What to say about this series now ? Just calling it one of the greatest romance/drama stories ever just doesn't do it justice.

Yukino is one of my favourites characters ever, and one of the more original concepts I've ever seen. This double-faced, incredibly sharp, amazingly strong-willed (yet sometimes insecure), partially evil but always funny girl is the character I'm gonna miss the most. It really is worth it reading the manga just to see her interact with the rest of the cast, with the world, and often just to follow her thought processes. Her reactions to developments are often surprising, yet endearing to the reader. Her simple but powerful "I never said no" little speech (you'll know it when you get there) remains one of the most touching and memorable (and unexpected) things I've ever read. Yes, she's that amazing and more.

Arima is also a good character, always interesting to read. He and his family are responsible for most of the drama in the series, specially in the second half of the manga (the part that's left out of the anime). In fact, he's pretty much the main character in this half. And although I was a little skeptic at first as the author hinted at his future developments, I have to admit Ms. Tsuda did a terrific job in this "Arima arc". Seeing Arima battle his personal demons was truly touching, and the outcome of all this was very satisfying.

The rest of the cast is also comprised of funny, charming, real, memorable characters, and it's a really nice thing that they are all (some more, some less) given space to show themselves and develop. I also love the fact that they are all given some sort of closure by story's end.

This manga does back story like no other. Starting from Yukino, you get to hear the story of her parents since their childhood. In Arima's side, you get to hear about his parents and their cousins, as adults, teenagers and children; about Arima's grandfather (quite a bit), and even about that guy's father, and it's all important to the story as a running theme is the effect parents have on their children's lives. All in all, five (!) generations are explored, to a different extent. And this is a good thing, because it deepens the story as it explains the motivations of the characters to act as they do.

So, to recap: this manga is an exploration of love between teenagers as they bloom and become adults (with its fun, tender and painful moments); it's a look at the world of parents, and how their actions can both screw or save their children; and it's a beautiful tale of young people trying to understand themselves, improve themselves, overcoming their burdens and finding out what their dreams are - and then launching on the life-long trip to fulfill them.

Definitely a 10 out of 10 !