Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky

by Nanigashi Shima

On an April night in Tokyo, still too early for fireworks, university student Kakero Mano meets a woman named Koharu Fuyutsuki. She is a beautiful girl who stands out from the crowd, laughs a lot, and exudes a warmth that contrasts sharply with Kakero's own introversion. But there was something Kakero didn't know at first—she can't see. Unlike Kakero, Koharu hasn’t given up on anything, even with her blindness. She attends university daily, shows interest in clubs, makes friends—and dreams of launching fireworks one day. Kakero wonders why, when she can’t see them...but maybe it doesn’t matter. And maybe he can start moving forward, too, for the girl who’s always been by his side.

Genres: Light Novel, Romance, Manga

253 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Sorano is a social grouch who simply wants to go through his college life unnoticed. His outgoing friend drags him along to a student event where he meets Fuyutsuki, a fellow student he even shares one lecture with. Fuyutsuki is blind, though, and sometimes needs help getting around campus. Reluctantly, Sorano starts to spend more time with her and eventually finds that he can speak with her quite comfortably.

While the writing itself is quite straightforward, this started out really strong. If not for the cover, I think the first half could have very easily appealed to readers of Japanese literary fiction. Sorano truly starts out as a grouch but we get glimpses of his past which explains it and, as an introvert, I found him quite relatable. I also appreciated that this story was told from his point of view rather than from Fuyutsuki's, although we do get a few paragraphs from her too.

The opening chapters are borderline mundane, it's just following these two through their day to day activities on campus. But what I found interesting and well written was Sorano's struggles and worries about Fuyutsuki's blindness. He is often unsure about how to behave - is he being considerate enough? Is he being too careful and thus othering her? What questions are appropriate to ask? I thought it was written in a thoughtful and well-balanced way and, as the both of them got along really well, I thought they had a healthy exchange on these matters.

Sadly, the latter half of the book didn't really live up to my expectations. To avoid spoilers, Fuyutsuki has more than just blindness to deal with and, while there certainly are people in the world who suffer from multiple ailments, putting everything together into one character felt like a lot, especially given that this book is just 250 pages long. A lot of the extra felt like drama for the sake of drama whereas her blindness was already a big topic to carry.

While it is not a bad book by any means, I am just disappointed that the overall impression isn't as good due to certain choices made for the second half. If you do want to know what these things are, here is a spoiler: Fuyutsuki has been dealing with cancer on and off throughout her life and her blindness was also a result of that. I don't mind that things took a turn for the worse with her health but then it was paired with amnesia which is a trope I generally don't like. It just felt like her being blind, battling cancer AND having amnesia was laying it on a bit thick. And although I suspected it, in the end, it turns out that Fuyutsuki was only faking the amnesia. On one hand, I guess it's good she wasn't truly juggling three conditions after all, but then I thought it was a pretty stupid and selfish move of hers with little to no point..

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is okay for a light novel, probably the manga it is based on is very similar. Pretty predictable anyway.

È ok per essere una light novel, probabilmente il manga da cui é tratto é molto simile. Piuttosto scontato comunque.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Jennica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book hit a little too close to home for me. I knew she was blind but not why, and it’s something my family is dealing with too (so trigger for cancer). I liked the characters and the story, but the writing could have been a bit better. Still, it did make me cry, and not many books have done that. It was a bittersweet ending.

[Lexia0015 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alors il faut savoir que de base, j'avais commencé à lire ce Light Novel parce que j'étais intriguée par l'anime. Faut dire qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup d'anime qui présentent des personnes avec des difficultés visuelles (pour ne pas dire aveugles, car je trouve particulièrement insultant) aussi j'ai été très intriguée. Et je n'aurais pas du...
Je ne plaisante pas, ce bouquin a été du chapître 5 au 13 (qui est le dernier) une véritable torture sans nom. J'ai tellement chialé en le lisant que j'ai du faire une pause avant de lire les derniers chapitres 😭 c'était doux, triste, horrible et beau a la fois. Comment voulez-vous que je pleure pas a chaudes larmes? C'est d'ailleurs assez ironique car mes romances préférées sont les romances Love Crescendo et Write Me For You de Tillie Cole 🥺 et il se trouve que ce roman va dans le même sens.
Passons maintenant au personnages: " l'ensemble du roman est essentiellement du point de vue de Kakeru, le personnage principal qui tombe amoureux d'une fille avec des déficiences visuelles après l'avoir rencontré lors d'une fête de la fac. La rencontre est plutôt banale et en soi c'est plutôt la meilleure amie de la fille Hayase qui demande a Kakeru de l'aide pour guider son amie. Bien que Kakeru refuse au début, une amitié se lie entre eux et ils finissent par passer du temps ensemble. Ce qu'il ne sait pas au début, est que le cancer de la fille (qui lui a plus ou moins cause sa perte de vision) lui est revenu. Alors, pour protéger Kakeru, Koharu (le personnage féminin principal) inventé une amnésie provoquée par ses traitements (bon sang comme j'ai chialé a ce moment en lisant, j'ai failli envoyer valser ma tablette). On finit par découvrir plus tard, que c'est parce qu'elle ne voulait pas que Kakeru souffre. Ainsi, au cours de cette histoire non seulement on voit une bataille des deux personnages pour lutter contre leurs démons (essentiellement leurs incertitudes et peurs) comme on voit a quel point nos décisions influent sur la vie de nos proches, en bien ou en mal, qu'on le veuille ou qu'on se sente obligé ou non.
J'ai particulièrement aimé le caractère tenace et joyeux de Koharu, surtout malgré les épreuves. Jai aussi adoré le fait que Kakeru l'ai énormément soutenu, quitte à faire en sorte qu'elle réalise tous ses rêves. Leurs amis communs étaient aussi particulièrement compréhensibles et proches ce qui m'a beaucoup plu. Après tout, le plus important dans ces situations est d'être bien entouré 🥺
Pour ce qui est de la fin de l'histoire, ça a un goût douce-amère, que je vous laisse découvrir si vous serez amenés à voir l'anime ou a lire le Light Novel (en espérant que l'animé adapté bien, mais pour l'instant ça a l'air d'aller donc on y go 😅).
Faut aussi prendre en compte que ce roman est avant tout une leçon de vie, qui comme pour la Bibliothèque de Minuit, nous enseigne qu'il faut savoir apprécier la vie telle qu'elle ainsi que trouver de la joie dans les choses les plus banales 🥰
Je laisse ici a la fin mes citations préférés du roman car cela m'a beaucoup marqué :
"They say smiles scare cancer away"
"She kept on smiling no matter how hopeless things seemed.
She followed her heart.
She wouldn’t waste time dwelling on how hard things were. She’d smile and look toward the future."
"I wanted to live in a way that left a mark on somebody’s heart."

