Welp, I am caught up, and now have a greater understanding of why past me never wanted to read past volume one until we got physicals because this series has been amazing to binge read! I have loved every single moment and have been truly blown away by the slow but gradual transformation of Risa!
Yes, she's definitely still herself, but there is a happiness and confidence to her that was "lacking" in the beginning, as now you see how she is being more bold in expressing her REAL feelings. A great example is how everything unfolded with Risa and Zen's date. I loved how his sister encouraged her and how Risa gathered her courage to be honest, even if she was worried about how Zen would react. It was beautiful and made my heart really happy (especially with all the sweet kisses between them)!
I was surprised to find myself really loving the direction of this volume with Risa's friend. At one point, I found myself tearing up because Risa may see herself as greedy, but she is extremely thoughtful. Her getting on that bus was clear evidence of that, and I earnestly believed in what she shared with her friend.
This was another beautiful volume, and I'm excited and devastated that I'm caught up because I easily see how this series captivated my heart years ago and put delinquent romance on my radar. I would say it is equally as special to me now as it was then, and will always be thankful Kodansha is printing this series. Cheers to them printing the other volumes quickly!
Communication, adorable mutual flirtation, and a focus on female friendship—all things I love in a good, healthy Shojo manga. I love seeing a vulnerable, emotional male lead who isn’t a bully and a strong, straightforward female lead who doesn’t steamroll people around her. Both aren’t perfect but they have to face those imperfect sides of themselves and figure out how to healthily process jealousy. We need more of this in books!! 👏👏👏👏
Having made friends with Kuma, it’s about time for Risa to find out that Kuma has history with Zen. Thus we enter a classic lesson about the dangers of getting stuck in your own head.
And it’s good. There’s definitely a variance in quality to this series, it’s not one of my automatic five-star reads, but it traditionally gets things right and most times to the point of excellence.
This time, as I said, it’s good. This is a decent look at a friendship being strained and a relationship being strained for a number of reasons. I particularly liked the look at how Kuma’s life has turned out. There’s a twist to it that makes things a little more interesting than usual.
Kuma is struggling under the weight of expectations and also having been let down by others. Formative experiences happen a lot at this stage of life and it’s not hard to see how her past has lead to her present.
It’s interesting because her idea of rebellion is initially acting out, only to cause a lot of problems for Zen, but quietly shifts into one borne from simple avoidance. And it absolutely makes sense for her.
Plus, she still has a crush on Zen. And Risa has to deal with her own jealousy and her desire to still be a friend despite this. It makes for most of this volume’s story and its conflict and does a pretty great job of it.
Risa remains herself, her umbrella situation and zoo plans are so on point, but she’s definitely learning to be more forthcoming around Zen and others. Which is ironic as her helpful nature leads her to make things worse for her.
And then there’s poor Zen, who is also trying to change himself a little. It does make the distinction between having to change for somebody and wanting to change for them, which is a fairly mature take on it. Just another one of those things this story does right.
That all sounds very heavy, but it also features some damn fine gags. Zen threatening a parrot is exactly as funny as it sounds, no matter how out of line the bird is. Risa gets to pout impressively, but they both land some killer lines.
A solid volume, enough so that I can’t quite remember why I had any issues with it. The communication between our leads is rock solid and their relationship is a blast to read about. The way they use Kuma’s presence in a variety of different situations is smart use of her too.
4.5 stars - sometimes I just need a little reflection on things. Not the series at its best, instead it’s at its near-best, and that’s a pretty great place to be for something so consistently good.
Desde que conoció a Zen, la vida solitaria y apagada de Risa no ha dejado de cambiar y expandirse, haciendo que ella misma vaya madurando y transformándose en lo que quiere ser. Y es que el amor puede ser el impulso que alguien necesita para crecer como persona. Enamorada cada día más de Zen, Risa ha preparado una cita al zoo con su chico, cita que es muy al estilo de ellos dos: con Risa habiendo buscado información al milímetro de cada animal y Zen midiéndose con todos ellos. Será en este ambiente relajado en el que están solos que Zen le contará a Risa de forma genérica el incidente que ocurrió cuando iba a tercero de secundaria y que provocó su expulsión. Risa, que es muy consciente de que a Zen siempre lo malinterpretan por sus pintas cuando es una persona de grandísimo corazón que solo quiere ayudar, se alegra de que le haya contado lo que sucedió. Lo que no le alegra tanto es, por casualidad, encontrarse con Kuma y escuchar de boca de sus amigas que a la joven le gusta Zen.
Siendo algo que Risa ya sospechaba, Kuma le explicará que eso fue algo del pasado y que lo que busca es disculparse con Zen por lo que pasó en tercero de secundaria, ya que ella quedó involucrada en el incidente en el que acusaron al chico de robar algo cuando él no tuvo nada que ver. Aun así, la cita de nuestros chicos acaba siendo un fiasco cuando Kuma se hace daño y Zen decide llevarla en su moto al hospital. Y es que, aunque Risa es consciente de que es algo propio de su novio el ayudar a la gente, esto también hiere los sentimientos más egoístas y posesivos de la joven, ya que Risa se está dando cuenta de que no le gusta que, por amabilidad, otras chicas se fijen en Zen o que este las lleve en su moto sea por lo que sea.
Mientras tanto, en el hospital, Kuma finalmente puede disculparse con Zen y este le quita hierro al asunto del pasado, asegurándole que no le guarda rencor sobre el incidente de su expulsión. Será en este punto de inflexión en el que Zen también se dará cuenta de varias cosas y de que tener una pareja implica lidiar con los sentimientos de la otra persona, además de los tuyos propios, de tener que actuar de forma que la persona que más quieres no sufra a causa de tus acciones y decisiones y, sobre todo, de que quiere cambiar para hacer feliz a Risa.
Adorable, confortable y divertida, Fujimomo continúa expandiendo los horizontes de Risa y Zen en el sexto volumen de Más allá del amor, donde ambos siguen explorando sus sentimientos y conociéndose poco a poco para consolidarse como pareja a la vez que maduran y crecen como personas adultas.
Really I can't stop smiling. I need this in paperback asap I want to own this series I love it so much. They are both so cute and into each other and considerate. I am glad she has growth with the friends department. I like that he has a wide social network, it makes him a better character for her as he is also so authenticate and genuinely kind for a kid that gets in fights with others.
Me encanta que Risa cada vez demuestre más lo mucho que quiere a Zen. Y él no sé queda atrás. Adoro esta parejita 💖 Bueno, estaba claro que lo de Kuma y lo del pasado de Zen, estaba relacionado. Me da pena que Kuma tenga que irse, me gustaba mucho como amiga de Risa :( Esa última página, Zen no se lo esperaba para nada jajajaja
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Recap: zoo date, Kuwa gets hurt and Zen takes her to the hospital which cuts the date short. Risa realizes her new friend had a crush on her boyfriend. We find out she’s the one Zen stopped from shoplifting. Temple cleaning, Risa sharing her feelings to Zen. Risa then confronts Kuwa on a bus and they’re better friends.
Stop my heart! This manga keeps getting better. I’m glad that Kuma won’t be an obstacle for Russ and Zen. I want to see more of their relationship. Volume 7 isn’t out yet so now I gotta wait 😭
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.