Reviews for Daytime Shooting Star

For those of you not interested in reading a rant or all the nitty gritty details, skip to the very bottom. I make a complete summary and offer if this manga is recommended or not. This review is spoiler free until I discuss the final segment (enjoyment level). With that being said… PLOT (5/10—average…and that’s being generous) The story is relatively simple. Country girl Suzume moves to the city for the first time to live with her uncle, thus leaving everything she was comfortable with behind. She gets hopelessly lost in the city, only to be rescued by Shishio, her uncle’s friendand her soon-to-be homeroom teacher. Around the same time Suzume meets Mamura, a shy boy in her class who has a fear of getting too close to girls. Predictably, Suzume falls for the super young and handsome Shishio, while Mamura eventually falls for Suzume, thus leading to the formation of you classic love triangle. The story then gradually unfolds to resolve the love triangle issue and decide which boy Suzume should end up with. Nothing new, riddled with overdone clichés, yet presented in a refreshing enough manner so that the plot continues to draw you in. Average.

However, the plot DOES have some glaring problems. I cover them in my overall enjoyment of the show because I don’t want to give spoilers.

THE ART (10/10—drop dead gorgeous)

This manga is one of the few which I’ve come across with such lovely artwork. It’s simple yet elegant. The characters can have plain features while still looking captivating. Over time, the art actually continues to improve (not that I had many complaints to begin with). All in all, if your looking for a manga that is beautifully drawn, it’s hard to beat this one.

THE CHARACTERS (6.5/10—fine but needs improvement)

Let me just take the time to say that Suzume is one of the most refreshing main leads I’ve come across in a very, VERY long time (Trust me, I've read more shojo manga + romances than I can count). Her character is by far the best in this manga (7/10) while the others, although beautifully drawn, are only slightly above average (6/10). Now, why do I say this?

Suzume is refreshing because unlike the vast majority of shojo heroines, she isn’t a cry baby. In fact, she rarely cries, so when she does, it is very impactful on the readers. Another plus point is she uses her brain and tries to solve problems with logic…something which sadly can’t be said for the vast majority of female heroines. She isn’t over-the-top-pretty. In fact, she’s just average and is called plain on multiple occasions. Her personality is also kind of quirky. She loves to eat, run around, stare at stars, slaps people when they need it, and so on. In a nutshell, she’s an average girl like you or me, making her easy to relate to. However, she still isn’t great enough to be over-the-top-memorable and some of her actions ARE questionable. For example, how she claimed to be in love with Shishio and very quickly followed up being dumped by beginning to date Mamura. Either she didn’t love Shishio as much as she had claimed or she was using Mamura as an escape for her feelings towards Shishio. Both are not very appealing scenarios. Also, there is no real reason for the characters to fall in love. It just kinda...happens?

Next up, the other characters in the show primarily consist of Suzume’s school friends, her uncle, Mamura, Shishio and Shishio’s ex-girlfriend Tsubomi.

Suzume’s friends are interesting but they never really get developed as characters, with the exception of Yuyuka. It’s almost like they are just there for the sake of showing Suzume is not a loner. Mamura’s fear of girls touching him isn’t explained AT ALL until the very last chapter, though he is very cute and overall likable. Shishio felt nicely developed but his actions in the manga and his overall maturity as a “responsible adult” sometimes felt questionable. It would have been better if he truly sorted out his feelings for Suzume before rushing into a hasty break up. As for his ex-girlfriend and Suzume’s uncle, they played major roles in plot (or drama) progression, but there isn’t really too much to say regarding them. They were honestly just average and not in the story enough to be more likable characters.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT (3/10—devastation, mostly at the ending + the bonus chapter to be released in January)

I am going to discuss problems with the plot so BE WARNED. CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.

When I first started reading this manga, despite the simplistic plot and overused clichés, I was immensely enjoying myself, to the point where I thought this manga might become one of my all-time favorite romances. I was so hyped to see them (suzume x shishio) kiss even once. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Shishio broke up with Suzume because of her uncle’s strong negatively towards their relationship (understandable enough). Following this incident, Suzume begins to date Mamura. I was upset about her dating someone else (even though I honestly don’t dislike Mamura) but kept reading because I expected Suzume and Shishio to eventually sort out their true feelings and get back together.

They don’t.

In fact, half way through the series, it began to felt like the author had completely switched to Mamura and Shishio was just out of the picture. Despite this, I still held onto the small hope that maybe the original couple I had subscribed myself to would miraculously return (the reason this manga caught my attention and I began reading it was because I wanted a good teacher-student romance). In fact, the ending of the second last chapter gave me insurmountable hope that they would reunite. I didn’t know at the time it WAS the second last chapter, and so, I was tricked into believed that Suzume and Shishio would get back together and then continue to slowly date + fall in love. (They hadn’t even kissed ONCE for crying out loud)

My hopes were crushed upon reading the final chapter.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that the ending of the manga felt abrupt. I honestly didn’t expect it to wrap up so quickly and was shocked to find out the final chapter had been translated. Secondly, there was far too much that felt unresolved. Shishio never gets to tell Suzume that the reason he lied about not liking her and broke up was because of her uncle’s pressure. Shishio simply apologizes for his past mistakes and confesses he truly loves her (it is shown Suzume is the first person that Shishio loved enough to chase after). Suzume rejects him, saying she already moved on even though she ditched Mamura and came dashing to Shishio’s side when she thought he was injured. The manga ends with Suzume returning to Mamura, she says she loves him, and it ends with suzume and Mamura kissing FOR THE FIRST TIME. No dating or challenges to face as a couple afterwards. No relationship progression beyond holding hands the entire manga with either candidate. ONE kiss after 12 volumes with the dude that wasn’t even the original focus of the manga.

As a member of the minority who was praying for Suzume and Shishio to get back together, it felt like the author had taken my own hopeful feelings and rewarding me for reading 12 volumes of her manga by slapped me in the face with them. The things is, I was already expecting Mamura to win so I was mentally preparing myself for the ending for several months now, but the feeling of having your OTP just completely shot down without even proper closure (Suzume never discovers her uncle’s meddling + she never kisses shishio even ONCE)…I have never in my entire life felt so disappointed, rejected, or shocked, nor did I expect the author to end things this way. To add salt to my wounds, I found the following announcement of a bonus chapter…

"In January a little extra chapter is going to come out in which it explains Sense’s [Shishio's] and Tsubomi’s relationship and how they GOT BACK TOGETHER. I heard some blogs reported that it will also involve Yuyuka. There is also a memorial book up for sale for HNR!”

