This manga will give most readers mixed feelings. While many parts of the development are exceedingly well done, some important points will frustrate the reader.
I"s is one of the early stories that set the course for future shounen romance: character development driven by misunderstood feelings... again and again and again and again. I"s really abuses this pattern to a fault. What bothers me is that fans eat that kind of storyline up, happy that the love between leads is "pure" in that all complications are due to misunderstandings rather than issues in compatability. But when misunderstandings are taken to such an extreme, I kind of feeling like having so many misunderstandings at all IS an incompatibility.
It took FOREVER for Iori and Ichitaka to finally open up to each other with their feelings and even up until the bitter end, I never felt that either was fully honest with themselves. Definitely though, Iori did a better job than Ichitaka.
It would have been nice if Katsura (the author) would have taken the story a few volumes further, finally having the lead characters honest with each other, but facing issues from jealous fans and their parents.
The part of me left with a bitter taste really wants to give this story a 7 or 7.5, but this story truly gripped me when I read it and left and impression. For that reason and the fact that other shounen romances that came later are mostly copycats of this, Love Hina, and a few others, I'll go so far as to give it a 9.
By the way kiddies, don't be like Ichitaka when asking out the girl of your dreams. Have some confidence in yourself and be a man.