Just like the majority of her other works, Yesterday wo Utatte is another unique gem powered by a compelling plot and impressive character development. Taking a break from robot-samurai and psychological thrillers and switching to something realistic is something I normally wouldn't expect to succeed, but Toume always seems to prevail at what she attempts. Excellent pacing, intricate characters, and her adept art style leaves me once again with very little, if anything, to complain about.

Ok so i found the raw, read it for the ending only. I don't know Japanese so i'm not sure at the end. Read the spoiler at your own choice.

Almost everything in this manga--the characters, their economic situations, their hopes and disappointments, and above all their smoldering feelings--is very much like stuff that has happened to me or people I've known. Some of this realism is actually painful to watch, particularly the long, passive avoidance by the main character of the good things reality is offering him. Nevertheless, that's the way people, in fact, often are!

And the other characters in this manga, who are mostly less irritating than the MC, make up for his unwillingness to move on by being especially likable and interesting. Toume Kei is a woman, and maybe that's one reason why her female characters tend to be so deep and interesting. Or maybe not--but in any case a story with such interesting women in it is, perhaps paradoxically, bound to be of extra interest to male readers. And I believe that most female readers will like this manga simply because they will probably be able to thoroughly identify with it.

In short, it's a very well-told story about romantic uncertainty playing out in the lives of people in their early 20s. That's one of the great themes of story-telling, and this is a very good story of that sort.

And please note this is a story of JAPANESE people, who generally are expected to live up to high standards of work, decency, and loyalty, and are especially expected not to have sex with anyone but the One they finally find they'd like to spend their whole life with. This is the story of people growing up into this society and its expectations. That's bound to be quite a struggle!

... Last updated on July 31st, 2018, 1:10pm

Although it's technically young man, it reads more like a realistic girl. Readers of her other works- Hitsuji no Uta, Luno, Kurogane- will enjoy her unique style.

I'm not sure why I was so enamored with Toume Kei back in the day. Maybe it was due to the art? Because that's the only thing this series has going for it. Yesterday wo Utatte is atrociously paced, has no plot and you can't even call it a slice of life because nothing actually happens (and even in the slowest SoLs stuff actually happens). This is a pure romance manga, except that there is never any progress made because every character has unrequited love for someone else. Not only that but all of these characters refuse to ever move on and find someone else to fall for.

Such a setup would make sense if this was a generic shounen romcom, but this is a seinen starring characters who are aged 18~24+. The result is that you have this super realistic setting superimposed on top of adult aged characters who act like middle school children. Scratch that, I shouldn't even compare them to school children because even kids know when the fuck to move on with life and that a crush turning you down isn't the end of the world. The characters in this manga aren't even human because they fail at such a basic aspect of human life. No matter how many monologues and flashbacks you throw at me over 11 volumes, it still isn't going to make your unrequited love plot device any less boring.

What you read in the first 3 chapters of this manga is exactly what you'll get for the 110 other chapters.

I like it. Some other people might complain that it's slow and nothing really happens at first but that happens in most slice-of-life romances. The story and art are a good combo and it's not that frustrating to read. In the start it might seem that the main character is going to be one of those "pathetic, can't-do-anything" type of guys but he's clearly not. He has a strong personality and is a good guy.

The atmosphere of the story is very... nice. Unique I should say.

There's many layers to the story and it unfold pretty smoothly. Characters development also is good.

Still, I feel the pace of the manga is a bit slow. End volume two already and it's not far along as I would like. Minus one point for that.

I do looking forward to future releases!

On this, I would have to disagree. Hitsuji no Uta was the embodiment of melodrama, but I still loved it. I'm hoping that this series doesn't devolve into a mess of melodrama however.

And I'm really excited to see how far she takes it with these characters. Have not read a romance that almost exclusively focused on the theme on unrequited love (for all parties involved) since Honey & Clover. I wonder if it's not a coincidence that Art and Art School was a theme in both works. Either way, I really love Kei Toume's art style and writing. Have not enjoyed a romance manga this much in a long time.

Kei Toume Rocks indeed! :)

She's a knack for making a simple and moving drama without the usual accompaniment of melodrama =P

Good stuff...