If you enjoy stories involving incredibly passionate people, this is a series you absolutely need to check out~
Would you be able to escape the Firefly Wedding jail cell? Take my quiz and find out!
To get to the point..:
Do I recommend this manga? Yes!
Who do I recommend this manga to? Fans of university romances, fans of stories with complex relationships with complex characters.
Will I be reading on? I have already read everything in this series that has been released
**Technically this is a love triangle story, however there is never an instance where it feels like the second male lead is going to win.**
- To get to the point..:
- Information About the Manga
- First Impressions and thoughts
- What’s it about? *SPOILERS*
- My Favourites
- My Least-Favourites
- The Main Characters
Information About the Manga
Who wrote Choking on Love?
This manga was written by Keiko Iwashita! You can check out their X here.
How many volumes are out?
This series is ongoing with 5 volumes currently out in Japanese.
There are currently 2 volumes published in English.
First Impressions and thoughts
I actually read this volume a very long time ago, but I only recently realized that I never made an official review for it!
I think the first thing that really drew me into this series was the art, with Gaku’s strange antics being a close second. A lot of what happens in this series feels both like it wouldn’t actually happen in real life, and something that could potentially happen to a university student at the same time. It’s a little bit difficult to explain, however once you give it a read, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
While Gaku goes head first into everything, a lot of what happens in this volume does feel like normal student antics. Just a tiny bit glamourized.
What’s it about? *SPOILERS*
Hibari, our main character, has a rather busy schedule. Her typical day looks something like: 9~5 – school, 6~11 – part time job, 12~8 – homework and then maybe sleep. So, of course, when she is able to take a little break at work, she does her best to work on her homework.
One day, while she’s trying to put a dent in her homework while on break, she found herself sitting next to a group of rather loud boys. These boys ultimately spill water on her laptop while having a heated argument, crushing any hope she had of finishing her homework.
The main boy who caused her laptop to be destroyed, Gaku, ends up whisking Hibari away to his apartment after her shift ends.
It’s at his apartment that this boy that she literally just met turns out to be surprisingly good motivation. Until now, Hibari has always received rather negative critiques of her designs, with her professors constantly encouraging her to take bigger risks. Telling someone to take a risk is much easier than actually taking said risk though, and so, Hibari had been in something of a rut for the past while.
As she’s designing with Gaku watching her, he’s rather quick to call her out on using boring colours and composition. It’s thanks to his slightly aggressive but passionate critiques that Hibari is able to design something completely new to her.
Thanks to Gaku’s help, Hibari is able to make her deadline, and finally gets a compliment on her design from her professor. Filled with emotions, she calls Gaku, wanting to express her gratitude for his help the previous night. When he picks up though, she is unable to say much of anything.
That turned out to be okay, as he spots her as their on the phone, and he whisks her away to watch what would end up being his own concert – he’s in a band!
After the concert Hibari meets the rest of the band, and is eventually commissioned by Gaku to design a flyer for their next concert. Unfortunately, he asks her when some of their female fans were lingering around, and Hibari gets the wrong idea of Gaku. Thinking that he’s a bit of a womanizer, she turns him down, and runs away.
When they meet again, he requests her help in designing the flyer once more, and he all but forces her to accept. He takes down a piece that he created, and has Hibari add her own flavour of graffiti on it. While at first things were a little bit awkward, they soon have fun with the graffiti, and ultimately create a nice design.
My Favourites
- Gaku pushing Hibari to be a better designer – while I did think he was being rude at first, I came to understand that’s just how he acts when he’s passionate.
- The scene when Hibari is designing the flyer with Gaku.
- Gaku meeting Hibari’s childhood friend
My Least-Favourites
- Gaku bringing Hibari to the front at his concert – that stressed me out so bad
The Main Characters
Hibari
- Design student.
- Wants to work in graphic design.
- Has a somewhat difficult time expressing herself and breaking boundaries.
- Sees Gaku as a bit of a womanizer.
Gaku
- The lead singer of a band.
- An art student.
- Incredibly passionate – to the point of being rude and hurting feelings.
- Typically stays away from women – he finds his fangirls to be rather scary.
You can check out Volume 1 of this manga here!
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