How do two people fall in love?
It's a question that seemed easy to answer due to its quantifiable results from people's experiences. People would often say that the first reason they fell in love with a person was a combination of the person’s attractiveness and/or determination to do their work. While these traits are justifiable for falling for someone, it is not generally a realistic guarantee for a successful romantic connection to win someone on the receiving end of romance.
For most people, romance comes in unexpected ways, whether it's a location where you wouldn't expect to develop intimate and blossoming romance, like behind a supermarket, or a hidden passion that you hide and protect from the biases and criticisms of society. Having a shared interest is the reason why people bond with each other, but not everyone else is lucky to have an immediate bond with someone unless there is a fortunate circumstance equal to the effort of pushing to create a bond.
This manga series presents this realistic and deeply intimate take on romance by Mitsuki Koga and Aya Oosawa and their slow and blossoming romance shared by their interest in music.
Music connects and divides people at the same time. Music is one of the most popular forms of expression for people to find things that fit their moods at the moment. However, music has genres with different styles of instruments, enunciations, lyrics, and moods. Variety is often a good thing because it serves different kinds of artforms and expressions for different types of audiences, but this can also develop a prejudistic viewpoint or ignorance toward the other genre, which can have effects on people who listen to said genre. This is the dilemma of Koga and Oosawa, as they kept their music taste to themselves in order to not be ridiculed by the people around them. Until one day, their paths crossed and their interests aligned. Even though they basically sit next to each other at school, the metaphorical distance they have to each other is rather far but gradually gets closer and closer the more they interact with each other.
The manga is a slow and blossoming adolescent romance that's entertaining and engaging to read. They have their inner quirks and turmoils sprinkled with the usual “will she, won't she” trope, and yet you can feel and relate to the character’s frustrations and inner conflicts. The series is in the Yuri genre, and if you are not a fan of this genre, I think this series can definitely convince you because of how seamless the romance feels sometimes. Other than the romantic aspects, the main characters are compelling, and you root for them to step out of their shells and fully embrace their passions for music. You get to see these characters grow from their inner selves despite their contrasting personalities, build themselves, and grow as people.
If romance is not your cup of tea, you can also enjoy this series as a music manga. One highlight of this manga is the exploration of rock music, which is a trait that is slowly phasing out in the manga scene. The appreciation and bonding of real bands such as The Foo Fighters and Radiohead radiates through the manga. If you are a fan of stories appreciating music and a music fan itself, this is a great read.
If romance or the music aspect is not your cup of tea, then the art style can definitely get you reading. The manga has this unique trait of meticulously using the color green as a contrast to the whites, blacks, and greys. When combined with the amazing artstyle by Sumiko Arai, you get an addicting and attractive multiple manga panel that is truly one of a kind.
This is a fairly short manga that contains around 4 pages per chapter. This manga is a high recommendation for me if you're a romance junkie, a music fan, appreciate unique and wonderful art styles, or a combination of all three. ***
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