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隣のステラ [Tonari no Stella] #4
Gazing at the Star Next Door, Vol. 4
What do you do when your best friend (and secret crush) becomes a national sweetheart? This story of unrequited love between a girl and her best friend, whose acting career is pulling him further and further away, is perfect for fans of In the Clear Moonlit Dusk and Kimi ni Todoke.
Chiaki is a pretty normal teenage girl. Since they were kids, she’s had a thing for her best friend Subaru–who’s fast becoming the hottest young actor in Japan! With Subaru threatening to slip away, Chiaki has a decision to make: Will she finally take her shot, or give Subaru up to his adoring public?
Chiaki is a pretty normal teenage girl. Since they were kids, she’s had a thing for her best friend Subaru–who’s fast becoming the hottest young actor in Japan! With Subaru threatening to slip away, Chiaki has a decision to make: Will she finally take her shot, or give Subaru up to his adoring public?
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First published August 10, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
June 12, 2024
just two idiots in love. i love them but they're both so dumb
July 14, 2024
this was so buzzy but i can’t get over someone literally walking up to subaru like “hey pretty boy do you want to be famous” 😭😭😭
January 31, 2025
Despite probably being closer to four stars, this manga made my jaw drop twice in the same volume and I don’t know that that’s ever happened before. I can’t not acknowledge that.
You could have bowled me over with a feather when the translation notes revealed that, yes, the No Hope Rival is a trope that actually has a real term - ateuma - and is specifically used to highlight the actual male lead’s appeal.
Ironically, I typically find that these donuts waste more page time than make me go ‘dang that actual male lead is the real star here’, but knowing that the trope has a real term for it made me look at it with new eyes (now I can roll all new eyes at them!).
The other big swerve comes when Subaru calls Chiaki his star and we finally get into his feelings on the whole matter and, dammit, the title refers to him looking at her and not the more literal interpretation of what Chiaki is doing.
Subaru is hopelessly bad at this. Rather than being an adult, he decides to be a teenager instead and gets a slap that’s beyond deserved for his actions. The way he treats Chiaki at the start of the volume means it’s a well-earned wallop.
In another change from the norm, Chiaki gets both sage wisdom and some time to blow off steam courtesy of Takahashi, who is a guy and not a rival! He and Chiaki make a fun duo and, while there’s a smidgen of romantic inkling, it is kept pretty chaste.
Naturally it all goes down the drain again and I like how this fight plays out. Chiaki really throws herself into her own life for a change and manages to really keep herself busy and keep thoughts of Subaru out of her head.
Well, maybe. There are few things as awkward as a fight between two people where they’re both kind of wrong and being stubborn to the point of idiocy.
What really makes this work is switching to Subaru’s perspective in the back half. Without it? He’s kind of a jerk. With it, he’s a jerk, but it’s because he has poor follow through on his good intentions.
It’s the raw honesty of his emotions that sells all of this. Things really took me by surprise and when we find out just how much of Subaru’s fame is tangled up in Chiaki, well, it really reframes so much of the story for me.
Not surprisingly, part of this current predicament was all because Subaru wants to protect Chiaki from the nastier side of fame. A shot of them from earlier goes public and the comments are, in typical internet fashion, less than generous.
So, Chiaki has bottled her feelings to keep her friendship and protect herself. And Subaru has rebuffed her to also protect Chiaki. And now they have both managed to hurt themselves out of love.
It’s really well done. I think the way this has been handled is superb and actually thinks about what’s going on internally. These are maybe not the most complicated leads, but compared to some (looking at you, Anyway, I’m Falling In Love With You) it is like night and day.
It adds a welcome dollop of depth; there are very few stories where the guy opens up enough to start crying and seeing Subaru so in touch with his emotions was honestly kind of special. This really does get it right this volume.
5 stars - this has become a really great shojo and it’s got its own thing going on that makes it feel really fresh in that particular space. And it was even educational to boot!
You could have bowled me over with a feather when the translation notes revealed that, yes, the No Hope Rival is a trope that actually has a real term - ateuma - and is specifically used to highlight the actual male lead’s appeal.