Shishio learning from his break up with Tsubomi and moving forward was a MAJOR plot point (there was an entire arc dedicated to this) and it was also Shishio’s SINGLE moment of character development. And now I learn after being rejected by Suzume he gets back together with Tsubomi…

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

It’s like the entire plot of the manga was just completely rendered USELESS and shishio’s entire character development had been reversed. What was the bloody point?!

The ONLY thing which prevented me from giving my enjoyment rating a zero or 1/10 is the fact that I was IN LOVE with this series when I first picked it up. Honestly, the plot is a bloody mess so I wanted to give it a 2-3/10 as well but I tried to not hate the main series for the final piece of mind-fuckery delivered by the bonus chapter.

SUMMARY OF REVIEW

Plot: 5/10 (very, VERY generous)

Art: 10/10

Characters: 6.5/10

Enjoyment: 3/10

FINAL RATING: 6/10

PROS:

-The art is drop dead gorgeous

-Suzume is a very likable lead who is NOT generic or a cry baby.

-Good, steady progression until roughly half way through the series

CONS:

-Original pairing is tossed aside in a way that makes suzume x Shishio shippers feel worthless and underwhelmed.

-Half way through the manga the main pairing completely changes to suzume x Mamura

-Ending feels abrupt and not fully resolved

-Characters could be more fleshed out (especially Suzume’s friends)

-Bonus chapter renders the plot and Shishio’s character development completely useless.

RECOMMENDATION (yes/no): Yes, for those who don’t care too much about pairings and those who like “light” amounts of romance [BUT just know that there are better romances out there]. NOT recommended for people not into romance, for those who like “heavy” romance which progresses beyond just holding hands, for those specifically searching for a student x teacher romance, or for those with a tendency to get attached to first male interest introduced into a romance.

Similar manga (student x teacher) to fill the void: Sensei Kunshu is worth a shot :)

"You're my daytime shooting star." Falling in love has been likened many times to being on a rollercoaster—it has its ups, its downs, its twists and turns. But an amusement park ride always comes to an end eventually, then you're left to wait in a long line before you get the opportunity to ride again. That metaphor is strangely appropriate, especially for this manga. It's not just about falling in love the first time—it's about picking up the pieces when the first time doesn't work, and eventually learning how to fall in love again. The synopsis is deceptively simplistic in that it reads like any other school,slice of life shoujo manga you have ever seen. Suzume is a country bumpkin that moves to the city, and the mysterious man that helps her when she gets lost in the cement jungle happens to be her homeroom teacher. It would only sound more cliche if there was some romantic development between the two. Well, of course there is—its a romance manga, after all.

HnR is not bereft of any of the cliches that plague the shoujo genre, but it does avoid the gag-inducing pitfalls that a lot of them succumb to. However just because something avoids doing something common and boring doesn't inherently mean that it is good. What makes this series something of a gem is that it succeeds where many of its predecessors and peers have failed.

It has a compelling cast that encompasses even the most minor side characters. Almost everyone is multi-faceted and receives some level of development, even those more peripheral to the story. Shishio is an incredibly unique character in just how childish and immature given that he's a teacher, and just because he's an adult doesn't mean he's immune to making mistakes or poor decisions. If anything he exemplifies poor decision making, but that's part of being human. Suzume on the other hand is incredibly mature if not a bit clueless at times. The series is highly devoted to her development in learning what it means to love someone, because love is not something so simple as the butterflies fluttering around in your stomach when you see the person you like. Loving someone is making sacrifices, is being honest—so much more than she is initially prepared for.

Mamura, for his part, is an interesting foil to Shishio. He is not unflawed, and in fact spends the majority of the story learning how to be a more open person when he's initially so shut off from everyone else. Suzume opens his eyes to the rest of the world, and gradually he's able to be a little more honest with himself. He's not without his moments of childishness, but he matches those with moments of wisdom as well. Mamura is someone who is incredibly perceptive and observant, especially when it comes to Suzume.

In regards to the plot, we are presented with the trope of student-teacher but it's not dealt with as typically or flippantly, in fact it's incredibly realistic for a shoujo manga. Angst is not present in this story for the sake of angst, but because this is how real life works—this is what happens when two people enter a relationship when neither one of them are fully prepared for or aware of what it means to love someone when the rest of society would look down on you for it. In fact, that's never the only obstacle when you love someone. Your love also means the scrutiny of the people around you, the people who care about you and may be concerned about your relationship. The fact is, there aren't always happy endings to every love tale, most of them are bittersweet. We hurt, we learn, we move on. That is exactly the essence of this story—learning not to hang on to the past, learning that true happiness means moving forward.

The art for HnR is phenomenal, not just because it is beautiful and clean. But because every panel is expressively constructed, and each page has little tidbits in the background that give you deeper insight into the characters—all of whom are individually flawed with their own set of strengths. Even their designs are unique enough that you will not have any trouble differentiating between each character. It's clear that Yamamori-sensei went to great length to ensure each character was fleshed out in even minor ways. She is incredibly talented especially at the emotional scenes, where the dialogue and the panels so clearly convey much more emotion than what's given on the surface.

This has been a third revision for this review as I took some time after finishing the series to really contemplate its strengths, weaknesses, and how well it fulfilled its potential. A love triangle is not a popular trope, in fact it's something that most people generally tend to get annoyed at. It's overdone especially in shoujo, and so it's no surprise that many people will dislike this series because it utilizes that very cliche.

However, I contend that love triangles in other series feel contrived, superficial and serve only to drag out the plot and deliver unnecessary angst. This is not the purpose of this trope in HnR. It exists here as a integral part of the plot that serves not only to break the traditional mold of shoujo where the end pairing is obvious, but also to demonstrate an important point—moving on. Too many romance series focus on holding on to relationships when they only hurt you, whereas HnR focuses on moving on toward the future. It wasn't just a suspenseful device, although it certainly served the purpose of keeping us on pins and needles with bated breath 'til the very end, wondering who Suzume would truly end up with.

