This is it--the dramatic conclusion to Karin and Kiriya's up and down saga of young love! What will the future hold? Will Kiriya go to art school in New York and leave Karin behind in Japan? Whatever his plans, Kiriya's has the future of their relationship in mind when he sets up a trip to the great outdoors for just the two of them. Other highlights to this impassioned finale include a wedding, a memorial service, and a visit to a very private couples' dressing room in a super-hot bikini shop!
Kaho Miyasaka (Japanese: 宮坂香帆) is a Japanese manga artist. Miyasaka is best known for the manga Kare First Love. Her newest manga is called We Came to Know It, which currently consists of 12 volumes.
I was, um, kind of extremely disappointed with this volume. I really wanted to like it, I was really hoping it would be good. And it wasn’t.
I think my biggest problem is that I just don’t believe in Karin and Kiriya. They’re cute together, I guess, they have fun and get along sometimes. They have disagreements and move past them. They’ve matured, some, since the beginning. I just don’t believe they’re ready or mature enough. I mean, their story ends with a proposal and a wedding and everyone happy, which I guess is what people wanted, maybe? I didn’t want that. I wanted them to separate, grow a whole lot in themselves and their place in the world, and then maybe go back to each other. I mean, in this volume, they take a trip together and then Karin gets depressed when he leaves her alone for a couple of hours. That doesn’t show me that she knows who she is or how to be sufficient on her own.
I just don’t think they’re ready to be together forever, to devote themselves to the other person for the rest of their lives and yada yada yada. I don’t believe that they’re mature enough, or that that was the right ending for them. I can’t say I was surprised, though, because that was obviously where the story was going.
I think that’s really all I had to say about this volume. It upset and disappointed me, and I’m glad I read it but I’m also glad that it’s done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Reread - Why do all shoujo mangas I have read have rushed endings!!! Overall this manga was not perfect, the characters did very stupid things and also said stupid things. I hate plots where you encounter jealous characters that do mean stuff and then the main character just befriends them??? But I still really loved this manga, I know most of it is nostalgia but who cares I guess, I still love it after all this time, 4.5 stars :)
Il sogno di molte ragazze che non sono accettate, trovare il principe azzurro che si innamori di loro e li renda giustizia interiore ed esteriore. Ed anche se questo non è piu' il sogni di molte ma solo una pia illusione, non costa nulla leggere questa bellissima serie in 10 semplici e ricchi volumi che ti lasciano assaporare come la vendetta sia ben poca cosa ma il futuro e' sempre ricco di sorprese senza che noi ce ne accorgiamo!
Empecé estos mangas cuando estaba en la preadolescencia y los recordaba con mucho cariño. Todo me parecía muy romántico.
Ahora, en la edad adulta, todo me parece un franco horror. Los he releído sin acordarme mucho, rescatándolos de la estantería. En qué momento. Luz de gas, abuso psicológico, coacción para mantener relaciones... lo peor es que el envoltorio sigue siendo el romance.
A nice ending!! This series took me back to a time where I was trying to juggle school, family, boyfriends, and work. I really enjoyed my time with this series.
This series is a great example of how old manga cliches can be turned into something refreshing & new. The basic storyline is nothing entirely new- you have boy meets girl, boy & girl play cat & mouse, & lots of girls want boy. You even have the pretty ugly girl & the bickering friends. Still, somewhere along the way the author turned this into a refreshing & new spin on the entire series. Perhaps it helps that the main characters are all somewhat realistic & at no point do they make the lead female into a brainless wet rag ala Miaka or fall into the other cliches of female manga characters. While some of the situations & reactions aren't entirely believable, the characters are written pretty honestly.
In this final volume we discover whether our two young lovers will stay together or whether they drift apart. While the answer isn't that hard to guess at, it's still a fun ride. My only gripe is that some of the threads are left hanging (whether or not Nanri ever bagged Hiromu or if she ended up with the other guy), but it's not an entirely important point so it's not all that serious of a gripe.
