Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu

Why am I still reading this past chapter 11 when it becomes painfully obvious that the mangaka can't decide whether to make the hero a quintinssential martyr or a slick bad boy with an inner goodness that shines through only when the heroine is in distress. Groan, I don't know why!

This story starts out ordinarily enough when a straight laced but feminine and talented girl ends up attending her back up choice of high school but still isn't the top student there. That rank goes to a heartthrobby fellow Kyouta who alternated between teasing (read humiliating) Hibino and assisting her when the situation escalates out of control. At first, it's very much a copy of Bokutachi wa shitte shimatta only meaner coz this girl has a callously selfish younger sister and suffers from extremely low self esteem. Eventually she makes friends, but of course end up fallng in love with the molester who apparently makes booty calls for senpais in their classrooms!

But WAIT! Suddenly, it's not enough for the mangaka to just have a normal romance with cutely drawn albeit cliche conflicts, so we're bruptly thrust into this situation where the fiend Kyouta develops a painful past which disallows him to trust Hibino and other women. So while he wants to... well... "make her his woman", he doesn't want a confession, even though he says he'll do "things which she's dreaming of" if she asks him to, because that means she will betray him! Haha, it gets even more comical along the way! I'm guessing more trials and tribulations ensue, but really, you have to be plenty patient with the sluggish plot and the pathetic dialogue to get there.

Plus points... The art is very dreamily gorgeous, for both male and female characters. The story really manages to mortify the reader at times and I wanted to run away from the computer screen sometimes when Hibino was teased or exposed! The few intimate scenes are steamy without being tasteless and many novel mini suplots are portrayed realistically, especially fashion. Also we don't just have a single track minded heroine here, Hibino is very focused on grades but she loves making hairstyles and fashionable clothes and wants to find love as well.

I recommend reading this one when the scanlation group changes hands, coz the one available right now hosts a rather awkward translation and bad quality scans.

I feel conflicted about this manga. Some bits I did enjoy some bits made me want to burn the characters...

Firstly story - a rocky start, but quite cliche in some parts and easy to predict. Yet it made me still want to read on

Art - the art is pretty good - omg the covers!! *o* But the lips sometimes look a bit weird.. especially with the makeup.

Character - I have a lot to say about this aspect. Nearly all the characters are detestable in one way or another. Here's what I have to say about each...

Kyouta ~ annoying and bipolar especially at the start of the manga =_= However, his personality does improve later on, and he is sweet.. sometimes. He is sporadically annoying and tends to be the one that CAUSES the cliche misunderstandings
Hibino ~ Tends to easily misunderstand (WTF SHE IS SO EASY TO INFLUENCE) and is SELFISH AF.
Hibino's mum ~ inconsiderate at start, yet also understandable
Kyouta's dad ~ bipolar and violent - is totally a faker
Kikuzuki ~ SELFISH and a hell of a b*tch
Miho ~ fav character in this series, she's been supportive all the way and is sweet

Overall I did enjoy some aspects of the story, and loathed others, so I will rate this overall as only good. It isn't complete crap, but it isn't one of my favourites.. and I somewhat enjoyed it.

This is a classic example of a cliche shoujo romance.
It's very formulaic, the formula applied is:
A shy,insecure, big hearted heroine, a rude, playboy hero and their love story.

It's so very generic.
The hero doesn't have the depth that other's like Daisy and Usui have.
The heroine doesn't have the balls and personality like Misaki or Kyouko.

The anime centres on the character's relationship and has little variety.
There's a lot of kissing and frisky stuff going on.
It's labelled as a coming of age novel but mostly every action is based on the romance.

Then there's the fact that when the characters are, ahem, 'love making' Hibino, the heroine makes such tortured expressions that it is painful to read. I felt embarrassed for her and quite sorry for Kyouta, her boyfriend who has to deal with that kind of negativity in bed.
But well, since he's pretty brainless himself, he probably likes it.

Hibino was actually a source of quite a lot of anger for me. She is just so damn insecure and meek. I hate the fact that girls are portrayed like that.
Sure, there's a thing called giving into your man, when you feel like it but not standing up for yourself AT ALL.
That's just bullshit.
Secondly, she is just so stupid.
I can't even think to sugarcoat it.
She acts stupidly and selfishly and then usually does something to label herself as a selfless martyr.
Nope. Not buying it.

Kyouta's biggest good trait is that he's pretty.
That's also his only good trait.
He doesn't have much of a character and the fact that he makes his own team lose so that his girlfriend's can win is just plain lame.
Call me old-fashioned but I really hate these stupid attempts at romance.
Cheating for your girlfriend is not romantic.
It just proves you both to be wimps.

