< Introduction > Smile at the Runway or Runway de Waratte is a story about passion. It showcases human nature in such a way that is comparable to the beauty exhibited by clothes in runways.

At every moment... everyone is wearing something. Because anyone and everyone is wearing something, the possibilities...this world... is vast and endless.

Just like the vast variety of clothes that are showcased in the manga, there is an equally large amount of types of characters in it. All with different "clothes". Some are more charismatic than others, and some have more unique traits. Yet, all of them bring something new and passionate to the story, just like models in runways. Smile at the Runway is a story of a passionate designer and a passionate model who strive to do what they love despite the obstacles that they face. It deals with themes like whether one should prioritize his passion over family and friendship, talent vs hard work, and motives behind dreams. It is a very well thought and a great manga which is why I definitely recommend this manga to anyone who has had any experience with the themes above, or anyone who enjoys coming of age stories.

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< Body > Oh okay, I still haven't lost you. Great. Now I'll go full on on why this is well made. spoiler warning/disclaimer: I might get excited and leak too many details.

For the moment I'll start with giving a brief overview of the characters.
Its characters are all very likable. They reek of humanity. And no, I do not mean that in that they are all the most altruistic people possible. I mean that in the sense that they have aspirations, fears, and conflicts. They have dimensions and that is a valuable trait in stories and literature.

Ikuto: Our main boy and character. Eldest brother of a family of 4 siblings. Sick mother. Financial status is dire because of medical bills and the lack of father. Ok, now that we've set the foundation I'll talk about how he is. Ikuto is very much like how you would expect an eldest brother to be. He always wants to be dependable without depending too much on others himself. Because of this he averts his eyes from what he wants to do and instead works many part time jobs to make sure his younger sisters can all do what they want to without having to worry about money like he does. He has a childlike love and passion for fashion designing and has always wanted to become one but couldn't say so because of his upbringing. However, through some chain of events we come to see how he is able to get closer to his dream step by step.

Chiyuki: Our teenie tiny 158 cm midget model. Oxymoronic right? How could one possibly be 158 cm and be a model?? Models are based on their tall heights. Of course, she struggles with this as well throughout the manga. Most fashion companies won't even let you participate if you don't pass a height limit apparently (~~just like roller coasters~~). However, there are two things that make her interesting. 1) Her indomitable will and passion towards modeling and 2) her contrary upbringing. Midget-san was born into fashion. Her father is a renown fashion designer and she always practiced modeling and had various gigs when she was younger. The stage was completely set for her. Yet, her growth spurt stopped and she lost the most essential aspect of a model: a tall height. Because of this, she fell from a position of absolute talent and perfect upbringing to not being able to model because of her height. Ironic. However, she doesn't let this get to her and she stands tall against it all and acts as the stick that pulls Ikuto out of the quicksand that was suffocating him. They complement each other as people and both become small giants when they are passionate.

I could go on and on about the characters (especially the perfect model who wants to be a fashion designer, or the grandson that has to live up to her incredible grandmother), but I must stop to discuss the themes since they are even of larger value.

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< Themes > Talent vs Hard Work: Especially in the arts and sports, this is a recurring theme. "No matter how I hard I try, I cannot beat raw innate talent". "She/he is gifted", etc. And there is a reason that it is so. Most art students come face to face with the situation a lot. "How come those that tried less are all higher than me?" One starts to grief and blame himself and his/her aptitude. This is a ongoing theme in Smile at the Runway. Models are those who are able to have good proportions and are tall since they have more stage presence. Because of this our female lead can't get a gig despite how hard she tries, and most companies will outright decline her just because of her height. Then people like ideal model-san appear. Those who have tall height and "talent". It's as if they can pull off modeling without all the effort all of us normal people have to go through to get results. Which brings us to the question of whether one is happier following his passion through hard work even if it is difficult or if it is better for one to work in what he/she is good at.

Prioritizing passion over family and friendship or vice versa: This is mostly what happens with Ikuto. Even when he knows oh so clearly what he wants to do, he can't bring himself to do it because of his sense of responsibility and guilt when it comes to his family and friends. Most people will always argue that to get something, one will have to sacrifice something else. However, Ikuto tries to hold on to everything he values in a desperate way. This is extremely hard and should be near impossible to do but just like our charismatic female lead said, that is what makes Ikuto such a likable character. This manga introduces the common scheme of sacrificing things to achieve goals and exemplifies how it doesn't always need to be like that.

There are also themes like determination, danger in passion, harmony between responsibilities and interests.
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< Conclusion > `` `` All in all, it is a great manga about a topic that I knew very little about. I didn't have any interest in runway fashion and modeling but the simple fact that this is a delightful story with so many parallels is the reason why I believe that more people should know about this manga and read it. Moreover, my biggest motivation to write a review for this manga was that there were no reviews for it and yet its average score was so low. A 60%?! Blasphemous. I had to prove them wrong. So yeah, do yourself a favor and read this if you like good stories. Cheers.