I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said this is one of the manga I enjoyed the most in a long while. The premise of it is already unusual: it's not your typical fictional manga, but rather an autobiography of the manga's author who, now in her forties, takes this manga as a chance to reflect about her long struggle to find a career in the arts.

The protagonist, Akiko Hayashi, is at first a carefree, lazy and self-centered girl whose biggest dream is to become a shōjo manga author. Unfortunately, she doesn't really have a clear idea of how to achieve this dream: all she knows is that she doesn't like studying, and that she wants to apply to an arts college and make a debut in manga while studying there. But at one point in her life, during the last year of high school, she comes to meet a man who will slowly set her on the right path.

This man is Hidaka Sensei, an arts teacher, but certainly not your average one: he's an eccentric old man, who doesn't hesitate to scream at his students and hit them and their works with a bamboo sword. It doesn't take much for him to make Akiko's overconfidence crumble as he promptly informs her that her sketches suck. But while this attitude at first confuses Akiko, she soon realizes how much her teacher cares about his students, and the acts of kindness he's ready to make in order to teach them how to draw: in exchange of a cheap monthly fee, he's ready to do everything to make them achieve their dreams and apply to an arts college; his strict and serious behaviour is the proof of just how much he cares about his students becoming fully realized, respectable artists.

This is doubtlessly the biggest turning point in Akiko's life: from this moment, she goes through a lot of effort and many struggles to become the fully realized artist she is today. I'm sure many people can relate with Akiko's struggles, even if they aren't pursuing a career in the arts: there are many moments of self-doubt, concern over whether what one does is worth the effort or not, frustration over one's inability to do anything productive. Who knows, maybe there's even a lesson or two to be learned here.

The story is a rich one, and the author proves to be really good at understanding and reflecting on her older self. There are many moments of warm nostalgia over the past, enriched by the author's great sense of humour; I often couldn't help but smile at how easily the author suddenly deviates from the main story to talk about little episodes of her past, like when she remembers about her old friends, or when she criticizes art schools and their often lazy, unproductive students. But there's also a very subtle sense of melancholy, a feeling of regret over her past self's decisions, especially towards her old teacher. This sense of melancholy is never too obvious, nor is it forced on the reader, but instead it slowly builds up until it reaches its highest intensity in the final chapters. The author's gratitude for everything Hidaka Sensei taught and made her realize is evident, and I have no problem openly admitting that I even cried in the most emotional moments close to end of the series.

It's an inspiring story which will make you both laugh at some of the manga's funniest moments, and feel the same melancholy the author feels in her moments of regret. All in all, it really is just a beautiful, well-written story that I think anyone looking for a calm, somewhat serious read is going to enjoy.