This is the BEST shounen-ai manga that I've read; and considering that I've been reading both yaoi and BL manga for the past 10 years of my life, that's really saying a lot.

What really attracted me to read this first is it's length. Yaoi/BL manga tends to have fast progress in terms of relationships and sexual activity. And the fact that Takara and Kiyomine started in a hate relationship before becoming friends is definitely a refreshing scene to see. Often times, I find myself getting tired of the usual 'Love at First Sight' yaoi or 'Rape-Confession Scene' since, admittedly, in the real world, that is definitely difficult, even impossible, to come by. The gradual build-up of relationship is really close to reality, especially in the realm of long term 'closer than normal' friends.

Aside from the relationship category, each character's development is something to applaud for. This does not only pertain to the protagonists of the story, but to minor characters (both male x female) as well. Akari and Nanase are perfect examples.

Frankly, I hate having females in any BL/Yaoi manga since they usually give trouble to the couple and mangakas have the tendency to depict them as someone almost alien in the real world. I am a girl, myself, but I am more than 100% sure that I act nothing like those women in typical bitch/slash yaoi manga.

Anyway, back to the topic, Akari and Nanase showed a lot of growth throughout the story. And mind you, such growth do not pertain to anything romantic at all, but instead, on the essence of long-term companionship essential to all.

In fact, Komahoshi is the perfect epitome of a story that proves how extremely difficult it is to find true/real and close friends compared to lovers.

Although in Takara and Kiyomine's case, I can say, they found both in each other.

With regards to art, Abe Miyuki's sketches are poetry to the eyes. They are really beautiful. I especially love the way she draws Takara's eyes. It's very expressive and childlike; definitely perfect for the role she wishes for him to portray.

Now, I've downloaded Volume 1-26 to my laptop; and to prove how much I love this piece of work, although I understand nothing of japanese writing, I still went through the pages of Volume 12-26 patiently, and still enjoyed every bit of it.

Because like I said, even without words, the expression and emotions of the characters are enough for me to grasp the essence of the story.

Two thumbs up for Abe Miyuki.

I would love to see another installment of Komatta should she decide to make one of it (preferably about T & K's relationship combined with work. After all, Kiyomine is pursuing law. It will be interesting to see him trying to pass a resolution regarding the legalization of Homosexual Marriages.)

... Last updated on December 4th, 2012, 3:07pm

...who refrained from giving this series a 10 for reasons other than the fact that there is no explicit BL in it (not counting those who rated it '1' out of sheer spite <_<) Frankly, I couldn't care less whether the two protagonists ever "go beyond friendship" or not, since I'm far from being a yaoi fangirl and therefore prefer subtext to canon any day.

My main reason for not being too lavish with my praise is rather obvious, but seems to have passed entirely unnoticed -- if you ignore the fact that Takara is a boy, this is basically your standard school-life + slice-of-life shoujo romance manga. While there's nothing wrong with that, it does rob the plot of all originality and unpredictability. The characters have their realistic moments, but in general there isn't anything strikingly believable about them.

Kiyomine and Takara are rather boring people in general. And I dislike Kiyomine; he's one of those 'complicated' boys hailing from a 'perfect-but-not-really' kind of family, who women are irrationally obsessed with since he's "incredibly handsome", brilliant in his studies, and competent at whatever sport he tries. Well, at least Takara isn't physically weak, which frees him from the traditional 'uke' stereotype; though his androgyny (supposedly -- personally I don't consider his appearance to be feminine) and shortness land him back in that territory to some extent.
Their friends, family members and schoolmates are far more interesting individuals; so rather than finding it distracting, the frequent involvement of the supporting cast is what made the story enjoyable for me.

(The series's many pros have been mentioned repeatedly in all but two of the preceding comments, so I figured I should provide some balance and note the cons from an unbiased viewpoint)

Is Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike! a nice, simple story chock-full of softcore BL subtext and a cast of cute, innocent characters? Certainly. Is it the most brilliant shounen-ai manga ever written? I don't think so.

... Last updated on September 16th, 2011, 5:42am

For the first thing, I have to say that this story is "SHOUNEN-AI", which mean it's just a cute boy-boy love story.
If you expect deep-passioned kiss, any smex or actual sex scene, this story is not for you. But if you're looking for a story with a great plot, lovely characters, and cute relationships, this story is definitely for you:]

As a long-time yaoi consumer(lol), I can read pretty much both shonen-ai and yaoi stories(I prefer yaoi w/ smex tho^///^). For me, this is the best shonen-ai manga I've ever read. Some may say the story and the love of main couple are developing quite slow, But what I see is that their relationship is rather *REAL*. Compare to other yaoi or shonen-ai stories, the relationship of Takara and Kiyomine is realistic. Other yaoi stories often have a plot which the main characters can fall in love very easily and have sexual action very fast. But Komatta. contains many unique characters and each couple have reasons to love each other. It's like they are a couple who are just made for each other. The main couple they first being an enemy, fight, and argues all the time. But as the story develops, they adapt themselves and their relationship develops too. They become friends, fulfill each other, and in the end their relationship becomes love that is more than just a mere friendship(^ ^). In this story, it takes time and you have to take many things into consideration for a guy to come to like another guy. Other stories, I think their relationship doesn't quite complex.(If other yaoi stories are true, I think this world will be full of homo couples b/c they fall in love so easily)

