Hirunaka no Ryuusei

This manga is a forbbiden-love story that will thrill and hook you until the last chapter. However the plot is very simple (like every shoujo, duh)

Suzume, a 15 years old student girl, moves to Tokio to live with his uncle. She's a little.. strange.. and is always in her own world. One day she meets a guy that leaves her in a crush but Oh! surprise, is her 24 years old teacher. Of course they can't be together :pedobear:, but Suzume is head over heels for him and Shishio, the teacher (who can't be more handsome and perfect), may have some feelings for her too.

Personally I don't like the shoujos with this plot, the teacher-student thingy never called my attention since they end up being shallow, but with this one I got a grateful surprise. I started reading it because the sinopsis I read wasn't clear and the art fascinated me.

+
-Ended up being a manga where the love relationship evolves slowly, with tenderness and delicacy, and what I liked the most was that it was realist. I could understand why Shishio saw something in Suzume even if she was younger and vice versa. They both needed or completed each other.
-There are no plain characters, they evolve as the story develops and even if you don't agree with them so much, if you're empathic, you'll understand why they do what they do.
-Shishio, the main character, is asdasfasdaff. is perfect, and perfect, and perfect!. nah, but I thought he was a charismatic and sympathetic person. he stole my heart, but also stomped on it. :c
-There are good scenes that make your heart race or sigh and cry.
-The art is precious. Not overwhelming and the faces of the characters are well designed and pretty.

x
-The ending was rushed and I didn't understand it.
-Towards the end it became too long and repetitive.

With that aside, was a manga that made me thrill and fangirl a lot and over all, feel very well what the characters felt.

The story starts out pretty typical and we see the cold and aloof but handsome guy so we instantly assume the protagonist would definitey fall in love with him, but no she ends up falling for sensei. so i found the story pretty unique its unlike the usual shoujo manga where main girl and main guy fall in love and everything is a bed of roses. However, even though the plot and stuff was great, the ending was too rushed. She got rejected and suddenly in like a few chapters she turned all her attention towards Mamura and realises she loves him. 70% of the manga focused on Shishio and Suzume so when suddenly it becomes Mamura and Suzume there's this mixed feeling and the change just comes in all too quickly.
The art is really nice too, it really does not miss out on details. The clothes that the characters wear are pretty trendy in the generation now and the way the artist draws the character's eyes are just wow.
The characters are pretty likeable. Suzume is quite unlike the normal protagonist in shoujo mangas, she's strong-willed, does not hesitate to express whatever she feels and the way she behaves is really just amusing and cute. Shishio is a debatable character, somehow you want to hate him but then you really love him. He is such an ass for initally lying to Suzume about not loving her, he did this to " protect " her but then he realises he was wrong and confesses to her when she's with Mamura. However, you love him as you realise that he is actually in love with Suzume all this while and you want to root for him but you can't, he is really great in every way possible, he's really reliable, caring and he often always comes rushing to Suzume when he sees her in trouble. He is a character we wish would end up with Suzume but hey, she can only have one so that's really sad. It's sad to think that if all this happened after Suzume had graduated, they would've been the perfect couple the only reason they couldn't be together was because of the teacher student relationship and so they have to keep their distance which ends up hurting Suzume. It's even sadder to see that 6 years later, he still keeps the sushi tie Suzume gave him like it was some treasure and he tells his neighbour that the tie was from someone really precious to him.... even after 6 yrs ;-; Mamura is such a cute small bean, i was really happy for him in the end tho ;-;
Overall, really enjoyed this manga. I think i finished it in 2 days hehe. The kick was there and it just made me want to keep reading, it made me feel alot too, ended up crying in the last few chapters, it was too precious. hope it gets made into an anime or smt hehe

Hirunaka No Ryuusei:


Probably one of my favorite mangas out there! People say this is an overrated manga, especially in the shoujo section, but hey, you have to admit that this is a good manga. The story is about a girl falling in love with her teacher, but the teacher won't recognize her feelings (or will he? ;)) so, another student (AH MAMURA) falls in love with her. I could not fathom how much I love this manga. (Somebody stop me, pls) The story is quite good, following the life of Suzume and her life development in Tokyo. Art is also stunning!! Character development is also good, especially the relationships of one character to another. There are some hilarious bits that would go hand in hand with all the cuteness and pureness of love in the story.

By the way, TEAM MAMURA YAAAAAAAAAS

(10/10 <3)

Some spoilers.

I didn't finish this. I won't finish it. After chapter 65 I just can't care anymore, and I should have quit at chapter 10.

Hirunaka no Ryuusei is kind of boring and Shishio Satsuki is a creep. The mangaka has a section where she explains the original plot before the editors tore it to pieces, and apparently Shishio was originally a classmate and not an emotionally stunted 24-year-old man hitting on a 15-year-old girl. Suzume starting to date Mamura was the best thing that happened to anyone in this manga, but them dating is pretty boring too.

...but the art is beyond stunning. It seems like everyone raves about the art, and it keeps quite a few people reading. That's how it seemed to be for me.

