Review to be adjusted once series is complete
This is my first dip into a time loop series; Oriana and her boyfriend Vincent are both students at a magic school when one fateful night, Vincent dies without any obvious traces. Oriana tries to help but instead collapses and finds herself waking up back in time when she was seven. Her life plays on repeat while she has kept her memories of her previous life. Her goal is to disrupt the flow of time as little as possible whilst still preparing herself for the day Vincent died so that this time she can help him. Unfortunately, the Vincent in her repeated life has no memories of their past life together, making this a rather lonely journal for Oriana.
One thing that surprised me was that Oriana immediately confronts Vincent about not having shared memories as opposed to waiting to see how he reacts and how they find a way back to each other. In a way, I think had she waited, it would have resulted in a more slow burn and tense kind of situation and I felt like it wasn't Oriana's smartest move. On the other hand, the fact that she is upfront about it and is constantly facing rejection by Vincent whilst remaining cheerful and continuously trying to discover the culprit, adds a whole different kind of dynamic between the two. There is something bittersweet about how Oriana puts on a brave face but is clearly lonely and sad and essentially alone in her endeavours to prevent past tragedies from repeating themselves.
The world building feels a little weak at this point, it seems very standard magic school but we get to see very little of the said magic. Nonetheless, it's my cup of tea setting wise so I just try to appreciate what we get. The art is beautiful and I want to say a little unusual. It has a lot of shoujo traits and yet has a more roundish edge to it that looks more unique - it gives the characters a soft look. I'm definitely curious to see how this series continues - both in terms of mystery and romance.