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きみの横顔を見ていた [Kimi no Yokogao wo Miteita] #1

by Rumi Ichinohe, Victoria Maria Zach (Translator)

Eine bittersüße Geschichte von vier Teenagern, zarten Gefühlen und unerwiderter Liebe

Wenn man eine Freundschaft nicht verlieren will, sich aber heimlich nach mehr sehnt, bleibt oft nur, das abgewandte Gesicht des Liebsten zu betrachten…

Die Oberschülerin Hikari bezeichnet sich selbst oft als außergewöhnlich gewöhnlich. Neben ihren Klassenkameradinnen kommt sie sich so unscheinbar vor, dass sie selbst in ihren Tagträumen häufig in der Nebenrolle landet. Eines Tages beginnt Hikari sich auszumalen, wie eine Romanze zwischen ihrer hübschen besten Freundin Mari und dem süßen Otani aus ihrer Klasse aussehen könnte. Was als kleiner Spaß beginnt, verschwimmt schon bald in Hikaris Fantasie. Muss sie in dieser Geschichte wirklich nur die Nebenrolle spielen? Und an wen denkt eigentlich Otani, wenn sein Blick in die Ferne schweift…?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels Manga, Slice Of Life, Contemporary, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2022

About the author

• Blood Type: B
• Birthday: March 8th
• Zodiac: Pisces

See いちのへ瑠美 for this author's Japanese script profile.

Reviews

[zaza ᥫ᭡]

each pov being more heartbreaking than the last… unrequited love goes crazy what am i getting myself into

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. The artwork was gentle, the story and characters were likable and low drama, though you could see it was growing with the feelings being caught by one side and not the other. I definitely enjoyed this one, though I do hope that the center of everyone's desires gets to actually have her own needs heard, seen, understood and respected. She doesn't seem to have much agency according to the other characters. I would like to see her spread her winds and grow.

4, gentle sweet and interesting, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC of this to read and review.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

A freebie from NetGalley.

This contemporary slice-of-life high school romcom (?) was neither boring nor interesting. I will not continue it. The two male characters looked identical to me, which was confusing. The one female character is supposed to be some great beauty, but she was constantly drawn with comedically buggy eyes. The only plot was the daily life of high school kids, going to class and participating in extracurricular activities (band, sports), and developing unrequited crushes. And MAYBE the music teacher is a pedophile? Time will tell, but this just isn't for me.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, not sure what to say about this one. The ending left me intrigued enough to want to continue to see what happens, but at the same time, I don't feel drawn to pick it up either. 🙈

I like how Hikari does seem different compared to other shoujo manga heroines I've read recently though! I really love how she wants to be there for her friend, but I think I realized this story won't be for me with the approaching love triangle (square?).

Definitely not a bad story, but I unfortunately don't love the cast of characters enough to endure the angst this story is sure to give. 😅

Very glad I at least gave it a try though and the art sure is nice!

*(I received an e-copy from Kodansha via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

[nati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intrigue has been built. Unrequited love in a friend group. How can this go without someone being hurt…

However i think there are some issues with the translation and it should be edited over. I feel like the characters are a little dull, but there is four to focus on which can be difficult in such short pages so maybe with the upcoming volumes it will be better. Although i doubt I’ll read them

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hikari and the painfully shy Mari are best friends, so Hikari injects herself into Mari’s love life by helping her along with Ohtani, the boy in class who likes her. Too bad that feelings rarely stay in the lane they’re supposed to.

The art already made me think I’d read this mangaka before, but within mere pages we have had a cheeky name drop of My Sweet Girl, Rumi Ichinohe’s previous series, so that’s me done feeling clever.

Like that series, I think this one gets off to a strong start that I hope gets even better as it goes. There are some wonky snippets of dialogue and some jokes that don’t quite work for me, plus, while the art is better, there are some odd panels where clothing looks incredibly voluminous and off.

Hikari is utterly average (in her mind) and the way this is established over a few panels is very fun, especially with her height being bang on the national average. It’s all down to exactly how plain she sees herself. And, as with many of us, that’s a box she’s trapping herself in; we see she’s actually rather exceptional at playing French horn, but changing self-perception isn’t easy.

This also includes her monolid, which is one of those cultural things that they wisely discuss in the translation notes, but lands like a cultural difference I just can’t wrap my head around (your mileage may vary; it’s not like I don’t get the intent). It also starts the entire series off with one of the clunkiest opening lines I’ve ever seen.

Mari, however, is the typical high school beauty, except she is cripplingly shy. There’s no question that she’s fine when she opens up, but getting her to that point requires an incredible amount of nudging on basically everybody’s part.