Having said all this and expressed why I am so satisfied and endorse this series so much, I feel it's only fair to admit that the end pairing was not the one I was hoping for in my heart of hearts, but it was the one that was necessary for this series to be as amazing as it is and for the characters to stay true to who they are. Yamamori has presented us with a realistic story of first love, how it comes with heartache and how you eventually learn to move on when that happens. And how you'll eventually understand what it means to be someone else's daytime shooting star.

So, while I was searching for Shoujo manga I hadn't read yet, which is hard to find, I came across this manga. I wasn't really expecting much, by the time I read the manga there were only just 3 chapters released. But now, having 13 chapters I completely changed my opinion of this manga. It's awesome! -Story-8 Ok, so well, this is not like the most original story ever written, but for a shoujo manga it's not too cliche. The story follows a young girl who lives in the countryside of Japan. While she enjoys food that comes from Tokyo she never imagined she ends up living inTokyo, because of her parents going overseas. While she is lost in the middle of the unfamiliar city a weird looking guy helps her to find her way to her uncle's house, where she will be living. This weird guy turns out to be a little annoying and lousy, and he comes by her uncle's place a lot, as a regular customer. But make it turns out that he is her teacher! And on top of that, he's really popular among the students!

She is trying to make friends, which isn't going too well since she seems like she if from another era, he is the one helping her. He turned out not to be so weird after all.

I like the story development, it's not too predictable, and it absolutely has the comedy it should have.

-Art-10

The art is, in one word: AWESOME.

I rarely see good art in manga, so if I come across manga like these it makes me happy.

Like I said, the art is great. It's clean, modern, not too sparkling and weird like some shoujo art is, and it's... just great. It gives off a familiar vibe like Ao Haru Ride's art. Maybe even better.

Yes, the art is definitely a good point here.

-Character-9

Now the first thing I really liked is the heroine. Just seriously, how rare is it to find the heroine not to be a girl which finds out she likes the protagonist in just one or two chapters and then confesses to him immediately the next chapter. Then it turns out the boys she confesses to doesn't like her, but, she doesn't give up and keeps persuading her feelings for him and then the boy has no other choice than to like her because if not it won't be a happy ending like in all shoujo. THIS GIRL IS NOT LIKE THAT. Thank the Lord! She's actually one of the few female types I like, cute, natural, a little dense and naive, and most of all, developing her feelings of love in a normal way, like a normal person does.

She tries to make friends in a enjoyable way, she's a little bold and most of all a cool person without crying all the freaking time or screaming for attention.

Enough about her, what about the rest? Well, the rest is pretty good too. The protagonist, which is the teacher is cool. I personally love teacher-student relationship manga, so I just love him already.

He's not our cliche tsundere demon-like teacher with glasses and black her. Instead, he's a little clumsy and most of all just funny and nice, while being good looking too.

While for the male friend of our heroine, he's cute. His reactions with girls (blushing if anyone touches him) is way too funny, and not something we see too often. He's a little cold, but hey, that's what makes him adorable.

While I'm a little more negative of the female friend of our heroine. While she is a bitch she gets better after a while, but I just think it's a little stereo typed. So many manga have the "bad bitch" in there, and I never really liked them. But maybe that's just me. If you like the "bad bitch" you will like her too.

-Enjoyment& overall- 9

I enjoyed this a lot. It's a refreshing new manga, and I can't wait to see the romantic development between the teacher and the heroine. I just absolutely love teacher-student relationships. Read it, and enjoy the refreshment of a fun heroine, who isn't too cliche, and her new-made friends in the city of Tokyo.

Okay, for those of you out there who are still trying to make a decision whether to read this or not, let me tell you one thing; this shoujo is not what you think it is. At least for me, definitely not. Right, now that that's said, let's proceed. I have finished this manga, and there really is nothing very unique about it. Also, the title 'Daytime Shooting Star' has little to do with the actual story itself. The plot chosen is actually a bit too cliche in my opinion, the forbidden love between the student and teacher, only that the author, Yamamori Mika-sensei, successfully made itdifferent by adding a few tweaks on it, but then in the end, there still isn't anything much to say.

The story started off pretty good in the first few chapters. It tells the reader about Suzume, a country girl moving to the city where she made some good friends and experienced a few times heartbreaks. I can't say much about the story without spoiling it, but the manga is really good in the beginning. It does not only focus on the love triangle between Suzume and her teacher, Shishio, and her classmate, Mamura.

Everything was nicely paced, until later at the middle, where it kind of gives off the feeling that it's rushed.

One thing that might appeal you to read this manga though, might be the pretty and clean art. Yamamori Mika-sensei's drawing style changes from the first few chapters until the end. You could clearly see the changes, but it's not a bad thing. She gets better at drawing the characters, and at some point, managed to make me feel frustrated out of trying to decide who between the two main love interests, and the rest of the characters, looks better in terms of appearance.

Although the characters may seem beautiful, the main characters do lack some character development. This, in my opinion, resulted in the somehow.. unrealistic (due to the lack of a better word) ending of the manga. Besides that though, the main characters; Suzume, Shishio and Mamura have nothing too special about them.

What made this manga different from other shoujo mangas out there may be the fact that Suzume is a strong girl who doesn't cry all the time. There is also none of those 'flowery' scenes that normally appear in shoujo. And Suzume has her own flaws, like the rest of the characters. Even though she's not perfect, messes up and falls, she still has the courage to get back up and try her best.

Shishio and Mamura are both also good characters. However, there is so little character development with both of them. Shishio let what happened to him and his previous lover happen again, and Mamura, although he did change, he lacks a good background. Not only that, Mamura lacks a good enough background story to explain his misogynist behavior. Since he was the main focus for a love interest in the beginning of the manga, Shishio had much more chemistry when compared to Mamura. Some scenes in the manga may be a bit awkward due to the lack of development and chemistry between the characters.

I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of HnR, but in the middle, I kind of lost the 'feeling' and everything started to crumble for me. Here, let me make it clear for you; I am not one of those hardcore shippers and I am neutral at this so I am perfectly fine with what Suzume decides to do and etc, as long as it has a good chemistry to it. HnR is the first shoujo manga that I read after a long time trying to avoid the genre, since the art and characters are quite nice, I'd give an overall rating of HnR a 7/10. But some scenes are just unrealistic and I have a very high expectation on this manga. Sadly, it was not satisfying enough. Looks like I'll have to resign from that genre again for some time.