Also, Suzume is a really likeable protagonist, and if Shishio wasn't interfering with things she would have been a really strong character. Instead she spends a lot of time moping about him because...well, I guess that's the plot.

story 7
although the plot is criminally basic---oblivious, country girl breaking out of her shell and plunging in a new world meets two potential partners (a very obvious love triangle sketched out from just a few chapters in). country girl meets snobby girl who eventually becomes her best friend, and surprise! snobby friend likes one of country girl's future partners (obviously it's the cryptic, keep-to-himself-one too!). country girl's group of friends' love stories are cute, always refreshing to see other romances happen in the manga aside from the main one.

art 10
yass!!! slayage!! the art and the title is what drew me into reading this manga 2 years ago. i saw the title daytime shooting star, saw the cover, and immediately started reading. the details are insane---the eyes are always fleeked to perfection, and the hairs are always laid. easily one of the best manga art i've read (in the shoujo genre of course)

character 9
suzume is super refreshing!! not your typical, generic shoujo lead who blushes and swoons at everything the guys do. loves to eat, doesn't like to dress up in particular, a straightforward personality. (no hesitating bullshit) i absolutely love her. level headed, and the most mature 15 year old i've ever read about, lol.

sensei is amazing as well, a cool, easygoing teacher with beaming smiles. although he's mischievous af, he's actually very deep, he considers things from other people's perspectives, stays rational. not those teachers in sensei shoujos where the teachers are basically highschoolers thrown in the aesthetic of a classroom teacher. satsuki is actually much more than a generic shoujo manga teacher.

mamura is cute, your average tsundere who blushes often. suckers for the quiet and cool shoujo manga boy lead will def like him lmfao. his interactions with his family is cute, he has a little brother named daichi who he loves very much. his sudden streaks of bold manners in regards for his feelings for suzume is... questionable. unlike sensei, mamura lets his feelings take a hold of him, often threathening sensei and such. always pushing himself on suzume on her vulnerable moments. this is the only flaw in his character, i guess.


spoilers from here on out
enjoyment 5
ah well, let me try to be as unbiased as i can while explaining this part? so suzume's uncle finds out about her relationship with sensei. her uncle being as protective as he is, requests sensei to end things between them. sensei thought about it seriously---how he doesn't want to hurt her and all that shit. so he lies to suzume, tells her he doesn't love her, even though surprise, he really does. mamura takes this as his chance to make his moves on suzume. suzume's confused at first, doesn't know what to do. then she made up in her mind that she'll be facing only mamura from now on.

aaaand now my deduction:
BUUUUUULLLLLLSSSSSHHHHHHIIIIIIITTTTTT
i don't know about you, but i instantly hated mamura for taking advantage of suzume's current predicament. sensei HAD to lie, he didn't want suzume's uncle to end things between them in an even nastier way, doesn't want to hurt her and shit. and people are probably going to say, actually, he did hurt her. and this is where the bs comes in.

did the mangaka forget about sensei?

as in, as soon as sensei made the decision to put suzume's happiness before love, it was like he was thrown completely out the battlefield. mamura swoops in and brainwashes suzume until she literally had to announce out loud, "from now on, i'm properly facing mamura" (or some dumb bs like that)
sensei was never given that scene where they talk it over and regain love again, in fact, that happens right at the END of the manga, when everything's basically wrapped up.......
??
this wasn't a balanced fight for love at all, lol. the majority was fed, the blushing, tsundere guy who can only tolerate suzume, well, got suzume. i felt like the mainstream ending just happened. i mean yes, the manga broke the curse of the first-meet-will-be-the-end-ship thing, but in the end, the heroine was swept over by the shallowest character known in the history of shoujo mangas: the cool kid.
because sensei wasn't mean in a "cute" way, he wasn't favored by the majority. because he was the teacher, not the NORM highschool classmate, he wasn't favored by the majority. shit, because he didn't have cute blushing moments like mamura had he wasn't favored by the majority.

rant ends here. tldr---feels like the ending was written to feed the hungry mouths of shoujo girls who wanted suzume to end up with the cooler, blushing tsundere that is mamura.

but idkkkkk, thats just me tho :>
overall 10!

The shōjo that frustrated me

And yet the story began so well.
I will not reveal the final choice of the heroine however elements could spoil you (even if for me the course of the story should not surprise you because you can find the same mechanics in a lot of shōjos.)

First impressions
A rather banal pitch like many shōjos but I let myself be tempted and there I am surprised: the drawings are beautiful, the characters are stylish especially one of the main character - Shishio Satsuki - who regularly changes his look. The heroine - Suzume Yosano - is different, authentic with a unique personality. She makes fun of prejudices. I said to myself: okay, it's going really well.

The brown guy VS the blond guy... The return of the cliché?
The love story between the teacher and his pupil develops little by little and I have to say I think forbidden relations are more catchy. Then the further the manga goes, the more I feel that the love story will turn into a love triangle. So why not? It can be a good idea only if the story is well developed. Indeed, between the two lovers there is another person: her friend - Mamura Daiki - who seems to be in love with Suzume. Should I mention he's blond? A little cliché - the brown guy VS the blond guy - but ok why not.

The first plot twist
So the story between Suzume and Shishio develops little by little, even really little by little. Suzume is too shy especially because she is scared that Shishio could lose his job. This is understandable but their complicity is turned upside down and here we are… that fateful moment: the rupture... And what a breakup.
In short :
- Suzume (while crying): Do you love me?
- Shishio (distant, cold): Sorry I am not in love with you.

Goodbye Shishio... or not!
And there, the main character so dynamic, intelligent, with such a great personality turns into... a typical heroine of shōjo. Yes you are going to say that she gets up with the help of Mamura. Their relationship deepens. Well... that's what a lot of Mamura fans say, I rather thought she was thinking a lot about Shishio (which is normal but still).
And a new plot twist appears. You guessed, didn't you? Shishio returns and he wants to start over again with Suzume (well I would not have guessed it! 😉). And now she doubts who to choose? Personally I find that the relationship between Mamura and Suzume is platonic.

