Honatsu finds herself wavering between her childhood best friend, Toma, who’s always looking out for her, and the transfer student, Shun, who she can’t help but be curious about. As she’s trying to navigate this, the school’s annual over-night stay orientation event kicks off. That’s when chance leads to Honatsu, Toma, and Shun in the same group. The three of them collide against one another as their bonds grow deeper, but then Toma asks to see Honatsu one-on-one...
I have been bouncing off the walls to start this one after the cliffhanger and I just had to start as soon as I got my copy because I just can't seem to get enough of Honatsu's high school drama.
The second volume continues with Honatsu having to decide between the transfer student, Shun, whom she can't help but be fascinated about, and her childhood best friend Toma, who is always on her side. And the rooting game had been a little hard even for me - though I personally love Shun more (second lead syndrome 🤝🏼 me).
To lay it on the line, I kind of feel like this volume has been a bit like a filler. However, it is still relevant to the main story, although nothing seems to be clear about what has happened with Honatsu's past as the author still pretty much foreshadows this whole 'memory lost' thing. Does it add to the suspense? Definitely. As much as I think I could figure out what happened, I believe Inari had it with the surprise element.
So of course, this volume had to end with a cliffhanger too! And a major one at that, because we're hinted at Honatsu's memories return — which gonna add a whole lot of flavor to the drama since she is now in a relationship with Toma, and things might not seem like what it is.
I so badly wish I had the third volume now but I guess the waiting game continues to start again...
A continuation of falling drowning. Honestly, there was a lot that happened in this manga that I was not prepared for and I am still processing on how to feel.
Even with her memory gone, Honatsu’s past and present continue to collide. Toma has always been there for her and his quiet dedication has always touched her heart. Or has it? As their relationship deepens and Tachibana starts to remove himself from the picture, it turns out that ‘always’ is very hard to define in a story like this…
When the second volume opens up with Honatsu holding Tachibana at knifepoint, you can’t say that your author isn’t out to grab the reader’s attention, even if it is a bit of a silly narrative conceit. But then, this story is nothing if not good at making a lot out of silly narrative conceits.
In fact, that’s kind of why this series works - it takes what shouldn’t fly as a story and makes sure it does enough that it’s both interesting and goes for the drama in a way a lesser shojo wouldn’t even dare.
So with Tachibana being a brooding mess again, Toma has free reign (encouragement even) to say all the right things and make all the right moves and the aquarium is so cute and Honatsu loves how he’s always been there for her and it’s all been building to her steeling to confess if he doesn’t.
You can smell the interruption coming a mile off. Then it doesn’t happen. Heck, anybody who has read enough series like this will probably be on edge the whole time waiting for what they know is coming, which goes quite far in the exact opposite direction. And this is a two-volume series with a happy ending for the childhood friend and the brooding boy whom our heroine can’t stay away from turns out to have been the rival all along.
Right.
There are two interesting threads at play here - the most pressing one is a developing lesson about how people need to define their happiness for themselves and not have it defined for them. This is also wrapped up in the dilemma of what you do when current you loves somebody that they might not have in the past… but you don’t remember. The reconciliation of that is hopefully going to be something else.
It also informs Tachibana running so hot and cold around Honatsu - he knows he shouldn’t have anything to do with her (in his mind), but his feelings, clearly not forgotten, are driving him to be more impulsive. Given his actions at the pool, it also feels like the drowning in the series’ title might be a bit more literal than we think.
It doesn’t help that Honatsu, who’s slightly withdrawn and says she has always had to rely on her friends, is constantly making overt moves to bring him into her friend circle, which is a zone these two cannot occupy. The slow rise of what we are told is very likely her old self resurfacing is a wonderful arc for her character and a great reason for her to slowly grow stronger.
And Toma isn’t wrong to express his feelings any more than Honatsu is to reciprocate, even if her heart throbs might be softer than she expects. Thus, it’s very likely deliberate that even with how much he cares and his dependability, Toma and Honatsu together are nothing less than a textbook definition of banality.
The demure and reliant Honatsu of Toma’s world is not the free and strong one of Tachibana’s memories and when the two start to overlap it’s going to be a thing. And as somebody with some stories about the life-changing power of a hug, the embrace that closes out this volume rings completely true for me.
If you’re going to bring fictional memory loss that can be tailored to the author’s needs to your story, you had best be writing the hell out of it and, thankfully, that is indeed the case so far. By going above and beyond the normal shojo tropes, it manages to get away with some of the hoariest old saws in narrative fiction elsewhere.
It’s not the best thing ever written, but I do like it rather a lot and it’s definitely cemented itself on my list of ongoings. And even if it isn’t the best, it’s still very good, just to be clear. There are a couple of weak spots - Tachibana is still a little too moody jerk (for good reason, mind) and the moment-to-moment writing can be a little too earnest and cheesy at points - but they don’t drag it down too much with all the positive notes.
3.5 stars - rounded up for general quality and making a silk purse that can’t remember its past out of a sow’s ear. A curious but ultimately very palatable blend of the nuanced and subtle with the head-smackingly obvious.
I didn’t want to put a 5 stars rating because I usually keep it for the best volume on a manga series BUT the truth is I can’t find any flaws in this volume I love it so much.
I feel like we won’t have to wait too long for the real story to unveil and I’m going to throw myself on the third volume once it’s out.
3.5 stars. Slowly developing. I am impressed with some elements while holding my breath it's not just an angsty drama llama story for me. I do love the art and the way the artist tells the story
Avec son ambiance mystérieuse et terriblement romantique, façon empirique, Qui suis-je pour t’aimer ? est à la fois une lecture feel good et qui me prend doucement aux tripes.
Pourtant l’autrice ne nous facilite pas les choses et ne rend pas toujours ses personnages agréables à suivre ou aimable. Honatsu est ainsi particulièrement pénible dans un premier temps dans ce tome, avec une attitude bien trop agressive où elle cherche à imposer ses idées. Je n’ai pas du tout aimé. A l’inverse, les garçons, eux, à force de vouloir la protéger sont bien trop passifs et acceptent d’elle des choses qu’ils ne devraient pas, questionnant sur ce qu’on doit faire face à quelqu’un qui a un trouble de quelque ordre que ce soit. Est-il bon de le surprotéger comme ça ? L’autrice pose finement la question.
Cela amène d’ailleurs encore et toujours beaucoup de mystère et d’émotion. On sent vraiment le lien qui unissait tout ce petit groupe autrefois. La mangaka distille merveilleusement leurs souvenirs commun joyeux comme douloureux, comme si on retombait sur des flashs ou des photos oubliées. C’est poignant. D’autant plus que les uns souffrent et la seconde a oublié mais cherche à comprendre. Cela confère une atmosphère très particulière à la lecture où on voit bien qu’ils lui cachent tous quelque chose pour oublier qu’elle souffre de ce passé, mais en attendant c’est eux qui souffrent et ne sont pas vraiment eux-mêmes. C’est particulièrement parlant avec Shun, ce personnage taiseux, un peu asocial, que j’apprécie énormément, bien plus que le trop lumineux Toma.
Ce tome est celui du chamboulement des sentiments. Avec le retour de Shun et la crainte du retour des souvenirs d’Honatsu, Toma passe enfin à l’action. Mais c’est fait de manière terriblement douce et adorable, pleine de prévenance pour ne surtout pas heurter la jeune fille. C’est beau quand même la façon dont cette amitié qu’ils partagent tous depuis toujours les rend si doux les uns pour les autres. On sent que ce petit groupe était vraiment unis autrefois, notamment autour de la figure du père d’Honatsu, ce que j’espère bien voir éclairci dans le prochain et dernier tome. En attendant, l’autrice nous livre des scènes d’une grande douceur et d’un joli romantisme, où on prend en plein coeur les jolis sentiments de Toma, ceux plus complexes de Shun et ceux très adolescents d’Honatsu, qui ne voit pas du tout les enjeux. C’est gentiment mis en scène dans des lieux toujours emblématique : piscine, toit du lycée, aquarium, rue de leur enfance, cimetière… rendant la lecture nostalgique.
Après une première série déjà un peu différente de ses voisines avec un triangle amoureux virant plutôt au boys love, Qui suis-je pour t’aimer ? offre une belle romance sur fond de secret, de mémoire perdue, de sentiments à protéger et d’amitié amoureuse avec une ambiance nostalgique touchante et émouvante. Avec un tome qui fait bien avancer les choses, l’autrice nous amène lentement vers une conclusion qui risque d’être plus mouvementée mais tout aussi bienveillante. On a hâte.
Le premier tome m’avait complètement pris par surprise. J’étais hyper impliquée dans ma lecture et je me suis laissée prendre au jeu. Sauf que maintenant, je veux découvrir la vérité sur toute cette histoire et j’ai presque envie de dire qu’heureusement, il n’y a que trois tomes pour ce manga parce que je n’en peux plus d’attendre. Je veux savoir tout ce qu’il se cache derrière cette histoire. Ce second tome était tout aussi palpitant et mystérieux que le premier tome. Je suis vraiment très curieuse de découvrir ce qui a bien pu arriver à Honatsu et les autres..