Would I recommend this to a friend? The series, yes. This volume? Only if they're collecting the series. Still, I have to say that I'd probably only recommend this series to people who are fans of romantic manga, otherwise the non-fans would just get bored.
okay, I didn't bought this last one, instead I (along with my friend) read it in a bookstore and was glad didn't spend any dime since it went weird and very...cheap? no offense, since I was already surrounded by classic readings
Sono stata indecisa fino all’ultimo se dare 3 o 4 stelle, e credo che questa incertezza dica già moltissimo su quanto Lui, il primo amore sia un manga capace di dividere le sensazioni. Perché da un lato ha un inizio che per me era da 5 stelle piene, dall’altro una seconda metà che mi ha fatto storcere il naso più e più volte, fino a farmi scendere la valutazione. I primi volumi sono stati una vera coccola. Mi piaceva tutto: Karin, Kiriya, il loro primo amore acerbo e intenso, e soprattutto il gruppo di amici, che è uno dei punti di forza del manga. L’amicizia tra Karin e Nanri è forse la cosa che ho amato di più: Nanri si dimostra un’amica vera, presente, leale, di quelle che vorresti avere nella vita reale. All’inizio c’è quella leggerezza tipica degli shōjo adolescenziali ben riusciti: piccoli drammi, imbarazzi, incomprensioni gestibili, sentimenti che crescono piano piano. Era tutto molto tenero e autentico. Poi, però, da circa metà opera, qualcosa inizia a crollare. L'autrice, nell'intervista all'interno dell'ultimo volume, rivela che non inizia mai un manga con un finale scritto già in mente. E, devo essere onesta, si vede. Quei piccoli casini adolescenziali diventano drammi esasperati, trascinati avanti per volumi interi. I misunderstanding non sono più realistici o funzionali alla crescita dei personaggi, ma diventano infiniti, pesanti, estenuanti. E soprattutto entra in scena una fissazione sul sesso che, inizialmente, poteva anche funzionare: lui che si trattiene, lei che non si sente pronta, l’imbarazzo… carino. Il problema è che questa dinamica viene ripetuta identica per tipo sei volumi, senza evoluzione, senza dialogo reale, senza maturazione, anzi. E' proprio qui che Kiriya, purtroppo, diventa una red flag spaventosa. Più volte si arrabbia con Karin perché non si sente pronta, le mette pressioni e quasi la obbliga, e arriva praticamente a sfiorare il tradimento andando quasi a letto con un’altra. Questo è stato per me uno spartiacque. Una cosa gravissima, trattata nel modo peggiore possibile. Il fatto che tutto il gruppo lo venga a sapere (Nanri compresa) e che tutti decidano di coprirlo, senza mai dirlo a Karin, è semplicemente inaccettabile. Lì mi è crollato tutto, specialmente la bellissima amicizia nata tra le due. È sbagliato a livello narrativo, emotivo e anche etico. Se almeno questa cosa fosse venuta fuori, se Kiriya avesse dovuto affrontarne le conseguenze, se ci fosse stato un vero confronto, se avesse pregato come un cane il suo perdono… forse avrei potuto rivalutare tutto. Invece no: la cosa viene sepolta, Karin non lo scopre mai, e si va avanti come se nulla fosse successo. Per me, imperdonabile. Stronzo lui e tutti gli altri. Da quel momento in poi, da quei volumi in poi, la relazione perde equilibrio. Kiriya diventa sempre più instabile: sparisce, mente, si arrabbia con Karin senza motivo, la manipola, la tratta male. È vero, ed è giusto dirlo, che la sua fragilità viene poi spiegata: la morte del fratello, il rapporto complicato con i genitori, il suo dolore irrisolto. Ed è anche bello vedere come, grazie a Karin e agli amici, riesca piano piano a stare meglio e a ricostruire un legame con la sua famiglia. Quella parte è ben scritta e umana. Ma questo non cancella ciò che è successo prima, né il suo comportamento instabile, che forse meritava più auto-analisi. E poi c’è Karin. All’inizio mi piaceva molto: silenziosa, un po’ spenta, ma autentica, vera con sé stessa. Col tempo, però, diventa un'altra persona, una lagna continua. Sempre a piangere, sempre a colpevolizzarsi, sempre a fare la crocerossina ogni volta che Kiriya sparisce, mente, la ignora o la manipola. Lo perdona in tre secondi, si contraddice da