Reading Tsubaki-Chou Lonely Planet is like stepping into a simpler life. School drama and family tragedies won't be found here. Instead, you'll see a blossoming love, one that feels beautifully pure, but heart-achingly real, told against the backdrop of everyday Japanese life.

Like many, I started TCLP after finishing Daytime Shooting Star, a manga that I loved but that left me unsatisfied. I expected to find a similar story: a young highschooler falls in love with an older man, but many obstacles await them. I also expected a similar love triangle. But TCLP was not at all what I expected. It doesn't share that many similarities with Daytime Shooting Star, but it's every bit as beautiful.

Ohno Fumi is a high school student whose father goes into debt, resulting in her having to leave her home. To pay back his debts, she takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for Kibikino Akatsuki, an anti-social writer of historical novels. At first, Akatsuki (whom she calls "Sensei") seems to do nothing but work, sleep, and glare. But Fumi quickly sees that Sensei is kinder than he seems, and what was a work relationship starts to develop into a sense of companionship, and maybe something more.

There is very little plot in TCLP besides the developing romance. That would usually bother me - I'm no fan of slice of life - but the everyday problems of their life are done so well, I'm always looking forward to what happens next. Yamamori Mika can take the simplest things and make them fascinating. She uses Fumi's budding feelings to give tension to every scene, so that something as simple as eating dinner can be exciting to read about. One of my favorite chapters is when Fumi and Akatsuki go to buy groceries, and the entire time Fumi is agonizing over her growing feelings. It sounds silly, but Mika Sensei is a master, and the simplicity of her work is what makes it shine.

But don't think that TCLP has no story. It does - a romance that feels realistic and perfectly understated. The romance has frequent developments that push the story along. The conflict between Fumi and Akatsuki stems from their own character flaws, which adds depth to the romance. It's every bit as much a story about two people falling in love as it is about two people trying to grow beyond their flaws. And to make things better, there's no love triangle!! Well, there IS one. But it's nothing like Daytime Shooting Star's. And it's not with a character you expect. I won't give any more away, but if you're like me and hate love triangles, TCLP is very safe to read.

Let's talk about the characters. After the romance, the characters are the highlight of this manga. The story is completely centered on Fumi and Akatsuki, whose personalities fit very well together. Fumi is soft-spoken but hard-working. She struggles with loneliness and tends to take care of others before herself. She's also full of fun quirks - she supposedly dresses like an old lady, she loves housework more than anything else, and getting a good sale at the grocery store is all she needs to make her happy. Her antics are amusing and her character voice is distinct, remindng me of Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket.
But the real star of this manga is Akatsuki. He is one of the most introverted manga characters I've ever seen. He writes in his room for hours and rarely leaves the house. When he speaks, it's usually a short, gruff answer to a question. Fumi will talk and he will respond off her, making their conversations some of the best parts of the manga. Because of Sensei's stand-off-ish personality, he has next to no friends and spends his days alone. Fumi's arrival starts to bring change into his life and as they interact we see who Sensei really is: a kind man who doesn't know how to interact with others.
Akatsuki is one of the best male leads I've read in a manga because of his depth. This is what Mika Sensei excels at - characters who are deep and 3-dimensional. You can't read this manga without falling a little in love with Akatsuki. Not only that, her drawings of him are the best I've seen from her. She puts such effort into drawing Akatsuki, giving him a certain sensuality, so that even if he's doing nothing romantic you can't tear your eyes from him. Akatsuki is a very sexy man who has no idea how sexy he is, and Mika's art brings him to life. Add to that what an interesting character he is, and you have one of the best male leads I've seen in shoujo manga.

The side characters are worth a mention too. The side characters are charming and unique, but not the strongest part of this manga. That being said, the two leads even things out. Much of the story is focused on Fumi and Akatsuki, so there's no need for really strong secondary characters. (And Gorou is a treat. I love the parts when he shows up.)

I could go on and on about Mika's art, how her style is one of my favorites ever, how she can make the smallest moments pop off the page, but if you've read her you already know. She's a true pro. What more is there to say?

My overall score of TCLP is a 9. It's one of the best mangas I've read in recent years. It's filled with unforgettable scenes, some of which may actually surpass most scenes in Daytime Shooting Star. It's a slow start, but once you fall in love with Fumi and Akatsuki's romance you won't be able to stop. The one downside to this manga is that it's had a shaky time getting translated. Most of it has been translated by a group called "Damn Feels", a really great group, but they stopped translating it around chapter 40. Then a different group picked it up, but only for a few chapteres. Currently it's being translated by a girl on tumblr called hakuko-yingying, who is doing good work on it. As of this review there are 60 chapters translated in all.

I highly reccomend this manga. The more people read it, the more chance of it being officially translated in english right? And you will not regret it. This is a wonderfuly unique shoujo in a sea of generic high school dramas.