Like a Butterfly, Vol. 1

日々蝶々 [Hibi Chouchou] #1

by Suu Morishita

Would you rather wait for love like a flower, or fly toward love like a butterfly?

Suiren Shibazeki is often compared to a beautiful flower—but one that grows on the tallest peak of a mountain, forever out of reach. When Suiren develops feelings for the quiet Taichi Kawasumi, however, she doesn’t want to be a distant flower. She’d rather leave her lofty perch and fly toward him like a butterfly.

After Kawasumi rescues her from an unwelcome admirer, Suiren finds herself captivated by him. However, Suiren is too shy to speak to anyone, much less this reserved karate boy. What’s more, Suiren isn’t the only one interested in Kawasumi. Will a class trip offer the opportunity to reveal her feelings before it’s too late?

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2012

About the author

MORISHITA Suu
Name (in native language): 森下ｓｕｕ

Blood type: A
Zodiac: Taurus

Mangaka duo: Story: Makiro (マキロ）, Illustration: Nachiyan (なちやん）

Favourite food: chicken nanban

Assistant: Aizawa Yuki-mei

Reviews

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a sweet love story between two very quiet people. I'd give this 4 stars, but the pace really tested my patience.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had HIGH expectations starting this volume because this was a Suu Morishita manga so it HAS to be good, and oh my goodness it surpassed even what I expected!! SO GOOD!

Maybe there is nothing new or "special" about this series, but I found its easygoing pace and characters refreshing and relaxing. I think Suiren is a great heroine to follow and very much looking forward to her growing as the series progress. Just from what was in this volume, I think it will be a satisfying one because even if I don't know if she will ever be super outgoing, I think her making small brave steps in her own way is enough for me. <3

I really really like Kawasumi! Why can't we have more heroes like him?! He's brave and protective while also being more on the quiet side, but can still speak his mind when needed. I can 100% see why Suiren is interested in him because I think he's a really great guy! He definitely has proven that true quite a few times already in this first volume alone! I also really like his best friend and love how they do everything together. I feel that when the romance begins to bloom and unfold, it's not going to be a "deal breaker" for their friendship, though I think his best friend is still going to be super bummed. LOL!

The art is STUNNING! I'm mad that the physical quality control was pretty low on my volume (making some of the pages ink SUPER light and hard to read) because I confess that sometimes I just looked at the pages before continuing to read. Everyone is so pretty and love how we have the occasional classic Suu Morishita humor.

Truly, this is a great read that I am SO eager for more of! Plenty of great characters with not a bunch of drama (despite a rival being confirmed) or a lack of miscommunication (even if these two are awkward quiet little beans <3)! Highly recommend it if you enjoy slow burn high school romance!

[Yesy (The Book Vagrant) · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 UPDATE
I think I'm cursed to not remember this series because I just started rereading it without realizing I had already read it.

I don't know what the heck I was going on about before tbh because this is absolutely adorable!

----------------------

UPDATE: I knew this seemed familiar! Turns out I was wrong the first time. I do wish it wasn’t as slow burn as it was, though. But enjoyable nonetheless!


—�—�—�—�—�—�—�—�—

2 STARS
meh
i'm not continuing this one

[bea ──★ ˙౨ৎ ̟ !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE QUIET BOYS OMGGG
and Suiren is so sweet ugh ! I can see myself thinking about this couple for a long time ^-^

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite romance manga 100% ♡

I've been gathering some Like a Butterfly volumes to finally do a re-read and I'm up to volume 4. I wanted to read a manga last night before I started a new book and decided to go ahead and read volume one of this one. As soon as I started, I easily remembered why I loved it so much and why I adore everything Suu Morishita writes.

Like a Butterfly has some of my favorite things like shy heroine, glasses-wearing guy, cute and wholesome vibes. It's so adorable seeing Suiren and Kawasumi meeting and developing something more, you know? In this first novel, they start being aware of each other and you see them constantly think about the other. In the case of Kawasumi who has never really had a wanting of getting to know any girl, he is intrigued by Suiren and it's so !!!! GIGGLES like so cute to see this guy who doesn't care about love suddenly start thinking about someone else lmao.

I'm excited to continue reading one of my favorite romance mangaaaaa <3

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very sweet and gentle contemporary high school slow burn romance, with two very shy due to being very attractive and getting too much attention students.

Nothing felt rushed and I want to see how the rest of the story plays out. You can slowly see the character development in the MC H and h and it is incredibly sweet to see.

4, one I recommend if you don't want too much stress in your shojo romances and want to look at pretty pictures, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god!! The drawings are so cute!! I've never seen such cute drawings. More than the story, the drawings only call out for me.