But who will she choose? It does not matter.
Until the penultimate chapter we wonder who she will choose. I don’t really like when the manga is ending when the heroine make a final choice, it is like the heroine has been reduced to a simple love story. I have the impression that Yamamori Mika gave everything in the first 20 chapters then let herself overwhelmed by the classic codes of shōjo (it is surprising when you look at her other work: Sugars).

Don't worry, Yamamori Mika has published 2 chapters focusing on the character Suzume did not choose. However theses chapters has proved to me that this famous character was developed in such a way that we can only can say: the poor guy! Those who read the end will understand but by trying to not look like others shōjos, the mangaka simply reduced the potential of his character. Didn't she even feel sorry for him by dedicating two chapters to him, barely developed, on a new love story in which, after all these years, he still hadn't forgotten the heroine?

In summary:
As a result, all the potential has been reduced bit by bit. Conclusion: FRUSTRATING.

*Spoilers*

I'm not sure if this review will be helpful to people who want to know if they should read this, rather this was just my thoughts on the series as a whole.

So before I go into the problems with it, I want to explain some of the things that I had found good about the series.

The plot:
The plot is rather simple, however that is not necessarily a bad thing. Manga often have a simple plot, and that is not bad. It is rather how the story/plot is executed. And I have heard people say the plot is cliche, but so is the plot to Hunger Games, yet it is popular. So once again, it is not the degree of cliche or simple, but rather the execution. And I will get into that soon.

The Positives (ig, idk what to title this part):
When I had initially picked up this series about a student-teacher relationship, I had thought that it was going to be really bad, sort of like how incest manga have me often questioning the author's morals. However I was pleasantly surprised. The author was somehow able to take a concept, often seen as horrible, and make it ok. (I mean, teacher-student relationships they are actually really bad, but while reading the manga it didn't make me feel like it was wrong.) One thing it did well that I think help aid it's ok-ness, was that it was not an immediate relationship. Too often in these type of manga does the teacher immediately take an interest in the student whether that resulted in flirting or what not. However because of that it always felt as though the teacher was being a creep, or it gave off predator vibes. Luckily in this manga, that did not happen. And the sparks were much slower. With the teacher (Satsuki) questioning his qualifications to be a teacher when he began feeling emotions for Suzume (his student). Which I feel is very important to note. Because if you are a teacher who developes feelings for a student, and you don't question yourself, then I would NOT want my children around you. In reality, the relationship progressing should not have happened, because, ew, it's a teacher hitting on a student. However, this is a manga, so of course it had to, or else why would the book have been written in the first place. And I believe that the progression of it was good on the author's part. It was slow, helping it feel a bit more real, and it quickly had me rooting for Satsuki and Suzume to have a happy ending. The two of them even had their ups and downs, with Satsuki even once lying to her about how he felt because he knew that his feelings might hurt her in the long run. But I feel that after that, the manga began a slow downfall.

The Problems I had with it:
First of all, I really disliked Mamura and Suzume being together, it just felt so forced and unnecessary. It had been pretty shoved in, since Mamura before that had never been touched upon, other than that he hated girls. Which by the way, felt so....stupid? Idk, when I had initially read that I immediately disliked him and felt that he would be the average tsundere boy. I couldn't help but feel that the author was trying to avoid a 'creepy' ending with the teacher and student together, so she instead forced the two students together. And especially after the author had built most of the story around Satsuki and Suzume, it just felt like I was, as a reader, being cheated out of the emotional ending that the author had initially set up. Like, now that my feelings were all invested in these two characters, the author was just going to throw all of it out of the window to get the ending that wasn't creepy? Idk, it just didn't feel right. Like the whole point was that even though they were a student and teacher, that they could over come this emotional hurdle. One point that I would like to bring up, would be when Suzume's uncle tells Satsuki that he needs to end his relationship with Suzume, because to her, it's an emotional teenage crush, while to him, an adult, who's already gone through highschool and college, it's much bigger. As he, an experienced adult in both the work and relationship world, could easily end up hurting her. And I think that this is a very important point. Because, yes, with their relationship, who knows what emotional turmoil Suzume could go though, since she is still a developing teen. And I think the author may have used this as an excuse to not have Suzume and Satsuki end up together, and instead have her be with Mamura. However, I believe it had the opposite effect. With the uncle's point and explanation, yes, it showed why adults should not take advantage of young teenagers' emotions, but it also could've been used as a hurdle that Suzume and Satsuki would have to overcome, helping cement their relationship. And we later even learn that Satsuki is serious about her, and is willing to do whatever he needs to have her, as he does not want to hurt her. So yeah with the ending, it felt similar to when an author kills off a good character. They just kinda take your emotions, stomp on them a few times, light them on fire, and then chuck them out a window. And usually a character is killed for a reason pertaining to the plot, like progressing it or helping the protagonist have some emotional baggage. Except in this case, it felt like the character had been killed off for no good reason, other than to not make the author look bad if they had been kept alive.

In terms of characters, I can't say much because It's been a while since I read the manga (which in part is why I have not been referencing too many specifics in the book) but I just remember that most of the characters were a bit too bland for my taste. Overall, the manga was good up until a certain point *cough* Mamura *cough* and I'm disappointed in the ending. I think that even if Suzume had not ended up with Satsuki, that Mamura and her could've been a good match if done correctly. However it was not, and instead was rushed and forced. So I mean, I'm a bit iffy on this manga. I enjoyed it for a certain time, and read it all within 2 days simply because I was intrigued to see what would happen. Anyways, sorry for rambling, and thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

I felt two emotions while reading Hirunaka no Ryuusei.

