I really, really enjoyed this one. Every character felt fully realized, and it made the world of the story feel rich and complete. The way the story was told—showing us glimpses into Aki and Minagi’s bright past before returning to their complicated present—was really effective and well-done. It made me so invested in their story, and so curious as to how they ended up where they were. The stakes were appropriate and grounded, and it never felt like the drama was too over-the-top or too boring. The evolution of their relationship made sense, and the conclusion was really satisfying for me. It’s one of those manga that makes you grateful it had an author separate from the artist, because their collaboration was awesome.
And that’s just talking about the story! The art is gooorgeous. I love the character designs, and the ecchi scenes are hot (as well as meaningful, which is nice). And the licensed translation and typesetting are really good. The paneling and layouts are cinematic and evocative. All top-tier stuff, really.
Honestly, if I wasn’t such a sappy fool that craved the teensiest bit more sweetness and the tiniest bit more queer affirmation, it would be an A. In all likelihood, I will probably come back and update it to be an A sooner or later. But for now, it is a very, very high B+. B++. Ugh, so good.
Update: Who am I kidding? It’s an A.