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君に紡ぐ傍白 / Kimi ni Tsumugu Bouhaku #1
Monologue Woven For You Vol. 1
Two women, one spotlight. Haruka has abandoned her dreams of the theatre but finds herself still haunted by memories. Meanwhile, Nao chases her aspirations for the stage head-on, refusing to back down or let obstacles block her way. After the lives of these two theatre geeks cross, their aspirations will either form their friendship or fuel their rivalry. When romance sparks, which will prevail in the love... or the stage?
136 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
February 9, 2022
Haruka dreamed of being an actor, but her dreams died in high school. Now in college, a chance meeting with the outgoing Nao, herself a budding actor, ignites a whole other sort of passion. As the two young women grow closer, it turns out that both are keeping secrets, but how much trouble can one little secret cause?
Boy, the back of the book copy for this makes it sound really fraught and, well, dramatic. Which is why it’s quite the surprise that this is actually a bit of effervescent yuri froth that’s more concerned about the very mushy coupling in progress than it is anything more serious.
There’s really nothing approaching high stakes thus far - Haruka and Nao meet, Nao hangs out, they grow close, they couple up, Nao unknowingly helps Haruka get over some of her stigma about the theatre, they come out with no real issues a couple of times and basically exist in that early-on relationship haze that makes everything sunshine and rainbows.
They both have good friends, there’s some very nice real talk, they’re crazy in love. It’s almost too perfect - even the secrets between the two are only half a problem, since Nao actually knows Haruka’s already because reasons. The book description has a lot more going on than the series so far.
Is that a bad thing? Eh, not really. There’s definitely the potential of something brewing here and it certainly seems to imply that Haruka might indeed find her way back to acting, which could very easily turn into a real muddle for these two. And it’s not completely bereft of conflict, just while you’re waiting for anything heavy it’s pretty low-key and easily surmounted.
Until that time you just get to watch them be super cute and in gorgeous full-colour, no less. It’s got tons of sweet and silly moments, Nao is definitely a big puppy where Haruka is concerned, and the two of them are utterly adorable together. There are worse things and they make sitting around and talking into a viable spectator sport. Their slow coming together followed by rapid head-over-heels feels very natural for the two of them.
I guess the biggest thing is that this is largely about Nao’s dream and Haruka’s support of that dream, but there’s not a lot of friction to it. Not that they need to be fighting, but it feels too effortless with Haruka having been driven from acting so completely. It’s certainly more interesting than Our Teachers Are Dating, which lays the syrup on even thicker and is even more toothless, but this feels like a really good book that’s just missing a little more heft to push it to greatness.
3.5 stars - an easy round up to 4, especially if you’re looking for a nice, light story of two young women finding one another in college and the delights that brings to their lives. I do think this might just get a lot better in subsequent volumes, so I’m going to ding it a little bit here in hopes it reaches even higher next time.
Boy, the back of the book copy for this makes it sound really fraught and, well, dramatic. Which is why it’s quite the surprise that this is actually a bit of effervescent yuri froth that’s more concerned about the very mushy coupling in progress than it is anything more serious.
There’s really nothing approaching high stakes thus far - Haruka and Nao meet, Nao hangs out, they grow close, they couple up, Nao unknowingly helps Haruka get over some of her stigma about the theatre, they come out with no real issues a couple of times and basically exist in that early-on relationship haze that makes everything sunshine and rainbows.
They both have good friends, there’s some very nice real talk, they’re crazy in love. It’s almost too perfect - even the secrets between the two are only half a problem, since Nao actually knows Haruka’s already because reasons. The book description has a lot more going on than the series so far.
Is that a bad thing? Eh, not really. There’s definitely the potential of something brewing here and it certainly seems to imply that Haruka might indeed find her way back to acting, which could very easily turn into a real muddle for these two. And it’s not completely bereft of conflict, just while you’re waiting for anything heavy it’s pretty low-key and easily surmounted.