How do I start talking about this particular manga? It starts out pretty typical – Suzume’s parents are transferring out of the country and she’s heading straight to her uncle’s place in the big city. When she arrives, she tries to get to her uncle’s place by herself and ends up getting lost because she has no sense of direction. There’s a kind man who helps her find her way and soon, Suzume finds out that the kind man is her homeroom teacher! And of course, she falls in love with him. And of course, there’s a rival for the teacher. And of course there’smisunderstandings. And of course she gains friends from misunderstandings.

The story is pretty typical but the difference from most shoujo involving a potential affair between student and teacher is that both the main characters and other characters are actually active and try to get their goals instead of relying solely on the heroine who’s still muddling over her feelings about her teacher for most of the chapters.

I really liked it, honestly. I really could relate to the main character because she’s flawed. She’s absolutely not perfect and makes plenty of mistakes in the course of the story. She’s not also painted as someone who’s completely awful either. There’s a good balance of both and you can see why people gravitated to her even back in her old country school – that’s what makes a good heroine. She doesn’t have to be perfect just… relatable and she has to have that little charm that draws people.

The thing about this heroine though is that she is obsessed with seeing stars during the day. The story goes is when she was younger, she got lost. She looked up at the sky, while it’s still light, and saw a shooting star. And that’s extremely rare in itself. Because of this obsession, her head is in the clouds and often says things without thinking.

It’s hard to really describe Suzume’s charm. Even the characters can’t explain it but it’s one of those things that I’ve naturally accepted.

Now let’s talk about the beaus.

The teacher, Satsuki Shishio, is charming and handsome, of course and is really a big dork. He collects manga but still is the idol of the school and the original star in Suzume’s eyes. Throughout the story, you can see he genuinely cares about “Chun-chun”, the nickname he gave to Suzume when he first met her, but there’s the obvious problems: He’s a teacher and she’s a student.

Another thing as well is that he had a breakup with another lady – it didn’t work because she always traveled and couldn’t really be tied down to one place. As he starts to spend more time with Suzume, though, he starts to slowly cross the line the more he spends time with her – the harder it is for Suzume to stop her feelings.

Do I like him? Personally, yeah – he seems like a very nice guy although he tends to hide his feelings a lot. But do I like him with Suzume? Well, I’ll talk about that in a bit.

For Daiki Mamura, the other guy, is a completely different matter. He’s seated with Suzume in their first year together and he has to put up with her flighty attitude. Naturally, they become friends because of Suzume’s insistence and apparently, he doesn’t like girls.

From what I gather, there are nothing but boys in his family, him, his little bother, and his father. Apparently, his mother had cheated on his father, consequently divorced, and never bothered to contact her sons again. I can understand his reasoning for it. It’s not a good situation, either way.

Do I like him? Personally, he’s okay. I imagine that I would need to take him in little doses as he opens up more. Do I like him with Suzume? Well!

Despite the fact that the story is very typical, there is a certain charm to it. Suzume does start to grow up and tries different things (like makeup, being more girly, and being shy when she’s so used to being open) and have varying results. The art is really nice but I kind of feel the two main beaus should have been easier to tell apart.

I won’t say it’s the same face – it’s more of the same hair. Sometimes it’d go into random flashbacks or points of view and it’s a little confusing on who we’re trying to focus because it seems that almost all the guys have the same hair. The girls are clearly defined by their own personalities and history and I really do appreciate that! I just wish there was just as much variety as the girls.

But that’s a nitpick.

The real issue I have is that the males aren’t as developed as they should have been. Granted, Daiki is done fairly well and I really shouldn’t expect a miracle with his type of character. I think the thing I’m more annoyed by is the teacher’s character development. Despite the obvious that Suzume is way underage, his past girlfriend was added for unnecessary angst and honestly something that really shouldn’t have been brought up.

The ex-girlfriend was a little annoying and it felt that the only people who actually cared about things like the law was the uncle and Daiki (but he only cared because it involved Suzume). I get the author’s trying to get in with that angst that it’s forbidden and that he has man pain from a past relationship. Perhaps if the girlfriend was written a little better and if his issue with the past relationship was written and planned better (mostly because it seemed like it was added in last minute as filler), it wouldn’t feel like she’s just a random character at all.

Cause that’s what it boils down. If there’s a potential threat of a new lover, or threat of an ex returning, it actually needs to feel that way. There needs to have that feeling of “Oh, wow, they have history with one another!” There needs to have the actual feeling of danger between the couple’s relationship.

Now, which guy actually was better for Suzume?

This is the manga that actually does ask that question for us in a much better way than just being completely forward about it. Both male characters get enough screen time, so to speak, to actually be able make a fair judgement.

Satsuki is pretty forward with how he is and actually has a lot more demands than one would expect from an adult man. And Suzume is only a teenager. Would she be able to fulfill his needs? The short answer: no.

The long answer: Satsuki is very needy and very clingy. He has a problem with being able to let go and has difficulty with not knowing where the line is. He tends to flirt with Suzume a lot during the manga, especially when you know he knows she loves him. He tends to be very flightly and can’t really seem to want to settle (oddly enough, that’s the problem he had with his ex) down while Suzume is really simple, for right now, and doesn’t have a lot of needs.

I won’t say Suzume isn’t mature enough for him, but that’s not exactly wrong either. I’m going to say that he’s not mature enough for her. He’s still very much into flings and doesn’t seem to care where the line is if there is one. Suzume needs a rock in her life that she can always turn to and who can help encourage her being the best. And someone who’s not shy enough to tell her no.

Not only that, any time Suzume is on a date with Satsuki, she’s always so miserable. She always worries about him and he really doesn’t seem to give her a passing thought. Once again, she needs a rock. She needs someone who can assure her of her raging feelings and bring her back to Earth. All Satsuki does is just shrugs his shoulders and go, “Okay.”

And that’s why I didn’t really like them together.

On the other hand, Daiki is actually the ideal for Suzume because Suzume is really slow and she hasn’t had a lot of life experience but neither does Daiki. He is the rock that she needs, especially when they’re still growing up. Because he’s quiet, he listens. He becomes more aware of Suzume and why she reacts the way she does. He caters to her and he does genuinely cares about her. Not to say Satsuki didn’t – but as a man, he doesn’t seem like he’s not grounded on Earth enough to comfort her, should she ever come to him.

