Moshi, Koi ga Mieta nara
If You Could See Love

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Okay! Putting my hat in the ring here by saying I thought the ending was great and made sense. That's the most important thing to take from my review given the other reviews. I mean, I think I see what the other people are saying, but overall I liked the ending quite a bit. Onto the regular review!

Art: Fantastic! Good character designs with great scenery. Facial expressions are generally quite emotive, sometimes even fairly subtle. The artist is great at spreads.

Story: for the most part this is run-of-the-mill Yuri, though the premise with the love arrows shakes it up just enough. I also like ... that the story is limited to three volumes. A fourth volume might have dragged. The monster of the week style stuff, but with love, worked for me. I found that it was a good way to consider the protagonists relationships while having something different.

At this point I've read most other stuff, so this was a treat that I've somehow missed. Big recommend!

Volume 1 rating: 6-9-7-7-7
Even though this is the volume 1 rating, I'm predicting my overall score for the series won't rise above 7.

The story is interesting. I do enjoy how Mei has learnt to struggle with her power and has made some social faux pars over the years. The story isn't amazing but it isn't terrible. I think the first volume struggles due to introducing so many characters and getting into too much backstory (I don't think we needed the rooftop scene or Mei flashbacking to her childhood so often).

The characters are cute, but lack depth right now. Yes, it's volume one, but I ... don't know anything about anyone. What are their favourite foods? Hobbies? Nothing! I know nothing except everyone likes Mei.

I'll pick up the next volume, mostly for the art. The art is cute and feels youthful. There are a few chibi scenes and the sound effects and facial expressions are well done. However, the best thing is the colouring. The arrows of love are pink and come in various shapes (squiggly, big, small etc). They have a life of their own and it's fun to watch them and try and figure out why they're like that. Pink is used in other aspects too. There is a double page of cherry blossoms, which is stunning. I really like the concept of only having one colour, and only for certain things.

So, why does this review say Mixed Feelings despite a high score of 8? Well I will explain that at a later point.

For starters, I will praise the premise because this is a fresh experience. As the name suggests, the protagonist is able to see other people's love in a form of arrow that come in many different shapes. That's some real interesting ability! The story, despite being short, uses its weapon very well and takes the reader on a colorful and emotional ride. After reuniting with her childhood best friend and making a new friend, our heroine now must deal with their arrows being ... pointed towards her.

As for the art, it's gorgeous. The characters are very expressive and cute, and the background was given the appropriate amount of detail. The aforementioned arrows are fully colored which is truly a delight.

Now I will explain why it's Mixed Feelings. What could've been an incredible manga fell victim to incompetent writing and an unsatisfying conclusion. The author managed to undo all of the build-up for a disappointing ending that felt rushed. If it weren't for this, I would have happily given this manga a score of 10. I still recommend this to avid Yuri readers but do please keep this in mind.