Until that time you just get to watch them be super cute and in gorgeous full-colour, no less. It’s got tons of sweet and silly moments, Nao is definitely a big puppy where Haruka is concerned, and the two of them are utterly adorable together. There are worse things and they make sitting around and talking into a viable spectator sport. Their slow coming together followed by rapid head-over-heels feels very natural for the two of them.
I guess the biggest thing is that this is largely about Nao’s dream and Haruka’s support of that dream, but there’s not a lot of friction to it. Not that they need to be fighting, but it feels too effortless with Haruka having been driven from acting so completely. It’s certainly more interesting than Our Teachers Are Dating, which lays the syrup on even thicker and is even more toothless, but this feels like a really good book that’s just missing a little more heft to push it to greatness.
3.5 stars - an easy round up to 4, especially if you’re looking for a nice, light story of two young women finding one another in college and the delights that brings to their lives. I do think this might just get a lot better in subsequent volumes, so I’m going to ding it a little bit here in hopes it reaches even higher next time.
July 14, 2022
This was one of the most anticipated manga for me for this year, but it didn’t quite grab me like I thought it would. At least for me I felt that the relationship between Haruka and Nao was rushed. It was rushed, yet incredibly slow. I know a contradiction, but hear me out. By no means is this meant story to be plot driven. It isn’t. It’s meant to be character driven yet the characters don’t feel real to me yet. It rushed the romantic relationship before I really understood who these characters are. Because of that it left me doubting why the two leads even like each other. I just wasn’t invested in these characters. But, it’s only volume 1 and I realize that. But, the thought of picking up and reading the next one seems unlikely. I’m just not into it. But, I’m glad it has a following with people who enjoy it.
April 2, 2022
The amount of "awwwwww" moments in this manga were never-ending and that's not really a bad thing. As much as I like drama and angst sometimes it's nice to see a relationship just... Happen. Sometimes it's nice to see all the little boring, every day bits, the silly thoughts about nothing, the conversations that will inevitably be forgotten about, the cute hugs and kisses. Frankly it's adorable and I really enjoyed seeing that.
Even so, I found the pacing of this manga to be a little strange. They jumped right into the relationship, but then it slowed down until there was pretty much nothing. Again, I don't mind that the story really only focused on their day-to-day or introducing new characters, but I do hope that we have a continuation of the actual conflict in the next volume.
Also, as an extra treat this is full color!
Even so, I found the pacing of this manga to be a little strange. They jumped right into the relationship, but then it slowed down until there was pretty much nothing. Again, I don't mind that the story really only focused on their day-to-day or introducing new characters, but I do hope that we have a continuation of the actual conflict in the next volume.
Also, as an extra treat this is full color!
January 16, 2023
This was… not super interesting to me, maybe due in part to how bland and forgettable the art felt. There also wasn’t particularly anything wrong with the story, though. It was just simple. I would read the next volume to see how things go.
May 15, 2022
This is a really sweet and cute manga! Haruka used to do theatre, but she gave up some years ago. At uni, she meets Nao, a talented first year student who is in a theatre group as well. They become good friends, and later both confess their romantic feelings. Slowly, it is revealed that Haruka had gone through a traumatic event that lead to her giving up on theatre, but she doesn't want to tell Nao about it just yet, and instead focus on supporting her girlfriend's career.
Really looking forward to read more of this story! The art is sweet and I really love that it's a full colour manga, it's very pretty!
Rep: sapphic main characters
Really looking forward to read more of this story! The art is sweet and I really love that it's a full colour manga, it's very pretty!
Rep: sapphic main characters
July 12, 2023
All manga should be in color. Honestly from the plot, to the girls, to the fluff; I honestly could not get enough! The dialogue was actually refreshing as well, Haruka & Nao conversed like a couple. No drama in this, so you get loads of colorful pages of cuteness.
Purchased Volume 2 and Volume 3, I can't wait to read them.
Purchased Volume 2 and Volume 3, I can't wait to read them.
March 21, 2022
Beaucoup apprécié ce manga qui sort de plusieurs lieux communs du média (de ce que j'ai pu en lire pour le moment en tout cas) pour proposer un récit plutôt salutaire dans ce premier volume. Ça aurait honnêtement pu se terminer à la fin de ce tome et ça aurait été un très bel ouvrage en soi.