Ironically, I typically find that these donuts waste more page time than make me go ‘dang that actual male lead is the real star here’, but knowing that the trope has a real term for it made me look at it with new eyes (now I can roll all new eyes at them!).
The other big swerve comes when Subaru calls Chiaki his star and we finally get into his feelings on the whole matter and, dammit, the title refers to him looking at her and not the more literal interpretation of what Chiaki is doing.
Subaru is hopelessly bad at this. Rather than being an adult, he decides to be a teenager instead and gets a slap that’s beyond deserved for his actions. The way he treats Chiaki at the start of the volume means it’s a well-earned wallop.
In another change from the norm, Chiaki gets both sage wisdom and some time to blow off steam courtesy of Takahashi, who is a guy and not a rival! He and Chiaki make a fun duo and, while there’s a smidgen of romantic inkling, it is kept pretty chaste.
Naturally it all goes down the drain again and I like how this fight plays out. Chiaki really throws herself into her own life for a change and manages to really keep herself busy and keep thoughts of Subaru out of her head.
Well, maybe. There are few things as awkward as a fight between two people where they’re both kind of wrong and being stubborn to the point of idiocy.
What really makes this work is switching to Subaru’s perspective in the back half. Without it? He’s kind of a jerk. With it, he’s a jerk, but it’s because he has poor follow through on his good intentions.
It’s the raw honesty of his emotions that sells all of this. Things really took me by surprise and when we find out just how much of Subaru’s fame is tangled up in Chiaki, well, it really reframes so much of the story for me.
Not surprisingly, part of this current predicament was all because Subaru wants to protect Chiaki from the nastier side of fame. A shot of them from earlier goes public and the comments are, in typical internet fashion, less than generous.
So, Chiaki has bottled her feelings to keep her friendship and protect herself. And Subaru has rebuffed her to also protect Chiaki. And now they have both managed to hurt themselves out of love.
It’s really well done. I think the way this has been handled is superb and actually thinks about what’s going on internally. These are maybe not the most complicated leads, but compared to some (looking at you, Anyway, I’m Falling In Love With You) it is like night and day.
It adds a welcome dollop of depth; there are very few stories where the guy opens up enough to start crying and seeing Subaru so in touch with his emotions was honestly kind of special. This really does get it right this volume.
5 stars - this has become a really great shojo and it’s got its own thing going on that makes it feel really fresh in that particular space. And it was even educational to boot!
January 27, 2025
"I won't swallow my feelings for him just because he told me to. After all, my love for him never stopped us from having a great time together. I'll embrace these feelings like the treasures they are."
I reallyyyyy didn't think this series could be even more painful than the previous volume, but the creator wanted to make sure that I felt pain for Chi AND pain for Subaru because of the amount of times my heart felt like it was being stabbed! 😭😭😭😭
SO. VERY. GOOD!
I'm not a fan of angst at all nor am I a fan of the miscommunication trope (or lack of communication), but both are being so well written here that I can't get enough! The storytelling is so engaging and really breaks your heart alongside the characters, and I felt this was especially true in regard to Subaru. The reveals in this volume specifically were 1000 out of 10! Again, so very good!
I continue to admire Chi and how she picked herself up because girl the courage and strength you have to have to do what you did! No way could I do it! Yet here she is being her amazing self by being an incredible friend to Subaru in light of everything that happened.
And again with Subaru, I have never disliked him, but I think it was pure gold to get his backstory and see things from his POV. Really didn't think I would feel such agony when reading because of his POV, but here we are.
I really really hope that the next volume releases quickly and is filled with hope for our leads! I don't know how much more my heart can take for these two in how much they are hurting! 😭😭😭
I reallyyyyy didn't think this series could be even more painful than the previous volume, but the creator wanted to make sure that I felt pain for Chi AND pain for Subaru because of the amount of times my heart felt like it was being stabbed! 😭😭😭😭
SO. VERY. GOOD!
I'm not a fan of angst at all nor am I a fan of the miscommunication trope (or lack of communication), but both are being so well written here that I can't get enough! The storytelling is so engaging and really breaks your heart alongside the characters, and I felt this was especially true in regard to Subaru. The reveals in this volume specifically were 1000 out of 10! Again, so very good!