The first one was anger.

The second one was relief. (but only in the end)

This is a manga where a countryside girl moves to the big city to live with her uncle. Well, ok.

The story is good, but is way too predictable. The cover says it all: it's a love triangle. Like all the love triangles stories, there's the baby boy #1 and baby boy #2, whom is respectively Shishio, the one who our main character Suzume meets when she arrived in Tokyo, and Mamura, a school buddy and her first "friend". The main problem starts when Suzume falls for Shishio, because he is her teacher. And this is the part where I felt angry. I knew it was coming, I knew that it would be like that, but I was expecting more.

Suzume isn't the typical shy cute girl which we are used to, and this is a bonus for me. She's plain. There is nothing espetacular about her appearance, nothing that makes all the boys fall for her. She's a strong girl who can beat you when you need it, and keeps real in the majority of time. And she is FUNNY. By far, she is the best character in the manga for me, even when her actions are a bit suspects. But, the way she falls for Shishio is a little weird, because there is no reason - in my point of view. He's is just kind to her. For that part, I was expecting more of her. Despite this, she is aware of her feelings and is really decisive about it, which makes me satisfied.

Shishio isn't a bad character. He is good looking (of course) and somewhat funny. He treats Suzume really good and care for her, but later he become the reason why a felt angry. Despite being a good dude, he makes Suzume go in circles, which is - for my view - unfair. He is aware that because being a teacher, he can't have a relationship with Suzume. He even SAYS to her, but is completely useless. Not because of her, to make it clear. Shishio, despite of reject her, start to give the poor girl hopes. Like taking her to places, saying doubtful things, being too close and all the things that someone who rejects a girl won't do. I get that he likes her, but being indecisive it's no good. All the " I'm a mature guy" thing that he tries to pass, it doesn't work really well - and this has to be on purpose, because I can't deal with it.

Then, we have Mamura. He is a little rude in the beginning, and this is explained as the "fear of girls touch" that he has. Well, I'm not considering the fact that am a person who will like a character in the first sight and will loving him forever no matter what, but he is totally likeable. Even when it didn't showed a development in their relationship (with Suzume) I was rooting for them. He's cute (of course) and even if it is imperfect in many ways, is a kind boy. The coolest thing is that he didn't instantly fell in love for Suzume. It was a progression. He stand up for her a lot in the series, and truly cared about her. Like if she was hurt because of Shishio. And not to mention that he was a warm shoulder for her, despite not wanting to be touched.

The art of the manga is amazing. Really. It's so well made that it makes you want to read all in one day just because of the art. Is a 11/10.

The end is like the story, predictable, but it makes me happy, so this what it counts.

Above all, I enjoyed reading HnR. Is a funny slice of life shoujo, that you can pass your free time reading.

Hirunaka no Ryuusei seems like a cookie-cutter, cutesy manga right off the bat. And although it is at times, this manga definitely has a sense of tender poignancy running throughout the entire story that hints at a more mature and substantial plot. The saving grace in this manga is the character development. The main character is a spacey, naive, small town schoolgirl who becomes overwhelmed with the city life of Tokyo and her new found friendships and loves, but throughout the story, we see her grow (quite literally) into a mature woman who comes to understand the importance of a healthy relationship as well as the emotional maturity, passion, and heartbreak that often comes and goes with one's first love. If you're looking for a funny, yet still heart stirring manga that will tug at your strings with its tenderness, this is the manga for you.

This manga started out very strong in terms of story and character, towards the end it became unfocused. A story that once featured a strong female character struggling to fit in was reduced to a love triangle and the strong female character was reduced to a prize. While you could argue that there were hints towards the ending it still came off as rather abrupt, and rushed, with a main character's backstory being shoved into one chapter, the last chapter, taking the focus off of the protagonist, and from a literary standpoint it read as unrealistic. It's not even unique in that other manga have tackled the same concept and done it better.

The only good thing I could say about this manga is that the art style is unique and nice to look at.

First review that I will do. I'll keep this as short and authentic as possible.

STORY (6) - I'll give this a fair rating. Typical love triangle. There are cliches here and there.

The plot set up at the beginning is what really drew me into this manga and I must say that the ending is not what I expected. Yes I like unexpected endings and the ending is not bad too but for me it could have been better. I don't really care who she ends up with as long as it makes sense but the only problem for me is that the transition of the first love to second love felt rushed. Imagine this manga has 86 chapters, and since the beginning until chapter 50+ she was in love with his teacher. It was real. They have something good going on there but it's complicated and that's expected. ANYWAY. The whole point is things went downhill between them really late and the second love interest although he's there to comfort her at crucial moments, their relationship development literally moved from being friends to boyfriend-girlfriend only at chapter 61. And the remaining 20+ chapters is not really enough for me to compensate for the emotions I have already invested since chapter 1. It left me feeling like... So that's it? The 1st guy is suddenly out of the picture? I can keep moving on but I don't want to spoil the whole thing.

ART (9) - As a working graphic artist, I've got really high standards when it comes to art and style. I must say that this manga delivers in that aspect. I actually judged the book by it's cover at first but then when I peaked inside to check the art it made me start the series. The character design, setting and backgrounds are great so no complaints here.

CHARACTERS (7) - The characters aren't perfect but they are good.

The girl MC, Suzume, I like the fact that she is not a crybaby but like any other Shoujo MCs she is really clueless when it comes to relationships. She's 15 that's why. Character development was really slow.

Shishio, the teacher, is a well written character but character development was slow too. Quite complicated character in my opinion.