So basically, it comes down to the fact that this manga lacks any sort of plot or character development.
What it does entail is two mindless characters making out mindlessly.
So if you want a guilty pleasure to burn time, this manga is for you.
If you want to read something substantial or meaningful, run far and fast.

I opened an account on this site just to write a review about this manga. This manga literally promotes that if a guy forces himself on you by alienating you from the rest of the group and tortures you mentally till you go out with him, go for it. I am a guy myself and I really hate how this guy just tortures an innocent girl into having sex with him. Then when she refuses, he confuses her with mind games and sob stories about his mother. I have no idea why this is so popular. The main girl is also an idiot. Even her little sister is a slut. If any young girls are reading this review, this is not how love works. If you meet a guy like this, freaking stay away from him. He's not worth it. He is not even the "bad boy" type. He is a rapist and blackmailer. If this was any other manga, he would be a villain. The author is seriously messed up in the head to think this was okay.

I know this manga is not everyone's cup of tea or slice of cake. The main female character, Tsubaki Hibino, is insecure and quiet girl who fall in love with delinquent Kyouta Tsubaki, who is also her classmate. Before you go far, let me spoil it for you: it's a happy ending.

Mind you, this manga mostly set during their high school period. This fact is what I think that readers might forget. Both characters were never in love before, they never knew what is it like to be in love.

Tsubaki does her sister, Sakura, hair every day so Sakura can look the cutest, yet Tsubaki never did her own hair because she thinks "what for anyway?" Her mother also conditioned that Tsubaki is the clever daughter and Sakura is the pretty one. Every now and then, in real life, we have this kind of parent living around us. Or that it is deep within each of sisters (and brothers) hearts, we all know that kind of feeling of classifying ourselves into groups. Whether it is sensible or not, that is a question for much later in life.

Kyouta on the other hand is a popular, handsome, and free living delinquents from a broken home. His father is abusive and his mother left the family when he was very young. He supports himself by working part time job in a karaoke bar.

So, when opportunity appears, Tsubaki and Kyouta were in a relationship, it is make sense that insecurities shown. Especially from Tsubaki. She was never with a man before and all her life is for study study study. Her insecurities made me hate and love and hate and love her alternately during the entire course of reading this manga series. I feel her insecurities and I understand.

What makes it wonderful is that Kyouta began to understand these bouts of insecurities from Tsubaki. He slowly adapts and accepts it. Towards the end, during his college life, he avoids fan girls asking him to lunch together. He also thrown away that jacket that had been worn by his female co-ed who made Tsubaki jealous. He even chased her all through previously rain soaked Kyoto in just a t-shirt because of that (that must be cold, no?) Although the end (bonus chapter) is a very quick time jump to 6 years after the first ring, which means 3 years after first meeting, so, 9 years after the events in first chapter. We see that for a solid 6 years, most insecurities are thrown aside. Only for a quick moment after Kyouta told that he received a job offer in The US that Tsubaki had another insecurity 'attack'.

This manga made me wonder what happened if I ever be in love with someone for so long during my teenage or high school life. I think most women grow up with lots of insecurity bound them around the ankles. We learn how to be free from experiences of life itself. The more we know about ourself, it is one step more towards freedom. So, when Tsubaki started a relationship with the most handsome student in the school, who is also a reputable player, no wonder her insecurities grow and having trust issues with Kyouta, like, all the time. However, Kyouta is not just playing a receiver, he also gives understanding and patience and also learns. This is what makes this mange an 8 for me. This is a beautiful story, if I had a boyfriend like Kyouta, I will be swarm in jealousy as well and if the boyfriend just does not care, then it will be the end of it.

I can understand where everyone is coming from when they write a review about this manga. I wouldn't call it terrible, it's just tasteless. The art was good and the story was decent, but what got me was the characters.
I wasn't too impressed to be honest. The characters kind of annoyed me. Every single character in this manga, especially the heroine.
I think that is what everyone can agree on. The story would've been been better if the characters were better. But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this story is the worst manga ever made in history (To some people it might be). I'm just saying that it could've been better.
Either way, I still found it enjoyable to read to kill time. There are better mangas than this, but then again, this manga is a lot better than others too. So instead of saying the "worst" or the "best", let's leave it at "decently good".

