Kingyosou

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I just had to write a review for this. First off, I stumbled across this manga by chance, and I'm glad I did.

Story 10/10:

The plot is not so original, but the way the story progresses is just amazing! It's not like many other shoujo mangas out there where the hero meets the heroine and poof!, they fall in love. There is a very strong sense of reality to it because everything that happened actually took time, instead of just happening overnight and everyone lives happily ever after. What I love about it is that the guy isn't the 'good-at-everything-he-does-and-extremely-good-looking-with-tons-of-fangirls' type, and the girl doesn't ... cry at every single chance she gets, nor does she needs to be saved 24/7.

There's also no typical shoujo manga 'villain' who tries to ruin everybody's relationship. But there were difficulties that the couple encounters, which are very real too. It's so easy to relate to the situation and get sucked into the character's shoes/POV that you will find yourself getting dragged along by it.

I could hardly find any flaws in the story at all, despite it being typical. But then again that's just me. (:

Art 9/10:

The art was very simple, and there's nothing too unique about it. But I find that it suited the story somehow, and it expressed the scenes well enough to understand what the characters were feeling. So it's great enough.

Character 10/10:

I LOVE THEM. You can really, really feel the characters growing up through the chapters. It's like a true story, but fast forward through time. Another thing that's so great about this manga is that it doesn't just focus solely on the main couple and everybody else just somehow vanished off the face of the earth.

Enjoyment 10/10:

Needless to say, I love every single chapter. Even got around to downloading it and re-reading at least three times. ^^

Overall 10/10:

Kingyou Sou is really a gem. Must-read for anyone who enjoys shoujo and romance.

Falling in love is never easy, wait that’s wrong. Falling is easy the hard part is not knowing if you fell alone.

We are all fishes in this big ocean.Right until the very end this analogy didn’t run thin. Partly because it fit the mood of the manga perfectly and to a degree it makes perfect sense.
Silent Love Song demonstrates a relationship in it’s most basic level and yet the way it untangles and the characters make it the most realistic manga I have read. There are no exaggerations to make you laugh or that destroy the realism of the manga. It’s amazing in it’s ... simplicity however the characters give it the piece it needs to flow naturally with the hardships.

For Asuka it was love at first sound. That’s right, the sound of Masami playing drew her in and she wasn’t the same. By a happy coincidence Masami’s brother is in her class in school and volunteers to introduce them at his next training session. When that day finally comes and she’s standing right in front of him she is surprised to see them using sign language to communicate. Masami, the guy with the beautiful sound, slowly lost his hearing and is now deaf. Can Asuka get close enough to tear down the walls this aloof boy has built?

The way the mangaka handles the relationship and the communication between the characters is beautiful and gradually. There’s a good chance it’s because this is my first manga were the characters have had any sort of handicap (not including stupidity which there is never a shortage of) but I loved it. It was more than that, it was the interaction and the whole wanting to be with someone but also not wanting to be their crutch.
All relationships are hard and that's if both people can communicate through speech. It’s a lot harder when one person can’t hear what you’re saying and you can’t say it any other way for them. they both have to be willing to listen if not everything gets lost in translation. The characters don’t wake up one day and decide to go out or confess their undying love to one another. It happens like everything, with time. To me that’s the most beautiful part of any story, seeing how they fall: the cries, the frustration and the getting together. Not necessarily in that order.

It’s rare to find an original character whose personality is more or less unique but who’s “flaw” just adds to his perfection. Suffice it to say it’s no surprise that in this manga my favorite character is the male lead. My loyalty shifts to the more interesting character. No offense to Asuka in this one, and I’m sure she’d agree. Because what we all want, what we truly appreciate, at least I do, is a character that evolves and changes, becomes the best version of themselves. Again, not saying that Asuka didn’t mature, she did, but the baton has to be handed to him on this one.

The most popular character was the one that barely spoke, just goes to show you there’s other ways to express what you want. That’s a lesson they both learn together.

The lead characters art wasn't out of this world but they were different from other characters. Whether it be Askua’s petite self and boyish haircut, which I thought was adorable. Or Masami who was set off from the rest of the world with a different style and at some point that was exactly as he felt, different. At times the rest of the characters lack the details the main ones have but overall it was a good job in that art department and they kept it simple.

At the end, it leaves you a little sad that it’s over and even if it wasn’t my favorite ending, doesn’t mean it wasn’t kick ass.

I read this manga series a long while ago several times, and even now, I find myself thinking about it on occasion. It's no masterpiece; the main character can be what some would call "annoying" every now and then and there are some cliche elements, but I find that the way it approaches romance is very touching and very real. Somehow, whenever I return to this series and read it, my heart is filled with nostalgia and happiness, and I find myself cheering for our heroine who fell in love with the boy who plays the taiko.

I appreciate the realness and lack of excessive frill ... of the series, and when I reflect upon it, I find that the way it discusses love is quite respectable, too; it doesn't sugarcoat the difficulties that come with feelings for someone, and yet it does not demonize such complex and difficult feelings. And it makes me so happy to see how the author touched on the complexity that can arise between two people like Asuka and Masami. I think we all like to think that we have what it takes to be truly understanding and compassionate, but reality tends to be quite different, I find.

In any case, the series is so short that you wouldn't miss out on much by giving it a shot. I'm quite fond of it and genuinely recommend.

January 2024 edit: I can now safely credit this manga as the initial catalyst for my interest in taiko. Several years have passed and I now play for my school's taiko team. Crazy how life works, is it not?