I don't know what I was expecting, but this story has exceeded my expectations. While the plot is extremely predictable, as are the different developments, it's still such a captivating read.
It's strength is definitely in telling two different character stories in parallel very well. Inori, the young girl MC, is the typical sports manga lead, with tons of love for the sport and a great determination to succeed. Tsukasa, the young adult MC, is a character that could easily become a side-support character as a coach, but within this story, he has his own (long, ongoing) arc in coming to believe in himself as a coach and fulfill new dreams. His lack of self-confidence, informed and confirmed by his lot in skating life, is a great foil to the simplistic desires of Inori, and they play off each other very well. (Also, they're adorable). Seeing them both learn from each other and their shared experiences chapter after chapter is a treat.
If you're a fan of a good sports or just "achieving your dreams with hard work" manga with *some* elements of reality, this is a great one. It hits just enough points of realism to feel grounded as an adult coming of age story for our older MC while still possessing elements of that magical wonder for our kid protagonist. Even when I knew exactly what was coming, I held my breath and was moved at all the right moments.

Maybe it's because I used to figure skate (though I was never anywhere close to the level depicted in the manga) and therefore have a personal connection to the topic, but I've lost count of the amount of times this manga has brought me to tears. The art is gorgeous and the story is the pinnacle of the "pursuing one's dream" tag.

Edit: When I first submitted this review, I had expressed my desire for Kodansha USA to publish this series in print and not just as digital volumes, and I'm very glad to hear they have decided to do just that!

... Last updated on July 24th, 2023, 11:35am