The one fault this manga possesses is, ironically, its emphasis on music. You can see when the band pulls off something to the point of getting goosebumps, but you can't experience it. You can't taste the elements that make the main character's voice so special. Instead of recognizing that the band members improved, you have to believe what the other characters are saying. Other than that, I did enjoy the series and the characters immensely. It did seem odd, however, that all their outside lives ended up in the rain.

... Last updated on February 5th, 2011, 5:14pm

This is one of the worst mangas I have ever read. Now I admit that I didn't get very far in it but I'm amazed I got AS far as I did, it was such a drag to read I was waiting for so long for it to get to a good bit and for the action to start but it took it's damn time and when it finally got there it was a total let down.
I honestly hate myself for wasting my time with this manga.
Manga about music I generally expect to inspire me and make me wanna take up some kind of instrument but this definitely did not.
I do not recommend that you read it.
Never in my life have I given a manga such a bad review.
But hey maybe it I gritted my teeth and read further it would have got better?

Man, I screwed up one week of my surgery rotation just because I was too immersed in this manga.
Such a great manga, one of the best I've ever read. The plots, characters, information and all are very well-written. The author certainly has a very good sense when it comes to arranging his stories.
Well I truly hope there will be a little sequel of this manga, like, one or two chapters about their later achievements. After more than 30 volumes of painful life, I think the readers deserve to be presented with some happy events.
Highly recommended shounen!

I read the manga before the anime (and am very glad i did so) BUT (very important) I listened to the songs from the anime and almost always made a point to play them during the points that the songs played in the manga to better immerse myself into the story. It was a wonderful slice of life story that had great character development and a good romance that did a wonderful job of not overtaking the story while still being an integral part of the plot.

And while I might have liked to have seen Maho relate to the other characters more often, I do like the resolution to their relationship and the fact that the author made sure that the band was by far the most important aspect of the story.

The anime in comparison merely felt like a highlights reel of the first half of the story as many anime series do, And the broken engrish was a little tough to handle sometimes, Nonetheless, I am thankful for the music that came from it.

I kept hearing about this manga for so long, but reading short descriptions of it, it never really sounded interesting. I finally decided one day to take a look at this series, and I was amazed how much I enjoyed it.
Some things are a bit weird later through the series, it starts to feel like things are completely forgotten. The character growth was really marvelous, but I kind of wish there was more background to the other characters (like families and past events) instead of just a couple of the mains.

The romance is not bad for a shounen slice of life genre, so I'm not disappointed by it. More I feel the mangaka only added romance when he felt like it.


Great series overall whether you prefer shounen or shoujo!

I originally watched the anime years ago, but recently picked up the manga, and i'm really diggin' it. I recommend both anime and manga, but i wish they would do another season of the anime as well...i felt that the music was pretty good on the show

This is a really nice story. The art fine but it is a bit weird, it got better later though.

But if the music part is hard for you to get into, you may watch the Anmie adaption cuz the music there is surprising good. Have fun.

... Last updated on February 1st, 2010, 7:51am

I've been waiting to read all of the series when I had the chance and the later volumes were just as great as the beginning ones. It gives me the goosebumps on the character interaction and development. The twists and turns in the plot were also great. A recommended read for people who wish to read a great manga series.

Good manga, if you like coming of age stories infused with rock, read it.

Just a word of advice:

Before reading the manga, I'd advise you to watch the anime first. It really gives you a sense of each of the characters and their music, which is especially important when considering the fact that this manga centers around a band and its music.

everytime i read this manga, i always get goosebumps.. damn drawing really brought forth the emotion. story wise a bit less than ideal for me. overall it is an awesome read. salut to the artists