Right off the bat, I will state that the anime covered the good parts of the manga (Chapters 1-15). That season was a wonderful & adorable exploration of Futaba meeting the rest of the cast and finding out what she really wants out of life.

If I were to give ratings for sections of the manga: Chapters 1-15 are 8/10. Everything after that is 5/10. I will explain why below the break.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW - I did my best to vaguely word things to avoid overt spoilers, but touching upon elements of the later plot are important to understand my views on this manga.




Just a few chapters beyond where the anime leaves off, I no longer felt a sense of enjoyment when reading. Instead, I felt disappointment in the story's direction and anger at how hard it was indulging in some of shoujo romance's most annoying tropes - NTR (twice!), the love interest going extra dark-and-moody, failures to communicate, and just all in all unnecessary drama.

I forced myself to read to the end to get some closure for the gang of idiots I fell in love with while watching the anime, but even the end left me wanting.

It is not Usagi Drop levels of "the story going downhill and losing what made the first part so appealing," but all the same, for those of you who loved the heartfelt fun, goofy antics, and light drama of the anime and are considering reading the manga, you should pass on it and just imagine a happier, less convoluted ending.