I continue to admire Chi and how she picked herself up because girl the courage and strength you have to have to do what you did! No way could I do it! Yet here she is being her amazing self by being an incredible friend to Subaru in light of everything that happened.
And again with Subaru, I have never disliked him, but I think it was pure gold to get his backstory and see things from his POV. Really didn't think I would feel such agony when reading because of his POV, but here we are.
I really really hope that the next volume releases quickly and is filled with hope for our leads! I don't know how much more my heart can take for these two in how much they are hurting! 😭😭😭
August 9, 2023
I was so pissed off until the last chapter now I'm CRYING
February 23, 2025
I can't keep defending this series if it keeps progressing SO SLOW. I am begging for more chapters in each volume. Please.
RECAP: he kissed her and was mean, she backs off and hangs out with her coworker, during this hangout she sees him filming and he sees her with the guy, guy warns him later not to make her cry too much, he sees she's texting him and tells her she rebounds fast, she sucks it up and is willing to be his friend, he finally reveals what he's been feeling for her after filming to his costars.
RECAP: he kissed her and was mean, she backs off and hangs out with her coworker, during this hangout she sees him filming and he sees her with the guy, guy warns him later not to make her cry too much, he sees she's texting him and tells her she rebounds fast, she sucks it up and is willing to be his friend, he finally reveals what he's been feeling for her after filming to his costars.
July 13, 2025
THIS IS KILLING MEEE
September 11, 2023
The Angst, the flavor, the tears, the separation and the drama. YES.
August 4, 2023
I HATE THE MAIN HE REALLY MADE ME ANGRY IN THIS VOLUME IF YOU REALLY LIKE HER GO AND TELL HER YOU BASTARD!!
The manga in the beginning was really awful and chyaki was annoyingly pathetic. And actually even though I hated the main so much in this volume the manga start being good especially when chiyaki got over him, I really don’t want her to give him another chance he doesn’t deserve her.
Ps: my rate is just for this volume but actually in general the manga doesn’t deserve over 2 stars…
The manga in the beginning was really awful and chyaki was annoyingly pathetic. And actually even though I hated the main so much in this volume the manga start being good especially when chiyaki got over him, I really don’t want her to give him another chance he doesn’t deserve her.
Ps: my rate is just for this volume but actually in general the manga doesn’t deserve over 2 stars…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2025
he’s kinda lame now
April 25, 2024
my beloved childhood friends to lovers
January 29, 2025
4.5 stars. The emotions and angst here just send me.
September 15, 2024
Sometimes when you see those review, without reading the actual manga you might thing ML's are complete scums, and borderline criminals, some irredeemable characters that should stay away from FL, while the truth is completely different.
It only show how immature shoujo manga readers are, they exaggerate every single thing, because they don't understand that world isn't black and white, it's filthy gray place with imperfect humans, that's why situations like this can happen, no one is perfect, but even so people are expecting every single ML to be knight in shining armor, too bad it was '90 and early 2000 trope in manga.
I don't get why everyone is so mad at Subaru. I mean realistically speaking, no one exactly knows what their choices will result to. Also he's just 16 or 17. He saw the hate Chi got just from one video which didn't even go viral. He was so scared. He cherished her. Though she was the reason he became a celebrity, that doesn't mean he can now freely choose to do everything on his own accord, I mean he works for a certain company/agency so he has to abide by their rules. Any celebrity of any age would have done the same thing (reject their crush/childhood friend or whatever) I mean do you want Subaru to tell Chii that "Oh I like you too but we can't date since I am a celebrity and both of us will get hate" If he had done that everyone would have cursed him even more. Or even if they started dating secretly at one point he wouldn't have been able to give Chii and their relationship time and they would have eventually broken up. Man I know it hurts to see both of them in so much of agony but atleast think before the readers hate them.
It only show how immature shoujo manga readers are, they exaggerate every single thing, because they don't understand that world isn't black and white, it's filthy gray place with imperfect humans, that's why situations like this can happen, no one is perfect, but even so people are expecting every single ML to be knight in shining armor, too bad it was '90 and early 2000 trope in manga.
