Hatsu*Haru

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Hatsu Haru is a shining jewel in the treasure chest of shoujo romances in a school setting. Though I’m possibly getting a bit ahead of myself given its newness (the first chapter released nary 10 days ago) I cannot help but be drawn to its novelty, its gaiety and its overall awesome-sauce-ness!

The plot starts off with our *gasp* male lead and protagonist Kai Ichinose enjoying a blissfully blessed high school life, filled with girls throwing themselves at him given his natural charm and good looks. He knows he’s got it, he wants to flaunt it, and no amount of scolding from his well meaning classmate ... will convince him otherwise! Enter Takanashi with her boyshorts-under-her-short-skirt and knockout punches to dispense some much needed justice to Kai for breaking her good friend’s heart with his ladykiller ways. Without ruining too much of the story for you, the majority of chapter 1 revolved around the interactions between these two, a bit of background on their relationship and how Kai is constantly left reeling as he is unable to figure out Takanashi and just what makes her tick.

To say the art is good would be akin to me calling the first mango you bite into when summer starts satisfying. Yes it’s good, but it’s so much more than just clean, elegant lines or cute fluffy hairstyles! The expressions, the actions and gestures, the uniqueness of each character’s looks and how they correspond with their character traits and the laugh-out-loud reactions that Takanashi constantly bombards our hapless Kai with cement this title’s place in the archives under top ten shoujo titles you can read for the art alone.

Characters and dialogues are beyond reproach! Small thoughts and actions each character emotes make you giggle or guffaw depending upon the context, while the other character’s response in the adjacent panel may totally throw you! You’re constantly on the edge of your seat wondering what Kai will do next and how he’ll make his everyday existence as glorious as it once was. And while we all want our shoujo female leads to be strong and empowered ladies with healthy love lives and varied interests, we always make do with heroines who maybe don’t cry at the drop of a hat or those who retort once in a while with a snappy comeback. Well, settle no more folks! Here’s one heroine who fits the bill no matter how fastidious your standards for a shoujo heroine may be! She bats her eyelashes, she’s sweet and popular in class, she kicks butt when her friends are troubled and she takes initiative in her classroom just coz...! Heck she may even have the ability to walk on water, I don’t know, let’s wait for further chapters! All I know is, I’m in love with this girl, and want to read on if only to see her character be fleshed out further, bishounen be damned!

Overall, I have just read one chapter and I am impressed. Like capital I, capital M (and so on) in bold and underlines with neon signs pointing to it from all directions! I won't be greedy and say I want an anime version of this already or 18 volumes worth of their entire high school life charted out day by day, but I'm definitely wishing and praying that this title goes on serialisation for at least a couple of volumes!

You cannot afford to give this title a miss! Why? Coz it is just SOOO good. It's everything I've ever been looking for in a shoujo romance! It's light and refreshing, not soaked in melodrama, art is cute but clean, female lead can throw a punch but that's not her defining characteristic and the male lead... well let's just admire this title for making him the protagonist for once!!!

This is a shoujo manga that has a male lead as the protagonist, told from his point of view it deviates from the standard shoujo genre.

The story is not that unique though, a handsome misunderstood playboy boy falls in love with a not-so poor but feisty girl who tries to win her heart. But I am enjoying reading this, for me I think the best thing about this manga are the characters. They are all likable and the female lead though feisty is not overbearing nor annoying, her longtime one-sided crush is quite painful to see but she holds herself strong and is quite ... tenacious. Her worst trait is probably her denseness that some are finding annoying that is causing all the drama in the story. Add in to the male lead always thinking ahead of himself and misunderstanding situations this is like the biggest flaw of this manga. The slow pace and drama-fueled story can annoy some but I'm fine with the developments that have been happening.

I find that it's the character development I'm seeing from the male lead that I like the most. He started from being a womanizing, superfluous male lead to a boy who is experiencing his first love that confuses him and tries to be more considerate to his crush. He is not the typical playboy male lead who acts like a jerk towards the female lead, even though yes he teases Riko quite a lot but he is more aware of her feelings. I like him a lot as the male lead.

The story doesn't lack in supporting characters with Kai's group of friends, they are all likable even though the height-difference couple is quite amusing to see. Taka is probably my favorite, he has this real mysterious aura that I can't wait to read more about his background story now that the focus is starting to be put on him more but I don't really like his possible love interest in the reporter girl.

