¿Sueño o realidad? Vol. 1 [Yume ka Utsutsu ka 1]

ユメかウツツか [Yume ka Utsutsu ka] #1

by Io Sakisaka

Iroha es una estudiante de primero de bachillerato, tímida y de pocas palabras. Todos creen que siempre está de mal humor y pasa los días en soledad... Pero, hay un senpai con el que puede mostrarse tal y como es, So Akutsu. Él siempre le dice lo que necesita con una sonrisa, así que no le importa sentirse un poco aislada en su clase. Sin embargo, un compañero descubre el secreto que Iroha y su senpai habían estado ocultando...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Contemporary, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Manga, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2025

About the author

Io Sakisaka (咲坂伊緒) is a Japanese manga artist. She also designed the characters for the anime movie HAL. Her works are:

-Call My Name (2001)
-Watashi no Koibito (2002)
-Bye-Bye, Little (2002)
-Blue (2006)
-Mascara Blues (2007)
-Strobe Edge (2007)
-Ao Haru Ride (2011)
-Sono Omokage o Shitteru (2013) (oneshot)
-Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare (2015)
-Otome no Itari (2020) (oneshot)
-Sakura, Saku (2021)

Reviews

[angelinabvby ۶ৎ]

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

the fmc is adorable with social anxiety(?) but im too confused by the plot to continue 😔

[Laura A. Grace]

YOUTUBE FIRST IMPRESSION VIDEO: https://youtu.be/c7MnwdtiYT0

"All kinds of feelings get mixed up... and it's difficult... to find the perfect words. My words... don't seem quite right... the further I am…from what I really want to say."

THIS WAS EVERYTHING I WAS HOPING IT WOULD BE AND MORE!! 😭😭😭😭

Honestly, I'm really impressed with this volume because while I definitely would NOT say that Io Sakisaka's other titles have been on the "immature" side. I DO think there is a deeper theme of communication that we haven't seen from her before.

I think a large part of that is because I often feel her stories have long-running issues with characters not communicating or miscommunicating, so having a female lead who deeply struggles to talk and communicate with others, but longs to, was very refreshing in terms of her work.

And speaking of our female lead, I adored Iroha so much! The way it was illustrated in her struggle really hurt and gripped my heart because, as someone who used to be very shy growing up, I felt deeply about not being able to say the words you want to.

On the flip side, I found it fascinating with the male lead and her interactions with him, as there were times I questioned who was the real one. I appreciated how the story went on and how the male lead refused to lose to an imaginary him. (Plus, that he never once seemed to judge her for talking to his imaginary self! Well, except for when she didn't come to talk to the REAL him. Hehe!) How that comes into play and seeing Iroha slowly want to find out about the REAL him compared to the imaginary him had me deeply hooked because he knows how to make your heart skip a beat!

I am SO excited to read the next volume and see where the story goes! The art is as lovely as ever, and I deeply loved these characters! I'm very much cheering for them both!

"Even if I don't understand everything… maybe the challenge of talking is how close we can get to understanding each other."

[~LadyQuqu~ (new pfp!)]

tysm to netgalley, io sakisaka, viz media, and shojobeat for the arc, it made my day! <3 all opinions are my own.

♡💌🍓🤍౨ৎ⊹ 3 stars ✩
⤿ sometimes they say delulu is the solulu…i’m sure every highschool girl would understand hihi…

📌 Now Playing [Delulu - KiiKii]
0:55 ——♡—— 2:24
Start laughing (oh yeah) / start dreaming

🩷-plot-
⤿this story follows iroha, a shy high school girl who has social anxiety and struggles to talk to her classmates. for the longest time she had been talking to her imaginary classmate in her mind to cope with the loneliness but surprise! he pops up and even agrees to help her with talking + making new friends after getting to know each other. the rest of the story is basically iroha overcoming her social anxiety and making her first friends! no love story yet, but I can definitely see it coming soon.