The way Hikari inserts herself into Mari’s would-be dating life amusingly starts off with her mentally preparing Mari’s very own shojo series (complete with many volumes, a live action adaptation, and fancy theme song). But making shojo is a lot easier when you’re not standing next to everybody involved in it.

Ohtani is the boy (of a pair who look a little too alike for my liking) with designs on Mari and he’s aided the whole way by Hikari. And he notices, but not in the way that Hikari would like after it becomes clear that the two have a real chemistry that is blatantly not present between him and his crush.

This is all presented fairly well - there’s a wonderfully silly running gag about how much Hikari monopolizes the bath that’s pretty darn good and two very different subway trips that quietly illustrate the major differences between Hikari and Mari (for all that we learn about Mari this volume, which isn’t much).

As far as a vibe goes, there’s a nice melancholia about all this that gives it a welcome contrast to a lot of shojo stories. It’s not new, per se, but Hikari is quietly orchestrating her own demise, romantically speaking, and she slowly gets crushed over the course of the volume.

The dialogue is a little strange - sometimes it absolutely kills it (Hikari is wonderfully quick-witted at points), but other times things that are supposed to be jokes are either lacking in context or just kind of not terribly funny. The translation notes sort of help, but not really. Of course, the vibe of this is not a comedy, so that doesn’t sink it.

Still, it’s a good start and the orchestra subplot really shifts itself at the end of the volume, going in a whole other direction from what you might be thinking and that’s a development I appreciated too.

3.5 stars - stronger than the start of My Sweet Girl, yes, but something about this feels a bit choppier than I like and I cannot quite figure out why. It’s really good, there’s a ton of potential here, but I want to see it pull all these threads together for the second volume.

[marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings. The pacing is slow and the translation is awkward. In addition, the characters are shallow. I also have trouble telling the male characters apart. As a result, the story is slightly hard to follow. Still, I want to keep reading just to see where it'll go.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for a free review copy.

[Koda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ufff, no sabía si me iba a gustar Mirándote de perfil pero ha superado completamente mis expectativas. Me encanta! Las interacciones son maravillosas y la forma en que expresan sus sentimientos también.

[itselv]

A pretty quiet read. Only when I consider them a little bit older than little fifteen years old, I think it is a somewhat realistic romance story.

I hope that we’d see more of how they all had fallen in love with their crushes, and that the story would grow more intricate in upcoming volumes rather than falling into the painfully repetitive formula of Shojos, for I am excited to explore more about the characters and their relationships.

One thing though, I hope the sexualization jokes would calm down a bit later on. I can brush it off so many times. (+why is the music teacher young and handsome…😟 pls author do not do what I fear you’d do)

[Proserpina Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *flew* through this one so fast! It has a great pace and the characters have a lot of facets to them, especially the “main character” who is set up in the plot as a secondary character, Hikari. I love that she treasures her friendship over love which can potentially bring in drama, but she also loves herself to a degree that allows her to say “Yeah, I like him” despite the circumstances.

Her best friend Mari is the most mysterious, I think. I hardly know what she’s thinking most of the time. Only Hikari does. The MMC is Ohtani, which I truly love! He’s a golden retriever that has a very high emotional intelligence. What a green flag!

I hope I get to ARC the next volume. I can’t wait to see what happens next after that cliffhanger!!

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC!

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️

[BlaireReadsTheThings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this volume.

Hikari is a young musician trying to navigate high school as a freshman. Her best friend Mari is super shy and as a plan to get her to open up and meet people, she decides to hook her up with a popular boy at school. Luckily, he already has a crush on Mari.

I thought this was cute. The characters are pretty shallow for now and it seems like there may be the beginnings of a love triangle. There are similarities between this series and Komi Can't Communicate and I prefer Komi. I would have given this a 2⭐ rating if it wasn't for the art. Every panel is beautiful and I really enjoyed that part of the manga. I don't know that I will continue with the series, but if this every becomes a 12-16 episode anime, I would probably give it a go.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could potentially be a really cute series. I liked the beginning, but there were some jokes through out that I didn’t understand and felt very niche. It’s about unrequited love so it’s either going to be a sad-ish ending or a cute romance.

[givememycheetos · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

Omg que cutw el dibujo, y estoy viviendo por ver esta historia de amor no correspondido. 🥹💗

[Tib · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid start to a series. I'm very interested in seeing where this one goes!

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 It was a cute, generic love story. I liked the characters enough and was interested in how the story was going to progress. But the story did have some weird and gross lines that were meant for comedic effect that didn't land for me.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. Seems very generic so far.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an arc of this manga.