Don’t get me wrong – Daiki still has plenty of ways to go before anyone can call him the perfect man. But I think that’s the charm of Hirunaka no Ryuusei. It’s not perfect and nobody is perfect but it’s those imperfections that makes it charming. It’s really not that different from any shoujo manga when you get to the bare bones – but because the author allowed her characters to flesh themselves out naturally, therein lies the charm.

And you know, something like this is just about as rare as a daytime shooting star.

Uhhh...where the hell do I start. This is a manga about a country hick girl, Suzume Yasano, who comes to the city, armed with her beautiful and expressionless face, after her parents make her go live with her uncle after they leave the country. (wow that sentence was long jesus christ) She meets some weirdo at the train station who turns out to be her uncle's friend and her homeroom teacher, Shishio Satsuki. and yeah, he's hot and young. so an obvious love interest. her other love interest is Mamura Daiki, who on first impressions looks like he just hates everything but after Suzume accidentlytouches him he freaks out and we realize that he's just a virgin. He's another cute boy, and so another love interest. although suzume's not that interested.

The drawing of this manga is very beautiful and I enjoyed looking at it and the characters manage to all look unique and me rarely getting confused. Mamura and Shishio's hair is almost identical, though.

I actually really enjoyed this manga [SPOILER] until i figured out that Suzume goes and falls in love with her teacher. My enjoyment in watching a romance involving a 15 year old girl and a 24 year old man is nonexistent, and made me really uncomfortable. i stuck through most of it because I thought that Mamura would have a chance, even though in my heart I knew he didn't goddamit. [END SPOILER]

I think anyone can honestly enjoy this manga. It's a typical shoujo and all the characters are pretty typical (except for Mamura cause I dont really remember ever there being a guy who didn't like being touched) so its just the same-old, same-old. BUT I REALLY LIKE THAT SATSUKI LIKES SEA CREATURES. I mean that's freaking amazing.

Regretted re-reading after all these years. Surely piqued my interest because of the art. Hands down for me. There's also a nice variation of character design and you can recognize them properly. Started strong, with female MC having a unique character unlike the overused weak type, but then ended up not facing the issues head on as opposed to how she's supposed to be. I appreciate how the author weigh in the consequences student-teacher relationship hence Shishio's path of action. The issue is with how the 2nd male lead was developed, it's shallow, his actions doesn't go well with how his character was built. I'd say thefinal chapter was forced when clearly the few previous ones shows how much the FMC still has strong feelings to her first love. Contrary to the popular opinion, it's not realistic at all since no one will definitely do what the FMC did on the last part.

Overall, it felt like a tragedy, where you don't end up together even though you have strong feelings for each other, felt like the FMC chose that guy at the end just because she's in a commitment with him at the moment.

I recommend reading Tsubaki-chou Planet by the same author to feel a little bit better after reading this series. Feels like this is how she originally wanted this series to end. So much similarity except almost totally remove the idea of other love interest.

The short version: For me, comedy and romance set in high schools are meant to be consumed like comfort food. Reading Hirunaka no Ryuusei was like forcing myself to chow down a bowl of watery, overcooked porridge, even if it had tasty kabocha and flossed pork in it. The longer version: think mangaka started off with a great premise. Country bumpkin moves to the great capital of Japan and has to get used to being surrounded by city slickers. There's this stereotype that people from the country are unfashionable and simple-minded but also honest and straightforward. Suzume definitely fits the bill (her hair is plaitedat the start and wears simple "unfashionable clothes) but the story fails to develop this further. She quickly blends in with her classmates and it's almost as if the fact she spent the first 15 years in the country was completely forgotten... Nothing more is made to distinguish Suzume from everyone else around her. Clueless transfer student trope done and dusted, the love triangle/square becomes the main focus and character development shunted aside.

Instead, the reader is presented with ridiculous situation after situation where said love triangle/square are thrown together, blush lots, stutter, confess and turn down confessions etc. The path to true love is not always an easy one and I think readers can appreciate a long story where the protagonists go through lots of trials to realize their feelings for each other.

But after twenty-odd chapters, I feel like this is going nowhere. The only thing that made me stick through this was that the pages are chock full of eye-candy and the cover art is gorgeous. Otherwise, I want the 3 hours of my life back...

Story - 5, Art - 9, Character - 6, Enjoyment - 5, Overall - 5

(this is a pretty harsh first review but i hope i've expressed what i wanted to say)

In all honesty, I think HNR's getting a li'l bit overrated. My reason for a relatively low score is that the story is pretty much lacking in depth. I don't really mind whether or not the plot is unique, the thing is, a lot of things were left hanging suspended. For instance, I can't see a profound reason for the sudden romantic attachment between the two main characters. The story has not even ventured to explain that in detail. I know Suzume's character meant to be plain and relatable so that the story could capture a wide array of audience, so I at least hopedthe author would pursue an aspect of her that would be captivating/unique/touching enough to make a thrilling love triangle. BUT there was nothing about Suzume's character. Put brutally, she might as well be just be a character in the background.

Moreover, a lot of things happened unreasonably. There are so many unreasonable thoughts and dialogues everywhere. Suzume's internal monologues are usually baloney and unnecessary. I don't know if I should blame the translators for this, but the humor is pretty dry and boring. The facial expressions of the characters are sometimes mismatched with the feelings intended to be evoked, and oftentimes they lack diversity. For some reason I think the rating for the art is a little over the edge. It's nice, alright. But it isn't perfect. There are a lot postures that were awkwardly drawn.

However, I have continued following the manga in hopes that I'd encounter a twist that could change my mind about not only the protagonists per se, but the story itself. It has potential, but as aforementioned, it lacks explanations and raises a lot of contentions.

Overall, if you're looking to read a page-turner, I'd hardly say HNR could guarantee it.

I have read many many many many many shoujo mangas but Hirunaka no Ryuusei is somehow...different from all of them. Now let's go with the story. The Story over all was normal. Just a plain country girl,Suzume, who moves to japan to live with her uncle because of her Dad's work transfer. While making her way to her uncle's house, she stumbles upon a mysterious man who helps her find her way to her uncle's house (since he's a close friend of her uncle). Well it turns out that the mysterious man is actually her homeroom teacher. Pretty normal nothing bad really. What i really likedabout this series is the Characters. The characters were so real and relatable. To the point where if a character cries you cry with them. Or when they're sad or jealous you can feel their pain because everyone has gone through this stuff. And don't even mention Suzume. She is one of my absolute FAVORITE female manga protagonist. First of all, Shes isn't that sensitive. She's pretty tough. Not to mention when she makes a decision they actually MAKE SENSE. Mamura Daiki is suzume's classmate and first friend. tbh im pretty fond of him. and when he blushes ERMERGERD xD.

