The second and the fourth one shots are what reached out to my heart the most. The mangaka's style of story-telling is simply and heart-breakingly beautiful. There are no other words to describe how I felt while reading both stories.

Very impressive stories. Though, the first one is slightly weaker than the others.
The second story, Hotaru no Mori E, left the strongest impression on me. And i shall base my comment entirely on it.

The fantasy element, art, plot and characters all suggest the perfect materials for a brilliant peice of work. The amazing thing is, was that they were all noticed, lifted up and used to weave a mesmerizing tale.

The main element which strung the materials together was great, great story telling.

The pacing may seem peacefully slow; but underneath, it engages you with feelings of painful, strong emotions that essentially well up during bits and pieces throughout the story. This is usually when the pass of time is mentioned. With that, you are reminded that the remaining time they can be together, is dripping away.

The lead up to the climax is particularly thrilling because its so sudden. And more painfully sweet.
If you are like me, thouroughly in touch with imagination, and also has an emphathetic heart,
The story would emerse you with emotions of the characters and the actual feelings the environment emits.

To anyone, the story is Very special. Very different and unique. A must read.

I've come to have a great respect for Midorikawa Yuki's work. She's very imaginative, and a master at writing relaxed, slice-of-life style pacing. Her characters are always very emotive, and react in realistic ways.

What I particularly like about this anthology is that it shows a pretty broad range of ability. She can write supernatural as well as she can down-to-earth pieces, comedic bits as well as she can drama, and all with consistently strong (although not spectacular) artwork. To compliment all of that, the ideas are universally original, which makes them memorable despite the length.

This definitely ranks among the best anthologies I've ever read (and compared to my usual scores, this rating does display that adequately.)

... Last updated on December 22nd, 2008, 8:15pm

Hmm...ever since watching Natsume Yuujinchou, I've started to be fascinated by Midorikawa-sensei's plots.
They're dramatic or heartwarming..
And since I'm such a sucker for anything heart-wrenching and eye-juice-squeezing...I've decided to read one of her stories.
This was the first one.
Even though I'm not a big fan of her art...her stories are just soo nice to read. D:
Why is that? Lawl. xD
Anyways, I'm telling you all.
Don't let the art fool you. If you like a touching story to read, you must read Midorikawa Yuki-sensei's stories. Yes, NOW. ♥ x'3

I just realized recently that Hotaru no Mori was probably one of the first oneshots I ever downloaded and read, sometime in 2005. Reading it again, after having gotten many more series under my belt, it strikes me even more as a brilliantly bittersweet tale. Sigh. Doesn't it piss you off to be so happy and sad all at once?

And even though I now have DV's newer high quality release, I think I'll still keep the old SC one too, for nostalgia's sake.

The mangaka really has a way with words. She can make such simple everyday emotions so heartfelt and have an untouchable beauty. They're beautiful stories, that could have lasted even longer.

The first and third stories were all right and for me, the second and fourth oneshots were the best.

Altogether, not too bad although I think the mangaka's strength lies better in writing a series than in oneshots. I felt that The Scarlet Chair and Natsume Yuujinchou were stronger in terms of storytelling and characterisation.

... Last updated on May 7th, 2008, 3:55pm

I was immediately interested in these when I first heard of them, especially because they were compared to Tsukuba Sakura's works.

I downloaded the first story, and liked it a lot. It was beautifully written, and left me with a smile. The art style was a little sketchy and quite simple, but I couldn't help being drawn to it.

I downloaded the second story, the oneshot which the series is titled after, and fell in LOVE. That one made me laugh one moment, smile the next, and it had me crying like a baby before the end. It was just amazing beyond words.

I love the originality of these oneshots. They're not your typical schoolgirl-meets-boy-cliches. They range from fantasy to romance, and they're all great. These oneshots display a rare talent and beauty that makes you want to read everything this author writes. I checked out some of her other works, Natsume Yuujinchou and The Scarlet Chair, and was impressed with both. I wish that her other series were scanlated! This author has a lot of talent!

I read three of the four oneshots in this collection - only passing up on the fourth because of the rumored incestual undertones, but as good as this author is, I'm sure that it's just as amazing.

In summary, this is a collection you don't want to miss.

I love all the stories. They're all unique and very appealing. A must read!

The stories were all cute, but my favorite (which I will personally rate at a 10.0) is the 2nd story which is basically the title of this volume anyways. That one was just precious, and bittersweet at the same time X3