I started reading Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike after I read another work by the same mangaka, Super Lovers. I originally thought there were going to be some explicit guy on guy action (I thought the manga was classified as Yaoi/Shounen-Ai), but the story doesn't need that at all. In the end they have developed an undeniably special relationship, but I was never sure what kind exactly: a "I'd take a bullet for you" bff relationship, the brotherly kind of relationship or the lovers kind. And in the end, I was still content with not knowing.

The macho main guy is Hosaka Kiyomine, the handsome heartthrob who has: money, looks, fighting skills, a horrible personality (only on the surface, but actually has a heart of gold) and an extreme sister complex.I like that we don't constantly have to see how cool or indifferent he is, and there plenty of moments where he actually laughs with his friends, and not only when he's with the other main character.
The other half of the main duo is Fujishima Takara, the baby-faced guy who has eyes like a dear, a small (and SUPER CUTE) face, soft and light brown hair, a petite figure and a slender waist where you can easily put one arm around (seriously, this is how he was described at one time). But he can also open a can of whoop ass better like Kiyomine can and is as naive and caring as they come. I really felt for the dude: mom dies, dad leaves him behind for work, grandparents shower him with love and then they die as well. Kawaiso ne. But, he looks like he's always cheerful (except in the first 2 or 3 volumes) and he makes a lot of great friends.
The supporting cast also packs some punch, most notably Kiyomine's cousin, Reiichi Kashiwagi and Takara's dad, Fujishima Kou. Reiichi especially... I mean, how perfect (or lucky) can one guy be?!

There weren't too many "love" scenes (the duo actually never share a passionate kiss and confess their love to one another or something like that) and surprisingly worked for the development of the story, even when it's classified as shounen-ai/Yaoi.

The first time I started reading, I didn't like the art that much, especially how Kiyomine was drawn. He's supposed the heartthrob of all heartthrobs, but I just couldn't get vibe from him. But when I got to volume 7 or so, I kind of got what all the fuss was all about. Especially after seeing the Y.S.Y Models photo. ;)

However, the thing I fell in love with was how detailed the backgrounds always were. Especially the last 5 or so volumes where there were a bunch of scenes with animals (they were in Africa visiting a reserve (or was it 2 reserves?)). When I reread the manga, I then started to get annoyed at the over use of black backgrounds (with sparkles, etc.) for the simplest of sentences; they kind of disrupted the flow of the story.

I think I've already re-read some of the chapters a few times, and I still giggle at some of the scenes. Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike is definitely one of the manga's I'll keep enjoying for a period of time. The sad part is that I still haven't read volume 25 though... can't seem to find it anywhere.