His character development is paced well because he starts to be more gentle towards girls. Shishio Satsuki is suzume's homeroom teacher and he's rather very clumsy and non-teacher like. Towards the end of the story you start to see some character development in shishio. Shishio towards the end starts to try to be more "mature" which he makes a mistake on (not gonna say what). But overall, i have never seen a character like Shishio. Which is why i love him so much.

The Art is REALLY good. From beginning to end. The details were very nice and my favorite parts were the emotional parts. They just set up the whole stage for the big smack down.

I SERIOUSLY enjoyed this show. This show just had everything i loved and enjoyed in a bundle. I feel really sad that theres no more ;-;.

Overall, i loved it. It reminded me a lot of whats happening to me in real life. Sad things, happy things, it was really relatable which i liked the most. If you havent read this manga yet GOOOOO!

YO ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE MY LAST REVIEW WOOOOOOOOO I LOVE this series and Yamamori's art so much I use it as inspiration for any development of my own (which you can see on IG @kim_the_one_and_only ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Story = 8 - Country girl Suzume moves to the city to live with her uncle and meets mysterious man! Who is he??? Will it be Him or the Other Guy??? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z! DERNUR DERNUR DER DERNUR DER YOU GET IT. - The story itself is like a Shoujo manga, but in this case it's an 80+ chapter Shoujomanga so more DRAMA and INNER TURMOIL WOOOOOO Choices man.

It's not complex and it's linear for the most part. The ending will satisfy 50% of the shipping fanbase, as it usually does. I was a part of that 50% this time around.

tl;dr_____linear, drama, Shoujo stuff man, GOOD shoujo stuff that any Shoujo reader alike will indulge in! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

= Art = 10

- Uhhhhh ITS GORGEOUS

Simple

GORGEOUS and extremely consistent -

= Character = 9

- Heroine Suzume as well as her two suitors have 'exponential' growth. She has inner turmoil about feelings and conflicts inside that keep her from doing what she wants because MORALS MAN. Teacher has one too cuz OMG she's 16... and Mamuraaaaa is the cliche of OMGAWD girls ew COOTIES to GIVE ME SOME OF DAT ONIGRI SUGAR ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°).

Not one character is hateable (the WHOLE time unless you ship one way then that's fair game). But none are annoying for lengthy periods of time to where their character defines ANNOYANCE.

tl;dr_____you should read what I just wrote it took me so much thought

= Enjoyment = 10

-UHHHHHHHHHH

So good

New Manga by Yamamori called Tsubaki-Chou Lonely Planet.

Hirunaka so Good

It's one of those I MUST CAMP FOR UPDATES good.

And you love it so much you end up camping for her new manga because IT UPDATES SO SLOOOOOW.

= Overall =

^^^^^In Enjoyment^^^^^

If anyone reads this, tell me if you like my informal way of writing the review in comparison to my older ones from a while back (maybe two years???). And do tell me if this made you want to read the manga lol

Thank you~! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Be Safe

Don't Die

Since I read this manga on a whim, I decided to do a review about it as it already ended (even though MAL sets it up to 90 chapters wut). Well, at first I had pretty low expectations on this one. Hirunaka no Ryuusei (HnR) combines some well-known elements from stereotypical shoujo mangas: the love triangle, the teacher-student relationship,etc. Yet HnR does it in a very original way, much closer to reality than any other ordinary shoujo. Usually, characters do the most unspeakable, idiotic things no human being would ever thought of doing. In HnR, the mangaka chooses to appreciate timing as the most important thing when making life-changingdecisions.

STORY

When I look at the big picture, I did thoroughly enjoyed it.

Even though some situations where conveniently placed in order for things to happen, every character chose to respond to the course of events by staying true to their own personality and values instead of doing weird things just to please the "audience".

At times, it dragged along but I'm glad everything wrapped up into something cohesive and meaningful.

ART

As you can tell by the cover, the art style is gorgeous. The characters had the most mesmerizing features I've ever seen. Each and everyone had a particular style that reflected their personality.

CHARACTER

Good character development. Not the best one I've ever seen, as I sometimes cringed at their out-of-place actions, but nonetheless interesting.

Personally, my favorites were Mamura and Yuyuka (aka bad bitch). I think individually they were very intriguing characters that often gave valuable insights to our clueless female heroine.

ENJOYMENT

Draggy at times, but poignant and fresh. I enjoyed in particular the way characters responded to situations and the way they portrayed their emotions on various circumstances.

OVERALL: A very generous 8, though it probably deserves a 7.

For the most part, the manga was decent, with not much separating it from similar manga. However, I gave it a bad rating because of the ending and especially one chapter. I hope I can explain it without giving out many spoilers. The story is about a love triangle between a girl, her teacher and her classmate. It seemed like the mangaka had an ending for the lead, Suzume, to end up with one of her love interest. It was set-up to be with a certain character throughout the story, while the other characters was going to be the onewith the unrequited love. From my understanding, the unrequited love character was better received by readers of this story. I am not sure if the mangaka paid attention to this, but the ending seem to coincide with it. Yet, it unexpectedly changed in one chapter, instead of developing the real love Suzume had for that character. In one chapter, love turned to admiration and superficial love turned into real love. It did not progressed slowly, but changed instantly, which ruined the series for me.

