Io Sakisaka (咲坂伊緒) is a Japanese manga artist. She also designed the characters for the anime movie HAL. Her works are:
-Call My Name (2001) -Watashi no Koibito (2002) -Bye-Bye, Little (2002) -Blue (2006) -Mascara Blues (2007) -Strobe Edge (2007) -Ao Haru Ride (2011) -Sono Omokage o Shitteru (2013) (oneshot) -Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare (2015) -Otome no Itari (2020) (oneshot) -Sakura, Saku (2021)
Finally!! I'm loving this series so far. The art is amazing, the characters very cute and the romance sweet and exactly what I'm looking for in those school shoujo mangas.
Io Sakisaka is the model all modern shoujo mangaka should follow: even when the characters are behaving like utter nitwits, she makes the story believable and compelling enough that you want to stick around rather than screaming at the book, wondering if the creator ever interacted with a human person before.
La crescita dei personaggi, soprattutto di Yuna, mi piace molto! Inoltre, fa sempre molto piacere vedere questi maschietti adolescenti alle prese con i primi batticuori! Sono troppo dolci ed impacciati subito pronti a giungere alle conclusioni... più sbagliate! 😂 Adoro! 😍
Yuna wants Rio, Rio wants Yuna, Akari wants Inui, Inui wants... whatever goes on in that skull of his. Inroads are made, wires are crossed, attempts are attempted, festivals are yukata’d, and getting too comfortable around one another gets a little TOO comfortable. It’s all very fraught, but no surprise there, since it’s Io Sakisaka, the melodrama readers ask for by name!
I’ll eventually turn Io Sakisaka into a verb, but she’s largely the mangaka I reference most because she does predominantly one thing and that’s assuring you her characters will get together, but only after she’s done dragging them over broken glass.
This volume is no different, though it picks up with doubt being immediately tossed on the logical conclusion from last volume. I did like that there was some nuance to the interpretation of the dream, honestly, but the Sakisaka dance of characters getting a little closer and then a lot farther apart shortly thereafter is in full effect.
As always, the secret sauce that makes this series work is Yuna and Akari’s friendship (I think the cookie scene might be my favourite part of the book). These too are so supportive and good for each other that it’s constantly really hard to not wish that the series would simply steer into it and just become a yuri manga.
It’s not gonna happen, so instead we’re left with Mopey Teenage Boy Theatre and this series has to be trying to say something about communication because the number of ludicrous contrivances caused by people not talking to each other is just crazy.
Inui’s been a pretty blank slate, but he does get along with Akari, so they should probably maybe consider dating? Well, not so fast! I don’t think you quite considered the aforementioned ludicrous contrivances, which means that Inui is operating under an assumption that is making at least two people miserable and possibly a third (to say nothing of how he comes by this assumption).
It’s so over the top that a quick bit of internal dialogue near the end of the book is so, so encapsulating of how dumb this is and how easily a conversation would clear it all up that it was the only thing in a manga to make me laugh out loud this week. And I don’t think that was the intent. Sakisaka is a ‘journey and not the destination’ type of shojo mangaka and I think that leads her to stretch her premises well past their breaking point.
Rio gets the same treatment, just from a different perspective as he tries to sort out his feelings for Yuna. At least in this case he’s already turned her down, so he has reason to consider whether or not he should open his mouth about things. What I don’t like about this is that these decisions don’t involve, you know, the girls in any way. Might want to think about what they want before you just decide for yourself, guys.
It also doesn’t help that this volume has a very staid and shojo-forward festival scene, which did not compare favourably to the wacky festival arc in this week’s Miss Nagatoro. Teriyaki sauce mishaps do not compare to something truly zany that ends up in a sweet, yet funny, moment. When the goofy book is more romantic than the shojo book, I think there might be problems.
Eh, 3 stars. It’s okay enough and the cookie thing is pretty cute (it goes beyond what I described above and I like the results of that too). In a bubble it’s certainly fine, but it doesn’t compare favourably to the previous volume, the author’s previous work, or other shojo manga I’ve read.
"I'm so happy Akari thinks I'm important to her. It was enough to give me confidence I didn't have before meeting her. And not just Akari, Rio told me I was cool once. Little things, one be one, have built up my faith in myself."
My favorite volume yet!!
LOOK AT YUNA SHINE!!!! 😭😭😭😭
Granted, everyone is shining, but with every volume I am literally more and more proud of Yuna and how she is changing! She really is becoming the person she wants to be and love how other people are noticing! I thought it interesting when she had a conversation with someone that they said her nervousness actually made them "stiff" and nervous to talk to her! I thought that was pretty profound for her to hear because while she is still shy and gets nervous, she has a different aura now where people can see she is actively trying.
