a school setting manga. The fluff scenes in particular seem to stand out among the artwork which is again, another plus for all of us who love the fluff moments. However it would be nice if the mangaka could've used all of her talent more often then for just a few fluff panels. Everything else is still well done..

Characters aren't anything all too special. Fumino is a "delinquent" who gets in a lot of fights when in reality she just wants justice. Kazuma is an "average" English teacher who has his own dark past. Shouma is the competitive younger brother. Everyone basically starts with an initial trait that can be summed up in one sentence. Development is a bit lacking in Fumino's character, however she does become significantly more responsible and aware as the manga goes on. Kazuma's and Shouma's development is more noticeable by the end of the manga and is where most of it is used. The characters, even some of the supporting ones, are pretty memorable and help support the story well. The development was mainly focused on the romance and not as much the characters, which was good for the romance but bad for the characters. It would've been nice to see more changes in Fumino from start to end, but in return we get a nicely played out romance.

Anyone who enjoys a good romance would probably be able to enjoy this manga. I, personally, went into it for the fluff moments in particular and wasn't disappointed. It has an easy story to follow and the romance doesn't get too deep smut wise (however it can be an annoyance that the two don't kiss for.. a while) and is simply an enjoyable read.

Overall, "Faster than a Kiss" manages to leave behind some of the typical elements in a shoujo and become a nicely developed romance manga. While the story and characters aren't the most original or developed, it's easy to look past that and just sit back and enjoy this manga for what it has to offer. While far from a masterpiece in it's department - "Faster than a Kiss" is a memorable read that can please any shoujo fan.

I thought it would be about a girl being infatuated with her teacher and her trying to get him to like her back despite the age gap and school rules, but even from the first chapter you can see that they both are in love with each other, so no spoilers there. In fact, because of that, the first approximate fifteen chapters don't follow a clear plotline. Kaji and her younger brother live with her teacher because she has nowhere else to go, and they don't want their relationship to be exposed. There are a bunch of small adventures to fill up the beginning where they get into situations where the two are close and others where they could possibly be caught. They always manage to make up some story about why they're always together, though, to make sure sensei's superiors don't think it's inappropriate. I thought I might drop it after a while. However, once a few new characters were introduced, the drama increased and I found myself reading a very quick pace--try 25 chapters in one day. Then I thought it was very good and some moments were extremely cute and others painfully sad. It was a good read for me.

After reading this manga, I was debating to myself on what rating I should give it. You see, when I was just in the middle part of this story, I already concluded that I will be giving it a 7 star rating, but man!!!! I love love love the ending. It was far from what I imagined and that’s really a relief. After the scene with sensei’s father, I thought everything will be cliché, but man! I didn’t anticipated the ending. It’s absolutely a perfect HEA, and you know how I’m such a sucker for that hehe. I’m just so happy with how everything turned out. I’m super happy that I shed a tear. It’s just, it seems like I was there in this story and felt what sensei and Fumino was feeling at that moment.

Kisu Yori mo Hayaku or also known as Faster than a Kiss in English is a story of Fumino, a highschool student who after getting tired of moving from one relatives to another, decided to ran away together with her younger brother, Teppei. While on the park, her sensei (teacher) approached them and asked what she’s doing. She got pissed so she demanded him to marry her so he can take good care of her and her brother. Out of tension between their confrontation, sensei said yes. And that is the start of their “secret” married life.

Unlike book reviews, I don’t mind sharing some spoilers when I’m reviewing a manga, so get ready haha. So what made me shed a tear? It was on the part where Fumino is walking down the aisle towards sensei. My! That was just so heartwarming. No words spoken, it’s just the two of them looking so lovingly at each other. If this manga would have made it into an anime, I’m pretty sure I’ll be watching that scene over and over again. It’s just so rewarding that after what they’ve been through, the happy moments and hardships they’ve shared, they finally able to overcome all of those and finally get married for real. It’s just beautiful. And speaking of beautiful, their first kiss indeed was so beautiful. Awww.. and thinking about it, I guess I’m going to start re-evaluating my feelings about the rain lol haha. Wanna know why? Well, that’s something you should find out for yourself. *wink

The idea of a student falling in love with her teacher is something that isn’t new to me. I’ve read and watched movies with that same logic before so I am really excited to find out how the author will remedy that and made me interested in this story to the extent of finishing it. And my! I sure enjoyed this one.

Some may find it gross but hey hey hey, the professor is just 24 years old so it’s fine. Plus with a handsome face like that, I wouldn’t be having any second thoughts. Plus, he look so hot with or without glasses, but I think I’ll go for a glasses look for sensei. Why’s that? Well, he look so dang hot without his glasses so to avoid any women gawking at him, it’s better if he wear his glasses or I could kill someone haha.

I always love highschool romances so it wasn’t really a surprise that I enjoyed this one. Faster Than a Kiss wasn’t really in my radar until I stumbled to this one. It’s only 12 volumes and it’s already completed so I decided to check out the sypnosis and I like the idea, plus, the characters looks so good together so why not? It’s the shortest in my manga TBR so I decided to read it first. You see, I don’t usually read the manga without watching the anime first but seeing that it doesn’t have one, I guess I’ll have to check this out myself eh?