💌 -thoughts-
⤿this was very cute, however a bit confusing at the same time! oftentimes, i was confused about whether iroha was talking to imaginary akutsu or real akutsu 😭 overall i’d say this a cute story but it was hard to relate to iroha so that may be why I wasn’t able to stay immersed while reading this 😅 if you’re looking for a sweet highschool shoujo love story sprinkled with some cute delulu and a cherry on top this could be for you! (idk if that made sense lol) 🤍 thank you again to the author, publishers, and netgalley for the arc!! 😆

...also lemme just say as a gllit (proud illit stan) the fact that the mc’s name is iroha was throwing me off the whole time lol esp cuz iroha is my bias 🤭

─────୨ৎ─────

⟡💗𓂂𓈒𓍼💌˖⸂⟡ pre-read
⤿ one of my new morning routines is talking about how i grateful i am for arcs 🥹 i’m so excited to read this, especially since this is by io sakisaka!! every shoujo reader probably knows her, since her shoujo romances are peak 🙏 i need to start reading this nowwwww

[Alba]

Una historia que hubiera amado con 16 años.. ahora lo veo algo simple o más infantil de lo que me gustaría,, el mangaka me gusta mucho, pero este manga no me encantó, no sé si leeré los próximos tomos

[Claire ☆]

4 ⭐️ A really interesting read on the cliche high school female lead. A manga made by a Mangka that led me into nostalgia with a refreshing take on Highschool romance. Back then, I was absolutely in love with Ao Haru Ride & Strobe Edge and this art style in 2026 is amazing! So happy to see them back with a new series. Wondering where we’ll end up going towards in future chapters and volumes.

I did have a few complaints about the characters though, I didn’t enjoy the other male lead (Assuming) when he accused our girl for talking to herself and continuing to bother her about speaking to someone of her choice (Even with the twist). They eventually made up and he accepted his faults about being too overprotective thanks to Igarashi but I don’t believe he had no right to tell her that, and I get it he was trying to be nice probably but it just reads as meddling in my eyes. Akutsu’s act of kindness is totally underrated and the fact he wasn’t weirded out but openly expressed that he didn’t mind Iroha’s behavior about him.

☆〜（ゝ。∂） 🍎🍵
—— Thank You’s ——

Genuine thanks of appreciation to Io Sakisaka along with the entire creative team behind Daydream Darling. Thank you to the Viz Media & NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

[Mark]

[Thanks to Viz and Edelweiss for an ARC of this manga in exchange for an unbiased review.]

There’s two things I’ve never seen - a ghost and a ‘next time’.

Well, it’s another Io Sakisaka manga and that’s usually cause for some celebration. Even this many series in, she’s still coming up with unique ideas to play with as her main characters find the right boy for them.

However, her last series, Sakura, Saku ended very poorly and kind of made me annoyed at the whole thing. It had started strong, but really fell apart at the end and made me actively dislike its female lead. It was the exception, not the rule, but it left a bad taste.

Here we start off with the shy and withdrawn Iroha, who is having trouble fitting in with her class and can’t quite express herself the way she wants. Unless it’s to Akutsu, one of her upperclassmen, who talks with her constantly after their meet-cute in a library.

Amidst all this, we have ‘most likely the rival’, Kamiyama, who is trying to help Iroha fit in with the rest of her class. He doesn’t have much time for Akutsu, but that’s not unreasonable because, well…

Okay, it’s not really fair to talk about this without going into spoilers for the first chapter, so consider yourself warned.

We learn that the Akutsu that Iroha has been meeting with instead of her classmates is a figment of the latter’s imagination designed to help her deal with her crippling anxiety. He’s a safe space that she’s invented, while Kamiyama wants to help her make actual friends.

Except he’s way too pushy about it, but this gives way for the real Akutsu to suddenly reappear in the picture as a member of their class. I have to say, him showing up out of nowhere is one of the best character intros (or re-intros) that Sakisaka-san has ever done.

And that’s why I keep reading. While my general belief might be that Ao Haru Ride and Strobe Edge are her best works, we always get something interesting in a new manga from this creator. Love Me, Love Me Not had a dream sequence that blew my socks off, while Sakura, Saku had one of the most amusing haunted houses I’d ever seen.

Here we get a believable reason for Iroha to be the way she is - this is a behaviour that she’s learned over time - plus the slightest hint that she might have synesthesia. I mean, that’s as likely to go anywhere as the gay character from the last series, but a potentially nice addition.

Traditionally we tend to end up with a core cast of four and that continues here. Igarashi, another girl in the class, decides that Iroha just wants to be left alone and pushes back on Kamiyama. I thought it was a nice touch that she was, you know, totally wrong about all that.

Everybody outside of Iroha is far from well-defined at this point, but that’s a job for future volumes. Igarashi’s particularly interesting since she can interact with her class, unlike Iroha, but she’d rather be on her own, unlike Iroha. That contrast is quite clever.

The art here is also really good. Sakisaka-san has always had a distinct style, but the expressiveness on display here felt even more pronounced than usual.

