Before I begin this review I just want to say that if this is the first manga by Asano Inio that you've read, please please do not be put off the rest of his work. This is the single worst piece of work that he's done. Not even one of the worst, the absolute worst. I don't update here all the time but I think I've read all of his work and I'm a huge fan, but this one is pretty terrible overall. Also this is my first review! Sorry if I ramble a little

Story:
Honestly, this is just another teen romance but with a heavily dark and sexualised theme. I've read a lot of shoujo and josei manga but I feel like this story was meant to expose the realities of romance (rejection/you won't always end up with the person you like/sometimes sex comes first and love comes after) but also exaggerate and dramatise it too. The thing that ruined this manga for me was how the two main characters' relationship literally revolved around sex (plus the fact that they were like 15 in middle school just put me off a lot - never swiped through pages of a manga so fast), and there was a lot of unnecessary sex scenes involved - like, entire chapters of it... Perhaps some of it was intentional for character development? But as much as I think I can't really find the point in a lot of them.

There's also the darker theme of suicide and depression, which at first felt like a side story but eventually consumed the manga. This actually could have redeemed it because I feel like this theme is much more suited to the author, but in turn I felt like the ending was very rushed and kind of random (trying not to add any spoilers here).

Art:
None of the author's manga are meant for those who read manga just for visuals and fan service. I gave him a 10/10 for art, maybe I'm a little biased as an artist myself and a fan of his work though.

Characters:
I'd like to point out that Asano's characters across the board are always very complex and flawed. Majority of the time, you will not like the characters that he creates, and this is because he makes sure that you won't. It's realistic in a sense - how many people do you know, that you actually like? One character from Oyasumi Punpun (one of Asano's more popular works and honestly a masterpiece) quotes that "It's not a manga you read to escape from reality, it's a manga you read to fight reality". In my opinion, he does not write to give you false hope, even his art style doesn't depict every person to be perfect. In fact, he tends to amplify the flaws in character and in the way they look too.

Enjoyment:
I really did not enjoy reading this manga much at all. I feel like the whole sex thing just really put me off, and if it were taken out it might be much easier to read and also it would give the author some space to expand on the characters a little more - because when you look at his other manga you'll realise that the character development is everything. The sex scenes are just a huge shock to the system and after you recover from that shock you realise that the characters are lacking in this one and the story is very average and generally quite played out.

However, once again if you've read this and don't like it but enjoyed certain aspects of it (mainly how dark it is + themes of suicide and depression) then please check out Asano Inio's other works - you will not be disappointed!