I have just been crying non-stop since I've read this manga. It starts out as your typical shoujo manga but leaves you breathless and heart pounding at the end. This is a must read if you want to delve into the lives of complex people and see that not everyone is perfect. That it's okay to be dysfunctional and that you should accept all of you, flaws and all.



I just didn't like the fact that Yuri was always obsessed with her appearance which doesn't seem to match her wise character in this story. Everybody revolves around Yuri's kindness but I guess her flaw was that she wasn't kind to herself. I loved Aoi and Fuyou. This manga pretty much tackles all kinds of relationship. The dysfunctional mother who plays around and gives birth to children of different fathers. The undying love for a departed one. The incest kind of love. And the love between family. I really loved Fuyo and Nekokichi. And Nekokichi is one of my favorites, too.

This is one of those mangas that will get better and better each time you read it. Like fine wine, it gets better with age.

... Last updated on August 12th, 2020, 2:37pm

It's that good

I loved it so much. I never thought that I would enjoy something with incest as well as I enjoyed this. I honestly didn't think the older brother was a great choice for her to end up with(even though they weren't really related.) It seemed like it was all forced or something like it was expected of her to fall for him. I wished Aoi wasn't really her brother, it would have worked out better that way.
Apart from all that, I really loved the character development, it felt like I was really growing with all the characters which was beautiful.

LOL I love how almost all the comments are pretty long--people have a lot to say about this series... <3 *feeling proud for some reason*

Anyways, I read this on a whim, thinking this might be a new experience for me with gay incest in shoujo manga....but, it turns out that I grew to love this series beyond the aspect of gay love, and came to really adore the eccentric family of guy-with-long-hair, guy-with-dead-lover, girl-with-sharp-mind, and fat-girl-with-warm-heart.

My favorite character would be the sister of the family, who appears to be the wisest one of all---she is really smart, and has a quick tongue and cold aura around her. Despite all that, the author gave her such character development you can see the other side of her: An aging woman who still longs for the motherly love she never had.

Also, as people already noted, FOR ONCE, I can really SEE and understand why the guys fell in love with Yuri, who had a chubby face filled with freckles/pimples. Her warmth is really calming, and you really start to like her. I tend to dislike the female main characters in shoujo manga, but I really adore Yuri---and I wish her the best. But, I just want her to get a more decent job.....

And the supposedly gay brother Aoi? He might just be the most pitiable character of all. First he falls in love with his own half-brother, and then he falls in love with his ugly sister, who only looks at his brother. To live in a household with those two must be painful---I feel ya, bro.

And surprisingly, there were moments in the manga that actively engaged me--and my stomach actually twisted with anxiety (not exaggerating) My heart seriously skipped a beat during certain scenes too, and here I thought I stopped reacting like that since I read my 20th shoujo manga..

FYI, I've read 70+ series of just shoujo...so I'm pretty good at spotting cliches and what not.. This series is pretty awesome.

... Last updated on March 9th, 2014, 12:39am

Some comments on here ask why this title is josei... That's because it's for people who can really see the complexity of each character. Each had their quirks, their flaws, their reflections, their stubbornness... They were so real.

Also, lots of times, in shoujo manga the main protagonist girl isn't actually ugly or you can't understand why the male lead (Who's amazingly handsome, of course) would fall in love with her. This makes you understand. Yuri was amazing; despite her flaws, her empathy and warmth melted everyone and this was apparent to the viewer. You truly fall in love with her, all her humor and love...

Additionally, Sumire's feelings towards his dead lover are also spot-on. And yet, he is not abusive towards Yuri. Looking deeply at this manga, you can see that really, Yuri and Sumire were meant to be. And Yuri is the quintessential example of a flower. She might have seemed misshapen, but she was indeed a flower in bloom.

SPOILER:
Lastly, I cried at the end, when Yuri lost all of that weight while thinking of how much Seri would have liked to wear that and wed Sumire. The inevitability of life... Yuri had already gotten over that and have saved Sumire too, through her sincere resolve to love and remember Seri... This is really a "healing" manga, especially for adults. It soundly communicates that the value of someone lies beyond their exterior.

In the beginning... the story was refreshing. The slow romance was appealing and the girl being ugly throughout was new too. But, I can't help but feel that Yuri is getting lame. She has no real talents, no potential, is not hardworking...nothing. She just does housework and cry for love. She is fat and ugly, if she loves him so much, why not go on a diet?? Or do something more constructive to boost her confidence?

My view towards this manga is bittersweet. While I found it entertaining, it had a lot of cliche shoujo elements that annoyed me.

I found the main character sorta annoying, and didn't really like Sumire either... I really like Aoi (though it's probably because his beauty is just striking... His look reminded me a lot of Frankenstein from Noblesse because of the hairstyle).
Overall, I guess I enjoyed it since I finished it in one sitting and it did tug on my heart strings, but I never like leaving manga unfinished unless it's terrible. The art was nice on the eyes once you got used to the early 90's style.
It's a nice manga for those who like shoujo, but not amongst my favourites.

It's pretty interesting, I wouldn't say it's deep but it did get confusing as the story went on (in terms of relations). It has a huge shoujo cliche (it may have started it) of "we-thought-we-were-related-and-love-each-other-but-guess-what?-we're- not!!" The only really creepy part of this manga was her younger brother, which is why I'm leaning onto the negative side of this. The fact that he does the stuff he does even after knowing Yuri and Sumire are his siblings makes him really freaky to me. Also the whole "imitate my brother's dead fiancee's haircut" was just the crazy cherry on top.

As a character, Yuri actually isn't that bad. A little over-dramatic, sure, but it's shoujo. She's also pre-occupied with her self-image, but again, considering the circumstances, I would probably be self-conscious, too, if people told me everyday I was fat and ugly. You can see she brushes it off as the series goes on and doesn't let "you're fat" comments get to her anymore. The older sister is also a character I really enjoy: she cool, tough, and she doesn't mercilessly pick on Yuri, but rather helps her. Sumire is really a tragically cute character overall. Also, his over-concerned ways are really humorous!

However, the younger brother's incestuous feelings really, really ruins my experience with this manga.

(* Someone was wondering why this is josei but won as shoujo award is because they have overlapping demographics. I also would classify this as shoujo because even though Petit Comic is a "josei" magazine, the manga they serialize are more or less shoujo with more adult-themes not suited for the entire range meant for shoujo, which is thirteen to eighteen-ish)

... Last updated on November 19th, 2012, 8:58pm

Main character resembles Tsukushi from Hana Yori Dango (isn't she??!!? ^_^), I like that hardworking, sensitive but rational type of character. And I'm glad to see that she is not that naive and reacts rather realistic (I would react probably the same way ^^). I also like that mangaka makes accent on the fact that it's good to be honest (though i have to say that "everything is good in moderation", and you can't be honest all the time if you want to communicate normally with people ^^) .
Even if there are some things that disturb me, the story is still catching and is promising some good shoujo ^_~

P.S. though later it becomes a little bit boring.. I thing i'll drop it for the time being

... Last updated on June 28th, 2013, 4:35pm

This manga is probably the first decent shoujo/josei manga with a fat main character. In all other mangas, the main character is either really pretty but a tsundere or the main character is not confident. It is hard to make a plot with a fat main character without just making it insulting. This manga can be unrealistic at times, but some people can relate to it.