Note: Cussing ahead so if you don't like that, don't read.
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= Story =
- So... Hibino Tsubaki's and Tsubaki Kyouta's love starts when Hibino cuts Kyouta's hair b/c it's too long and she wanted to get back at him for being rude.
That is a great reason for chopping someone's hair off. Congrats Hibino! You have no common sense and now a bunch of Kyouta fan girls are gonna want to chop off your head and pit it on a stake! :) But seriously, that's how love starts. She fixes his hair by making it shorter, he kisses her and say he'll make her his. Great.
The rest of the manga is basically the results of Tsubaki and Tsubaki hooking up. No spoilers there. It's WAY too obvious. Plus it's a Shoujo manga and whenever a guy says "I'll make you my woman," you know they're gonna eventually hook up.
So yeah... the plot is basically every little drama that goes on b/n Tsubaki and Kyouta's fan girls b/c Tsubaki isn't fit for him and those fan girls are just sluts who want to get in his pants.
Oh, plus there's a lot of jealously and shit b/c Tsubaki is one jealous bitch. She cries a lot and has all this emotional conflict in her head which makes me question her mental state [and that line sounds like a broken record now]. So yeah... I absolutely despise this bullshit of a plot. -

= Art =
- For those who have read my previous reviews, you must be thinking, "Why didn't she give it a 9 or 10? It's not old schooled." For starters, I HATE anime/manga characters with huge ass eyes. REALLY?! I understand that it's the mangaka's style and all and I shouldn't be dissing it off, but seriously. Huge ass eyes ARE NOT CUTE. Ex:) Shugo Chara. NOT CUTE AT ALL.
BUT since I can't draw better. It's an 8. -

= Character =
- Hibino Tsubaki is USELESS and DEAD WEIGHT. Seriously, all she does is cry and through tantrums and WANT SEX. WTF?! She's a useless slut apparently. A jealous, useless slut.
Kyouta... well... I can't HATE him, but I can't really like him either. But really, he's still cool. We're all cool. :) Hibino just needs to get out of Kyouta's life. She's a selfish, manga bitch. I wouldn't care if she got run over by a car and died. WAIT. No...
I wouldn't give a shit about her even if she stepped on a lego piece! That's how much I hate her. Really. She's a horrible representation of females. -

= Enjoyment/Overall =
- I obviously hated this manga. I have nothing else to say. It's horrible. -

I tried to read this. I really did, but the thing is, it seemed to have all the important incidences, where the Heroine learns something or makes an important choice, but are lacking the actions leading up to those choices. The characters are too self centered, or one sided, with plot holes galore.
Early on, the sister shows no disregard for her sister's things and the only explanation for it is that she's cute and pretty. Her classmates are cruel in a way that is worse than petty, and in reaction to some of their actions--which are worth a call to the police--she forgives them in exchange for them telling everyone else to stop being mean to her. In scenes like this, the person is usually never forgiven so easily, especially for that type of action, and even if the protagonist did end up on top, she would still be scarred and frightened due to that situation happening. If you've read enough to the part with the foot race, then you know what I mean.
When the characters' back stories are explained, it is still lacking as they were put together sloppily. The actions of Tsubaki's old girlfriend are not plausible unless she had some sort of abuse story, but the manga didn't even address that.
Basically, this manga, while pretty to look at, doesn't hold much for the plot. But if you can stand such undeveloped characters, sad plot, and irritation that this manga has, then go for it.

Basically: read it for its shoujo. On all levels, it is a shoujo, which is why, for so many of their foolish mistakes and plot cliches, it's a great shoujo manga. But on an writing artisan level: awful, absolutely awful.

Why you shouldn't read it:
The only reason I gave this such a horrible rating was because it left an awful, awful taste in my mouth. Granted, most romance mangas boast the freedom of churning out cliche after cliche, so I'll give this that, but I was actually surprised that there was no amnesia arc.
Bottom line: do not read for plot. Read for the cliche drama.

Why you should read it:
Some realistic situations between a developing and maturing young couple. There were times where I had to go "Damn, that's a pretty relevant issue! You go girl, think it over!" The normal insecurities were touched upon as well. I'll have to admit that because of their character, their lack of communication (which nearly made me pull out my hair at some points) was a great consistent issue to pick away at due to each of their flaws and expectations/perceptions.
Bonus! The writer actually also covers their development into adulthood! At least, the major developmental milestones as individuals and how they react to each other's changes!
Bottom line: read for character development BECAUSE of their relationship.

This is one of shojou romance story that I have read more than once. The character of Tsubaki being the grandma - showa ( perspective to see and interact with the world) to her transformation to a girl who becomes a stylist was phenomenal. On the other the playboy Kyouta is moved by her and changes stereotypes about women. The fact that they grow together and their personalities evolve was really moving . Moreover the story was realistically progressed with not a lot of cheesy plots. The story - purely romantic .
Characters - tsundere and headstrong individually but they changed when they come together.
Enjoyment - stuck on till the end
Art - exceptional

I like this manga very much. It has a very good plot, the art work is very good. It is very funny, and romantic at the same time. I will recommend this manga to anyone that loves shojo! :)
10 out of 10. I really love this manga!!

In the end, I really enjoyed this manga. For the first 10 chapters really, I was pretty bored with it. The story seemed sloppy and it seemed to drag. However, i learned with previous manga, give it a chance endure those beginning chapters and you will end up with a manga worthy of being on your top charts. Well, this manga isnt on my top charts but still pretty high up there.
The story was a great balance of plot and charatcer developement. One may disagree with the amount of times the heroine felt insecure over and over again, but hey at least she was over to overcome herself and amerged anew. If you do not agree with the heroine, at least it is coear the male protagonist developed.
Another thing that is likeable in this manga is how it doesn't have that constant love rival after the girl. Love triabgles are enjoyable yes, but maybe all a reader wants is a two way romance.
Now for flaws, i read a complaint stating that she easily fell for a jerk of a guy, understandable why that may tick someone off, i was kind of upset about that too but he changes later so its good. Get over that however and a manga worthy of an anime adaption awaits,

One thing I must commend this manga on is that it drew me in. The art is in a typical Shoujou style which I personally find sometimes hard to get into, but in this manga, the art only helped me get interested, not the opposite. This manga follows a very typical cliche story about the popular guy and the unpopular girl, and how she falls for him. It also contains the additional cliches of bad pasts and a reluctance to fall in love. For these reasons I would advise you only to read this manga when you are in the mood for some cliche fluff (because let’s face it, everyone gets into that mood sometimes).

Warning : this manga has a LOT of submissive mannerisms by the female protagonist. If you are the type of person who gets really really peeved at submissive female protagonists who think that they’re very lucky to get noticed by a popular boy - this manga isn’t for you. On the plus side, she does evolve slowly and there is a noticeable increase in confidence at the end of the manga, as well as a willingness to stand up for what she thinks is right.

But overall, it is a fair attempt at a shoujou manga and once you get into the story, it is pretty good.

For people who love shoujo, romance, smut and high school themed mangas, then I highly recommend this manga!!

Story:
There are so many twists and turns in this manga, so I swear you won't be bored throughout the manga. The format is kind of like, problem, solution, problem, solution, etc. Once a problem has been solved, the character who caused the problem usually won't appear again (too good to be true?). Well again, this is a shoujo manga.

Art:
Really have no complains about the art. The art of both characters portrayed their personalities well.

Character:
I personally really loved Kyouta's personality. Yes, he is a bit too perverted, but then again the author is portraying a high school male teen with a bunch of hormones. We understand all his hardships later on in the manga. Abusive father, adulterous mother, and a whole bunch of complications in his past. Therefore, we understand why he's so independent and didn't trust women until Tsubaki came along.

Enjoyment + Overall:
Really enjoyed this manga. Exactly what I was looking for: shoujo, high school themed, a bit of smut and romance.

Was really sad when it ended even though there were 99 chapters. Enjoyed every chapter of it.

It started out with a girl that loved doing hair. With every hairstyle that she tried only on would fit her. And it was a hairstyle that made her look like a country bumpkin. It was BRAIDS, of all things it was BRAIDS into pigtails. The story is truly amazing, because I wouldn’t have made it any better myself. The beginning made me think a little, because this really hyper guy just shows up ad starts screaming her name, but it really wasn’t towards her. It was towards a boy, WITH LONG HAIR! They ended up sitting next to each other in the same class. They start to criticize each other until she cuts his hair. Then she gave him a whole new hair cut. This is when he decides to make her his new target.

The story is truly amazing and I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for anyone. All I am saying is that this story is worth reading and you would definitely be amazed of this manga. It gets frustrating at one point, but I think that it just makes it more interesting! In this story, there is love, comedy, fashion, and betrayal. For someone to be betrayed by women and still tries to believe in them is amazing. I know that I couldn’t do that. The one thing is that her sister kind of ruined the story a little; because the little sis betrayed her, without know it. This story will make your heart cry for more and more! The thing is that the main character is a little dense and she makes everyone feel bad towards her boyfriend. But I believe that he truly loves her and through words I can tell. Especially in this manga.

Overall I will rate this story a 9, so close to perfect, but not. I think that this story could use a little bit of adjustments, but still. If the story is changed around, then it wouldn’t have the authors feel to it. It would feel like someone else’s story. I love how the artist makes the story hers and not make it seem like someone else’s. This is a must read for girls! It shows a girl falling in love for the first time, a boy believing again, and a couple that tries everything for one another. This may seem like a bad review, but this story is so amazing, words cant explain, and you should read it, instead of trusting someone elses words.

I will recommend it to girls that are ready for a ride on a rollercoaster called LOVE

This being her first relationship (although forced), Tsubaki struggles with her growing feelings as well as the problems that comes with being the girlfriend of a guy who has sex partners rather than girlfriends. Kyouta being the popular bad boy has some mummy issues but works hard to make his relationship with Tsubaki work. To him, she is truly one of a kind.

I feel that the author expressed the feelings of every plain-looking, awkward girl who gets a boyfriend for the first time; the doki-doki moments, the uncertainty, the lack of confidence in her looks and herself. The transformation of Kyouta from bad boy to boyfriend was a pleasure to witness because you can tell his feelings are genuine. He makes sincere efforts to make her comfortable about being in a relationship with him. As the manga progresses, we see Tsubaki begin to take initiative towards making their relationship better.

I have read quite a few high-school mangas but not many have made me this excited. The circumstance is pretty typical of a high school shoujo manga but there was an element of truth and risqué that made it more interesting. It wasn’t just innocent kisses; they both found themselves in situations that made them do ‘things’ any normal couple would do in similar situations.

Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu is a shojo manga through and through. There were some parts of it that were really good, and some that were kinda bad. Overall, though, this is a good manga that is worth the read if you are into typical shojo mangas.

The story for this manga is plain and simple. It being a traditional high school love story, you get what you anticipate with this one. It can be extremely predictable at times, but realistically, you don't usually read a shojo to be surprised. The story had a good flow and ends well, without leaving any loose ends, like some manga and anime often do.

The art is great. The characters are drawn well and the hair is beautifully rendered (which means something in a manga with a plot point around hair and hair styling).

The characters are probably my biggest love/hate part of this story. Hibino has an interesting personality, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And Kyouta has an odd personality, which also isn't a bad thing. But together, they doubt one another and pointlessly feel certain ways that are completely geared to cause story drama. It can feel repetitive and cause you to care less for both of them at a certain point because it seems like they never learn from their previous mistakes. They are not terrible characters, but with that drama being a huge part of the story arcs, it can make them less enjoyable.

Overall, I did enjoy this manga, regardless of the character flaws. I don't think I would ever read this manga again (mostly due to the length) but I would recommend it to someone who loves drama filled shojo manga with cute main characters.

This is my first review, for the sole purpose that this manga is HORRIBLE. I can't stand it. After every chapter I keep thinking that maybe something in going to change or some new BETTER drama is going to unfold, but no. Disappointment after disappointment. The beginning isn't actually too bad. Tsubaki is happy-go-lucky at first and cute, and of course then there's the dreadful bullying. You would think that she would have enough character to stand on her own two feet. Wrong. Instead she takes it all like a doormat, and when the playboy/jerkiest guy of all time does ONE nice thing for her, she's head over heels. She keeps talking about how he's "helped her all this time" or "saved her" but in reality, he just puts her down, uses her, and even molests her just for a stupid game. she refuses to accept the fact that he's a mega tool. So while the art may be decent typical shoujo art, the story and character development are seriously lacking. For the love of nerdy girls everywhere: don't read Kyou Koi wo Hajimemasu.

I read this a couple of months ago(it should be noted that i read all chapters in a day, It's addicting), and since then I have found myself rereading it more than once, even if it was just some of the chapters.
While I understand what people are saying when they give this a 2/10, because yes, in some ways it deserves that, the fact that I've even reread this I think says that its pretty damn enjoyable.