Will definitely contain spoilers in it In the beginning I thought the manga was cool, normal like other shoujo manga and it is, but the art is absolutely beautiful so I kind of fell in love with the manga as I kept going. I'm normally the type that ships the first and most obvious pair in any type of romance manga, anime and books, so if you have read the first chapter, our first main characters will be satsuki shishio and yosano suzume. I like suzume as the main character, she's expressionless and not your average generic female mc, and I really likesatsuki being paired up with suzume. He is a teacher who doesn't act like a teacher, does that make sense? Idk that's how I feel

I really liked those two being together, satsuki chooses a nickname 'chun chun' for suzume was very cute in my opinion, and it really surprised me when he shown up as a teacher in suzume's class, I thought it would be a secret teacher and student relationship and it made me more interested in the manga, but around the second quarter of when they started their relationship, I kept thinking that they really have to overcome this status problem of being a teacher and a student, like maybe wait until she's older and out of high school to officially become a couple or something

But no

everything sort of went downhill for me in the entire second half of the manga. The other male main character which daiki mamura has developed feelings for suzume as she is the only female that has ever gotten so close to him, that I can understand his reason for falling in love with her. I don't dislike mamura but I also don't like him, especially when he gets close to suzume. It kinda sounds clingy but that's how I really feel, the fact that I can only see suzume and satsuki together make it impossible for me to accept mamura as another romantic interest for suzume.

In the first half of the manga I thought that the manga is good, but it's going too good, that's when suzume's uncle showed up, he found out about their relationship and pressured satsuki to think about their status. I was kind of pissed at him but have to agree because reality is like that. After thinking a lot, satsuki decided to end this relationship convincing himself that this was for the best (I can understand putting myself in his shoes, but don't you think it's kind of cowardly?), even lying to suzume when she said "do you love me?" In which you know/can guess how he replies.

After the first half, i decided to keep my hopes up, thinking that they will be together at the end.

But the authors completely kicked satsuki out of the entire second half of the manga, where he only appears 2-3 pages per few chapters, like they forgotten all about this character called satsuki. I was sort of despairing, desperately wanting to skip all the chapter and find out who suzume ends up with but i kept going, until the last chapter

In that very chapter, hearing her answer to satsuki's final confession, all hope was gone. I kinda just quit reading the rest of what the manga is gonna show, since it's the final chapter I don't think I'm gonna be missing anything anytime soon, although I contradicted my self cus I can't stand dropping out midway and finished the entire thing, was real tough for me

overall I think this manga is good in the first half, and absolutely boring in the second, why?think about it, most shoujo mangas mc are high school student, I think I had my fair share or reading shoujo mangas to find all the clichés and overused scenes, with both of them, suzume and mamura being high school students, and in the same class, it's just gonna go down the same routes of the shoujo mangas I have read

that's why I rate

the story :5/10 (first half good, second half bad)

The art: 10/10 (as I have said, absolutely beautiful)

Character development: 8/10 (I think they did a great job)

Enjoyment: 4/10 (first half good, second half real bad)

Overall: 4/10 (still my final vote on the whole manga)

I really truly enjoyed this manga, but I can't take it when my original ship goes down without any real hints, the ship just exploded out of nowhere into tiny particles, it's the last chapter that really, truly sank my heart and ship, the fact that the manga even give the Satsuki×suzume shippers hope that they might actually get back together is what decided on my overall vote, not the fact that the second half was boorish, even if any type of manga is clichéd, it's sort of the story line that decides whether the reader will or will not enjoy it, as for this manga I did enjoy it, but not till the end

ps. I think satsuki is way hotter than mamura

I couldn't put this manga down. It was enjoyable, touching, and it pains me to read posts condemning its development and in particular, the character Mamura. The manga touched me at length to different depths - the difficulties of communicating to someone when your nerves are all jumbled up, the reality that love is oftentimes not easy nor mutual, the ability of friendship to make you feel understood, and of course Suzume's relatable love of food. I just want to say one thing with this review and it's to set the record straight. Mamura is NOT a misogynist. I am sure Yamamori Mika had no intentionof portraying him so.

He, at no point, has the intention of hurting other girls nor does he "hate" them. He does not make open remarks about other women and he does not slam them neither physically nor verbally.

Misogyny is an innate hate of women causing discrimination, abuse, or sexual objectification. Mamura does not commit any of those mentioned unsavoury acts. The only time he shows a "misogynist-like" reaction to other girls is when they touch him.

I believe he is simply reacting due to his gynophobia (fear of the opposite sex). Symptoms include increased heartrate, trembling, desire to flee - reasons for why he produces a freezing and blushing reaction. He masks this reaction by acting annoyed or rude to the girl who touched him.

Throughout the course of the manga and through his interactions with Suzume, this phobia decreases (kind of similar to cognitive behavioural therapy - he slowly subjects himself to more and more interactions with the opposite sex).

So please, don't call Mamura a misogynist. It can give the wrong idea to people - some people have social phobias and cannot help their reactions and it would be wrong to label them unjustly.

You don't have to like him. You don't have to like him coupled with Suzume ("Mazume"). You don't even have to like the manga, but please do not incorrectly label a misogynist.

On a personal level, this manga was enticing. I liked "Mazume". I am obsessed with the idea of a "daytime shooting star". Just the thought of it makes me excited. A love that is beautiful, bright, and with which everyday is full of smiles. That's what Hirunaka no Ryuusei represents.

I remember the first time I saw this online, and it took me months to start reading it. So when I finally did, I was completely hooked on it. Everything from the art to the story was EXCEPTIONAL. I don't think there was one thing I was especially displeased with. Today was the day I re-read it for the third time. WORTH IT. The story was refreshing, with minimal cliches, like a involving a playboy or the typical onsen, or the boy opens up her world or something. I loved the characters here, the most. They were complex and realistic. It was impossible to fita single one into one of the "dere's". They act more like a tsundere or a dandere at some points, yes, but they were so pure and my personal enjoyment skyrocketed even in the first chapters. Suzume Yosano was shockingly my most favorite main character out of all the mangas, movies, books, and movies I've ever read in my whole life. That's really saying something okay? She really isn't cliched, her personality is so hilarious and to top it all off, shes pretty, but doesn't wear makeup voluntarily :O

All the characters were so, so PERFECT.

The mangaka has a terrific sense of humor, also. She can make light of heavy situations, turn hilarious moments into a sweet atmosphere. The way she makes the characters turn into someone you hate, or someone you love (Yuyuka's character really was so fantastic, I LOVE THE AUTHOR SO MUCH) just with a couple chapters, or even within the same chapter she can transform characters.

The art, too, was really amazing. The author made my expectation of actual people much lower. Her 2D characters are too attractive and glamorous. Haha.

It's hard to believe such a good story can exists, with such quality art. Yamamori Mika created such a wonderful world.

