Oh boy... one of those who leaves you with a big hole in your heart after finishing it...
The bad:
Sometimes it's gets hard to believe, because of the excessive use of coincidences and cliches, It seems like the author is trying to drag the story a little longer while not letting it evolve. For instance:
I wouldn't Manaka ever act on instinct when he had the chance? It would be more believable if he did stuff and then suffered the consequences, even regretting later. The story would then be more believable and it would have more material to develop upon. There were these points where, instead of a natural flow, it was more like the author was pushing it in a certain direction, and that kept the manga from being richer. I also hated that...
the author just abandoned Satsuki at a certain point. In the last chapter she actually says that she likes Toujo and Nishino ¬¬
The good:
One of the things that makes this manga exciting is that, the partner for the main character is never obvious throughout the reading.
It went on for years, and because of that, even with it's flaws, the story had the opportunity continually develop in unexpected ways. New and valuable new characters kept being introduced, while the old ones become ever more interesting and lovable. It does a good job at involving the reader at an emotional level where you can passionatly cheer for, against, and worry about whats gonna happen.
In the end.. I think.. The flaws here, I mean, the usage of cliches and such, are mostly at a superficial level. When it comes to what really matters, this is NOT cliche-like AT ALL. Yes.. you could forsee stuff like panty shots coming and accidental falls, but thats it! And the amazing ending this manga had is proof of that.
Now.. wow, what an ending.. It's really great when you spend this much time reading and the author doesn't let you down on the most important part. Probably the best ending I have read so far, I can name just a few that would be equally good.
So, even with its flaws, I give this manga a 10.
Specially because, this is one of those that you'll never forget, and might comeback once in a while to read again, and are probably going to look for other mangas with the same quality and theme.