Well, the beginning of the story, development, art and characters were okay, but the ending?? It seemed incomplete somehow and ruined the story. It's like no one took their love seriously. Such an abrupt ending which makes the whole story seem sorta childish?? Anyways, the beginning was kinda good but a good ending would do justice.

I would usually think drama manga's like this one would have more depth then what this one has.. every time I think it's becoming juicy it turns silly somehow... Kinda good but missing depth is what I would say this one is like.. Not usually a fan of loose drawings but I actually loved the style in this one.

I would usually think drama manga's like this one would have more depth then what this one has.. every time I think it's becoming juicy it turns silly somehow... Kinda good but missing depth is what I would say this one is like.. Not usually a fan of loose drawings but I actually loved the style in this one.

Don't think a shoujo love interest has ever been this real. He's just so... rational, and put together and he really seems like he's mature. No matter what the age states in manga, the characters don't always look it, and he certainly doesn't, but despite whatever age they state, they often act very childish.

I really thought I was going to hate this manga and there are certainly parts and elements I do, but overall I can't.

It's annoying how many people apparently can easily tell she likes him, or it's ridiculous that anyone's friends would be like "go go" or even bring it up or even think too deeply about it.

basically in a lot of aspects this would be a basic shoujo but the guy, and not the concept, is what makes this unique.

Until the time skip, where he acts almost totally different despite two years not being that much for people around that age. He goes from having problems with it to no problems faster than light, and we don't get a glimpse of his awesome maturity but the ending is mostly just airing out everything. I think it could have been done faster with less talking.

the Diamond story is nice, cute, relatable ect. But due to the drawing style the girl already looked good, they even said she was in shape, so on and so forth. Though I'm all for someone taking care of their physical health, and I'm glad that was part of it. I also think skin care is okay to avoid damage, and maintain at least healthy looking hair(like not too many random strings popping out) is useful knowledge But it really goes way beyond that, tossing away her hairstyle and glasses, all of which were fine. I think it's just too far, even if she actually wanted some different clothing but it really didn't seem like she did. She did have a lack of confidence and maybe she didn't think those things would look good on her but it's not like she expressed a desire to be like those girls who were biyatches.

Also at first it seemed like she liked the trainer guy and then the story switches it and mostly forgets about him. All the named characters are really nice though.

... Last updated on May 17th, 2012, 11:21pm

It was pretty good for shoujo manga,which is usually too annoying and childish for me. Honestly, this one was also childish, but somehow I read it to the end ^_^.
First side story has an interesting plot, though outcome is a little bit slack, but still worth reading.

this story is somewhat underrated.
actually, i put off this story because i thought the step-parent+daughter/lover thing was gross, but once i started reading it....
"WOW" was all i could say/think!!!

Yue and Kouki are at times the child and at other times the parent for one another. Isn't life like that sometimes?! ^_^ No one can play one role all the time; this manga handles this issue very well.

The characters are multi-dimensional; the dialogue and inner thoughts are deep and grounded in solid psychology. The only thing that was slightly unbelievable was that Yue was TWO times lucky that her bf's were so understanding...or maybe unlucky since they didn't fight for her...

The relationship between the daughter and father is complicated with a very real feeling. The mother, who is already dead at story's beginning, plays an important role, not just a cheap reason to make the relationship 'forbidden'. At the same time, the 'forbidden love' theme is really intense and exciting, even with the quiet sorts of stories that the mangaka weaves that reveal a lot about the depth of their relationship.

She matures slowly as she meets and deals with other people; all in all it was really well delivered as a 'growing up' story without being boring. Simple topics like finding value in cooking and cleaning for the one you love are delivered with great, humanistic impact. Openly complicated issues, such as dealing with death and grief and how each person helps and gives to the other unknowingly are also delivered beautifully.

The pacing was surprisingly fast for this mostly emotion-based story. The art is bishoujo and pretty, smooth and flowing like water. I like my men in shoujo/seinen to be a bit more manly looking than this overly-pretty style, but it was easily overlooked because of the narration excellence.

Until you get to the '2 years later' part...

It is a realistic and interesting solution/answer to their problems, but it was delivered so very fast with so many things unanswered and didn't match the careful delivery of the rest of the story. And there was never an absolution or consummation, which was very disappointing, since the whole story did build to a physical moment that never comes.

Koukando Equals was short, tightly written with a nice little moral, without being dogmatic. Diamonds I didn't read.

PS: Shoujo Magic's inserts often feature a single piece of artwork framed within a coloured background and accompanied by a touching quote. I look forward to these delights!

... Last updated on April 3rd, 2010, 4:16am

I really liked this one. The art was beautifully done and the story reminded me of my own lovesick days. (Of course the circumstances were way different) All in all a good read.

The best part would be it's realism and how you could sort of feel Yue's feeling of being lovesick. Also, Yue isn't flat like cardboard, but actually someone who seems realistic. However, I was disappointed at the plot development towards the end. It didn't really touch me like how it did in the beginning. I still recommend reading it though.

At first sight this manga has a major downside lots and lots of clichés. But actually all those elements became clichés when they are misused, if you think about it they all are possible events in ones life. This story might seem kind of unrealistic - step father and daughter, but it's not impossible and if such a situation occurred I can't think of a better illustration. The feelings are deep and well conveyed thought out the story; characters have their own visions on life and the people around them, not always the correct one, but struggle to make the best decision and most importantly they evolve across the time.
I don’t consider this read that should be taken lightly, nevertheless I highly recommend it to any kind of reader.