And speaking of trying, RIOOOOOO!! I'm thankful for the dream he had because I am LOVING this change he is struggling with in this volume! I know it's still early in the series so I doubt anything will actually happen between him and Yuna, but seeing him get jealous and frustrated because HE wants to be with Yuna had me squealing and smiling (especially in regards to the festival)! I LOVED the ending and truly hope he will be upfront and vocal with her about how he feels!
Kazu…my heart hurts for him. He saw something he shouldn't have, but because he did, he is doing all he can to be respectful. I love him for it because he has a heart of gold, but my heart is also breaking for him because he doesn't know the new change of heart a certain character has had since.
And Akari! Girl is really going for it and blown away by her simply asking outright! :o :o :o I don't think I could ever be that brave! I'm truly wanting the best for her and hope that something comes out so Kazu knows he can actively pursue her!
Again, this has been my favorite volume yet! I deeply loved it!
Es el tercer manga que leo de Sakisaka y de verdad que esta mujer es una genio de los dramas juveniles, mi corazón no puede soportar tanto, quiero que todos los personajes sean felices y solo van 5 tomos, yo no se que va a pasar en los siguientes 7 pero algo si esta claro; se me va a salir el corazón, estoy ansiosa de veras jajaja ya quiero correr a comprarlo.
La historia va avanzando como es esperado, pero no tiene mucha emoción. Yuna es el personaje que más ha madurado pero no tenemos complementos con otros personajes secundarios o eventos importantes. Este manga va perdiendo fuerza en cuestión romántica.
È arrivato il periodo dei matsuri e sia Yuna che Akari indossano lo yukata per un'uscita a quattro. Diciamo che non tutti riescono a realizzare i loro desideri... e non sono neanche veramente in quattro! Però son tanto teneri!
Nelle tavole finali, quelle tra Kazu e Akari, il cuoricino ha saltato un battito. Ma è solo colpa della reclusione.
Me encanto este tomo porque pude ver otra faceta de los personajes.
Ahora sí puros enredos, lo más emocionante de esta historia.
Yuna ya es más desenvuelta y esto lo han notado otros, si Rio no se pone las pilas y acepta lo que siente se la van a robar. Por otro lado Akari se armo de valor pero no salieron las cosas como quería con Kazu...pero descubrimos que él también vio algo que no debió....enredos y más enredos
The first chapter in this volume is a blessing omgg Yuna and Inui are my absolute faves of the series, they are genuinely too nice for their own good :( I’m also glad to see that the sibling issues seem to be getting resolved in the best possible way. Overall this was a great volume!
Not Kazu thinking Rio likes Akari when he literally just stopped liking her for ~Yuna~. And here I was wondering where the io sakisaka emotionally damaging signature moments were. :,))
Advanced reader copy was provided to me by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This volume was another great instalment in the series. This volume focuses on everyone's feelings and it's interesting to get everyone's points of view of their romantic states. There was a lot of angst and drama with the complicated feelings of the friendship group. I loved every minute of this manga. I consumed this manga faster than I finished my bottle of water. I could not stop reading, I did not want to stop reading. I was glued to every line and I desperately want to know what happens in the next volume after that cliffhanger ending.
I would highly recommend this manga if you are looking for your next shojo manga read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-copy to review.
So glad I finally get to continue with this series!
Each volume ends on such a gigantic cliffhanger. Why am I still shocked that it happened again and I just can’t stop thinking about it!?
Anyways, haha.
There is definitely more feelings blossoming in this one and we start to understand the mind of Kazu. That poor guy is quite conflicted with his feelings. I feel bad for him but at least he is such a loyal friend! Props to him.
It’s still nice to see Yuna not be so introverted and be able to talk to Rio (for the most part, ha) without being so shy around him. There are some great moments between them and I’m really rooting for them to have something happen in the next volume!
Friendship and romance are complicated things and this series does a great job of showing how hard it can be to maneuver through each one. The characters are always lovable and the funny moments are great!
Overall, this series just gets better with each volume and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next.
4.5 stars to 5 stars. This manga is great in the details and elements being down and brought up in such cute ways. If the last volume ended with a bang, this one was laced with great moments where you need a second look and also ended with a fluster!
Mi favorito hasta el momento, al fin aparece Yuna con la personalidad que se merecía este personaje y me esta gustando mucho más. Los demás siguen igual de idiotas y parece que Akari esta cada vez peor.