Note : ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹/5

[Païssios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne suis pas un grand lecteur de light novel, et n'apprecie guère plus la romance
J'ai vraiment de plus en plus de mal d'ailleurs, avec la culture littéraire populaire japonaise moderne, mais celui-ci m'a vraiment ouvert et réconcilié avec ce monde.

C'est une des histoires les plus touchantes que j'ai pu lire, et voir via son adaptation et fin récente en animé, c'était vraiment une perle, tant le LN que son adaptation.

Une histoire magnifique touchante, d'une jeune étudiante aveugle, qui se lie d'amitié avec un étudiant, lui n'ayant aucun soucis de santé, interrogé de son quotidien.

"Comment peut-on vivre, en étant privé d'un de ses sens?" Voila la question que se pose Sorano, le second personnage , et nous lecteur et simple observateur de la vie de cette étudiante , et par prolongement, ces pauvres gens, dont le quotidien, la vie est impacté par l'handicap. Et c'est Saori, cette étudiante aveugle qui nous répondra à cette question.

Le livre loin de ne répondre et traité que de cette aspect , vous reserve bien de surprise , et de maux de cœur.

"Comment peut-on aimer les feux d'artifices , sans les voir ?"-un des points clés, et un des plus beaux moments que j'ai pu lire ces derniers temps.


Un vrai régal, et j'encourage à voir également l'adaptation animé, qui est tout autant touchante.

Une pure merveille, à lire et voir absolument.

[Héctor Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my cup of tea. At first the main character seemed pretty annoying with the plot advancing I start liking him more.
I really hated the amnesia part of the story was unnecessary and made the story much longer or a way to restart their relationship.
The other characters don't really stand out and just help the main characters.
I really enjoyed each epilogue, was expecting a sadder ending, but it was cute and kinda hopeful.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

UMMMMMM why?????? It was so sad! It hit so close to home, having lost a grandmother to cancer and understanding the pain of seeing someone go through that. She fought so hard! It was inspiring to see she "left a mark on somebody's heart" and for more than just one person too! It was sad but also inspiring. The writing was rough in some spots but in the end, that didn't bother me because the story was so touching.

[Thai · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first picked up Lovers Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky, I expected a cliché romance. Instead, I got a sweet, simple, and deeply touching story. The dynamic between a blind female protagonist and a male protagonist working through deep-seated trust issues was incredibly engaging. I really appreciated the obvious research Nanihashi Shima put into portraying the daily perspective of a blind person, and the overall message of the book left a wonderful impression.

[Ranjan Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline and character development. The gradual romance and pacing was just perfect. Though tragic the characters had their moments. Honestly a must read to have. It pulled my heart strings at various places, I can't even name and identify those feelings I felt while reading, it was like a twist and turn of my heart, it made me felt that I also could be loved, because the MC was so mee!...

[Natiori Hen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Li após assistir boa parte da adaptação para anime, que estava muito bem adaptada.
Os momentos mais emocionantes realmente fazem diferença quando narrados com alguma trilha sonora de fundo, então acabou sendo menos impactante que no anime. Não deixa de ser um excelente livro.

[Pubby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story; I didn't cry but it was very emotionally moving.

[Burblefish · Rating 1 out of 5]

This shit is so ass.

[Kira]

Amazing book

[Mustafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came in looking for a fluffy love story of a blind girl and mc falling in love but what came after was sad aswell as beautiful. Get a tissue box ready you will need it badly.

[Thomas Rijsdijk · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a beautiful book but I cried for the first time reading a book and now I'm upset. 5/5 please don't read if you're like me and can't handle dark stories well.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried.

[Nyxia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda slow and boring but it's cute
Time to watch the movie

[Austin Reheiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

:'(

[MlkX · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice

[Maria Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐ no me pueden poner todo lindo y después hacerme llorar como una endemoniada. Novela muy realista la ame pero sufrí como no tienes idea

[V · Rating 2 out of 5]

See when I talk about "emotional terrorism", this is what I'm talking about.

Closer to 2.5 stars really, not offensively bad per se, just a little bland.