i feel like i'm one of the few people who read this before paradise kiss.
i started reading this manga a couple months ago, but i dropped it inbetween volume 3 b/c i felt it was kinda draggy.. i picked it up again today, and finished it right away
the story's cute, and the characters are realistic. the art is simply gorgeous; it's so intricate. i especially love risa and takeshi's characters and designs. i guess you could say i liked the later part of the story more than the beginning...

next up is parakiss

... Last updated on January 3rd, 2013, 6:05pm

I love this manga and have re-read it sooo many times! what I like best is that there are lots of little storylines, at the beginning it starts out as a pretty straight forward childhood love but it actually shows the couple together and then takes a focus on the other characters such as Ayumi (my personal favourite) and Yuusuke and I really prefer the later half of the manga which focuses on their relationship as its more interesting. To top it off we get to see trendy clothes and Midori and Akira again! this manga is completely different it has every thing a manga needs and is still pretty realistic a real gem!

At first i was hesitant to read this manga b\c Paradise kiss was.. well, not tht good.
But now, i have no regrets =).
The art is unique and you'll get use to it ^_^. The story is really well done and the character development is superb!
Everything is resolved and doesn't leave you hanging (like other shoujo manga's) and it explains everything so you won't be confused. It is a story about following your dreams, friendship and Love. One of the best shoujo/romance manga's i've ever read.
Highly Recommended.<3
Ending was really well done too

This is probably one of the best shoujos out there. Since I already read ParaKiss, it was interesting seeing Mikako start her career as a designer. The art is beautiful, fashionable and unique. But then again this is Yawaza's work.

The characters and their relationships were developed in a realistic way. They are flawed and have imperfect personalities. The manga goes on to show how love may affect your decisions. But, I just loved Parakiss so much more... Maybe because it was a josei and showed more of the painful reality.

The ending of Gokinjo Monogatari was good, it was happy. Maybe overly joyful with no angst.. but this is a shoujo. It was good for a shoujo.

... Last updated on April 10th, 2008, 3:20pm

i love the art, it's very charming and unique, the fact that no one else draws the same makes it more fun like ouran high school host club, or even lovely complex!

Any shoujo manga connoisseur would give this two thumbs up! The mangaka put a lot of effort into costume design for every character. Styles run the gamut, from loli to punk, and each of them is well executed. You'd probably take a second glance at some of the clothes in here. Story-wise... it's engaging, and it's sure to draw you in.

It's a so good manga! The art is... Yazawa-like. The story is funny, sad, romantic, serious, realistic etc. I'm a fan of MIKAKO and TSUTOMU! (And Noriji, of course!) I like all characters! Really, ALL!

it's one of the rare, best of the best reads you can ever find out there..for a manga series almost 11 years old, the art is supreme and I got blown away. The plot may come off draggy at first, but it gets better as it gets on. Packed with the right amount of everything; humour, romance and drama, what more could you ask for?
The characters are lovable and unforgettable too..I yearn for more! The cover art is really disastrous though, please don't judge from it. I guess the story fits perfectly with Mikako's little sister following her roots of design; growing up to become part of the fashion design team in Parakiss..with a fraction of her love life in there..!

Yeah, it's even better than ParaKiss.
The story is lovely, the character are so *real*, I really loved all of them and I felt like crying a lot of times.
10/10, one of my favourites mangas.

I thought this would be worse then Paradise kiss, cause ParaKiss was very good not to and its also newer, but when I read this I found out that this is way better. This is deffinitly a good read.