Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk

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Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki is easily one of my favorite shoujo manga of all time. If I could describe it as simply as I can, it's the perfect "All-arounder". The art is absolutely fabulous and Ms. Yamamori's art is unbelievably good in every chapter, even by Bishi standards. While the story and characters aren't necessarily the most complex or even relatable, the dynamics between them are truly what makes this manga special. The pacing of the romance between Yoi and Ichimura feels natural and not rushed or too much of a slow burn, while maintaining a consistent progression even into their relationship given Yoi's ... struggles with self worth and gender roles. The side cast, while predictable, are likeable enough that it serves to highlight Yoi and Ichimura's relationship rather than arbitrarily take away valuable development time. I only have two very minor gripes, that being the introduction of a losing second male lead who did very little to improve, challenge, or advance the relationship of the main couple, as well as the overall lack of elaboration on Ichimura's dating history. Although the initial premise of a playboy becoming deeply infatuated upon first glance of a seemingly non feminine girl is interesting, I fear that if Ms. Yamamori is unable to create a satisfying conflict and resolution of Ichimura's backstory then this phenomenal manga might miss out on its potential to be something amazing.

Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki is by no means the most creative, most interesting, or exciting Shoujo story, but it doesn't need to be. It excels in being well rounded, with a likeable cast, gorgeous art, and a sweet and somewhat slowly developing love between the FMC and MC. It goes for more of a "wholesome" approach and angles it as a charming coming of age story for two teenagers trying to navigate their complicated expectations from society and for themselves. There is genuinely nothing particularly outstanding about this manga, and yet it seems to draw me in every chapter, wanting to see Yoi and Ichimura again.

A must try for sure, I strongly recommend to give it until 15 chapters before deciding whether or not continuing is for you.

Swimming through the shouja manga genre is indeed an adventure, especially when it comes to picking up good quality. How to define good quality in this manga?
[STORY]: The female lead, seen mostly as a beautiful "prince" (recurrent motif) is seen for the first time as a "woman" by another popular "prince". There seems to be this duality between the prince-like behavior of being a sensible, protector of the women, and the other prince that is somehow of an untouchable, charistmatic prince.
[CHARACTERS]:
Prince(ss) Yoi - has a sophisticated air, gentle with her peers and sometimes could be called a true "gentlewoman". As the ... story develops, she loses these skills and becomes more shy and insecure little girl - is that what it means to be become a woman for some people? (well not). It was however refreshing to see a FL that is not an annoying brat, without friends or some poor bird struck by fate. At this point in the manga, Yoi can be called at-most a struggling teenager transitioning from prince --> princess.
Prince Kohaku - the generic rich playboy, with a trio friend group, having a long-list dating history, but no depth to "why has he never fallen in love?". Well he did with the prince(ss). The dynamic between the two is somewhat cute, a normal love-story probably reproduced in 100s of shoujos. If there was something I wished for, is to have more scenes of him acting like a happy teenager enjoying life of a highschool student, instead of a 16 years old boy that tasted life fully at his age (which is never the case in reality or prince-like stories).
[CONCLUSION]: Nonethless, the manga was truly beautiful, the drawings stunning which was the main reason I started it. If I had to describe it in one sentence it would be "teenagers struck by beauty-at-first-sight".

Unimaginative and terrible combination of tropes, a questionable message, along with an unlikeable ML make this truly one of the manga of all time.

I'm already annoyed at the "girl looks like bishounen so she's admired by all the girls!!!" as is for myriad of reasons. But there's just no depth to this especially given that FL is bothered by this. But she decides to look like a bishounen anyway for reasons that are unexplained, which was a good opportunity to establish that "she can look however she wants and still be female," something guys should be able to recognize even if she's not a traditional ... girly-girl with long hair. Then comes ML, who cups her face and tells her immediately that she is beautiful but then thinks she's a boy again because... she's wearing a tracksuit. Lol ok. So you're bisexual, I get it. And he reaffirms this later on by saying that he'd still be attracted or drawn to her even if she were a guy. Like........ okay? God I hate this trope when it comes to androgynous women, or women who have to crossdress for plot reasons. Especially since this guy has dated girls who were presumably more feminine in the past. Would he have said the same thing to a girl who was traditionally feminine, that he'd still be attracted to her if she were a guy? Yeah no. Nowhere have I seen this ever.

What I'm looking for is guys that see women for what they are, as obviously female, in spite of the limits of drawing cartoon characters (that often render them conveniently androgynous) or whatever gender stereotypes and expectations they might adhere to. I want "I'm going to be physically attracted to you because you're a woman, but I would love and care for you regardless of gender." And if they're going to do the "bisexual ML, attracted to MC regardless of gender" thing, I'd rather they make him know the difference between male and female regardless of the hair length and not "wow I totally thought you were a boy and yet I was attracted to you anyway, this manga was THIS close to being BL if you weren't wearing a skirt!!" Hence why I said "unimaginative" and "questionable message." Your gender isn't "short hair = man!!1!" and I truly fear for society in general if this narrow view is what's going to be pushed over and over again.