Let me say from the get-go that I liked this manga considerably better on the second read-through than I did on the first. The first time through, it's a little confusing, mostly due to names.

See, the first page shows a guy giving a kid he's found a name. The next page shows a character getting called by the name Mitsuha. But this is not the character who was named on the previous page, even though the way it's set up would normally imply to me that it was.

On top of that, there are two characters named Nanao. One has dark hair and one has light hair, but their corresponding characters have light hair and dark hair respectively, so it's easy to get a little mixed up on it.

That said, I really did like the story. The main chunk of the book follows an itinerant writer named Mitsuha and Nanao #1, who is an amnesiac teenager with mysterious burn scars. Mitsuha originally notices him because he bears the same name as Mitsuha's long-lost younger brother. Oh, and someone mentions a fire in Mitsuha's past, and Nanao #1 has a compulsive fear of fire...



It's a little tricky to explain the second story without spoiling, but I'll try. Hiromu is the younger brother of Nanao #2, and he is just starting to become aware of the strange feelings he has towards his brother. Then he overhears their parents talking about the fact that Nanao #2 is actually adopted. Dream come true, or will it just make things worse? Well, it's Yaoi Land, so it could go either way.

After that, there's another short story involving Mitsuha and Nanao #1. It's sweet, but not much else to say about it.

The art is solid, though everyone's a little longer-limbed than I tend to find appealing. The art can be a bit sparse in some places, but mostly it feels more minimalist than like something's missing, so not much complaint there. As I said before, this isn't an over-the-top manga, so characters are fairly realistic in how they handle everything.

It may be a little light and mild for those who prefer a more intense, passionate story...but there are plenty of people who prefer the more subtle, quiet stuff too. I guess the only real complaint that I have is that it feels like there should be a second volume to the book; in a way it's got sort of a non-ending. Again, it's hard to explain why without spoiling, but I guess wanting more isn't exactly a complaint either, is it?

Mangaka: Tenzen Momoko
Publisher: Juné (Upcoming Releases | YaoiWiki Entry
MSRP: $12.95
Censorship: N/A
Warnings: Um...uh...yeah, no, nothing really. Except fire, I guess.
Disclosure: This was a free review copy, courtesy of Juné.