This was kinda interesting I guess. Probably won't read the next volume unless I get it from netgalley though.... It's not really my cup of tea personally.

Edit: Gonna use this manga to talk about another netgalley book I read called "Read proud: Sci Fi and Fantasy YA Sampler" because it's not on Goodreads. It's a book that has the first couple chapters of some books, presumably made to get readers interested in the story and potentially buy the books.
This one was okay, gave it 2.5 stars. Skipped over one of the stories entirely because I didn't like the direction the author took with the story.

[Mystic DreamClouds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author(s), publisher, Goodreads and/or NetGalley for the review copy. All views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Four students, who become friends, where feelings intertwine and yet, they are looking the other way.

Hikari is a self proclaimed ordinary person. She fantasizes her friend Mari, with a cute boy, Ohtani, in their class. Coincidentally, Ohtani has feelings for Mari and has been trying to get closer with the help of his friend, Asagiri. However, while playing matchmaker Hikari slowly starts realizing her feelings for Ohtani..

This story has so many emotions but it’s clear it’ll be focusing on the four friends alternatively. Volume one is primarily told from Hikari’s perspective and changes to Ohtani’s perspective near the end. The story is fast paced and although set up like a typical shoujo romance, it quickly evades the common troupes. There is only selflessness and innocence behind each character. However, this creates a lack of drama and intrigue because everyone is so understanding, which causes the story to feel like a gentle summer breeze passing by.

These four friends are all different. Each has their own personality and it’s clearly depicted in both the artwork and their dialogues. Personally, I could relate with Hikari the most, although I consider myself below average. However, I also play an instrument and I did at one time like pairing my friends together in my mind. I found the way Hikari reacted was similar to how I would, which was surprising and a bit unsettling.

The artwork is beautiful. It’s soft and lyrical, similar to the words. Prioritizing the depiction of emotions and relationships, the manga makes it easy to understand what the characters are feeling. There are goofy facial expressions from time to time adding a little comedic relief and scenes of censored nudity. The character designs are pretty, although I sometimes couldn’t tell Asagi and Ohtani apart. The manga uses descriptive sceneries and iconography occasionally, placing an emphasis on the characters themself.

Overall I enjoyed the volume but I feel it lacks an overall intrigue to keep me interested. The cliffhanger at the end had me curious but also worried the story might go downhill for me. I think the story is somewhat beautiful but also a bit unrealistic. Nevertheless, I will continue this series as I think it’s only fair to hear the rest of Ohtani’s perspective as well as Mari and Asagi’s.

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf

[leti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una pena que el dibujo sea tan bonito y la historia sea la que se lleva contando mil años en el manga no aporta nada y los personajes zzzz

[Paowdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art style is cute and it seems okay! I keep mixing up the 2 mmcs since they look very similar. I might continue it!

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Review
While I liked the plot of this manga, there were instances where I struggled to juggle the side stories for the characters as the story progressed. This manga centers around Hikari who is merely in the shadow of her friend Mari who is admired by a guy in their class named Ohtani. This slice-of-life manga highlights how Hikari's perspective gradually shifts as she develops feelings for Ohtani, leaving her conflicted about her presence in social settings. I am curious about what will unfold in the next volume since Hikari's character development progressed toward the end of volume 1.

[⚡eli⚡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics, for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

One might call Hikari extraordinarily ordinary. One day, she takes up a new hobby--imagining what a romance would be like between her pretty friend Mari and the cute guy in their class, Ohtani. It's all in harmless fun, until the roles start to get tangled in Hikari's mind. Does she really have to be just the best friend in this love story? And just who is on Ohtani's mind when his eyes drift away...?

Now, blurb sounded interesting enough and I saw couple reviews that gave me an idea that I would probably enjoy it. But, alas, I was not one of those readers. For the life of me, I could not be interested in this story. Aside from the cute art and switching pov, this manga felt bit all over the place. Jokes didn't land with me, some scenes were unnecessary and some text was repeated? Either misprint or I really just didn't get the idea behind it. Vibe was there, potential was there but well.. I guess this was not for me.

If you like short story about seemingly ordinary life around high schoolers - this is for you!

[Sylwia · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is no way I am emotionally strong enough to handle finishing this lmao. It’s a shame because it’s clearly great and impactful, with spectacular art and character designs. But my heart too fragile for this level of tragedy~

[Samy Sanzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joder amo el drama

[Jessica]

I'm sorry but I cannot tell the male lead and his friend apart 😭

[Emma Eisenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hikari Mori, the main character of the story, is a teen girl who feels so insecure that she will always try to step aside and let someone else take an opportunity at happiness, even when she hasn't even checked in with that person if they even want what Hikari feels she doesn't deserve. At times, the boys try to include her only for her to politely refuse, suggesting any feelings of being trapped on the sidelines are mostly her own doing. She thinks of herself as just average and with no talent or passion to speak of, despite being a committed and skilled musician and always making her friends laugh.