Mamura is quite mature for his age, good character as well but he just lacked character background for me. Yes he was introduced from the start but the focus on him is not sufficient.

ENJOYMENT (6) - It was a rollercoaster of emotions tbh. I actually am the type to quit reading if I still do not get hooked after 5-10 chapters. Sometimes I quit at first chapter if it's really trash for my taste. But the fact that I finished it, I must say I did get into it.

OVERALL IT'S GOOD. Far from perfect but good. I may have problems with the plot but I will still recommend people to try it for yourselves. We may differ in opinions afterall.

Addicting. It's all I can use to describe this manga.

from the amazing art to the likable characters, i could not stop reading it! I literally finished it within 2 days and now I'm feeling down wishing there was more.

art: 10

But honestly , this really was a great read. the art is clean, beautiful, and just so attractive. within each page you can tell how delicate the mangaka was and how they took their time drawing out such breathtaking images.

story: 9

cliche romance manga, but it has it's own unique touch on it that really distinguishes it from other manga. "Daytime Shooting Star", I really liked that. In later on chapters you kinda forget about the main characters love for these shooting stars but I really like how they connect it from how the phrase is used in the beginning of the story and repeated in the end. It brings a nostalgic feeling and I loved the feeling of the story being completed in such a cute way.

character: 10

I must say, most romance manga characters annoy the hell out of me and it all comes down to the personality of the main lead characters. You are given a chance to see every single character develop and mature through each chapter and I really enjoyed that. Especially the main, Suzume, was unaware of what love truly is but she goes through many obstacles to figure out that really, she must look within herself for the answer. Other characters such as Satsuki (the sensei) also had great character development, and I liked how Suzume's friends off to the side also grew along with her as well.

Enjoyment: 10

I loved each and every single chapter, no matter the circumstance or situation that was going on. Serious chapters would get my heart racing, because this manga really does have a lot of twists and turns and you never know what's going to happen next. But then on the other hand, serious situations for the most part turn into hilarious ones (especially when Yuyuka is involved) and you will never be dissatisfied. Personally, even when I didn't like what was going on, I would still get excited for the next chapter because this manga is just so enjoyable that at that point, I didn't care about my own feelings. I just wanted more!

Overall: 10

I would give it a 9.5 but that's not an option :P

I just want to finish this on one point; the ending. I know a lot of people didn't like it, which is understandable. Most manga endings leave a lot of people unsatisfied and left hurt because they spent so much time reading it, only to get utterly depressed because the ending wasn't up to par.

Don't let this turn you off from reading, the ending was done in a way that tried to give each character an ending that that was satisfiable in terms to their journey in the story... and for that I believe the ending was wonderful given the limitations that the author was given.

So if the ending dissatisfies you, I'm sure that there will be countless of of moments in Hirunaka no Ryuusei that you hold dear and you can go back and relive.

Hirunaka no Ryuusei overall has been an amazing and addictive read and I had a tremendous time reading it from start to finish. I highly recommend this manga to romance lovers!

Two things set Hirunaka no Ryuusei apart from other conventional shojo mangas.

One is the art: it's clean, very well-formed, with appealing character designs and an unusual amount of variation in facial features and hairstyles which helps distinguish the cast - most shojo mangas can't do as well.

The second, and by far the more important, is that the characters show a great deal of maturity and introspection in resolving their feelings and trying to act in a way that's true to themselves without hurting others. They don't always succeed, and neither does this straightforwardness and maturity stop Hirunaka from going down a fairly predictable path of love triangles and will-they/won't-they. But because the characters aren't irrational, contrived, or stupid, you can understand why they make the choices they make, invest in them emotionally and genuinely care about their happiness.

Ryuusei is limited and deeply flawed due to its singular focus on a love triangle as well as its near-total lack of a larger plot. With one exception, the supporting characters aren't quite strong enough to keep the manga afloat if the focus moves off the central love triangle, so there's little scope for suggesting a life outside of the endless (and wearying) heart-pounding drama of who to fall in love with. Nevertheless, although it adds up to less than the sum of its parts and doesn't use its lively and emotionally convincing characters as well as it could, it's still solidly above average.

First of all, I haven't done a lot of reviews so don't expect this to be a comprehensive review.

Honestly, this manga made me want to scream as loud as I can at the very end. WARNING: might contain some spoilers!!!

ART:
The art was amazing especially the special covers.

CHARACTER:
The characters were defined and they each had their own role to play. However, I feel that some of the characters could've been given a bit more time to shine. Suzume was a refreshing character while Shishio is the reality of how love truly is. He is the perfect example of "love" - with all the insecurities, uncertainties, and outbursts of emotions. On the other hand, Mamura is like a treasure box awaiting to be opened.

ENJOYMENT:
The manga immediately caught my attention right from the start and I had a hard time whenever I had to take a break from reading, especially during the Shishio-Suzume stage. Honestly, I'm one of the readers who hoped that they would end up together but alas, Suzume chose someone else.

STORY:
As I said, it was so hard for me to take a break in reading the manga. The development of the story was very good. Readers will have their fair share of ups and downs, including the sudden feels. However, I feel that the ending was so abrupt. I thought that the ending was still far off since I didn't expect for the Shishio VS Mamura to end so abruptly. Aside from feeling that the ending was rushed, I felt like they could've given a bit more enlightenment to what happens to Suzume and Mamura after their first (and final) kiss.

