This is one of those romance mangas that actually has poignant discussions about ideas and subjects in relationships. It tells you that your own emotional vulnerabilities and lack of trust in the other person is not just damaging toward yourself, but it also is hurtful toward the other person. Their conflicts are arguably justified. Shima distrust toward his own happiness and Togawa's feeling toward him is reasonable. Shima was hurt in the past and clearly hadn't gotten over it even when he is with Togawa. The social stigma of being in a gay relationship such as being unable to build the "traditional" family can be disheartening. And the yaoi conflict of having a straight guy fall for you gave Shima even more doubts.
The only qualm I have with this manga is that it's not very clear in showing passage of time and things feel like they're moving too fast. Also, it has some yaoi cliches, but they are not too distracting.

Please don't watch the live action movie for any other purposes beside out of respect for the author. The acting is horrendously clunky. The emotional expressiveness and nuances from the manga are lost. The cinematography is nonexistence (seriously, don't pan out of the characters when they're having emotional discussion because you can't see their face or emotions--unless, you're going for the sense of hopelessness of being unable to help them, but you still need lots of body movements and positioning to translate the emotions well)

... Last updated on June 19th, 2016, 7:38am

Yoneda Kou writes great manga, and this one is no exception. Quiet, slow-building, and intriguingly introspective, the author invites us to see into someone else's life. The synopsis already states everything that can be said about the story without spoiling it, so I'll just say that the characters' emotions and the tension is palpable on every page and the story is a wonderful reading experience you should not miss!

When I read manga most of the time if their really good I'l revisit them once or twice, but this manga has me coming back so much I've lost track of how many times I've read it. To me Yoneda sensei always has this slow but keep you on your toes plot and character development, and I love it. It's not rushed and not slow either, it make me feel like I'm there with the characters because the emotions are well displayed. One thing is for sure I love every character in this manga so much I can't even pick a favorite. Basically this is a masterpiece in my opinion as well as her other works! (^.^)

as mentioned, i love how this mangaka can draw character expressions so well. it really conveys a lot of emotion from the characters despite the dialogue sometimes being a bit confusing. i have a penchant for angst, so of course i ate this story up.

i love this, very realistic and believable.
i must even say that i had almost exactly the same experience somehow with shima. i can really relate to him. *sigh*
but back to the manga. it was very emotional and really dramatic. i love how opposite the characters are and the past that really shook them that made them behave that way. the story is very sweet and subtle and just filled with emotions that are needed to be released!
but i didn't like how it ended! because they were stuck in a long distance relationship(LDR).
LDR is a very hard relationship a lot of bad things can happen if they were to be in a misunderstanding. i wish that the manga artist prolonged it and made their relationship more stable

... Last updated on April 23rd, 2012, 8:50am

I love this author! She's amazing! I love the characters and the story plots, I love the art and the expressions that are drawn (i cried when Shima did in this one, it really touched me) It was an awesome story and i also loved the extra story with onoda and deguchi!! It was funny and cute at the same time!

The reason i still rate it 7 is even though i thought it was awesome it was kind of predictable.. But i don't know why i loved it anyways and i love this author too!

... Last updated on January 5th, 2012, 12:10pm

Bitter-sweet story.
I loved it, I love pretty much all the works from this author, some of which really make me want to cry. This one
And, I really wish both of them would adopt a child, already. If Shima agreed to it, they would make such a cute family. And Tagawa would definitely make a great father. <3

... Last updated on November 21st, 2011, 5:58pm

This manga is worth reading. Truth be told, it has a simple storyline, but it is commendable. The depth of the involvement of the main cast is not only focused on physical desire, but more on the relevant matters of the heart.
Yoneda-sensei is a great artist!

There is a 'quietness' about this story that was touching. It was like a true love story. I found it a slow and uncaptivating because it was so everyday. But it did have an element of purity in it, as the mangaka carefully tried to craft a story about the different ways one can put their past to use.

... Last updated on October 4th, 2009, 1:06pm

simply love. love love love. It took quite a time to finish this manga, but everytime a new chapter was out I almost went crazy, in a positive way. I so fell in love with just after the 2nd chapter, and now it's finished. can't believe this.. I mean this is so calling for a sequel! Please Yoneda-sensei, draw something more about Shima-san and Togawa-san, even the name-topic was so cute at the end. What I liked most of the manga was, it really had a plot!! and the storyline was just so cute and comprehensible, I for myself oftentimes found myself in Shima and I could understand his actions and why he did some things and some not pretty good. the way the art of Yoneda-sensei tells a big part of the story instead of speechbubbles is also one of the best parts of this manga.

all in all, READ IT!! you won't regret it!

and please, a continuation.

10+ points!