Le récit offre assez rapidement la mise en commun du couple lesbien (plutôt que d'allonger l'intrigue amoureuse) tout en laissant amplement le temps de permettre l'exploration des besoins, envies, questionnements du couple une fois formé. Il y a évidemment quand même une question non résolue à la fin du premier volume qui concerne le traumatisme d'Haruka qui, on le sent, sera adressé plus frontalement dans le deuxième volume, mais ça permet de se concentrer sur les deux protagonistes, leurs amies, leur relation en développement et bien que le traumatisme est central au récit, ultimement, on ressent bien le travail qui est effectué par Haruka dessus, mais que bien des barrières restent encore présentes et devront être affrontées.
Je dois avouer ne pas avoir relever des choix poétiques ou esthétiques signifiant. Oui, il y a une opposition de couleur chaude et froide assez commune avec le chaud de Hayama qui aime les fraises et qui représente la passion par opposition à Haruka aux cheveux noirs et dont les souvenirs traumatiques sont en noir et blanc. J'ai beaucoup de questionnement au sujet de la deuxième image de la couverture par exemple: Haruka, une figure plutôt sobre encerclé par des fleurs représente bien la découverte d'une passion de son côté. Toutefois, Hayama, coupée du monde avec l'idée des écouteurs comme coupure de son environnement accentué par un air pensif sur un fond plus "criard" avec de nombreuses signalisations qu'on imagine bruyantes, posée sur un fond urbain représente très mal l'esprit du personnage qu'on découvre. Peut-être y a-t-il une petite allusion à la coupure qui lui manque du récit d'Haruka, mais ce n'est pas par manque d'attention ou de repli que ce récit n'est pas livré. Malgré l'absence d'éléments narratifs ou visuels que j'aurais pu analyser, ou que je n'ai simplement pas relevé, j'ai néanmoins très apprécié ma lecture qui a passé extrêmement rapidement.
Je suis aussi ravi· de lire en manga en couleur, il y a un beau choix esthétique et c'est un changement que j'accueille chaleureusement dans l'immense production en noir et blanc.
Le récit offre assez rapidement la mise en commun du couple lesbien (plutôt que d'allonger l'intrigue amoureuse) tout en laissant amplement le temps de permettre l'exploration des besoins, envies, questionnements du couple une fois formé. Il y a évidemment quand même une question non résolue à la fin du premier volume qui concerne le traumatisme d'Haruka qui, on le sent, sera adressé plus frontalement dans le deuxième volume, mais ça permet de se concentrer sur les deux protagonistes, leurs amies, leur relation en développement et bien que le traumatisme est central au récit, ultimement, on ressent bien le travail qui est effectué par Haruka dessus, mais que bien des barrières restent encore présentes et devront être affrontées.
Je dois avouer ne pas avoir relever des choix poétiques ou esthétiques signifiant. Oui, il y a une opposition de couleur chaude et froide assez commune avec le chaud de Hayama qui aime les fraises et qui représente la passion par opposition à Haruka aux cheveux noirs et dont les souvenirs traumatiques sont en noir et blanc. J'ai beaucoup de questionnement au sujet de la deuxième image de la couverture par exemple: Haruka, une figure plutôt sobre encerclé par des fleurs représente bien la découverte d'une passion de son côté. Toutefois, Hayama, coupée du monde avec l'idée des écouteurs comme coupure de son environnement accentué par un air pensif sur un fond plus "criard" avec de nombreuses signalisations qu'on imagine bruyantes, posée sur un fond urbain représente très mal l'esprit du personnage qu'on découvre. Peut-être y a-t-il une petite allusion à la coupure qui lui manque du récit d'Haruka, mais ce n'est pas par manque d'attention ou de repli que ce récit n'est pas livré. Malgré l'absence d'éléments narratifs ou visuels que j'aurais pu analyser, ou que je n'ai simplement pas relevé, j'ai néanmoins très apprécié ma lecture qui a passé extrêmement rapidement.