Hikari treats herself as a side character in the life of her best friend, Mari, who is more conventionally beautiful than Hikari, but this misconception is not only sad but almost comically ridiculous. Mari is so painfully socially anxious that she can only speak to Hikari at school and would probably be a true loner without her, and from the Studio Ghibli comparisons she makes, it's clear that Mari thinks of her best friend as a real protagonist heroine type, someone so strong and brave and kind. I'm sure Mari would be sad to know what Hikari thinks of herself, and I feel bad for that Mari may wind up resented by Hikari as she selflessly tries to set Mari up with the boy she likes.

Ohtani, the male lead, is given his own personality: he is a class clown who does impressions of teachers and makes jokes that more often than not fall flat. He is more than just kind, though he is kind, too. His best friend is the most popular boy in the grade, Asagiri, which acts as a mirror to the dynamic Hikari believes she has with Mari. His infatuation with Mari is so adoring. The author can pull double duty by making the obstacle to Hikari's happy ending clear while also showing just how he'll shower her with affection if he were to start crushing on her.

While the plot of the story is Hikari wingmaning for Ohtani, the boy she likes who likes her best friend, the real central conflict in this story will be seeing her admit her own desires and finally go after them. The potential for character growth and the takeaway theme of the story is clearly established in this first volume.

However, I am rating it three stars because, although it was successful in executing this set up, it was overall pretty dull. It's possible the stakes of a high school romance on its own just doesn't move me, and if that's the problem, it's my fault for picking this book to review rather than anything wrong with the book. But the whole time, I felt like nothing is really happening. Nothing ever really happens. Now slow starts are normal in a lot of serial stories, I get that, but usually it's because the audience is still being introduced to the world, characters, and set up. The world has no hook to it; it's just a high school slice of life. The romantic rivalry and Hikari's self doubts are sufficiently explained by the halfway mark. Everything that happens after that is just kind of there, in my opinion. One would think the book would take that extra time, if it weren't going to progress with the plot, to further develop the other characters, and to an extent, it does, but I don't feel like I got enough out of Mari, Ohtani, or Asagiri to really justify all this space. And other small speaking roles aren’t even named, so the cast in this nondescript school feels even more economical and barren.

I'll give it this, though: the ambiguity of that ending…

The translation notes were a delightful addition. It was nice to have the pop culture references I didn’t get explained, and they are laid out with side-by-side visuals of the panels in question, so you don’t even have to refer back and try to figure out what a note is talking about. Since of Hikari’s main insecurities, her monolids, is such a repeated concern, it’s all the better that there is a note contextualizing the beauty standard for a foreign audience.

crossposted from NetGalley

[Alessandro Parisi]

Hikari Mori è una studentessa delle superiori che vive con la convinzione di essere “nella media”: non particolarmente brillante né per carattere né per aspetto. Trova però una dimensione personale nella banda scolastica, dove suona il corno francese, strumento che ha scelto da bambina ispirata da una fotografia che le era rimasta impressa.

La sua migliore amica è Mari, una ragazza dolce e bellissima, ma allo stesso tempo molto timida. Hikari la ammira e, al tempo stesso, non può fare a meno di confrontarsi con lei: si paragona spesso al suo aspetto delicato e alle palpebre “occidentali”, che secondo lei la rendono naturalmente più attraente. Questo confronto accentua l’insicurezza di Hikari, che preferisce rimanere sullo sfondo, osservando la vita degli altri piuttosto che viverla in prima persona.

Quando si tratta di sentimenti, Hikari si diverte a immaginare Mari come protagonista di una storia romantica. I due “candidati ideali” che individua per l’amica sono:
• Asagiri, popolarissimo e sempre al centro dell’attenzione;
• Shintarō Ootani, un ragazzo carismatico ma più pacato, legato ad Asagiri da una solida amicizia.

La fantasia di Hikari sembra avverarsi quando scopre che Shintarō prova davvero interesse per Mari. Convinta che sarebbe perfetto per la sua amica, inizia a sostenerlo, incoraggiando e favorendo i loro incontri.

Ma proprio in questo ruolo di “spettatrice”, Hikari si accorge di una verità scomoda: a poco a poco, lei stessa comincia a provare qualcosa per Shintarō. Un momento rivelatore avviene quando, parlando con lui, si apre in maniera sincera raccontandogli la storia dietro la scelta del suo strumento musicale. La confidenza viene accolta con naturalezza, e Shintarō, con un piccolo gesto affettuoso – il dono di uno snack – le lascia un ricordo che per Hikari diventa significativo.

