Rintarô Tsumugi es alumno del Chidori, un instituto masculino de bajo nivel. Sin embargo, logra entablar relación con Kaoruko Waguri, que cursa bachillerato en el Kikyô, un centro privado para señoritas.
Como Rintarô es más bien callado y tiene cara de pocos amigos, la gente suele tenerle miedo, pero, para su sorpresa, Kaoruko no duda a la hora de hablar con él, lo que hace que este vaya abriendo su corazón poco a poco.
A pesar de que su relación se va estrechando, el abismo que separa a sus respectivos centros sigue tan insalvable como siempre. Y, cierto día, a Rintarô lo para por la calle Subaru Hoshina, una amiga de Kaoruko que odia al Chidori con toda su alma.
A Whiff of What's to Come If you thought the first volume was a charming, low-stakes exploration of blossoming feelings, then Volume 2 is like… turning up the thermostat ever so slightly. They are still firmly in the "precious and pure" zone... but the air is getting a little thicker with unspoken confessions and the delightful anxieties of young love. It's less a dramatic thunderstorm and more a gentle summer rain — refreshing, a little unpredictable and leaving everything sparkling.
Kaoru: Still a Walking, Talking Blush Our dear Kaoru continues to be a masterclass in the art of the involuntary blush. Seriously, if there were a competition for "Most Likely to Turn Into a Ripe Tomato at the Slightest Hint of Affection," he'd win a gold, a silver and a bronze. It's hilarious and it perfectly captures the sweet, almost painfully innocent vibe of this series. You just want to pat his head and tell him everything's going to be okay.
Rin: The Ice Queen Cometh (and Melteth) Rin remains our seemingly unshakeable heroine. This volume peels back a few more layers of her cool exterior, revealing the surprisingly soft and sometimes flustered girl underneath. Her reactions to Kaoru's… well, Kaoru-ness… are pure gold. It's the delightful contrast between her reserved demeanor and her internal squiggles of emotion that makes her so captivating.
The Stakes Are... Adorably Low The "tension" is less about impending doom and more about the delightful agony of two sweethearts trying to figure things out.
Art That Blooms The characters are expressive without being over-the-top and the quiet moments—a shared glance, a hesitant touch, a blushing face—are rendered with tenderness. It's the kind of art that makes you go "aww" multiple times per chapter.
The Verdict: Bring on More Petals! Be prepared for huge amounts of blushing, adorable awkwardness and the overwhelming desire to cheer these two on. Highly recommend if you're in the mood for a dose of pure, unadulterated sweetness.
Even better than the first time I read it and honestly considered if I should continue the series by buying the physicals!
Glad I gave it another chance (thank you KMANGA!) because while I didn't dislike it the first time, I also didn't get the hype for the series either. Very slice of life but also very touching!
Estos personajes son demasiado adorables!! ✨️💖 Me encanta que son comunicativos y que los conflictos se resuleven sin mayor problema. Definitivamente una historia preciosa.
This continues to be quite wholesome and true to the teenage experience. Nothing really stands out to me but I will say the characters are delightful.
Rintaro also has such a nice relationship with his mom! Super sweet.
RECAP: Subaru asks him to stay away, he says no. His friends ask him what's going on and he says he doesn't want to tell them. Doesn't fail his exams. Thanks her. Mom makes dinner for them. The girls have a heart to heart. Ends with him and Subaru friendship development.
3.5 la historia entre ellos dos avanza de forma muy linda, y también me gustó el vistazo al grupo de amigos de él, pero porque el cliché de la amiga celosa que parece estar enamorada de ella pero no es así, aunque me gustó como al final se disculpó
this manga brings me so much good vibes ! the two friend groups have such a dynamic relationship it's heartwarming to read how they trust and support each other. kaoruko is a sweetheart who deserves all the best things in the world 🥺
the friendships in this!!!! so beautifully done!! and so realistic to the all encompassing inner workings of a teenager's world!! my younger self's heart is singing in joy at this manga ;-;
Has to be one of my favorite Manga series currently. its a very careful subtle story of a boy and girl from 'rival' schools who connect and slowly become .... most of this volume is actually between Kaoruko's childhood friend Hodgins who voices her displeasure at her friends growing connection to Rintaro.
J’ai trouvé ce tome un chouï trop niais a mon goût, les personnages passaient leur temps a s’excuser de tout et de rien, mais j’aime néanmoins bien le chemin que prends l’histoire donc je vais continuer a lire avec joie !!
Mucho mejor que el primero. La verdad, es super recomendable para estudiantes de japonés, siento que me ha ayudado bastante a afianzar vocabulario y expresiones.