Je suis aussi ravi· de lire en manga en couleur, il y a un beau choix esthétique et c'est un changement que j'accueille chaleureusement dans l'immense production en noir et blanc.
March 13, 2022
We love wlw representation but the blurb was so misleading. Where’s the drama (aside from the literal drama being performed in the theatre)??? Where’s the rivalry???? Where’s my enemies to lovers storyline that I thought I was getting??? Not in this volume that’s for sure.
It was super cute though and so so pretty JUST LOOK AT THE COVER literal heart eyes for this manga
It was super cute though and so so pretty JUST LOOK AT THE COVER literal heart eyes for this manga
January 16, 2024
It’s so cute and a lovely little romance, I just wish there was something more to it. Maybe just a little bit more slow burn or even tension.
It’s such a lovely read with a stunning art style.
April 23, 2025
4.5 stars!
I'm really enjoying the romance in this first volume. It moves pretty quickly, but I'm invested in the couple. The full colour art is beatiful and the pages are high quality.
I'm really enjoying the romance in this first volume. It moves pretty quickly, but I'm invested in the couple. The full colour art is beatiful and the pages are high quality.
May 15, 2023
Honestly kind of just mediocre.
October 17, 2023
3.5-ish?
a manga fully in color!! it’s pretty cute, but i feel like it progressed a bit quickly?
overall, very lovely and sweet ^^
a manga fully in color!! it’s pretty cute, but i feel like it progressed a bit quickly?
overall, very lovely and sweet ^^
May 31, 2023
3.5 stars.
January 24, 2023
Very repetitive. The story line was good but didn’t go anywhere.
February 28, 2022
The colours are so vibrant and the scenes are always drawn with such attention to detail. Besides being quite visually appealing, the story is nice with minimal build up to the relationship beginning- which can sometimes be the case in yuri where the crush stage is drawn out over multiple chapters or volumes.
Instead, Haruka and Nao become a couple early on and the narrative shifts focus to the mystery of Haruka's past in theater and the potential strain the secret will put on their relationship. The reasoning for keeping it a secret from Nao feels weak to me, but maybe next volume will reveal why Haruka left theater and we might learn why she doesn't want Nao to know. But as it stands, it just feels to me like if Haruka had told Nao earlier in their relationship "Wow that play reminded me of how fun it was when I used to do theater in middle school. I haven't done it in years, though, so it didn't seem important to tell you when we first met!" It would have been a bit awkward, but not a relationship breaking moment. Again, maybe once the mystery is revealed to us as to why Haruka left theater, her secretiveness will make more sense.
The main characters are nice and the secondary characters are nice, average supporting characters. I like that everyone is an adult. There is no particularly overt fanservice unless you include a brief bath scene and a bra strap. Sex exists, but not in any sort of over the top way.
This is just a first volume, so I never ask for much in terms of character development and stuff. It did a good job introducing our leads, their friends, and their relationship while teasing a mystery about their respective pasts that we can unravel if we pick up the next installment. I know I will be picking up the next one, I have nothing bad to say about this first volume! Did I mention how much I liked the art?
Instead, Haruka and Nao become a couple early on and the narrative shifts focus to the mystery of Haruka's past in theater and the potential strain the secret will put on their relationship. The reasoning for keeping it a secret from Nao feels weak to me, but maybe next volume will reveal why Haruka left theater and we might learn why she doesn't want Nao to know. But as it stands, it just feels to me like if Haruka had told Nao earlier in their relationship "Wow that play reminded me of how fun it was when I used to do theater in middle school. I haven't done it in years, though, so it didn't seem important to tell you when we first met!" It would have been a bit awkward, but not a relationship breaking moment. Again, maybe once the mystery is revealed to us as to why Haruka left theater, her secretiveness will make more sense.
The main characters are nice and the secondary characters are nice, average supporting characters. I like that everyone is an adult. There is no particularly overt fanservice unless you include a brief bath scene and a bra strap. Sex exists, but not in any sort of over the top way.