[rain]

this is so cute it reminds me of a high school life i could have had

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really a shoujo person; it's something I'm trying on for size. I was pretty much just looking for something with no d-bag love interest and no love triangle. There's not a triangle yet, but so far the main guy seems cute in both looks and personality. I can defiantly relate to two quiet people falling in love.

First of all, the obsession over Suiren is ridiculous. Yes, she's absolutely adorable. I can admit that much. It's also a manga so it can get away with being unrealistic. But seriously... guys worship the ground she walks on. Every. Single. One of them. And she has no personality. NONE! She doesn't even talk.

Kawasumi is also adorable. So adorable! And he actually has dialogue and hobbies. You know, small inklings of a personality. They're romance is slow and kind of awkward. They sparsely get alone together but once they do there's little to no talking or even looking at each other. A huge problem I tend to have with romance is that it moves so quickly I can't even enjoy it. The problem is the exact opposite this time.

The development is actually pretty well-paced but it's just so slow that nothing really happens until the end. Not even then, actually...

I really want to read the second volume. These two are precious and I know it'll be so much better now that they have the introductions and a few baby steps out of the way.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status: Completed

This is really really cute slice of life.

Suiren (our MC) is painfully shy and her shyness has been exacerbated because she's incredibly pretty and boys are always harassing her.

One day a quiet boy from her class saves her when she's being pestered by some older boys, and she falls in love with him.

From then on, the story develops like a typical shoujo manga:
- Another girl falls in love with Kawasumi (a rival appears!)
- Another boy falls in love with Suiren (ditto!)
- They go to the fireworks festival (Do every couple in Japan go to the fireworks festivals? I have to try that at some point!)
- There are high school trips and high school festivals, etc, etc.

However, they're both just so shy that the relationship takes aaaages to develop.

Besides that, there's not much to this manga, it's simply a nice way to pass the time and has pretty gorgeous art.

[nananatte · Rating 5 out of 5]

ปล่อยหัวใจโบยบินดั่งผีเสื้อ Hibi Chou Chou 11 เล่มจบ + 1 เล่มพิเศษ ทั้ง 12 เล่มพิมพ์ครบแล้วโดยสนพ.บงกช

ใส 10/10
น่ารัก 10/10
DAMAGE 100/10 ซุยเรนจังน่ารักชนะเลิศมากค่ะ

ปล่อยหัวใจโบยบินดั่งผีเสื้อ เป็นโชโจมังงะใสปิ๊งไร้มลพิษเจือปน ดีต่อใจเหมือนเป็นคุณแม่แล้วในที่สุดก็เห็นลูกสาวมีแฟน 5555

ปล คาวาสุมิคุงเท่นะ แต่เราชอบรุ่นพี่อาโตฮิระมากกว่า 555

[روابي · Rating 4 out of 5]

“كنت اطالع فراشة" THIS IS SOOO CUTEEE وكيف هم كلهم خجوليين و ما يعرفو يتواصلو بيكون التطور بطيء ولكن متحمسة و الرسم يجنن

[Hardian · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of, I do find it quite, a little, refreshing. And I love slow paced manga.
It's indeed rare to see quiet (meaning, really quiet, not exactly introverted, or maybe introverted and very quiet, with stressing on the quiet), expressionless, female lead in shoujo manga, meeting with a, also quiet but of more commonly quiet type, boy. Now you can imagine when both met on their way noticing each other or in some occasions, standing face to face, with no one else around. It's just the first volume, and I'm curious of how many silence sequences would appear in the following volumes.
Those scenes, are simply sweet.

When it happened, it's drawn like they are in their own world, some close up on their subtle, seemed expressionless, but blushing face, some are drawn within quite a large panel. The panels feel empty and muted but full of sweetness.

Now to the parts that I don't really like.
I'm honestly bothered by the fact that Suiren is the cutest, most beautiful, flawless, girl at school, no, in the world (maybe after Aphrodite). I won't be so bothered as it's kind of common in shoujo manga but when every panel where she's in the crowd or if there is one guy around her, he/they'll blush or say how cute, how beautiful, how she's so out of reach that she's called Takane.
Another thing would be the occasions where the main characters are having a conversation or meeting with each other are very repetitive, it's like their activities at school are only having a Karate club and having their lunch break (even when they're shown to be in the middle of a school trip).