Il secondo volume si è fatto un po' più interessante, Rintaro è sempre dolcissimo e Kaoruko ha iniziato a delinearsi. Credevo che Subaru non mi sarebbe piaciuta come personaggio, e invece ho apprezzato tutta la backstory su di lei, anche se forse era un po' presto per inserirla.
Rintaro gets an ultimatum from Kaoruko’s best friend, Hoshina, that doesn’t sit well with him. But Hoshina might be projecting a lot of things out instead of looking in. Plus, Rintaro and his friends get less friendly, in case he didn’t have enough to worry about.
Boy, this is a great little story. As the characters are developing, I love that Kaoruko is turning out to be more of a tomboy and Rintaro is such a sweetheart. They’re delightfully bashful with one another.
If I had an issue with this volume it would definitely be not enough of our leads being all shy. Whenever they get the slightest whiff of interest from one another it shows in the most adorable expressions.
Instead, much of this is given over to our supporting players and especially Hoshina, who looks distractingly like a version of Shikimori from the latter’s titular manga that hates her own guts.
We quickly see that Hoshina is desperate to protect Kaoruko, but that’s also stemming from a selfish desire to hold on to her friend who might be pulled away by this, gasp, male. There’s a lot of all Hoshina’s things she likes about herself being externalized in Kaoruko and nowhere else.
Despite many entreaties to ‘stay by your side’ sprinkled about, this thankfully turns out to be a friendly sort of love and not a whole yuri side thing. It would feel absolutely out of place here, frankly, and Hoshina has enough issues without struggling with her sexuality.
Hoshina’s internal conflict with self loathing really pits her against herself more than anything or anybody else and she can’t even act out without hating herself for it. There’s a little visual representation of this that I found quite effective too.
Plus, Hoshina exemplifies the sort of shame spiral that this sort of situation can easily lead to. Even when Kaoruko is pointing out how much she appreciates Hoshina’s intentions, the latter instantly twists it into something negative. The realism of that self-loathing, I assure you, very believable.
There’s a lot to like about a story that is this charming but also has depth. It’s also dragging out its conflict from some real interesting spaces - Rintaro ends up at odds with a friend, but not because he’s dared to like a girl from the other school.
No, it’s because she means so much to him and he doesn’t trust them enough to talk about her openly and that stings them hard in the way of all petty arguments between friends that blow up big for no good reason.
It’s not the funniest volume, definitely focusing more on being as cute as can be (also Rintaro’s mom is the best), but I wanted to single out one fantastically meta gag where the boys pass their exams and confetti goes flying. Then the teacher makes them clean it up in the next scene. It’s very silly, but very funny.
There’s precious little to dislike here - I want more of the relationship stuff, but there’s nothing bad replacing it, quite the opposite. This is so enjoyable that seeing it grow out a bit is welcome and it did the smart thing and got the leads established enough to make their absence notable but not a deal-breaker (it is certainly sprinkled throughout).
4 stars - this series started really good, remains really good, and I don’t see that changing. It’s a real treat.
This volume was so full of cute and also angsty moments. From the development of Rintaro and Kaorus relationship to subaru trying to come in between them to Rintaro and his friends getting into a fight. There was so much😭. I love the pace that Rintaro and Kaorus relationship is going at. They just want to know more about each other and like each other🤭. I kinda hated subaru at first for coming in between them but now I see she only had good intentions. Also Rintaro refusing to not see Kaoru again….LOVE🤭. The fight between Rintaro and his friends was so sad, I mean I get he doesn’t trust them because of their hate toward kikyo girls but still. I love how he asked permission though to tell his friends about his relationship with kaoru😭 Cutie I just love how kind the both of them are. They are maybe too kind sometimes. There were also so many funny moments in this volume too. Rintaro hiding behind a see through cake display, Rintaro being scared to use Subarus handkerchief, Rintaro and usami barely passing and everyone crying over it and Rintaros mom not believing he passed🤣 That ending has me a bit scared though because who tf is that?
I found this volume super boring and so I won't be continuing. I might give the anime a chance but I honestly can't see myself liking it much. The issues I had with the first volume I still have with this one, but on top of that it's just incredibly unrealistic to the point that it's taking me out of the story. The reactions these characters have to anything happening is just so over the top that I'd call it "bad acting" but it's drawn? I don't know how to explain, but it's just overdone.
Like the whole conflict between Rintaro and his friends makes absolutely no sense to me because it's just so dramatic. I can't get behind that he thinks his friends are going to be so upset with him for just talking to a Kikyo girl? From the Kikyo perspective I get it but from Chidori it doesn't make sense, to me at least.
And on top of everything I'm just not enjoying the characters. Rintaro seems fine but there's not much to him to really have much of an opinion, and Kaoruko seems a little boring, there's nothing to her except that she's so cute and petite and so small that she might blow away in the wind, and she's nice. But there's just no plot whatsoever, no stakes.