This is just a first volume, so I never ask for much in terms of character development and stuff. It did a good job introducing our leads, their friends, and their relationship while teasing a mystery about their respective pasts that we can unravel if we pick up the next installment. I know I will be picking up the next one, I have nothing bad to say about this first volume! Did I mention how much I liked the art?
April 10, 2023
4.5
I love how casual the author keeps most of the things. Love confession? Pff, easy. First kiss? No big deal. First time sleeping together? Nothing.
I mean, the characters do get nervous still and blush a lot, and it's also not completely meaningless, but definitely toned down a lot, compared to pretty much every other romance story. It just shows how comfortable the characters are together and that's what you want to have in a romantic/sexual relationship, no?
I also love how supportive everyone is. Not just with their relationship, but also with the dreams that each character has. It's extremely common in such stories for characters to always be jealous and envious, but not here. It's so healthy and refreshing.
Also, it's incredible, how every page, every panel is in color! Mangas are already difficult enough and take so much time in b&w already, but even more so colored... gets me every time. 5 stars for the art.
I'm not much a fan of the secret they're both keeping, as I always prefer honest relationships, which is why it gets half a star less. However, the secret isn't harming them, so I'm fine with it for now. Hopefully they do get to talk about it soon though.
I love how casual the author keeps most of the things. Love confession? Pff, easy. First kiss? No big deal. First time sleeping together? Nothing.
I mean, the characters do get nervous still and blush a lot, and it's also not completely meaningless, but definitely toned down a lot, compared to pretty much every other romance story. It just shows how comfortable the characters are together and that's what you want to have in a romantic/sexual relationship, no?
I also love how supportive everyone is. Not just with their relationship, but also with the dreams that each character has. It's extremely common in such stories for characters to always be jealous and envious, but not here. It's so healthy and refreshing.
Also, it's incredible, how every page, every panel is in color! Mangas are already difficult enough and take so much time in b&w already, but even more so colored... gets me every time. 5 stars for the art.
I'm not much a fan of the secret they're both keeping, as I always prefer honest relationships, which is why it gets half a star less. However, the secret isn't harming them, so I'm fine with it for now. Hopefully they do get to talk about it soon though.
June 6, 2022
I got this from Lakewood Library yesterday and I could not wait to read it.
Haruka once had a dream of being onstage, but at some point gave up on that dream. Now in college, she meets Nao who also dreams on being on the stage and does not let anything get in her way.
As the two grow closer, Haruka realizes that she had a new dream is to watch Nao live out her dream. Despite this, she has not told Nao of her previous ambitions. She will but is waiting to tell her.
I was not sure if I was going to like this, but I loved and that it was in full color helped the reading experience. I can't wait until the next chapter.
I wonder how many volumes this manga will have in total.
Haruka once had a dream of being onstage, but at some point gave up on that dream. Now in college, she meets Nao who also dreams on being on the stage and does not let anything get in her way.
As the two grow closer, Haruka realizes that she had a new dream is to watch Nao live out her dream. Despite this, she has not told Nao of her previous ambitions. She will but is waiting to tell her.
I was not sure if I was going to like this, but I loved and that it was in full color helped the reading experience. I can't wait until the next chapter.
I wonder how many volumes this manga will have in total.
April 16, 2022
Two things stood out for me with this manga:
1. The coloring is gorgeous. The colors are not fully saturated, but they're not muted. They're like more saturated pastels, and it produces a really nice effect.
2. This is a romance, but there's also a bit of mystery. Because neither Nao nor the audience know exactly why Haruka stopped acting. It's nice for a romance story to have something else beyond the romance to entice you to read the next volume. I really want to know what happened to Haruka in high school.
1. The coloring is gorgeous. The colors are not fully saturated, but they're not muted. They're like more saturated pastels, and it produces a really nice effect.
2. This is a romance, but there's also a bit of mystery. Because neither Nao nor the audience know exactly why Haruka stopped acting. It's nice for a romance story to have something else beyond the romance to entice you to read the next volume. I really want to know what happened to Haruka in high school.