sola, si fa cento volte le stesse domande. A lungo andare è stato davvero stancante leggere sempre le stesse dinamiche ripetersi senza mai una vera presa di coscienza. Fa quasi sorridere leggere i commenti dell’autrice che dice di ricevere mail su quanto tutte vorrebbero Kiriya come fidanzato… personalmente, ma anche no, grazie. Neanche sotto minaccia. Detto questo, voglio essere onesta fino in fondo: se non ci fosse stata tutta la questione del quasi-tradimento (che per me vale come tale, ma vabbè, opinabile) e del silenzio complice che lo circonda, questo manga avrebbe tranquillamente meritato 4 stelle. Rimane comunque uno shōjo classico, con tanti cliché che io amo, e nonostante tutto ho fatto binge reading senza troppi problemi o pensieri. Proprio per questo mi dispiace ancora di più: perché aveva tutte le carte in regola per essere davvero una lettura leggera e piacevole, pur con temi importanti e delicati. Una storia che parte fortissima, che emoziona, ma che a un certo punto si perde nelle sue stesse scelte narrative. E fa male dirlo, perché all’inizio mi aveva conquistata completamente!
Kiriya and Karin live happily ever after!! This volume was just ok but I took points away b/c they totally ignored a plot point they brought up more than once and then just forgot about it in the end!!
Overall, I enjoyed this series and it's really great compared to other, similar shojo manga from this era. What sets this series apart though, is the writing for the most part is well done and all the main characters are likeable. Kiriya, the main male character isn't some, narcissistic bully and although Karin is naive she's not the typical pushover either. I wish she would have spoken up more but they were a nice, realistic young couple.
I read these when I was still in high school. It was entertaining and touching then.
For the me now, I’d still say I still find these books entertaining. I wouldn’t say every element of the books is all very convincing, but the storyline isn’t weak. It’s enjoyable.
If you like romance and a sweet happy ending, you won’t be disappointed.
So sad to see the story ends but I know it brought tears and memories back for me from when I was a kid and now that I’m older. So happy that kare first love manga was on Amazon and I’m so happy . So thank you . Hope I get to have more manga like these in the future. Until then 💜💜💜😭
The last 2 volumes of this series really got me. The climax felt rush, and Karen didn't seem as fleshed out in the end, but I still enjoyed reading their ending. Typical shojo ending with a wedding, but I loved it none the less.
this whole series was a solid 7/10 for me. Would have been so much better if there was less drama between the couple 😩 I wanted more cute moments between them instead of the constant fighting and miscommunication in the middle of the series. But it was cute overall!
This entire series is simplistically beautiful. I've read it about six times now over the course of a few years. It starts off as the usual boy meets girl, but then turns into one of the most realistic love stories I've ever read. There is drama that is -normal- and doesn't involve any weird super powers/werewolf/etc which is really nice because now at days everything seems swamped by vampires/witches/you name it. The author truly portrays the mindset of a young girl perfectly and it isn't just refreshing, it has this feeling of absolute fresh air after holding your breath for a long time. I'd recommend this to any middle-older teen, since there is a semi-graphic love scene. But it isn't too bad by how manga's are now.
So, this is a short review for all the manga. Okay, so at first I loved this manga (the first volume was really good) but then, for me, it started to get boring and repetitive (especially since the two were always fighting like oh my god guys) but I guess the ending was good. I liked it, but definitely not my favorite shoujo.
So, I read this entire series in one night and something about it pushed me on through it...but I found myself exhausted at the end. They fought all the time! I was pooped by the end of the series. Did I like the series- eh, it was okay. Do I recommend it- no.