I have a mixed feeling about this manga.
While it feels like having many repetitive storyline (and settings), it has those sweet moments in every ending of each chapter. I'm also wondering if the story would make any progress even after considering the slow pace. And the problem in every very obviously decided main couple (the rival girl is rather useless in my honest opinion), what story to tell after both are dating, I imagine an awkward but stagnant nonetheless storyline.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for the whole series (1-12)

I suppose there are many ways to make a story about people with social communication issues. One is using humour, like the excellent Komi can’t communicate. Another one is straight romance.
But there are risks.

Risks of loooooooong pages of sidelong glances and « ………. » balloons all over the place. Risks of repeating inner monologues. Risks of incomprehension from the reader facing so few actual and verbal interaction.
And Hibi Chouchou alas ticks them all. As much as Suiren is cute, as much as Kawazumi is a nice guy and as much as you want to root for them, the overstretched silent and clumsy pages take their toll on one’s patience after a while. Well, it did on mine at least.

From the same duo of artists I’d rather recommend the very good series A sign of affection, also dealing with communication issues in a way since the main character is deaf but much more fluid in narration and interactions between the characters.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

;O; The main couple is so adorable♡ they are so awkward, innocent, and real because they are fumbling with this whole relationship schpill. I think my only complaint is that the rival love interest, Atohira, was kind of put there out of nowhere--not that I'm complaining much ;) and I kind of cheered for him…ha ha….ha ha...This manga is a very quiet snuggly kind, what I'm saying is that its a manga that you shouldn't expect to laugh or cry, its only to make you feel fuzzy and warm and a feel-good kind, like hot chocolate! I am so happy that I stuck to it and that Morishita Suu is already on another manga Short Cake Cake and I love it already.

[NebularBlue · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me the only good thing about this manga were the pictures. They‘re drawn quite nicely and are lovely to look at.
As the main character doesn’t speak there is literally no depth in her character design. Also this manga felt like the same scene over and over again. Suiren walks. Every boy stares and adores her. Every boy? No, not Kawasumi. Instead, Suiren looks at Kawasumi, who doesn’t get it.

I won’t read any more of this series. It might get better, but the pacing and the (lacking) tension were enough for me already.

[Lidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So innocent :)

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't read this and say it's not cute.

Well, it's not cute, it's KAWAII!!! >.<

[Yasmeen Asha · Rating 2 out of 5]

a simple story of a love between two quiet people .

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was quite boring and very repetitive. It felt like every other page someone was saying about how the main character is a flower or how pretty she is

[Sylwia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exactly what I need for my current reading mood. Extremely slow burn romance between two shy kids where the reader knows they both like each other, but it's obvious they're not going to get together for a while. The art is cute, particularly the rival and the love interest. I think the rival might be my favorite character so I hope she gets a super happy ending and becomes friends with everyone. My favorite part was how parents were shown in chapter 1, which made the setting more believable for me. Warning, the plot is literally the romance, so there's nothing else going on except us watching two shy kids like each other from a distance. I imagine that can aggravate a lot of readers, and even for me the absence of plot might bore me, but for now I'm moving on to the next volume.

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was good, but the writing could have been better.

Young high school romances deserve better than tropes and pigeon-holing.

Character archetypes present that could use a throwing away: "beautiful, unattainable girl who is quiet so people project their fantasies on her = object of everyone's awe and desire = ideal girl", "cute but pushy girl determined to date the ML = source of character growth through rivalry, just acts as a harmless, irritating at worst, foil", "tomboy friend who all the boys avoid because she's tough and scary = not a proper girl", "generically kind, semi-shy, physically strong male lead". "Slightly douchebaggy side characters to make the mains seem better by comparison".

[I' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ADORE Suu's style so I knew I had to read this one and so far it's an absolute delight.
Visually is stunning!! The artwork is fantastic and I could spend hours just looking at it.

Plot and character wise I am intrigued. It seems very highschool romance based but the characters are interesting enough to keep me intrigued. They seem to have very distinctive personalities and the dynamics so far aver very light hearted and cute.

[Yume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh...This manga make my heart ache..! Protagonist, Suiren and Secondary character, Kawasumi has so good characterization. They are not good at taking, so they can’t talk to each other. It is so heartwarming for me! Also, the art is so cute..I love.

[Ashley Cristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I finished a sign of affection (the manga and the anime) and I was chasing the same feeling. This, unfortunately, did not give me ANY feelings. I will continue to the next volume to see if it gets better but the first one was very boring to me.

Am I in a reading slump??????

[◼Zaky◼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8*
Tenderly interesting story line, gorgeous art!:)))

[ana ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3’5⭐️

[ilenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cuteeee 🥺😭

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Azia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art with cute characters. Stagnant plot and repetitive dialogue. Maybe a little to sweet for me. Will try the 2nd volume