OVERALL:
The manga is a good read, especially if you want a story that has a different flow from the rest while making you feel different emotions as you become more addicted to reading it. However, the sudden ending made it lose the impact that it had on me and the ending was so unexpected that it made me want to throw my phone. I was so disappointed with the ending since the more than half of the chapters are focused on the development of Shishio and Suzume's relationship then the last few chapters suddenly transform towards her love for Mamura!!! Even the synopsis focuses on Suzume and how Shishio changes her world! It pissed me off so much especially since Shishio suddenly lost his character.

Beautiful art and nice characters. Anyway, it's not that different from the typical shoujos. Love triangles, unrequited-love, the girl who will become friend with the protagonist with hidden intentions, the indecisive, the tsundere, and God I could go on.

It's a good story to kill some time, nonetheless.

I absolutely LOVED this. It was new, it was different, quite often I was taken aback by surprise, and the subtle character development was insane. Usually, shoujo romance mangas are quite predictable- you have a girl, you know who shes going to fall in love with, and you know that no matter who else comes into the story she will most definitely get with the first guy by the end. Knowing this kind of shoujo cliche, it was what I expected to find, and that was what I wanted (especially ones with love triangles, which HNR has).
HNR was so different to this. For a shoujo, it was much more realistic than the usual cliche ones. Half way through the manga, I had no idea who the protag would end up with, if she was even going to end up with either of them, and even by the second-to-last chapter, I still had no idea who she would pick.

STORY:

The plot itself is quite simple- our young high school protag moves to the city, and is caught in a love triangle between her teacher and her friend. And yet the story took so many different unexpected turns. There are as many love rejections as there are love confessions, and the relationship that the protag has with each of her potential love interests are unique. Where the usual shoujo would define the fact that the protag has her one and only love, HNR shows that life isn't like that, especially for a young woman who is subject to change. She doesn't have to have only one love, and she doesn't need to experience everything at the same time.

I have seen a lot of opinions by people who read this and have noticed that a lot of people, despite really loving the series, were unhappy with the end result- I personally think that maybe some of these people were expecting the usual shoujo outcome; simple romantic love. But HNR was so much more complicated than that, it often displayed a theme of how love can change, especially when one is so young (who often make up a large portion of the shoujo audience).

CHARACTERS:

The protagonist, who is a young girl, gradually changes, gradually matures and her preferences change, just like any other girl her age. She is not a blushing annoying mess, and she isn't a kind saint who touches the hearts of everyone she meets. She's chill. Shes average even, to a point. Personally, I found that a lot more relatable and I enjoyed having a character who, unlike some other popular shoujo protags I could name, did not always act on the wishes and the feelings of her love. She acted on her own wishes, and despite her forgiving nature, that didn't mean she always went by the flow of her love interests emotions, she made choices for herself, at times these choices were decisions I rarely see in shoujo romance mangas.

Her friends, for once, were also pretty realistic. They had their own romances, some that changed over time. They didn't do everything they could to support their friend, they listened to her woes and let her sort out the rest on her own. They didn't have to tell each other everything, and they didn't need to actively set things up for each other- they were normal friends.

And of course, for the male loves- they were imperfect. Many shoujo men are rude or whatever and we all like to find it cute when he treats the protag differently for once- this is not what it is in HNR. Their imperfections could leave you seriously questioning their character, and its cool to see for once that they're not always charming, or become charming later- they act depending on what they want, and some of these things they come to regret but they never change. Saying that, I quite enjoyed both characters, and at times I was seriously torn because they were both great characters, and they both had different relationships with the protag that made me feel differently.

ART:

I liked it. Did I love it? No, but the mangakas art style was really cute for some characters, and the overall look of it was quite nice. I don't tend to take too much notice in the art of a manga, so this part is quite small aha.

OVERALL:

Incredible. If you are looking for the usual read and don't really want something that realistic or uncommon, I would still recommend you read it because there were some incredible memorable scenes and the excitement of a forbidden romance, and a more simple but heart wrenching romance, are all present. Whether you tend to root for the first guy or the underdog guy, either way you will be pleased with what you get in this manga.

One of my favorite romance manga and I'll always recommend it to everyone.

This manga is the embodiment of falling in love like riding a rollercoaster. It started off good actually: Suzume moved to her uncle's place when her parents decided to move out of the country. There she met Shishio Satsuki, who is also her teacher in her new school. Well, since he helped her, she fell in love with him. And this is just the beginning of the problems in Suzume's love life. In addition, there is her classmate named Mamura who started to like Suzume too and the love triangle begins. Just the usual, cliche plot. But it still has its interesting points though.

Maybe it has cliche plot, but it makes it easier to develop the plot. The entire plot and story are okay, but it still made me cry over it.

Although I really like this manga, it lacks character development. Also, during early chapters, Suzume had better chemistry with Shishio, and her scenes with Mamura are not that many. This is one of the reasons why I still do not want to re-read this manga.

Overall, I kinda like it even though the ending still makes me sad

to be real honest, i just loved this manga. the way the manga is drawn makes you fall for the character for real! all of shishio's is what you'll love <3 playful casual jealous serious funny awkward blushing. thats shishio for you. god you'll love mamura too! he is shy and can get real protective too. his shy face be so kawaiii. the plot is pretty good! i personally like age gap manga so ^^ its kinda heartbreaking bc i rooted for the other one and ended up getting heartbroken too haha. shishio's first love might have been chunchun but i am his forever loverrrr ;) the writer SURE CAN DRAW HOT CHARACTERS!