I don't get why everyone is so mad at Subaru. I mean realistically speaking, no one exactly knows what their choices will result to. Also he's just 16 or 17. He saw the hate Chi got just from one video which didn't even go viral. He was so scared. He cherished her. Though she was the reason he became a celebrity, that doesn't mean he can now freely choose to do everything on his own accord, I mean he works for a certain company/agency so he has to abide by their rules. Any celebrity of any age would have done the same thing (reject their crush/childhood friend or whatever) I mean do you want Subaru to tell Chii that "Oh I like you too but we can't date since I am a celebrity and both of us will get hate" If he had done that everyone would have cursed him even more. Or even if they started dating secretly at one point he wouldn't have been able to give Chii and their relationship time and they would have eventually broken up. Man I know it hurts to see both of them in so much of agony but atleast think before the readers hate them.
June 7, 2024
media literacy is so dead, the comments i've been seeing abt subaru SO HORRIBLY MISCHARACTERISE him, y'all should not be allowed to perceive him. get behind me subaru i will protect you, i've always trusted you and understood you from the beginning (you did however deserve that slap, i will not defend you on that one)
at some point during this volume i thought "hahaha wouldn't it be so funny if she was actually the star next door and the title is from his pov" AND TO THIS THAT IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE 😭😭😭 "she's my brightest star" I AM DEAD, DECEASED, AND GONE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
angst so good i cried btw. it was insane to me too, bcs i was just flying through a couple of panels to get a brief idea of what's happening but i immediately started crying during the scene in which he's thinking abt her while acting. it was just so beautiful and painful, immediate waterworks to my utter shock.
it's so funny to me how people are acting like subaru is a dick but i bet he would immediately leave acting if the price of fame is losing chiaki. he would do move to the countryside and farm with her if she asked him to lmao.
also chiaki is so cute omg, there are some panels of her being pocket sized and they always make me giggle 😭🫶🏻
at some point during this volume i thought "hahaha wouldn't it be so funny if she was actually the star next door and the title is from his pov" AND TO THIS THAT IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE 😭😭😭 "she's my brightest star" I AM DEAD, DECEASED, AND GONE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
angst so good i cried btw. it was insane to me too, bcs i was just flying through a couple of panels to get a brief idea of what's happening but i immediately started crying during the scene in which he's thinking abt her while acting. it was just so beautiful and painful, immediate waterworks to my utter shock.
it's so funny to me how people are acting like subaru is a dick but i bet he would immediately leave acting if the price of fame is losing chiaki. he would do move to the countryside and farm with her if she asked him to lmao.
also chiaki is so cute omg, there are some panels of her being pocket sized and they always make me giggle 😭🫶🏻
January 7, 2024
AYO? Finally, they're communicating! Also, some of the assumptions I had about Subaru acting the way he was in the previous volume were confirmed. Subaru's co-workers turning out to all be great people was nice. I was concerned one of them would start a new line of contention and a whole other plot line. The end of the volume startled me but also was so refreshing to finally see it. But leaving it on a cliffhanger like that was just mean. ;^;
January 31, 2025
Loved this volume we get insight to Subaru's POV And I loved it all the feels. And our MFC just absolutely love her for standing up for herself. I wish I could just binge this whole series I love it.
December 8, 2023
So cute & sweet ☺️
January 28, 2024
miscommunication trope strikes AGAIN 😐
February 4, 2024
超級香的追妻火葬場～～
May 10, 2024
4.5 stars
October 6, 2024
holy shit why did i ACTUALLY CRY IM SUCH A BABY 😭
October 15, 2024
Rare crazy concept, but imagine just like ... Talking to each other ?
February 5, 2025
Got me crying so hard right now…
February 9, 2025
That cliffhanger should be illegal.
March 3, 2025
LOVED the whole thing with her co-worker, and glad we finally got his point of view. 3.5 stars because it’s been a minute since I read earlier volumes and I only remember the gist.
March 26, 2025
5 estrellas y porque no le puedo dar más
April 14, 2025
Yeah he had a good reason….damn
The ANGST. 😭😭 someone sedate me!!!!💔
The ANGST. 😭😭 someone sedate me!!!!💔
May 27, 2025
My heart! Subaruuuuu!!!!!
July 31, 2025
so much angst~
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews