I find that manga are a great way to kill some time when you get to lecture early, so honestly I'd recommend just finding a completed manga that you don't have to think too hard about and just read it when you have time and need some relaxation.
{Spoilers, but this is your standard shoujo so eh}
The story follows this socially awkward and world worn otaku named Tsutsui. He had a hard time growing up because of his gloomy appearance and introverted nature coupled with the kids in his school always attacking him for watching kiddie anime. He meets this girl Igarashi and has all of these ideas about her because of what all the other kids say at school about her about how she just plays all the boys and is a bit of an unrespectable girl. And then one thing leads to another and he shows off his good points of being like an otaku, but with a secret hero side of him. He sticks up for her without really knowing why and that's really touching. You always think about how the environment really changes you and can really twist your insides, but honestly Tsutsui gives me faith in humanity, that even though the world can be a cruel place that doesn't mean you also have to absorb that cruelty and reflect it back into the world.
As far as the pacing of the manga goes, it was going at a steady pace until the end. I suppose it might've been because I read it all in one go instead of waiting every month or so for the new volume to come out, but it just seemed extremely rushed at the end with a lot of loose ends that were never tied up. Perhaps it was because of how many characters it was and the author was only given a certain number of volumes to complete her story and so she wasn't able to flesh out the ending, but it just seemed a bit off. Because for a while it was a really fluffy story. There were minor setbacks with the different guys vying for Igarashi's attention, like her not-by-blood brother, *side-eyes the whole situation* but overall it was pretty smooth sailing. Although I also have to add that the arc with Tsutsui's parents was wild. Like first of all his dad is a super glue researcher? How is he supporting his family? Japan's really out here supporting every industry or something. And the story between his parents was both bizarre and also kind of endearing. He kept fixing her shoe and was kind of an unsung hero. His dad is definitely an underrated character. What was also eye-opening about the arc was how similar Tsutsui and his dad are. Both of them have self esteem issues and deal with a major lack of self-confidence, but they both have hearts of gold which is both a good thing because that's how they wooed their significant others in the first place and a bad thing because they don't think they're good enough for said significant other which leads to some communication issues.
I think a lot of people can relate to Tsutsui. Like there's not a lot of people that are stunners like Igarashi, but there are a lot of people like Tsutsui, your normal everyday people. That's why I think this is really nice because the guys in this manga are all nice. And there's the cliche, at least predominantly in western culture, that nice guys finish last and girls like bad guys. And I think a lot of people have touched on this like it's society's portrayal of what's attractive in movies and such that give young girls or girls that don't really know what they want an idea of what they should be looking for in a guy. But honestly a guy like Tsutsui would be greatly appreciated.
Ah, back to what I was saying about it being rushed towards the end. There was a lot of points where I was like "wow that came out of left field" or was kind of shook by. I guess the whole thing about Igarashi being sick was alluded to by the fact that she always went to the doctor, but the whole needing brain surgery thing was very sudden, which I suppose is a normal reaction when you're in that situation (don't quote me on that, I haven't been in such a dire situation before), but nonetheless it was quite shocking. But if you look past the shock factor, honestly I almost started crying. Because at the beginning I think the relationship between Tsutsui and Igarashi was born out of curiosity and impulse and continued on like that for a while; it was pretty toxic and unhealthy.
Overall I'd say it's a good manga to read. It's a decent length at 47 chapters and 12 volumes. There's some nice characters, some doki-dokis, some feels, and a lot of fluffy times. It's relatable if you feel like you're more a side character than an MC if you're being honest with yourself. I get a lot of Golden Time vibes for those of you that've watched that and also The Notebook. It's mostly the amnesia thing I think is what it is and just the tragic love story. It's got some good drama and some wholesome times. There's also the latter part of it that's really fixated on sex, but I'd like to point towards the innocent parts because I feel like a lot of the time sex is used as a plot device like the "final act of becoming super close to one another" when I feel like a good deep life talk would be enough. But maybe that's just me.
Go for Itou honestly, he's so nice and is happy just to support other people like he's such a good best friend and good person
Ayado's arc is definitely underrated and relatable
This reminds me of maybe a year and a half ago when my mom and I had this conversation about what I wanted to do in the future. Honestly I just worked blindly and mindlessly and when I finally popped my head up I realized I had just blundered through life mindlessly without a clear idea of where I wanted to go.
Love me some tearjerker moments
But it's okay because they lived happily ever after
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