Kyou mo Veranda de
On the Balcony Again Today

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8.9/10


For romance mangas, it’s almost inevitable the story ends up being horribly paced and cliché, but this is one of the select few that is well-written. To add to that, the romance develops quite naturally and slowly, with there not being a dumb plot point that makes both of them fall in love with each other out of nowhere. However, though the romance may seem to border the line of hyperrealism, it’s also quite frustrating and plot dependent at times from the characters.

The mc and fml are grown adults, but they still possess romantic qualities of a middle schooler; however, it doesn’t take anything ... away from the story, as the embarrassment is used for cute or wholesome moments. Besides for that one flaw, the characters exude human attributes or lifestyles, which makes the immersion or investment for this manga even greater.

As for the plot, it’s a combination of the relaxing and soothing sub plot points of farming, though it becomes too overpowering at times, and the maintenance of a free-flowing plot that progress and doesn’t rely too much on drama and convoluted plot points. Along with this, there are some instances of drama, but it’s all naturally incorporated and were inevitable plot points that further develop the main cast’s unique and wholesome relationship.

This is probably one of the most well-written romance mangas out there, as every event is natural, and the characters can sustain an enjoyable plot without each other or any drama. This is mostly a wholesome read with not much drama, so it’s quite a change of pace from the usual romance mangas I read, but it’s refreshing.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired & A Huang Teizan Original)
10 – God’s penmanship
9 – Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 – Instant bookmark
7 – Entertaining
6 – Good to pass time
5 – Why are you reading this?
4 – Bad.
3 – Typical garbage.
2 – My head hurts.
1 – Retirement is a thought.
0 – “Did they even give you a story?!”

I’m going to be critical about one aspect of this story that might seem stupid, but they should’ve cut out the veranda bit.

Here’s the thing, slice of life is only fun for me when two requirements are met. 1, it basically has no story and 2, it focuses on an interesting topic. Neither of these requirements are met when I read this manga. Personally, I don’t find gardening on the veranda interesting enough to read for chapters on end but that is what the manga is about.
Why am I complaining then you might ask? It’s because there’s a genuinely interesting story here which again ... ruins the entire concept of slice of life. It’s either one or the other for me.
At times I felt like skipping entire chapters just to see more detail on both “Neighbor-san’s” lives that captivated me more than I was expecting. Then bam, hit with multiple chapters of planting and nothingness to kill the momentum. I’m not saying the pacing is bad or it wasn’t a well balanced attempt for the plot, but it just didn’t jive with me like I wanted it to.

Also I was baited by the Adult Cast tag because they act like middle schoolers, not even really. When I see that tag I expect characters to act their age (32 to be precise). I don’t care what arguments people have about maturity and whatnot, it’s an expectation I will not back down from and when school themed mangas seem more mature, we definitely have a problem.

A Balcony romance is something every man wishes to experience.

The story starts off with a great premise, setting, art and length. Male lead acting his age, realistic actions and respectful where the Female lead has yet to show any characteristics as it is for now. The parallel of the balconies and their personal lives is probably the reason why I am writing a review, The male lead with a plain and basic work environment but a clean and beautiful balcony, where the female lead with a popularly exposed and entertainment related work environment but a plain and basic balcony. Shows how much the progression between ... the characters can just stay away from each others paths throughout their personal work but both having a peaceful and enjoyable time when in their safe space which will most likely be each others balconies leading up to a closer relationship and proceeding to a romantic origin story of a basic boy and popular girl trope once more which makes me give a rating of a 5.3, a much more interesting introduction than most isekai manga and random romance manga tropes. Recommended to people who have the willpower to be able to wait for chapters in a weekly or monthly manner. But I highly discourage this manga to people with no patience but just have it remembered for a later read once more chapters are released for it only has 1 chapter released.

Three words for the manga
1. Heartwarming
2. Clean
3. Relaxing