Kimi no Sumire
Sumire, a newly transferred student met Toujou, a boy they all call, “The school’s solitary Madonna.”. Unexpectedly, they became friends and spent their school days together after Sumire stepped up between a fight with Toujou and some other boys at the school. Despite being viewed as beautiful, and pure. A lone wolf, the school’s Madonna - Toujou had other side’s that only Sumire knew about and he is surprisingly sweet to Sumire, which got Sumire’s heart thumping. One day, on the school’s rooftop, Toujou suddenly kisses Sumire....! The story or overall plot is pure and simple. It’s nothing original or surprising, it lacks an exciting twist, yet it manages to capture my attention and I was fully immersed in the story. (I enjoyed every second of this manga). The reason for that is because of the simplicity of it - The adorable and youthful story yet realistic about an uncomplicated love story between the characters. Also, points need to be made - The story falls under the genre of School lifes and Shounen ai. So most of the time the settings were involved in the character’s school life - For example - Sport festival. This still made me invested in the story though and I wanted to see where the story/plot will take me. The characters were nothing memorable, but they were likable and I mean they didn’t do anything irrationally stupid (lol). The thing about Toujou’s character is that, rather than making the reader read between the lines about his character, the author just puts it out there how he is as a character - The different sides of him. But hey, it’s a manga and you can’t really read between the lines. So I don’t think it is something to be bugged about… Sure it did have some impression on the story and made the story flow differently. Toujou it’s the lone wolf that many admire and want to get close to. Yet he’s quite a rebel and delinquent, totally opposite of what the rumours state. What I like it’s that Toujou is honest to himself and doesn’t really care about what other people think about him. Next, Sumire, firstly let me comment on the name - Very unusual for a BL and anything japanese’s entertainment consumer as myself. But I like it, and the name really suits Sumire as a character - Pure love but also White violent. Sumire is always considerate and kind, and he always wants the best for Toujou. For example, when Sumire thought Toujou wanted to study in Kyoto ( They live in Tokyo), he would start working to support Toujou’s dream. - I find it very wholesome and adorable, cause long distance can be expensive if you’re gonna travel back and fourth. The drawing/art style it’s very cute, clean and pleasing to the eyes. Character designs are cute, the panel, the background, shading and coloring (Yes, it’s black and white but the gray scale it’s done beautifully) and it’s pleasing to my preference. Small thing, but I also like how the characters are blushing (- Mostly Sumire’s blush lol). It is very old school and wholesome when the characters’ whole body is blushing when embarrassed. Because sometimes drawing in manga can be a bother to the eyes and make it difficult to focus on the story because the art style is so distracting. Overall this was an adorable and wholesome love story about two people who seem to be from different worlds, yet they collide into each other and become inseparable. I give it 5/5, simply because I enjoy the story. I wish there was a volume 2. I want to know more about what happened now that Toujou started university, will they face any problems, will it have some climax and exciting twists - The imagination is endless and so many more things can be added to this story! :) <3
Cupid ni Rakurai