For those of you not interested in reading a rant or all the nitty gritty details, skip to the very bottom. I make a complete summary and offer if this manga is recommended or not. This review is spoiler free until I discuss the final segment (enjoyment level). With that being said…

PLOT (5/10—average…and that’s being generous)

The story is relatively simple. Country girl Suzume moves to the city for the first time to live with her uncle, thus leaving everything she was comfortable with behind. She gets hopelessly lost in the city, only to be rescued by Shishio, her uncle’s friend and her soon-to-be homeroom teacher. Around the same time Suzume meets Mamura, a shy boy in her class who has a fear of getting too close to girls. Predictably, Suzume falls for the super young and handsome Shishio, while Mamura eventually falls for Suzume, thus leading to the formation of you classic love triangle. The story then gradually unfolds to resolve the love triangle issue and decide which boy Suzume should end up with. Nothing new, riddled with overdone clichés, yet presented in a refreshing enough manner so that the plot continues to draw you in. Average.

However, the plot DOES have some glaring problems. I cover them in my overall enjoyment of the show because I don’t want to give spoilers.

THE ART (10/10—drop dead gorgeous)

This manga is one of the few which I’ve come across with such lovely artwork. It’s simple yet elegant. The characters can have plain features while still looking captivating. Over time, the art actually continues to improve (not that I had many complaints to begin with). All in all, if your looking for a manga that is beautifully drawn, it’s hard to beat this one.

THE CHARACTERS (6.5/10—fine but needs improvement)

Let me just take the time to say that Suzume is one of the most refreshing main leads I’ve come across in a very, VERY long time (Trust me, I've read more shojo manga + romances than I can count). Her character is by far the best in this manga (7/10) while the others, although beautifully drawn, are only slightly above average (6/10). Now, why do I say this?

Suzume is refreshing because unlike the vast majority of shojo heroines, she isn’t a cry baby. In fact, she rarely cries, so when she does, it is very impactful on the readers. Another plus point is she uses her brain and tries to solve problems with logic…something which sadly can’t be said for the vast majority of female heroines. She isn’t over-the-top-pretty. In fact, she’s just average and is called plain on multiple occasions. Her personality is also kind of quirky. She loves to eat, run around, stare at stars, slaps people when they need it, and so on. In a nutshell, she’s an average girl like you or me, making her easy to relate to. However, she still isn’t great enough to be over-the-top-memorable and some of her actions ARE questionable. For example, how she claimed to be in love with Shishio and very quickly followed up being dumped by beginning to date Mamura. Either she didn’t love Shishio as much as she had claimed or she was using Mamura as an escape for her feelings towards Shishio. Both are not very appealing scenarios. Also, there is no real reason for the characters to fall in love. It just kinda...happens?

Next up, the other characters in the show primarily consist of Suzume’s school friends, her uncle, Mamura, Shishio and Shishio’s ex-girlfriend Tsubomi.

Suzume’s friends are interesting but they never really get developed as characters, with the exception of Yuyuka. It’s almost like they are just there for the sake of showing Suzume is not a loner. Mamura’s fear of girls touching him isn’t explained AT ALL until the very last chapter, though he is very cute and overall likable. Shishio felt nicely developed but his actions in the manga and his overall maturity as a “responsible adult” sometimes felt questionable. It would have been better if he truly sorted out his feelings for Suzume before rushing into a hasty break up. As for his ex-girlfriend and Suzume’s uncle, they played major roles in plot (or drama) progression, but there isn’t really too much to say regarding them. They were honestly just average and not in the story enough to be more likable characters.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT (3/10—devastation, mostly at the ending + the bonus chapter to be released in January)

I am going to discuss problems with the plot so BE WARNED. CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.

When I first started reading this manga, despite the simplistic plot and overused clichés, I was immensely enjoying myself, to the point where I thought this manga might become one of my all-time favorite romances. I was so hyped to see them (suzume x shishio) kiss even once. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Shishio broke up with Suzume because of her uncle’s strong negatively towards their relationship (understandable enough). Following this incident, Suzume begins to date Mamura. I was upset about her dating someone else (even though I honestly don’t dislike Mamura) but kept reading because I expected Suzume and Shishio to eventually sort out their true feelings and get back together.

They don’t.

In fact, half way through the series, it began to felt like the author had completely switched to Mamura and Shishio was just out of the picture. Despite this, I still held onto the small hope that maybe the original couple I had subscribed myself to would miraculously return (the reason this manga caught my attention and I began reading it was because I wanted a good teacher-student romance). In fact, the ending of the second last chapter gave me insurmountable hope that they would reunite. I didn’t know at the time it WAS the second last chapter, and so, I was tricked into believed that Suzume and Shishio would get back together and then continue to slowly date + fall in love. (They hadn’t even kissed ONCE for crying out loud)

My hopes were crushed upon reading the final chapter.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that the ending of the manga felt abrupt. I honestly didn’t expect it to wrap up so quickly and was shocked to find out the final chapter had been translated. Secondly, there was far too much that felt unresolved. Shishio never gets to tell Suzume that the reason he lied about not liking her and broke up was because of her uncle’s pressure. Shishio simply apologizes for his past mistakes and confesses he truly loves her (it is shown Suzume is the first person that Shishio loved enough to chase after). Suzume rejects him, saying she already moved on even though she ditched Mamura and came dashing to Shishio’s side when she thought he was injured. The manga ends with Suzume returning to Mamura, she says she loves him, and it ends with suzume and Mamura kissing FOR THE FIRST TIME. No dating or challenges to face as a couple afterwards. No relationship progression beyond holding hands the entire manga with either candidate. ONE kiss after 12 volumes with the dude that wasn’t even the original focus of the manga.

