My pet peeve in any book, manga or otherwise, is false advertising. If the synopsis on the back of the cover does not match the content inside the book, I feel like I got ripped off.
This manga would have you believe it's a cute, fluffy, high school romance. IT'S NOT! It's actually about a super creepy stalker! And I would have been happy to read "Joe Goldberg: the Manga," if it had been advertised as such, but the lying synopsis earns this manga one star and I'm not continuing it.
The girl in this story has no interest in romance. The idea of having a boyfriend never even crosses her mind. She's just a kind person who offers a stranger her umbrella, and that's when she inadvertently picks up a stalker.
So the guy she offers her umbrella to is super hot and popular at school. But he has a secret: he's a creep. The type to fall immediately "in love" with any random girl who pays him attention, until she figures out how obsessive he is and dumps him. This guy waves ALL the red flags. The main character simply shared her umbrella, and the next day he shows up in her classroom to make his "love confession" in front of everyone. She turns him down - having, again, ZERO interest in boys - but he shows up in front of school at the end of the day, waiting to walk her home, anyway. He won't take no for an answer, so she agrees they can hang out until Christmas Eve and see if her feelings change towards him.
The boy is honest, at least, about his intentions. He tells the girl he is "intense" and "crazy." She admits she finds him "tenacious" and "extreme." Suddenly this guy is everywhere she is. He stands outside her house for literal HOURS every morning so he can be sure to walk to her to school. He hovers and eavesdrops when she's with her friends and then records information about her to use later. He stalks her to a family event he was not invited to, and insists she leave with him instead.
He has no real personality or interests of his own. The second they start their trial date, he starts changing everything about himself to try and fit into some ideal guy just based on what he *thinks* she would like. He gets rid of his earrings and cuts off his long hair, even though she never asked him to. He's never real, never really "himself."
His actions and words are both constantly creepy and over-the-top. This is her first "romance" so she asks what girlfriends and boyfriends are actually supposed to do together. His response is, "Be buried together." O.O She looks at her phone and he's blown it up with like 15 missed calls in the last 30 seconds. She loses a hair pin and he spends the night at school, digging through the snow to try and find it. She suggests they make a list of fun things to do together, like trying new food. He writes "MAKE YOU MINE" but then hides the paper so she won't see it. He sees another boy simply talking to her and his face looks like MURDER. I fear for that guy in coming volumes.
If you want a light-hearted, fluffy, sweet romance, this ain't it.
If you want to watch a teenage serial killer in-the-making...enjoy!!!