nobile's manga / #bittersweet(224)

Art aside, I had grown to like the story, until the last chapter. It's like they attempted to wrap up everything in less than 25 pages and it was just a completely disjointed mess, seriously that chapter was utter crap. I'm not upset about the final outcome, but just how they got to that point, it's just really poor writing.

Truly awesome story with great characters. Most of these long-er stories tend to start slow, but this one had me hooked from the first chapter. Only thing I could complain about is about the Shine-dude... He was talking with Gideon about how he'd have to lay down his life for Ley/Lena, but I don't think I saw that happening at all...

Wow... Really amazing story, absolutely touching, I found myself unable to stop reading it, even though it was >75 chapters long x) ...Is it me or did Kurosaki look younger near the end, after he was able to fully give and accept his and Teru's love. In that vein, didn't Teru start looking older despite still being in High School (to the point that she and Kurosaki ended up looking like they were the same age, some early 20's)? And to finish that off, The moment Akira cut his hair, he started looking like a teenager or even a preteen!

Even though I wasn't that much on the overly detailed art, the story and narrative were so engaging, even from the first chapter I was already hooked and eager to read the next. If it had been physically possible for me, I would have read this in just one day, sadly half of my day didn't allow me to, so it happened in two. Ignore the 170 chapter count, the chapters are slightly shorter than most (16-20 pages each) and even with that, the story just grabs hold of you so much that you just go through chapters like lightning. There about 3/4 in I made the mistake of forgetting this was based on a real life story and dared consider "even though this thing has been killing off characters left and right, there's no way they're gonna kill off the main character, so it's all good!"... on the last 15 chapters I knew that there was no other way for this to end other than some miraculous fantastical ending that you only see in fluffy stories. The moment that he started seeing Rokka in her wedding dress.... it was just as good as if he had died right then, that's what happened to that other attacker dude that died early on the story (seeing his "future"). But even knowing all that, it still is pretty heart-wrenching as you're reading it happen (and if it's like me where the feeling stays, even after you finish it). I don't know how faithful was the mangaka's storytelling compared to the novel's author but they were DEFINITELY good at making you feel Buntarou's emotions, even as "non-expressive" as he was portrayed to be.

Some stories have bittersweet endings, others are more just "open ended".

What can I say... I held off reading the last 5 chapters, not wanting this story to end. My seasonal allergies kicked in just as I decided to finish the story at last, I'm completely unable to breathe at this moment. I love the story, all the characters became so dear to me, seeing them say farewell was like saying goodbye to my own friends. I will definitely come back and read this story again, if only I could reconnect the same way with the ones I had to part with once.

Oh my gosh, even when I didn't want to, it still had me tearing up a bit at the end... bittersweet story about two people who met at 3 different times in their lives and how they influenced and inspired each other to overcome hurdles.

What's the male-version of "manic pixie girl"?

I really liked the story, but it sort of feels like it's unfinished... What happened to the other branches? What will bat-dude do (I mean seriously, taking the ruse that far just to "see if she fails the test" with no other purpose seems really stupid)? What will happen to her dad? What were her dad's real intentions (it sort of seemed like he did care for her mom, who also had that blood, and that all he was doing was for his love for her)? I'm sure there are plenty other stuff that was left out without reaching anywhere...

What a great story, the pairings did not end up like I wanted but I was still happy for them. It seemed like I couldn't stop the flood of tears whenever I read about Tohru's parents. Every time. Oh I am kind of sad about Momiji though, he was so endearingly sweet and kind, and he even grew up to be so handsome but retained his charming personality. Momiji <3