I like the premise here too; with the real Akutsu having shown up, Iroha is having to deal with her idealized version of him and the real version in one big jumble. There’s almost no chance that this won’t be an obstacle, even as the real Akutsu continues to help her out.

So, we’ll see how it goes. I’m not so ridiculously jaded that I think one bad manga ending means that this should be immediately written off, it just makes me wary. There’s nothing here that didn’t work as a solid, straightforward romance, with a bit of a twist.

4 stars - credit where it’s due, this is a clever premise that’s executed real well. It accomplishes pretty much exactly what a first volume should do and piques my interest for more.

[Mary]

3.5 stars

As a series, it has a lot of potential and was enjoyable. I like Io Sakisaka a lot. I'm always a little hesitant about stories where the mc is afraid to speak to people because it can get old pretty fast, but I liked this first volume.

[Hisgirl85]

4 stars. The art and nostalgia for this mangaka made this a solid 4. The story is both familiar and unique for a high school shoujo. This time a girl who is lonely and struggles with talking (sying the wring and often curt thing), meets a boy who is her senpai and then creates an imaginary version of him to chat withh at school (after she is unable to find the real one). Another male student figures out she is talking to someone in her head, and accidentally calls her out within the hearing of other students. Then, the real version of the imaginary boy appears, no longer her senpai, but her classmate. And so, the story begins. There is also a girl who scolded the boy that found out about the imaginary friend.

The set-up of the four reminds me of Sakisaka's Love Me, Love Me Not series with the four leads. I'm intrigued since Saku Sakura (the last of the series by this creator) was my least favorite. I don't know if it's because it was my first, but I loved Strobe Edge the most, though I think Blue Spring Ride is the best series. This one has potential.

[Laiken]

4.5! Hooked already tbh. Interested to see where this goes. Always love this author’s style

[Kristin ✨]

Completely missed that Io Sakisaka, the queen of shojo manga if you will, was back with another series? especially since the Sakura, Saku chapters have not all come out in the west yet.

But what a treat to get to read multiple chapters in one go, and this did not miss. Finally we have a story that does just a little bit more, have been a little repetitive lately so it's nice to have something a little different. Main guy seems to be carrying some secrets and pain, was a little worried in the beginning that he actually wasn't real, but happy that he is.

interesting to see where this will go, feeling hooked right off the bat.

[Kelli]

This mangaka crafts some of the most aesthetically pleasing and cutesy, fantasy fulfilling stories—BUT, I wish their characters were not some of the most tedious, trying motherf*ckers.

Is this what teenagers are like now? Why are we edging friendship like this???

Anyway.

That aside, I mostly enjoyed this first volume.

Our main characters have very cute designs and I like their dynamic for the most part. I sense a brewing tragedy on the horizon for our MMC—he’s got that foreboding white hair.

Not sure how I feel about that yet.

And, I need our FMC to develop more of a personality. I get that she’s like sixteen but still.

I’m willing to keep reading this series though. It has potential~

[Heather’s Reading Bubble]

I honestly do not know why I loved this as much as I did but I really did love it. The art is beautiful for starters. The story is very simple. I actually liked the twist here. So far I’m liking every character that has been shown.

Iroha is a very shy girl and the story is basically centered around that. I also was that very shy girl at one point in my life so she’s relatable to me. She reminded me a lot of Suiren from Like A Butterfly. Actually I’d say if you like this manga pick this up.

This is my first manga from this mangaka but I am interested in reading some of their other works. Just not sure where to start.

[Elizabeth]

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC of this one!!

I've had Io Sakisaka's other series on my tbr for a long time and when I got this one from Netgalley I was really excited and for good reason - this was fantastic! I love how sweet and emotional this is an I'm so ready for the next. I actually have another ARC from a different series for the same author and can't wait to get to it. 🩷

[Jade✨]

3.5 ⭐️
Inizio non male! Spero non si perda andando avanti perché il finale mi ha preoccupato. Trovato un pochino affrettato.
Con questa autrice ho un rapporto complicato perché oltre Ao Haru Ride (che ho amato) per il resto ho droppato tutte le sue serie ma ogni volta spero di apprezzare le sue nuove opere e quindi ci riprovo.
Un primo volume chi mi ha sorpreso, si parla di salute mentale e non me l’aspettavo proprio. La protagonista fatica nel parlare con gli altri, va totalmente in panico e trova poi speranza e aiuto nel protagonista maschile. Questa tematica l’ho apprezzata tanto, in realtà mi sono anche rivista perché in adolescenza ero così anche se in modo più lieve e tuttora a volte ho qualche difficoltà. Onestamente è la prima volta che leggo un manga di questo genere con una tematica di questo tipo quindi l’ho trovato originale! L’unica cosa che non mi ha convinto totalmente è il suo rapporto con il protagonista, spero diventi più interessante e meno affrettato…da una parte mi piace che lui la vuole aiutare e ci sta ma certe dinamiche non mi hanno convinto appieno, poco verosimile. Ci sono secondo me tutte le carte in tavola per poter creare una storia carina e con spunti originali, spero che l’autrice non si perda nel banale!

[Ashley Ramirez]

Super cute. I loved Au Haru ride so I’m sure I’ll love this one too. Waiting for the volume that’ll rip my heart out like the other one did because I know it’s coming. Can’t wait for the next volume <3

[shre ♡]

oh ao haru ride mangaka....

[Cassandra]

Ao Haru Ride is the only thing I have read by this author and I didn't really like it. I am not typically into the overly shy/nervous girl with popular boy trope. This manga has that but it feels different. The "twist" feels real to me. I can't imagine feeling that isolated or lonely and not doing what the MC does. I just don't know that I would be brave enough to do at school, out loud and not in my head. So go her. I like all four of the characters we have been introduced to and I am looking forward to seeing their friendship grows.

The art is lovely and has a romantic feel but I do think that they look just like the characters from Ao Haru Ride.

5/6 stars

[Stella]

I'm writing this review mostly to talk a bit about Io Sakisaka as a manga artist.

The story is another one of his shôjo high school romances. We have main girl, we have main boy. She's shy, he's not. She's pretty cute, he's pretty hot. Also, they are in the same grade, though he is repeating the grade for reasons that will be explained later on. There are also already two secondary characters. Very standard for a Sakisaka series.

But the catch here is that our FMC, Iroha, likes to daydream a lot. In particular about the MMC, Akutsu. And here is where Sakisaka makes use of her skills.

Frankly, she has always been a very good mangaka when it comes to paneling and imagery, even going back to her early series, and has only got better with time. Sakisaka managed to fool me several times with Iroha's daydreams. Her transitions from daydream to reality are smooth and smart. She's still a queen at using imagery to convey emotions: Iroha finds it hard to talk as she would like to, it is like she's drowning in bubbles, which Sakisaka transmits to the reader in a great sequence of panels.

Elsewhere, she's a typicial shôjo mangaka who specializes in high school romances: her art focuses on the characters, which look like trendy teenagers of the era the manga belongs to. Backgrounds barely exist, and when they do they are very generic. Lots of use of white space and screentones. All of it serves to put the emphasis on the characters, not their world. But that is fine, given the type of manga this is.

Her strengths are in the paneling. You can almost feel the camera moving at times. She's so good in a very understated way. Panels flow seamlessly, from dream to mundane and from mundane to dream or to visual metaphors. It is a shame no one pays more attention to her, likely because she draws high school shôjo manga instead of idk shônen.

[[melanie]]

Overall, this was an entertaining read. However, little is compelling me to eagerly follow the release date of the next volume.

The art is gorgeous and I like the artistic choices made by the author. Referring back to past panels in different perspectives and seeing a visual representation of Iroha’s social anxiety through a panel of her stuck underwater kept the story visually engaging. Personally, I didn’t find it confusing as to whether she was talking with the real Akutsu or the imaginary one. Even before she mentioned it, I had easily noticed that the imaginary version doesn’t provide answers to things she doesn’t already know and is a lot less flirty. I also appreciate that the story isn’t exclusively about Iroha and Akutsu; the side characters have some story to them.

The way Iroha’s social anxiety was portrayed felt authentic. Very often, authors portray social anxiety in characters as them not wanting to speak to others at all, but that was not the case in this book. In this book, her struggles felt relatable; the way she wanted to talk to others but couldn’t find the right words.

Something I would have wished to see is perhaps some more outfit variance considering that most of the panels are talking frames (in school uniform) that inevitably feel very similar, and even repetitive, after a while.

This seems like the kind of series I wouldn’t go looking for on my own, but if I came across it in a library or online, the cover is pretty enough for me to pick up and start reading.

Thank you for this ARC.

[Online Eccentric Librarian]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

As expected with a Sakisaka title, there are a lot of pathos and sweet moments in this new series. The illustration work is clean and easy to follow, the story emotion-driven and layered.