Dans ce second tome, Honatsu Tenma est une lycéenne qui a perdu la mémoire après un accident ayant coûté la vie à son père. La jeune fille étant incapable de se remémorer les onze premières années de sa vie, Akine et Tôma, ses amis d’enfance, la surprotègent. Honatsu tente de vivre une adolescence comme les autres, mais tout est confus dans son esprit… Aime-t-elle Tôma d’amour ou d’amitié ? Pourquoi le nouvel élève ténébreux, Shun, la trouble-t-elle autant ? Pourquoi a-t-elle l’impression de le connaître ? Et surtout, pourquoi a-t-elle la sensation qu’il subsiste un voile de mystère autour de l’accident qui l’a privée de sa mémoire ?
A force de réfléchir pendant ma lecture, j’en suis venue à me retrouver avec des noeuds au cerveau tant je me pose de questions! Plus on avance, plus on découvre des zones d’ombres et plus on se retrouve complètement perdu.. Il me tarde de me plonger dans le dernier tome pour enfin découvrir toute la vérité. J’ai plusieurs pistes en tête mais en temps normale je suis extrêmement nulle pour deviner donc je suis certaine que j’aurais tout faux et que je vais retrouvé bouche bée devant la révélation.. Le personnage que je préfère dans ce manga c’est celui de Shun. Au final, c’est celui qui est le plus mystérieux dans tout ça et celui qui a l’air de cacher le plus de choses concernant Honatsu.. Je me demande vraiment ce qu’il cache au fond de lui. La relation entre Honatsu et Tôma continue d’évoluer. Tôma a beau être hyper attentif au bien être de Honatsu, je ne peux m’empêcher de penser qu’il y a un truc pas normal entre les deux. Je suis certaine que lui a des sentiments pour elle mais qu’elle, c’était plutôt envers Shun qu’elle en avait..
Heureusement que j’ai le dernier tome sous la main parce que ça serait vraiment difficile de devoir attendre pour enfin avoir la révélation sur toute cette histoire. Je me pose énormément de questions, j’ai plusieurs théories en tête, bref je veux savoir ce qu’il s’est réellement passé avec tous ces personnages. Ce manga me plaît tellement! Je prends vraiment beaucoup de plaisir à dévorer ma lecture, surtout que ça se lit en un rien de temps! Maintenant je m’en vais découvrir le dénouement de cette histoire!
Years ago, Honatsu woke up without her memories. All she knows is that her father is gone, and she's lucky to have her best friend in her life. However, she may now be falling in love with said best friend. She's not sure. Is this how love feels?
Toma has always been there for her. He keeps her safe, watches her back, and knows all about her history and quirks. Naturally, there's a complication – Shun, the transfer student. At first, he seemed like just a guy who didn't like Honatsu, but now something else is happening. Almost like he knows more than he's letting on...
My Review:
So, I might have let too much time pass before reading Falling Drowning Vol. 2. It took me the whole first chapter to get back into the swing of things. So don't make my mistake! Or reread volume one before diving in—either works.
That sweet feeling is still very much present in the second volume of this series, but a growing mystery is slowly overtaking it. What happened in Honatsu's past? Why is everyone so protective (some would say overprotective) of Honatsu? And how do Toma and Shun work into this whole mix?
I enjoyed this volume, but honestly, I wish they had delved into these questions a little more. Instead, there's lots of teasing and promising. On the bright side, other plots did progress, so I can't complain too much!
This is the perfect read if you love gentle romances, potential love triangles, and a hint of mystery.
Highlights: Slow burn romance Potential Love Triangle Quest for Answers Friendship Secrets
I forgot about this series! It is kinda forgettable though. The art is okay and the story is lacking emotion.
Anyway, I think Honatsu and Shun used to like each other back before her accident and Shun had something to do with her father’s death (hence why he’s hiding his feelings). Toma is taking advantage of Honatsu’s memory loss to be with her since in the past, she rejected him….
L’histoire se lit toujours aussi rapidement et les personnages et leurs émotions se développent davantage, toujours dans les cadres traditionnels du shojo.
Mais l’intrigue devient de plus en plus interessante.
Still have 2 nd male lead syndrome and I don’t like that the ML decided to keep something from her and people are just going with it. That’s yucky to me. One more volume I guess the mystery reveal is soon.
Really excited for the next volume coming out in September. The ending put me on the edge of my seat. A self-sacrificing Tsundere or pretty-boy Optimist? I know who I'd choose haha. I look forward to Honatsu regaining her memories.
Ooohhh, this was so intriguing, such a tease! I think this will be a short series, but I'm so curious what's going to come of it, I don't even mind! If you liked the first volume, you'll prob love this one.