This may sound arrogant, but I've always known that I was talented when it came to my reading ability. It's not something I consider much of a brag, as being able to read your own language well isn't anything particularly difficult, yet I'd spent most of my childhood being told that my reading ability was ahead of my age. Believe me, since it's not a brag, there is a reason why I'm bringing this up within this review; Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is a very well-written novel, completely up to standard with the equally well-written manga it is a spin-off of, Nio Nakatani's Yagate Kimi ni Naru, and twists so much detail into its writing that it even tested the likes of me in trying to take in just how well this side story was handled.

Hitoma Iruma, author of Adachi to Shimamura, takes the reins on this novel with Nakatani being involved in deciding where she wanted the story to go while leaving the "how" to Iruma, and as somebody who's never read any of his work, this initially made me sceptical before I began reading since I didn't know how he handled his own characters and story, let alone somebody else's. However, my expectations were very pleasantly surpassed, Nakatani left this project in the right hands. Iruma's original story elements were very well thought out, and his handling of the existing characters and plot elements rivals even Nakatani herself.

Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is a side story of the original Yagate Kimi ni Naru manga series, that focuses on Touko's close friend and Yuu's rival to Touko's heart, Saeki Sayaka, delving into her distant past in volume 1, her close past, her present in the eyes of the manga, and her closer future in volume 2, and finally, her full future in volume 3. While not the most original of ideas, Iruma worked wonders with this formula of separating 3 time periods across the 3 volumes, and was able to tell a very down to earth story within them.

Volume 1 shows us Sayaka's past; her first and second encounters with love and the emotions she took away from those encounters that would shape her into the strong character that we see her become in later volumes of this novel and second half of the manga. Sayaka's first encounter was completely original content from Iruma, and I believe that was a great starting point as it gave him a way to showcase his original writing first, before fully immersing himself in Nakatani's guidance. Iruma used Sayaka's childhood encounter with love to showcase her initial disposition and confusion around love and somebody's attempt to be close to her, and to fuel later analogies that Sayaka was always running from her emotions, which would be built upon in volume 2 and when referred to the manga's content. The second chapter of volume 1 shows us a much more familiar part of Sayaka's past for both anime watchers and manga readers; Sayaka's junior high school relationship with a certain Chie Yuzuki. Rather than running away from her emotions, this chapter would be in contrast with the first, and show us Sayaka's initial joy followed by hurt and loss by running into her emotions head-on without considering the reality of it all. In the manga and anime, this period of time is pivotal to understanding Sayaka's character, and with how brief this plot element is, Iruma did an incredible job of translating it into this format.

Volume 2 shows us a closer past of Sayaka's first meeting meeting with Touko Nanami during her first year of high school, and coming to terms with the realisation of her sexuality due to her easy love for Touko despite her previous confusion and sorrow leading Sayaka to believe that she wouldn't let love into her heart again. Given that this period of time is mostly told through Touko's perspective in the anime and manga, it's interesting to see Iruma spin it all into Sayaka's perspective instead. Along with this, volume 2 gives a somewhat "quick" recap of everything that happened in the manga without feeling too rushed at all, giving us detailed reminders of everything Sayaka would go through with the introduction of Yuu Koito and her newfound relation with Touko, and how the final circumstances would affect her. It's not often to see authors pull off recaps of so much content without a feeling that things were moving too fast, though I guess that's more of the result of assuming that the reader has read the manga and understands the original plot from start to finish, which describes myself and many other readers. The end of volume 2 moves into a snippet of the beginning of Sayaka's college life following her heartbreak and graduation in the original series, where she meets a crying Haru Edamoto, and then the fully original plot takes off from there. Volume 2 was the peak of this novel series, with some of the most beautiful writing and subtext I've ever read.

Volume 3 is where everything goes original and I can't explain much without spoiling this original content, but I can assure you that it's equally as great as Iruma's writing up to this point, just... read it for yourself and get the full experience. It was a beautiful wrap-up to this side story.

As mentioned prior, though she doesn't do the main body of writing for this novel like she does with the original manga, original series mangaka Nio Nakatani returns to do the artwork for this novel, and it looks just as good as any fan of the series would likely expect. In the years between the beginning of the manga in 2015 and the release of this novel in 2018, it's clear that creating the manga gave Nakatani a great opportunity to develop her skills, and the very detailed and frankly stunning art of Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite stands as a testament to that. Sticking to her recognisable style, Nakatani's art style is perfect in my eyes, there is no way I could comment on anything to improve it.

Absolutely outstanding. I didn't think it was possible for anybody to handle these characters as well as Nakatani herself, but Iruma understands this series and the characters within very well. He explores the characters Nakatani has already written, expands upon them, shows where recognisable characters ended up in their future in volume 3 (3 years after the end of the manga), and, of course, introduces original characters drafted by Nakatani to keep true authenticity. Iruma and Nakatani's joined skill in character writing was very good despite Iruma's own claim that he's no good at coming up with names. Nakatani understands Sayaka and the circumstances surrounding her life, and she clearly did a great job communicating her understanding to Iruma; somebody who also understands.

With all of the elements within and how it ties to the original series, it's safe to say that I enjoyed Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite very much, but I'm not the biggest fan of Iruma's inconsistent chapter lengths. It's not inherently a bad thing, but it felt a bit jarring at certain points and subtracted from my enjoyment just a little, but everything else makes up for that.

Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is an absolute essential for anybody who's a fan of the original series, and even if you aren't yet, I strongly recommend getting into the series for it. If you look at my profile, it's not hard to tell that I'm quite big fan, and as a big fan, I believe that the original series is a masterpiece and can guarantee you that it's worth giving a chance. Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite focuses a lot on Sayaka's realisation of love, relationships (romantic or not) and emotions.

In terms of emotions, Sayaka's character journey taught me one crucial lesson.

I don't need to run away anymore.