Story: Iroha had bad experiences with fellow students in junior high school, causing her to withdraw into a painful shyness. When she meets an older boy at the library, she finds someone she can communicate with easily. So she studies hard to get into his high school. There, she is seen as aloof and unpleasant by her fellow students, causing her more pain. But the boy from the library, Akatsu, is there during breaks as her confidant. The problem is, is he real?

So what we have here is a bit of an unreliable narrator as she fluctuates between fantasy and reality. I liked that the students at her school weren't overly mean, just put off by her seeming indifference to them. Most of the first volume was Akatsu gently encouraging Iroha to talk to her classmates.

Both Iroha and Akatsu clearly have heartbreaking backstories so it will be interesting to see where the author takes the story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Jack Goff]

This was so, so cute!

Such a fun and unique story. I think all of us at one point or another have spoken to someone then had a version of them in our heads. What we think they’re like, how they would talk and act, and how they would interact with us. Sometimes it’s a fictional character or an actor and sometimes it could just be a person you randomly encountered while you were out studying. But how do you reconcile your imaginary version of someone with the person they really are? What if you don’t like that person, but what if you do? I can’t wait to see where this goes.

Another case of gorgeous artwork and another beautiful use of halftones. I love the way they look so much. All of these manga that are using them lately are making me want to try the halftone sheets so bad, but I don’t know if I have the patience for all that cutting and placing. The art is very expressive and soft. It definitely gives off a cozy, romantic vibe.

I think this will appeal to people who enjoy books like Komi Can’t Communicate and Akira Failing in Love, though this one has a slightly more serious tone than Akira.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the DRC!!

[Bookish DreamsGallery]

First of all thank you NetGalley and Wiz Media for the advance raider copy...
This story is about a shy girl who get really anxious when talking to people, specially her classmates and by chance meets a guy in library and has this moment with him and start daydreaming about him afterwar all the time, until one day the guy appears at her school as a new classmate and start talking to her like if the two were well acquainted, and with his help her world start to open up and change for the better, this was such a sweet and heartwarming read, Hosho was so cute and i can sympathized and even relate to her (i consider myself a shy person) and i like the way the author transmitted all those feelings attached to the anxiety and nervousness of going out of your comfort zone through the panels, i like the two tone art style, i thought it was really well done, and even though i can see this one been favored by younger readers and not really what i usually read, i still like the themes and the characters and can be persuaded to continue this story, maybe. But overall was a fun, sweet read and pretty solid first volume.

[Jamie]

Daydream Darling caught my attention right away with its gorgeous art. The main character, Iroha, has social anxiety and struggles with talking to other people. She isolates herself and carries a stony expression that others misinterpret as not wanting to socialize.

Honestly, I related to Iorha right away and absolutely adored her in this first volume. She only feels comfortable speaking with her one senpai who she met before starting high school, a total dreamboat of course. Things feel like a little bit of insta-love which I don’t like, but then… Things went in a direction that I didn’t expect, I gasped! This little twist instantly made the story fascinating and set apart from other high school romance stories.

The two main characters are really charming, every interaction that Iroha has with Sou had me kicking my little feet. Though, I’m also interested in the two other side characters, and how the story will play out with them. I’m hooked on this series already and am excited for the next volume. This is the first story I’ve read from Io Sakisaka and I know she has other popular series, so I will be checking those out while I wait!

[Shiritaku]

Ich freu mich immer wieder, wenn es eine neue Reihe von Io Sakisaka gibt. Zwar sind's doch oft typische Schul-Shojos, aber es steckt immer eine tolle Message dahinter. Auch bei dem Titel hab ich das schon sehr im Gefühl - denn das Thema »Kommunikation« ist immer ein großer Punkt. Viel passiert durch Missverständnisse und hier liegt der Fokus auf Iroha, die nicht gut mit anderen sprechen kann und deswegen für andere sehr unnahbar wirkt. Das Ganze scheint in ihrer frühen Kindheit angefangen zu haben - zwischendurch gibt's immer wieder mal einen kurzen Flashback. Doch es gibt eine Person, die ihr Halt gibt und sie auch ohne viele Wörter gut versteht: Akutsu. Nach und nach merkt man immer mehr, wie sie aufblüht (wenn auch sehr langsam) und sich auch ihre Gefühle entwickeln.
Klar, die Charaktere sind sehr ähnlich zu den bisherigen aus anderen Reihen, dennoch fühl ich mich jetzt schon mit ihnen verbunden. Denn die Emotionen und Atmosphäre werden durch die schönen Zeichnungen wieder wunderbar wiedergegeben. 🫶 Bin gespannt, wie das ganze weitergeht - hoffentlich kommt der Titel auch bald zu uns 💕

[Chiara]

"...gelato??? No, no, fermi! Non ho capito il gioco!!" (cit. di cultura)

Sono una grandissima fan di Io Sakisaka quindi vedo il suo nome e compro automaticamente. L'incipit di questa nuova serie... non l'ho capito. All'inizio quando si pensa che "il lui" sia solo nella sua immaginazione mi sono detta: "beh, interessante... anzi, originale! Magari grazie a questa sorta di angelo custode la nostra protagonista riuscirà a risolvere i suoi problemi di timidezza e magari avvicinarsi all'altro suo compagno di classe che sembra interessato a lei"...ma lui invece esiste davvero. Quindi lei parla sia con quello vero che con quello immaginario. Ma che senso ha allora? A parte sensibilizzare il lettore sulle malattie mentali (ironico). Andrò avanti ancora con qualche numero ma questo primo è, a malincuore, bocciato. Non ci ho trovato nulla di interessante e anzi se togliamo quel piccolissimo colpo di scena iniziale (che tanto non serve a niente ai fini della storia) la trama è di una banalità unica. Ma VOGLIO cambiare idea coi prossimi numeri. *ti prego*

[☽｡⋆ Naidah ₊˚ෆ]

If you enjoyed Kimi ni todoke, then this is one to read!

The shy girl wanting to make more friends with her classmates and get better at talking find help from a boy she met at the local library.

Thank you NetGalley and viz media for the arc.

I enjoyed this story but I think the authors other series ao haru ride still has a hold over me and I’m expecting the worst. I didn’t enjoy haru ride, but I did like this one. I just hope there’s not gonna be miscommunication x100 or the main character isn’t going to do something stupid that’ll make the miscommunication even more annoying.

So far I feel like there’s a subtle lead up to it because we’re already introduced to two side characters that perhaps already has a growing love triangle between them and the FMC (but it seems their interactions are wholesome right now at the very least), but the fmc likes someone else… but I’ll have to read more to find out.

The art as well?! That was the only thing I liked about the authors work in ao haru ride, but I really like the art style here. It’s so beautiful 😍

[Entisar Ali]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this one, and the art alone makes it worth picking up. Iroha's social anxiety felt genuinely authentic, she's not avoiding people entirely, she just desperately wants to connect but can't find the right words, and as someone who was pretty shy growing up, that hit close to home. The setup, her talking to an imaginary version of her senpai until the real him shows up as her classmate, is such a fresh spin on the usual shoujo formula. I loved how it leans into themes of communication and miscommunication in a way that felt more layered than expected. Watching Iroha slowly want to know the real him instead of the version she's built in her head kept me hooked. My only real critique is that a lot of panels feel visually similar since so much takes place in school uniforms, and it starts to feel repetitive. Still, the character work won me over, and I'm excited to see where this goes.

[Alicia]

A slice of life romance between Iroha who is a shy girl who finds talking with her classmates extremely uncomfortable yet there's something about this boy, who she calls senpai and then ends up calling much more than at when she meets him in the library and befriends him and realizes that he can be the secret to getting her to learn to talk to her classmates and others. He's going to be especially helpful because she wants to get into the school that he goes to. Both have a few secrets they keep but when they're together there's no denying the energy between them that kickstarts this sweet romance similar to Our Aimless Nights, Volume 1.

[blackcatbookblog]

First I'd like to thank the publisher for a digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This has the potential to be my favorite Io Sakisaka series. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her other works too. But her last two series left me a little disappointed. As far as DD, I really like both the characters, their interactions and the good communication that happens in the very first volume! 👏👏👏 I can relate the FL struggle to express herself to others and her social anxiety. I did face palm with a couple of things she said when they came out wrong 🤦‍♀️ But I think we've all done that. I already have the first two volumes pre-ordered now and look forward to adding them to my collection!

[Raven]

3.5

As someone who has had anxiety issues for most of my life. This mangaka CLEARLY suffers from anxiety herself cause HOLY CRAP did I feel this exact way whenever I'm talking to strangers. I remember being this girl in middle school and highschool. I rarely talked to anyone, but I had this one specific friend that I could chat and chat with for hours. It was super hard to talk to anyone else but for her we just...clicked.

However, if I only met someone in passing and I learned later on that after our encounter they were daydreaming and talking to an imaginary me for months on end... I'd feel uh...weirded out. Like, very uncomfy and weirded out. So, like, interesting premise but like... Hm...