~Recommend!~

Hirunaka no Ryuusei is a really well written manga. I think anyone who likes a more mature shoujo manga where the characters are more realistic would like this. If you've read either Sakamichi no Apollon or Kyou Koi wo Hajimemasu, this has elements in common with both. It has a very nice slow build up of romance, and a lot of introspection that is pulled off really well, unlike other shoujo mangas where the characters come off as being creepily codependent. I think what moves this manga forward and makes me want to read more is the the art and the character. Simply put, theart is gorgeous. Everything from the scenery to the eyes especially is well done and unique. Furthermore, the mangaka is very consistent with the characters' inner monologues as well, revealing deeper motives with time, from different points of view. I feel that this is in particular is one strong aspect about this manga is that the side characters are well developed and play just as an important part in the story.

Without giving too much away, I think that the main character is also a likable female, although one thing that made me rate this manga lower were some things that came off to me as too stereotypical. For example, in one moment the girl fantasizes about making bento for her boyfriend and it just struck me as too typical for this otherwise extremely unique manga. There are a few almost sexist moments like this throughout the story, but overall still far, far less than other shoujo manga.

In conclusion, Hirunaka no Ryuusei is definitely worth a try for anyone who enjoys a manga that will make you think about relationships between people on a very deep level, despite it's few shortcomings

This manga started out very strong in terms of story and character, towards the end it became unfocused. A story that once featured a strong female character struggling to fit in was reduced to a love triangle and the strong female character was reduced to a prize. While you could argue that there were hints towards the ending it still came off as rather abrupt, and rushed, with a main character's backstory being shoved into one chapter, the last chapter, taking the focus off of the protagonist, and from a literary standpoint it read as unrealistic. It's not even unique in that other manga havetackled the same concept and done it better.

The only good thing I could say about this manga is that the art style is unique and nice to look at.

The shōjo that frustrated me And yet the story began so well. I will not reveal the final choice of the heroine however elements could spoil you (even if for me the course of the story should not surprise you because you can find the same mechanics in a lot of shōjos.) First impressions A rather banal pitch like many shōjos but I let myself be tempted and there I am surprised: the drawings are beautiful, the characters are stylish especially one of the main character - Shishio Satsuki - who regularly changes his look. The heroine - Suzume Yosano - is different, authentic with a unique personality. Shemakes fun of prejudices. I said to myself: okay, it's going really well.

The brown guy VS the blond guy... The return of the cliché?

The love story between the teacher and his pupil develops little by little and I have to say I think forbidden relations are more catchy. Then the further the manga goes, the more I feel that the love story will turn into a love triangle. So why not? It can be a good idea only if the story is well developed. Indeed, between the two lovers there is another person: her friend - Mamura Daiki - who seems to be in love with Suzume. Should I mention he's blond? A little cliché - the brown guy VS the blond guy - but ok why not.

The first plot twist

So the story between Suzume and Shishio develops little by little, even really little by little. Suzume is too shy especially because she is scared that Shishio could lose his job. This is understandable but their complicity is turned upside down and here we are… that fateful moment: the rupture... And what a breakup.

In short :

- Suzume (while crying): Do you love me?

- Shishio (distant, cold): Sorry I am not in love with you.

Goodbye Shishio... or not!

And there, the main character so dynamic, intelligent, with such a great personality turns into... a typical heroine of shōjo. Yes you are going to say that she gets up with the help of Mamura. Their relationship deepens. Well... that's what a lot of Mamura fans say, I rather thought she was thinking a lot about Shishio (which is normal but still).

And a new plot twist appears. You guessed, didn't you? Shishio returns and he wants to start over again with Suzume (well I would not have guessed it! 😉). And now she doubts who to choose? Personally I find that the relationship between Mamura and Suzume is platonic.

But who will she choose? It does not matter.

Until the penultimate chapter we wonder who she will choose. I don’t really like when the manga is ending when the heroine make a final choice, it is like the heroine has been reduced to a simple love story. I have the impression that Yamamori Mika gave everything in the first 20 chapters then let herself overwhelmed by the classic codes of shōjo (it is surprising when you look at her other work: Sugars).

Don't worry, Yamamori Mika has published 2 chapters focusing on the character Suzume did not choose. However theses chapters has proved to me that this famous character was developed in such a way that we can only can say: the poor guy! Those who read the end will understand but by trying to not look like others shōjos, the mangaka simply reduced the potential of his character. Didn't she even feel sorry for him by dedicating two chapters to him, barely developed, on a new love story in which, after all these years, he still hadn't forgotten the heroine?

In summary:

As a result, all the potential has been reduced bit by bit. Conclusion: FRUSTRATING.

Ah, Hirunaka no Ryuusei. I'm going to start off with the bad news, and move into the good news. The Bad News: This manga suffers from a love triangle which, in most cases, I don't enjoy whatsoever. The story is quite typical, and to be expected. That being said, re-reading this manga has given me a bit of a different perspective. Although there is still the regular tropes to expect, the author handled a good transition in story, especially in the 8th volume. The Good News: The characters, for the most part, aren't too bad. We have the protagonist, Shizume, who is an interesting character but falls to thesame demise as the rest of the cast: poor writing. I think Shizume suffers the most from OOC situations, in order to forward the plot in the direction it has to go. She is still unique from most protagonists in shoujo manga, including her personality and features. Yuyuka is also an interesting character, who develops quite a bit during the progression of the manga -- and I have to say that her progression was very satisfying. Yamamori did a great job making the supporting characters actually matter: everyone who was close to Shizume was given time and space to develop overtime as well, instead of remaining static. The last character I want to touch on is Mamura. It is not often that I feel so deeply for a character, and Mamura is one who I have grown attached to. His part in the story is wonderful, his characterization is wonderful, and his friendship with Shizume is something to be envied. He is not pitied and he is not made into a helpless third wheel. You see how he changes over the course of the story, and with the combination of the art, it is truly a pleasure to read.

The number one reason I recommend people read this manga is for the art. Yamamori Mika is an exceptional artist. Her characters are all unique, and she creates incredible atmosphere with the use of figure and negative space. Her strengths also include eyes, hair, and clothing. There are a lot of close ups of a character's eyes closing, and they are gorgeous. All of these things contribute to the greater aesthetic of her work. Maybe this isn't the best manga story-wise but it is probably the most beautiful series I've ever read. It is absolutely inspiring. If shoujo isn't your thing, I would still recommend sifting through this manga simply for the art. It IS that good.