I found myself loving the cuteness of it all, the stories, the art. Sometimes it's nice to read shoujo like this. Even if it has the usual tropes, it's still very likable. No pathetic heroines, no overly cold heroes, no dragging drama that makes you want to facepalm.
I like the pacing for each of the oneshots and I absolutely appreciate that the characters act appropriately for their age. No middle-schooler "Oh noes, he's my one and only!". The story with Saya is different because it's not love at first sight. Actually, none of the stories are love at first sight. There's development of relationship.
There's little kissing which is a breather because at least they know other ways how to show affection. I don't think I'm being over conservative or anything but I love that the relationship is allowed to grow, no instant falling in love, no superficial nonsense.
First Story--I didn't think that I would actually like this but I ended up liking both leads. The girl is strong in her own way and a bit funny. I was expecting the guy to be another cold jerk but he refreshingly isn't. The summary talks about him being narrow sighted, and I sort of equated it to being close-minded. He isn't.
Second Story--Ryou here is so much cuter than Seto! xD Saya is funny and strong.
Their being childhood friends was just adorable and I sorta like the teasing. Brings back memories of Gakuen Alice but the guy isn't cold like Natsume.
The end where they confess to their feelings and she almost falls from the jungle gym, you're like, "oh, she's gonna fall in her arms and then live happily ever after" coz the guy rushes in to catch her but she saves herself.
Ha! Take that stupid stories where the hero has to keep saving the girl who is supposedly strong.
I loved that the author didn't just tell me Saya was strong, she showed it in every panel, even until the end.
Third Story--This was sweet. Usually, we get a brooding guy who quit track&field or some other sport because of an injury and the girl chases after him to cheer him up one way or another, yadayadayada. Here, it's reversed and I liked the play that she's the sempai.(But apparently, he's just the same age as her)
It doesn't drag on and there's no "You don't understand my feelings! Stay away from me! Gyah!" situations we usually see in other shoujo where the guy gave up his dreams and hurts the girl by pushing her helping hand away.
It's so sweet.
Is it weird that I kinda fell for Yoshii, the fluffy haired friend who is rarely the type to be a lead in shoujo because he's technically not a bishie?
Fourth Story--I have to say my favorite among the four. The relationship is balanced well and the characters are just adorable. The guy is quirky but also cool somehow, unashamed of his feelings for the heroine. The girl isn't a tsundere even though in other manga's like this with a similar affectionate male lead, the girl is usually a tsundere. It's refreshing and the ending was just great.
(-23)
