Maddies Manga

I actually downloaded this manga for free off of Amazon a number of years ago and just… never read it for some reason. Since I had some free time today I was cleaning up my library when I stumbled upon it, and I’m glad I did! While it’s nothing all that new, it is a very cute story.

1. Info about the manga
   1. If the title was in English…
   2. I borrowed a description from Seishun:
   3. How many volumes?
2. Why I like this manga
   1. The characters
      1. Nao
      2. Jun
      3. Aoto
   2. How the story plays out
   3. Other themes found in this volume that I generally enjoy:
3. Is there drama? (we’re generally not a fan of drama)
4. Maddies Ratings
   1. Romance
   2. World building
   3. Character development
   4. Is it entertaining?
   5. Am I motivated to read the next volume?

Info about the manga

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Why I like this manga

While this manga really doesn’t have anything new and exciting about it, it is a really sweet feel-good story! While I typically cannot stand love triangles, this manga’s triangle is incredibly tolerable for me, and I can see myself rooting for everyone (which is rare for me).

The characters

There are 3 main characters that this manga focuses on! Our female lead, Nao, her underclassman, Aoto, and her childhood friend, Jun.

Nao

Nao, which means “direct” in Japanese, is anything but direct in personality. When she gets flustered, she finds herself saying the exact opposite of what she wants to say. This has been a hindrance in her non-existent love life, but it’s an obstacle that she’s trying hard to overcome.

Jun

Jun is Nao’s childhood friend, and has also been the target of her one-sided love. For 7 years, he has never been single, which has made it extra difficult for Nao to confess her feelings. He sees Nao like a little sister, but maybe that will change after she finally confesses to him?

Aoto

Is Nao’s underclassman, who has been interested in Nao for about a year. While her feelings for Jun were very obvious (to everyone but Jun I guess?), he didn’t let his feelings grow. That was, until she declared she wants to give up on Jun in front of him. He confesses his feelings to Nao, but will she actually give up on Jun?

How the story plays out

The manga starts with a rather sad, but common scene. Nao goes to finally confess to Jun, but accidentally stumbles upon him getting confessed to by another girl. He says yes, and gets a new girlfriend right in front of poor Nao. She runs away, tossing the chocolates she was about to gift him into the garbage, but is intercepted by her underclassman Aoto.

Aoto, understanding that what he wants most for Nao is for her to be happy, decides to help her confess her feelings to Jun. After much trial and error she does, as he’s leaving for university. Directly after that confession, Aoto confesses his feelings for Nao. It was a lot of confessing in a short amount of time…

Everyone is waiting for an answer to their confessions, but time doesn’t stop for anyone! As Jun is getting settled in at university, Aoto and Nao start growing closer to each other. This volume ends with absolutely everything unresolved though 😦

Other themes found in this volume that I generally enjoy:

• supportive friends!
• respectful men!
• self-acceptance!

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Is there drama? (we’re generally not a fan of drama)

While there is a love triangle, there really wasn’t any drama that had me feelings stressed at all in this volume!

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Maddies Ratings

There were bits and pieces of romance between Aoto and Nao throughout the volume, but it wasn’t enough imo~

It’s a high school romance! As long as they follow the rules of high school, its hard to break immersion

Nao does come to accept her not-direct self throughout the volume thanks to the help of Aoto.

I ended up enjoying this volume! It’s not my all-time favourite shoujo manga, but i’ll definitely be adding volume 2 to my digital library.

Its not the very next book on my TBR, but I would like to read it!

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Have you read this manga yet?