This manga has potential be real good, right now I'm enjoying it a lot and I would recommend this to most shoujo readers that want to see something a bit different from the standard fluff of the genre.

I just finished the manga and it was super cute. I love the fact that it doesn't have any unnecessary drama and a love triangle. All the relationships have their own story and focus. One of the interesting things about this series is that it is focusing on the main boy dialogue more than the girl, which makes the series refreshing. Most shoujo focuses on the main girl's struggle but this one puts us in the main boy shoes and his struggles and it was super adorable.

My favourite one is definitely taka and the camera girl. Definitely one of ... the best relationships. Also, the art is really beautiful.

Overall, a very good series for a feel-good moment especially during the 2020 pandemic.

Hatsu*Haru is a cute romance about cute characters having cute relationships. The problem here is that being cute is what limits this story from being better than it can be. While it is easy to like the bubbly cast in their dreamy situations, there isn't much depth to anything because there is an emphasis to keep things charming. This lack of a more down-to-earth storytelling makes things too convenient, too distant from reality.

The pairings of tomboyish Riko Takanashi + the sentimental Kai Ichinose and the silent Misaki Takaya + the ebullient Ayumi Shimura are lovable as they learn more about themselves and their loved ones. ... While it feels good to see the characters show their affection for each other, there isn't much realism in the drama to see them through a broader perspective. Problems are solved with some light drama, but without much difficulty.

It is really nice how Kai is portrayed. To show his big family and his relationship with them. His relation with Misaki and Riko. His thoughts are everywhere in the pages, but it is those interactions with his loved ones that say who he is in a much more expressive way. I feel like the rest of the cast lacks these poignant moments.

I like the first third of the manga since it focuses on the two main protagonists, but after that the flow of the story is all over the place. The author just shoves the two other couples (Kiyo+Miki and Tarou+Kagura) into the story whenever it seems convenient. It is annoying that they are usually abruptly thrown in and removed here and there whenever the plot needs them.

This might be a good choice for younger folks, but not for those who want a more natural drama.

Story: [8/10]
The story revolves around our male main lead, Ichinose Kai, as he maneuvers his way into wooing our female main lead, Takanashi Riko. The story is in the perspective of Kai, the school's resident player! Incidentally, this "womanizer" falls for Riko who happens to be our unpopular tomboy. While the story maintains a fresh take on the popular guy-tomboy girl cliche: the drama, the misunderstandings or side plots can be a bit mundane and draggy at times. Kai and Riko definitely score points on the level of cuteness they exude from each other though!

Art: [8/10]
The art is very cute with their ... round-ish shaped drawings and it matches the tone of the story (which is a bunch of cuteness and diabetes)!!

Character: [8/10]
The characters really carry the story for me. This manga is definitely a play on cliches, but the author really cares about her characters and gives them the development they deserve! Kai maturing throughout the story warmed my heart, and watching him squeal over Riko made me squeal in return! I also enjoyed some of the side characters and their own romance adventure (in fact, I probably shipped one side pair MORE than the main couple. Hint hint: bestie x cameragirl is a win for me)! However, I did find myself not caring for some other characters and skimming through their arcs. Overall, most of the characters were a hit for me!

Enjoyment: [9/10]
The characters are fun and the plot isn't heavy, making this a breeze to finish! This is by far one of the better shoujo mangas I've read. I am a firm believer that cliches are good for a reason and as long as your story has a fresh take on it, it'll be a hit! Of course there were some parts that were dull, but once they gave me the cuteness I needed, it was very an enjoyable read.

Overall: [8/10]
If you enjoy shoujo manga on the daily, I would highly recommend this one. The plot is simple and it's a fairly easy read. I found myself cheering on for the main leads with all my heart! When Kai felt disappointed or hurt, I felt just the same! I really liked that it was in his perspective, it's so rare to find a nervous dorky boy in shoujo manga I can't help but love this! I also LOVE the bestie and cameragirl, how can I get a love like that!?

tbh, i only read the manga until chapter 30, but still it is a really great shoujo manga. The interesting part for me is the MC who is a boy. He is so nice and likeable. The story so far is really interesting. the art also really cute and the character is the best so far. The female lead is not annoying like in so many shoujo manga, she is strong and unique in her own way. The male (MC) also really great and cute, he is not too cool and sometimes blushing, also doing something funny. I think this is what is lacking in ... so many shoujo manga.