I have to say that Faster Than a Kiss is not your typical student falling in love with her sensei story. It’s not just the romance that is covered with this manga but it has so much more. You see, it’s just 12 volumes but it’s composed of so many chapters. I thought I know what’s going to happen next or I know how it’ll end but I was surprised with all the scenes the author added to this story. I love that it also includes about friendship, about family especially about relationship between siblings and also about not just love triangle but I guess that’s 5? Well, you see, Fumino is quite a Rapunzel in this story because of her long hair feeling lol haha.

The reason I was torn between 3.5 and 4 star rating because this manga had some confusing chapters. I’m not just talking about the drawing but also for the English translation, but then I realized that I should be thankful. Without these amazing translators who works so hard even without compensation, I was able to read this story eh? So I guess the only issue for me were the drawing. I’m not saying it’s bad, but there were some scenes and parts that was confusing that it made me spend a long time examining the pages to understand the scenes and the action it’s trying to portray. But I think that’s only a total of 2-3 chapters, all other chapters were great. And speaking of great, you can browse my favorite scenes from this manga here. *wink

The conflict, well, there’s so many conflicts in this story, but I’m so glad that the author didn’t add some annoying ones. Well, unless you count the part about sensei’s father, because that was downright annoying, but so far it didn’t stretched the far, because we finally got to see Fumino and sensei’s wedding, ayeeii. But even without the wedding, with cute Teppei around, they already look like one cute family. And my, Fumino and Teppei cosplaying while welcoming sensei everytime he comes home was quite cute, haha.

Although there’s no annoying conflicts, I have to say that there’s this annoying character that I really want to kill myself. And who would that be? Well, it’s sensei’s younger brother Shouma. My! He was really a pain in the ass. He’s hot and he’s cold and is downright jerk. If there were different classes of jerks, he’ll be in class A. I understand about his feelings towards Fumino but going to deal with his action of getting between sensei and Fumino was so frustrating and irritating to watch/read. He’s just lucky that sensei didn’t lose his cool and was able to handle it maturely (well, not most of the time, haha).

For Fumino’s character, she was introduced as this badass chick who beat up guys who are doing bad to her classmates, but when she’s finally living with sensei, she somewhat loses her groove and was always in a situation where sensei always rescues her. Don’t get me wrong, I like her character but the saving the damsel in distress we’re too much. But on the other hand, she sure loves her younger brother so much. I love how she’ll do anything just for him and that really soften my heart. And ofcourse, I adore her kindness even to those who doesn’t deserves it, her cool, her courage and her guts. My! This girl is really something. And you know what else? I love how she fight so hard for sensei. She’s the kind of girl that knows what she wants and fights for it, and that’s the kind of attitude I like for a heroine.

Sensei on the other hand is definitely a prince charming material. He’s so nice, so good looking and everything you need for a guy is within him. He’s just too perfect which makes his character unrealistic. But even with that perfect attitude and appearance, I have to say that it didn’t stop me from liking him genuinely. I did not fall-in-love-with-him-and-wanting-to-become-the-heroine way but I really love his character. And my, didn’t I tell you how sensual his way of disinfecting Fumino’s wounds? haha. But beyond that perfect appearance, his distorted past makes up for it thus making his character relatable. What he’s been through and how he was able to get past them makes me so proud of him. Despite what he’s been through, I’m happy that he was able to become what he is now and finally found the woman who will love him and makes him happy.

There’s still some issue about his father and his relationship with sensei from way back before that wasn’t introduced to us completely but I guess the part where he bought Fumino’s wedding dress is enough to compensate it haha sucker.

Most POV of the manga were taken from the main character either the girl or the guy or from a third party, but for this one, I guess it’s safe to say that it was mostly from Fumino unless you’ll include some individual parts like the one from Shouma who was struggling about his feelings towards Fumino. I always love to hear about sensei so it was great that he had 1 chapter that is taken from his own POV, it was short yes but at least it was on the part where he talks about his feelings toward Fumino.

Both of the main characters confesses their feelings in the early volume so I thought after that all will be going to be predictable but the twist and turn surprised me.

This is the third shojo manga that I’ve read but differently not my first shojo anime so I have a lot to compare with, but so far, I find this one enjoyable. It didn’t just made me fall in love but it made me laugh my heart out.

And oops, I almost forgot. Aside from the romance and a little bit of comedy, I was eyeing Fumino’s younger brother, Teppei. My! I guess he’s one of the cutest character I’ve encounter so far.

If you love YA and drooling over a hot sensei, then Faster Than a Kiss is definitely for you.

I have followed this story since the first chapter release and I'm glad I stuck with it.

There were moments when I got frustrated with the couple, but, in the end, I absolutely adore them. Their marriage was not founded on love, so don't look for it right off the back, but it's amazing watching as they fall in love with each other and then try to ignore their feelings.

They both understand the delicate situation their in so getting to see the "slip ups" have you screaming like a crazy. Love those moments.

Kazuma has a fun personality, but he's mature and puts Fumino's future before his own feelings. And Fumino is a mature and strong character, but she's still a girl in love, so I'm actually a bit happy when she's irrational or a crybaby.

I also like of every other characters in story.

It was slow-paced, but you can see the development in the story and it was fun to watch these two fall in love. There were sad moments, there were fun moments and there were moments that just blossomed with that lovey-dovey feeling. It was a good read.