As a member of the minority who was praying for Suzume and Shishio to get back together, it felt like the author had taken my own hopeful feelings and rewarding me for reading 12 volumes of her manga by slapped me in the face with them. The things is, I was already expecting Mamura to win so I was mentally preparing myself for the ending for several months now, but the feeling of having your OTP just completely shot down without even proper closure (Suzume never discovers her uncle’s meddling + she never kisses shishio even ONCE)…I have never in my entire life felt so disappointed, rejected, or shocked, nor did I expect the author to end things this way. To add salt to my wounds, I found the following announcement of a bonus chapter…

"In January a little extra chapter is going to come out in which it explains Sense’s [Shishio's] and Tsubomi’s relationship and how they GOT BACK TOGETHER. I heard some blogs reported that it will also involve Yuyuka. There is also a memorial book up for sale for HNR!”

Shishio learning from his break up with Tsubomi and moving forward was a MAJOR plot point (there was an entire arc dedicated to this) and it was also Shishio’s SINGLE moment of character development. And now I learn after being rejected by Suzume he gets back together with Tsubomi…

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

It’s like the entire plot of the manga was just completely rendered USELESS and shishio’s entire character development had been reversed. What was the bloody point?!

The ONLY thing which prevented me from giving my enjoyment rating a zero or 1/10 is the fact that I was IN LOVE with this series when I first picked it up. Honestly, the plot is a bloody mess so I wanted to give it a 2-3/10 as well but I tried to not hate the main series for the final piece of mind-fuckery delivered by the bonus chapter.

SUMMARY OF REVIEW

Plot: 5/10 (very, VERY generous)
Art: 10/10
Characters: 6.5/10
Enjoyment: 3/10

FINAL RATING: 6/10

PROS:
-The art is drop dead gorgeous
-Suzume is a very likable lead who is NOT generic or a cry baby.
-Good, steady progression until roughly half way through the series

CONS:
-Original pairing is tossed aside in a way that makes suzume x Shishio shippers feel worthless and underwhelmed.
-Half way through the manga the main pairing completely changes to suzume x Mamura
-Ending feels abrupt and not fully resolved
-Characters could be more fleshed out (especially Suzume’s friends)
-Bonus chapter renders the plot and Shishio’s character development completely useless.

RECOMMENDATION (yes/no): Yes, for those who don’t care too much about pairings and those who like “light” amounts of romance [BUT just know that there are better romances out there]. NOT recommended for people not into romance, for those who like “heavy” romance which progresses beyond just holding hands, for those specifically searching for a student x teacher romance, or for those with a tendency to get attached to first male interest introduced into a romance.

Similar manga (student x teacher) to fill the void: Sensei Kunshu is worth a shot :)

Okay, for those of you out there who are still trying to make a decision whether to read this or not, let me tell you one thing; this shoujo is not what you think it is. At least for me, definitely not.

Right, now that that's said, let's proceed.

I have finished this manga, and there really is nothing very unique about it. Also, the title 'Daytime Shooting Star' has little to do with the actual story itself. The plot chosen is actually a bit too cliche in my opinion, the forbidden love between the student and teacher, only that the author, Yamamori Mika-sensei, successfully made it different by adding a few tweaks on it, but then in the end, there still isn't anything much to say.

The story started off pretty good in the first few chapters. It tells the reader about Suzume, a country girl moving to the city where she made some good friends and experienced a few times heartbreaks. I can't say much about the story without spoiling it, but the manga is really good in the beginning. It does not only focus on the love triangle between Suzume and her teacher, Shishio, and her classmate, Mamura.

Everything was nicely paced, until later at the middle, where it kind of gives off the feeling that it's rushed.

One thing that might appeal you to read this manga though, might be the pretty and clean art. Yamamori Mika-sensei's drawing style changes from the first few chapters until the end. You could clearly see the changes, but it's not a bad thing. She gets better at drawing the characters, and at some point, managed to make me feel frustrated out of trying to decide who between the two main love interests, and the rest of the characters, looks better in terms of appearance.

Although the characters may seem beautiful, the main characters do lack some character development. This, in my opinion, resulted in the somehow.. unrealistic (due to the lack of a better word) ending of the manga. Besides that though, the main characters; Suzume, Shishio and Mamura have nothing too special about them.

What made this manga different from other shoujo mangas out there may be the fact that Suzume is a strong girl who doesn't cry all the time. There is also none of those 'flowery' scenes that normally appear in shoujo. And Suzume has her own flaws, like the rest of the characters. Even though she's not perfect, messes up and falls, she still has the courage to get back up and try her best.

Shishio and Mamura are both also good characters. However, there is so little character development with both of them. Shishio let what happened to him and his previous lover happen again, and Mamura, although he did change, he lacks a good background. Not only that, Mamura lacks a good enough background story to explain his misogynist behavior. Since he was the main focus for a love interest in the beginning of the manga, Shishio had much more chemistry when compared to Mamura. Some scenes in the manga may be a bit awkward due to the lack of development and chemistry between the characters.

I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of HnR, but in the middle, I kind of lost the 'feeling' and everything started to crumble for me. Here, let me make it clear for you; I am not one of those hardcore shippers and I am neutral at this so I am perfectly fine with what Suzume decides to do and etc, as long as it has a good chemistry to it. HnR is the first shoujo manga that I read after a long time trying to avoid the genre, since the art and characters are quite nice, I'd give an overall rating of HnR a 7/10. But some scenes are just unrealistic and I have a very high expectation on this manga. Sadly, it was not satisfying enough. Looks like I'll have to resign from that genre again for some time.