Besides from the plot, the art of Abe sensei is very pretty. At first, it doesn't really what I like but as the story progress, her art becomes better and better. Especially, Takara-chan is very cute and Kiyomine becomes a really handsome guy!!!>w<

I wish my English skill is better tho, so that I can write better about how good this manga is ..Again, this story is not for you, who likes a fast developed relationship and expect sex scenes. However, for me this manga is as real as they can be. I think that if homo couples in this real world are all like Kiyomine and Takara, I think they deserves to be homo because their relationship is reasonable and it's just to cute!=D

I still recommend you to read this story tho!!! :]

wow I was afraid by the comments that maybe I would get bored of this manga so I put off reading it for so long....but I dont find it boring at all! The pace at which their personalities are revealed, their relationship develops, and the story builds is absolutely perfect. At first it was a little bit slow, but it just kept getting better and better; I feel like the story gets quite intense! This has definitely made it into my top 5! X3


PS I just read it a second time lol I'm so in love with this I can't get enough

... Last updated on February 19th, 2011, 1:10pm

So far, THIS IS THE BEST MANGA I HAVE EVER READ. it's just soooo cute!! actually, i prefer yaoi from shounen-ai. but this manga is so cute i can't help but fall in love with this manga..... this manga is progressing slowly but it's very very intresting. the art may not be as good as now, but still, it's sooooo cute!! both the art and plot!! the best ever!!!! and the length also. i hate a one-book-completed manga. i love a long term story, like this one. because BL tends to only 1 book. it's very rare to find BL/shounen-ai as long as this one. and the story is very intresting. it's not really focused on love, but it still have love in it. i love Kiyomine x Takara couple. the best ever!!

when i post this in here, the manga is long before complete.... i just can hope that it will be scanlated quickly.... i'm dying to read the next chapter....

plus, after reading this one, i automatically become Abe Miyuki-sensei's big fan. Abe Miyuki-sama is the best mangaka ever....

best shounen-ai relationship ever. It's not cliched, full-out makeout sessions- you can tell from their relationship and how they react to each other.. its just adorable (awww<3) its better than my usual BL reads I strongly recommend this, it can be quite moving as well.

... Last updated on November 8th, 2010, 9:16pm

I absolutely loved the main characters, as individuals but especially together. They have such a special dynamic and I love how they made each other better and happier. It was such an interesting plot, I hated ever having to put it down. My only complaint is that despite being a “BL” manga, the romance wasn’t as explicit as I would’ve liked. And I don’t mean that it needed to be sexual, but their relationship isn’t actual confirmed as something other than friendship. The “kisses”, which are very few, are marked as Kiyomine joking and it not being reciprocal. And their cuddles seem like just an affectionate friendship. So as much as I love this manga, I felt a bit cheated, like it was teasing me. Even if it was a relationship only acknowledged between the two of them, I wish it was confirmed. Because it is quite onvious, even early on in the series, that they are both in love with each other. So just let them date!! I will go to my grave believing that after moving in together during college years that there is a true get together, but sadly I’ll never see it officially. Still high recommend though, because their relationship is truly beautiful and I love these characters so much

They do kiss on the lips! On valentines day in front of the whole school and the principal... but just that once. Anyway, as everyone says, this isn't smut. If that's what you look for, then turn away. But if you're looking for a funny interesting plot, you're in luck. Manga is hardly ever realistic, but I think the relationship in this is as real as it is going to get. They argue, they take their anger out on each other, they fight, and they make up. At first they were enemies, then friends (for a long time) and definitely something more towards the end. It feels like a very natural progression to me, rather than the 'love at first sight, smex, smex, smex' thing. Oh but there's that dough licking scene *ahem*

... Last updated on September 10th, 2008, 3:11am

This manga is amazing. It's so cute~ It's also fun to go back and see just how far their relationship has come. It's not full of sex and people suddenly falling in love which is just what I was looking for. I read all that is currently available in two nights and am eagerly awaiting more! Wish it was licensed, I would be buying it right now if it was.

If you're looking for a developing relationship, go find it somewhere else. These two never will develop a romantic relationship (you'll never convince Takara to allow it to happen...). If, however, you're fine with nothing but hints of shonen-ai and a suspiciously close friendship, then this manga is one of the best out there. The art does get better, but the main attraction of this series is the humour and the fleshing out of the relationship. The pace of development (...not the plot, the relationship) is extremely slow and subtle, so you don't notice it until, halfway through, you go back and read the beginning again and realize they've actually come a really long way. In fact, they're so matter-of-fact about how close they are that it takes an outsider to react to how scandalous some of their actions might seem.
So really, the long and short of it is, this is about as far from PWP as you could get. Solid plot (don't go expecting anything fantastical), in-depth characterization, and absolutely no overt romance.

... Last updated on December 11th, 2009, 8:04am