Quell’episodio accende in lei emozioni nuove e confuse. Quando trova il coraggio di dire a Shintarō che anche lei ha qualcuno che le piace, le sue parole hanno il sapore di una confessione velata, anche se lui non ne coglie il vero senso.

Nonostante questi sentimenti in crescita, Hikari continua a sacrificarsi per sostenere l’amico: organizza per lui un momento a tu per tu con Mari, lasciando che i due vivano un attimo di vicinanza, seppur imbarazzato e incerto.

Il volume si chiude con un presagio di nuove tensioni: Shintarō, insieme a un compagno, sbircia nell’aula di preparazione, sorprendendo Mari in compagnia di un altro ragazzo. Questa scena getta un’ombra sulla sua infatuazione e preannuncia sviluppi che complicheranno ulteriormente il fragile equilibrio tra i quattro protagonisti.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Luana e la sua cronica incapacità di rispettare i buoni propositi di inizio anno" - puntata numero...non lo so, ormai ho perso il conto. Non so neanche perché mi ostino a provarci 🤷‍♀️ Per prima cosa, volevo evitare di iniziare troppe nuove serie e, ovviamente, è tutto andato alla malora. E poi, vista la mia età, pensavo di mollare gli shojo di ambientazione scolastica perché a) mi sembrano un po' tutti uguali; b) non ho tolleranza per i patemi amorosi degli adolescenti e c) sono decisamente fuori target. Bel proposito. Peccato solo che mi sono accorta di aver fatto l'esatto opposto di quanto previsto...bene ma non benissimo. In questo caso specifico, penso che darò una possibilità anche al prossimo volume perché voglio capire bene dove va a parare la storia.
Penso che il focus sarà principalmente sull'amore non corrisposto - quello che Hikari prova per Otani, compagno di classe che sembra provare qualcosa per la sua migliore amica, cosa che la spinge ad aiutarlo e a immaginare già lo sviluppo di questa relazione. E se Mari è la classica ragazza molto carina che cattura lo sguardo altrui, la poverina deve fare i conti con una timidezza estrema che le rende difficile approcciarsi agli altri. Hikari, invece, si considera pienamente nella norma, non particolarmente interessante, sorvolando totalmente sul suo talento musicale e su un senso dell'umorismo piuttosto spiccato. Lei ha sempre guardato verso Otani, ma non ci prova nemmeno a farglielo sapere: le basta essere la migliore amica della protagonista, mai al centro dell'attenzione. Almeno per ora, perché le cose potrebbero cambiare abbastanza velocemente. Tanto più che le ultime pagine di questo volume lasciano intendere che anche il sentimento che Otani prova nei confronti di Mari rischia di non essere corrisposto 🤔 chi vivrà, vedrà.

Come scritto prima, voglio provare a dare una possibilità anche al secondo volume prima di farmi un'idea più precisa e vedere se proseguire o meno. Sarei curiosa di vedere come procede il percorso di Hikari e capire se ha davvero intenzione di fare sempre e solo da comprimaria o se proverà a prendersi il ruolo da protagonista. Di conoscere più a fondo i veri pensieri di Mari e quale sarà la reazione di Otani (peraltro sono d'accordo con chi ha fatto notare che lui e il suo amico Asagiri sono disegnati in maniera un po' troppo simile e infatti continuo a confonderli - amico di cui vorrei capire il ruolo all'interno della storia).

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up

Summary:

Hikari hasn’t experienced love for herself or ever really craved that. Instead, she’s become addicted to shipping her friend, Mari, and a cute guy in class. It started out as a fun way to pass the time and was harmless. After all, she was merely rooting for her shy and pretty friend.

But then Hikari started confusing the events in her mind with reality, and things began to get a bit messy. This change was but the first step into chaos and confusion, forcing Hikari to rethink what she wanted.

Review:

I See Your Face, Turned Away Vol. 1 is a funny and sweet story worth checking out. It’s also not the most memorable story out there, so dive in, enjoy it, and move on.

This tale has some classic elements, including Hikari’s shipping of friends and her confused feelings. It makes for a solid story. It might have been better if it delved a little deeper. Hey! Who knows, maybe that will happen in later volumes?

Things to note: The pacing is a bit on the slower side, which may result in readers struggling to stay invested. Meanwhile, the artwork is entertaining and sweet. It’s perfect for the story, and I would happily read something else by this author for the artwork alone!

Highlights:
Slice-of-Life
Contemporary Romance
Coming of Age

Will I continue the series? Nah


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