May 8, 2023
Two young women meet: Haruka once wanted to be an actress, but has given up that dream. Nao is perusing that dream - and Haruka starts to connect with her. The relationship gets deeper - and Nao and Haruka become romantically attracted to each other. This is only the first book in this series - but based on it I think that it is a very interesting look at how we connect with other people who share similar interests.
June 2, 2023
Very tropey and shallow, but SO VERY CUTE that I can kind of forgive it. The art is lovely, the designs are super cute, and everything is so colorful. The romance itself felt rushed and surface level. They met, they fell in love, and boom - happy couple. The only "issue" they have is Haruka's secret, and I doubt that will do much of anything.
Despite all this, will I still read the next volume? Probably! It really was so fluffy and heartwarming. 🌸
Despite all this, will I still read the next volume? Probably! It really was so fluffy and heartwarming. 🌸
January 7, 2024
3 stars. I love anything having to do with the theater so this series seems right up my alley. It’s also full color which is always fun. I liked the characters Haruka and Nao. Haruka used to be into theater but she’s not anymore and there’s a big mystery surrounding why. Nao is into theater and the two strike up a quick relationship. They’re very cute together but something about this first volume felt lacking. Not bad or anything but kind of hollow. Hopefully volume two will be better.
February 28, 2024
More like a 4.5 for me. The relationship is a bit of an "instalove" but whatever, what follows after is cute enough to overlook that. The main characters are adorable and their relationship even more so. The "drama" is light, making this a very fluffy and wholesome read. It's also a manga that manages to avoid a lot of the... questionable... trappings that befall other mangas, so that instantly shoots it to the top of my all-time favorites list. All in all, this is a really great start to the series.
March 22, 2022
This is just incredible! If you like "clean" yuri, then read this!
The 2 MCs are both cute and sweet. They just fall into love with each other. Nothing crazy, wild, or outrageous. This is just a fun, sweet yuri love story. Preteen friendly, and from what I understand, there's going to be more than one volume to come. So I am eager for that!
The 2 MCs are both cute and sweet. They just fall into love with each other. Nothing crazy, wild, or outrageous. This is just a fun, sweet yuri love story. Preteen friendly, and from what I understand, there's going to be more than one volume to come. So I am eager for that!
June 12, 2022
Absolutely gorgeously designed! This story follows two girls falling in love and following dreams. Theatre and books are a key fixture in this little treasure and honestly I can't believe I only have my hands on the first volume.
I cannot wait to read the rest of this adorable love story between Nao and Haruka.
I cannot wait to read the rest of this adorable love story between Nao and Haruka.
April 13, 2023
I don't get to see much manga printed in full-color, so this one was a really nice treat! It's beautifully illustrated. This volume felt very much like an introduction to a story. Based on the teaser for the next volume and secrets kept, there might be some tension and drama coming up. I'm just happy that for right now, they're happy.
April 30, 2023
You know when you start reading something and it just feels boring straight away, this is how it felt for me. I was drawn in by the color manga, looking through it looked great but the story just isn't for me.
I don't care about someone wanting to be an actor, with a hint of a love story. It's just not my type of thing to read, I'm sure a lot of people will love this, if it's there thing.
I don't care about someone wanting to be an actor, with a hint of a love story. It's just not my type of thing to read, I'm sure a lot of people will love this, if it's there thing.
February 22, 2022
beautiful full-color artwork, but these girls are too blindly romantic with each other for my cynical, dead heart. it seems like haruka's past might introduce conflict in the next volume though, so i'll still read it.
April 2, 2022
Nnnnn… it was fine. I think the balance of interesting plot and cute fluff was off. I wish there was more build up of their relationship. Second volume with the drama of Haruka’s past could be more interesting. Fingers crossed.
February 15, 2023
Straightforward and wholesome although a bit on the fast side. And as always with manga, pretty dramatic, both romance-wise ("I wanna be with her forever") and drama-wise ("if I tell her about my theater past, it's gonna ruin our relationship").
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews