This was honestly a wild ride. If you're looking for a bildungsroman about a girl recovering from a tragedy and her interactions with a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted boy and a few others that she encounters as she moves to Tokyo...that's a really specific thing you're looking for. But you're in luck! That's exactly what this manga is.
{Spoilers, but it's a pretty soft shoujo so you should be fine}
Usually when the protagonist of a shoujo is a weepy eyed girl I get annoyed and would just flame the manga. But I think in this case I could really sympathize with why she was so sad all the time. I'm sure if my sisters were super sick and suddenly passed away I would also be ready to cry at any time. So I'll give her a pass this time. And besides her justified emotional instability, a lot of interesting things happen and are explored in this manga.
For example, in a lot of gender bender manga and such (or I guess this trope could come up in any genre) there's a guy that's prettier than most girls in it. And he usually has a complex about his looks. That would be Ichihara. He definitely starts out as a playboy and someone that you can't really trust for a serious relationship, but is there if you're just looking for a fun time or whatever. And his interaction with Tsukasa as his plaything give you a lot to think about in terms of his inner motivations in playing with this helpless girl who's just moved from Hiroshima to Tokyo. But, I think as time goes on, he's able to see how genuine and sweet Tsukasa is and ends up falling for her surprisingly.
I think one of the pleasures of reading this manga is how surprisingly dimensional everyone is. Everyone has a deeper backstory and motivation for acting the way they do and it definitely comes through in their character interactions and how they develop through the story.
Like if you look at Himeno, the guy seems like a complete jerk when Tsukasa first meets him. He totally brushes her off and lets her take the punishment all for herself. But, he also organized a "welcome to Tokyo" party for her with all the other kids who were late for the first day of high school. So even though he seems hard around the edges, at the core he's a smol boy that must be protected. And when his backstory is explored later on in the manga, it's revealed why he acts the way he does. It's not the most original backstory ever, but the way that he interacts with everyone is reason enough to read.
Another, in my opinion, subtle aspect of the manga which is precious is how Tsukasa's family deals with grief. At first it's at the forefront of their minds. They can't go a day without remembering her. Her mom quit work in order to take care of the home and grieve for her daughter. Tsukasa constantly buys her flowers. They constantly talk about Chihiro and how she's gone. But as the story progresses, they're able to healthily move on as a great example of the slow healing process of dealing with the loss of a loved one. Eventually Tsukasa's mom is able to go back to work and their family dynamic changes a little bit more, but it's good. And Tsukasa isn't constantly crying over Chihiro and finally gets some reprieve when she finds other things that take up her mind. Not in a bad way, just in a way that really demonstrates how time heals all wounds.
And of course, we can't have a shoujo review without talking about the romance. The romance was definitely awkward and showcased the innocence of youth. Like when Tsukasa first met Ichihara and thought that she could learn to love him as part of changing and getting over the loss of her sister. Obviously that would've been hard to do even if Ichihara initially returned her feelings. But instead she ended up with Himeno who's definitely an awkward and clumsy guy, but they make a nice pair together. It's a cute coupling I think, especially between this awkward kind of tsun guy and a weepy girl trying to change herself.
Overall, I'd say this goes beyond just being a shoujo about young love. It explores topics such as grief, trauma, and loss which make it a richer experience. Obviously I liked it because I'm looking for something a little grittier than just pure romance sometimes, but it's just a good read in general. So yeah, I'd recommend it if you're looking for some fleshed out characters in a relatively short series.
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