The story is simple: A studyworm meets a popular badboy and they fall in love, with a lot melodrama happening all over the place. I personally love melodrama, but it is of course not for everyone.
The relationship between Tsubaki and Kyota is developed very well and honestly the ACTUAL romance in this manga is some of the best I've seen. It's great, cute, sad at some parts and just overall amazing. You can see that they genuinly love each other and that its true love for them. And it's as realistic as a shojo can get.
There were some things that really made frustated though:
1. There was pretty much no development on the sidecharacters. There was also almost no appearances for them. Sure, Sakura got a bit more mature but thats only natural since this takes place over 3 years. Also Tsubakis best friend(forgot her name), she was always just kinda 'there'. Especially in comparison to characters like the-hairdresser-dude(forgot his name too), and random-love-rival-that-loves-astronomi(and hers) towards the end. It could have been a lot better if they had an bigger impact.
2. (Spoilers ahead:) Something that i always found weird and pretty unrealistic is that Tsubaki gets almost-raped 2 times. Even weirder is that both times, she just brushes it off like its nothing and even becomes friends with one of the guys that molested her. A while ago i found out that its the same mangaka that made honey x honey drops where the main character gets raped multiple times. I guess she has a thing for that.

The characters are pretty good. Some of them are horrible though and others are just kinda funny sometimes, because they do something that would have been OOC but NOPE! I dont know, the characters alright I guess. It works with the story so I don't really have anything to complain about(unless you saw point 2 about Tsubaki acting like nothing happened)

A lot of people are complimenting the art, but honestly, I really hated the way it was drawn. I loved the quality of it however and i could see there went a lot of work into it, but the style in itself i didn't like very much.

Overall, I loved it. Even with all its faults, I enjoyed it a lot. I recommend it, though it's not for everyone. I think the amount of negative reviews says that much. If you wanna read something funny and romantic and are okay with something that is definantly not a 10/10 but would rather focus on enjoyment and put analysis to the side for later, then i definantly recomend Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu for you.

This series is a lot like Wolf Girl and Black Prince in that you need to get past the beginning to really understand the quality of this manga, but it's different in that the main guy of this is a thousand times more upstanding than the main guy of Wolf Girl. And I know that's not that high a standard, but he's honestly one of the best shoujo love interests I've encountered.

This is surprising if you read the start. Their beginning is VERY shoujo/josei smut typical, which, yeah, does mean sexual harassment, and I won't make any excuses for it, but he actually ends up very understanding in this regard later on - when they actually get together, and she tells him she wants to wait until her honeymoon to have sex, he tells her he understands and does not pressure into anything. And this is being a decent person - but something you need to understand is that decent people are very, very rare in shoujo manga. Also, be clear that he's not a rapist. He skirts the line - a lot of sexual harassment, groping at the start - but he's not a rapist.

And like, that absolutely sounds terrible. At the beginning it is. I actually started reading this like four months before now and I dropped it because I thought it was ridiculous, but I picked it up again because I thought it had to be popular for a reason. And it is. It's true at the beginning he's an asshole, and it's true she starts liking him despite it. What's also true is she calls him out for everything and doesn't act like she deserved his mistreatment. And that's when I started being okay with it.

Because he's a decent boyfriend. A REALLY decent boyfriend. Borderline unreal, dream boyfriend, but not in the boring way. See, this manga isn't orignal - it's standard shoujo all the way through - but every time it handles a cliche it does it in such an interesting and refreshing way that you don't mind it. When he sees her get jealous of someone, he talks to her about it and he stops talking to the person making her jealous. When she's acting weird because of her insecurities, he reassures her. He's a good fucking boyfriend. Like he does make mistakes - but when he makes them, he does what he can to rectify them. And that's what sets him apart.

This manga is pure and romantic and basically crack if you're a sucker for shoujo. You really won't get this from the beginning, but the main couple is literally so healthy, loving, and understanding that I got emotional like every chapter. Whenever it hit an arc where I was like "I don't think I like where this is going, this is my least favorite shoujo arc" it diverges from the norm and solves. The confession, the handling of Kyouta's family situation - all things I thought would make me cringe that completely impressed me. Overall, too, watching their relationship mature and them understand each other just that bit more with each chapter - it was worth it. The relationship development here is phenomenal.

Like, this series is 100 chapters long. I am a shoujo veteran, and I've read 30-chapter long series and thought "this series could've ended in five chapters," and that does not at all go for this one. Every arc is engaging and interesting - even if you're scared of what might happen next. Like, I don't think you know how rare it is for me to be on chapter 90 and UNHAPPY that it wasn't longer. That's how good this series is. Because it's also more than just healthy, it's an interesting dynamic and good plots and characters. Like, I've read boring manga with healthy relationships, and this isn't one of them.

tl;dr I implore you to read this. If you can swallow the shoujo cliches at the beginning (~15 chapters, and they're not outright terrible) and wait for the characters and relationships to come into themselves, you'll be rewarded with one of the sweetest, most organic, and healthiest relationships I've seen in shoujo manga in a long, long time.