Aoba-kun ni Kikitai Koto
Aoba-kun's Confessions

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EDIT: IN THE TIME OF WRITING THIS REVIEW, I HAD READ ONLY THE ONES TRANSLATED IN ENGLISH, BUT AS THERE WERE MORE AND MORE CHAPTERS COMING OUT, I HAD STARTED DISLIKING AOBA AS A CHARACTER. THIS STORY WAS EXTREMELY FLAWED, BUT I'M TOO LAZY TO EDIT THE WHOLE THING SO JUST BARE WITH ME, I NEED TO SAY THAT, OVERALL, I LOWERED IT TO A 7 IN SCORE.



I truly love this pure story.

I don’t know how to describe this, but this story is truly pure. The story is simple, yet engaging. I really love it. I suggest you read this story.

Story 8/10: the story really ... isn’t too creative but it’s still engaging. A story with not very creative ideas is not always bad. Look at Sword Art Online, it’s really creative yet trashy (I’m sorry sao fans, I don’t like sao at ALL) the story is very pure and not dirty like some other stories by the same author (not like full on sex, make out scenes, etc. it’s just a lot skin being shown, biting the nape of necks, etc. in her other stories; not so much dirty, honestly)

Art 10/10: the author’s art is BEAUTIFUL. omg. She doesn’t use bubbles or flowers every time the ship is next to each other like some other anime/manga. She may use them every once and while but in the right times.

Characters 9/10: I couldn’t decide for what the rating should be, but I chose 8.5. The characters have their totally different personalities, as usual. There’s the flirt, the plain and quiet girl, the boyish girl, the one with a dark secret, the shortie, and many others. But the different characters are pretty much needed to make this story enjoyable. That’s the main reason why I didn’t know if I should rate it a 8 or 9, but I’m leaning towards the 9.

Enjoyment 10/10: the factors in story, art, and characters create an overall relaxing story. It’s a nice story if you want a relaxing, pure, slow romance.

Overall 9/10: I suggest you read this soothing story. It has bits of comedy and it’s truly a wonderful story that’s pure.

*Review might contain spoilers*

Story 7/10
In all honesty, when I first started reading I was sure I was going to grade this lower, but as the story progressed, it had some redeeming factors. I am going to spilt this part into positive and negative aspects.
Positive: the manga deals with a sensitive topic which provides a bit of a plot twist, or at the very least, departs from usual Shoujo main topic which is generally romance and love triangles. Yes, there is both romance and love triangle, which brings me to another thing I liked from the manga. The love triangle formed here 1) doesn't feel forced ... or thrown at us at all (it actually made sense why Nao would come to like Mayo) and 2) never actually developed into a triangle because Mayo was stern on her feelings for Aoba and clear and honest with Nao all the time. So, this is an example of a love triangle that doesn't make you cringe or be nauseated (of course, no love triangles is always preferred, but...when you are reading Shoujo you know what you are getting yourself into).
Negative:
-Never clearly explained the source and strength of Mayo's feelings towards Aoba. She was already in love with him when the manga started and there was no background provided to explain her strong interest in him. And the truth is, I never really got to see what she saw or liked in him.
-I know this is fiction, however, I do like fiction to be realistic when it can. The nature of Aoba's issues would not be as "easy" to solve as it was in the manga. I mean, that type of thing would require months (if not years of therapy) to overcome. And, of course, you would need a professional therapist/psychologist to deal with this kind of issue, not a 14-15 years old who just started working at a listening house, despite what a good listener or good natured person she is. I am going to point out though that I have heard Japanese are not big on mental health or talking about their emotions, so the fact that the author even though about a listening house is a positive thing I should have included above.
-The ending: the last few chapters felt rushed and really like issues were thrown in there for no reason. For ex: Mayo's moving? and then, to make it worse, we then get a 1 year fast forward, which gives no clue whether Aoba and Mayo were even in contact for that period of time, and then all of a sudden, they are married? It felt like the author was maybe pressured into wrapping up the story?

Art 7/10
So, this is a tricky section for this manga. The drawings were absolutely beautiful and clean and well done. It has an adequate balance between normal people and chibi looking people, with the chibi characters used at the right time. However, to me personally, the characters were drawn in a way that made them look a bit childish, specially Mayo, and that took away from me being able to be invested in the story. Whenever Mayo said or did something mature I kept thinking "girl, you look 12...way too young to be talking/acting this way".

Characters 6/10
It is very easy to like all characters in this manga, even the supporting characters.
However, the dynamic, specially between the 2 main characters is a bit off and that's why I can't grade this higher.
I am going to take this out of the way first and say Nao is by far my favorite character and I (which actually pretty rarely happens with me) would have preferred Mayo went with him and ditched Aoba right away (in most mangas I have read I tend to prefer the first love interest of the main character). Hell, I would have liked to see Mayo end up with Ryousuke or Tsuyoshi, better than with Aoba. I will explain why while talking about the characters.
-Aoba: I don't dislike him, but I can't say I like him either. Boy, I know we all have problems and childhood traumas and what not, but his hot and cold behavior would have had me jumping out the window in a minute. I mean, what he went through with his mother would obviously have the repercussions it did on him on anybody really, but at the end of the day, he could have been more resilient instead of playing the victim role to his circumstances. Like...good job in recognizing you have a problem, now, what are you going to do about it? In all honesty, everybody else did more about it than he did.
-Mayo: If I say she was such a nice person that I almost didn't like her, would it make sense? Mayo has a pure heart, a good intentioned person, a natural caregiver, completely selfless and caring. She was able to put other's needs first, even on top of hers, which, when done too much (like in Mayo's case) is not a good thing. I did not like to see how she felt bad or was crying but then wiped her tears and showed a smile or pretended to be fine. Its ok to do that once in a while, we all do, but there has to be a boundary because then you are just not being honest with the others and not validating your emotions (ironic in this case because she validated everybody else but herself).
-Nao: The only thing I didn't like about Nao was him "using himself" to help Aoba realize/act on his feelings for Mayo, specially because he had genuine feelings for her. I get he is a good friend, but putting yourself in such a situation to "help", is not healthy. I mean, I do think he was going for Mayo for real, and actually appreciated he decided and even told Aoba he would act on his feelings for Mayo after confirming Aoba "was not into her", but still...don't neglect or sacrifice your own feelings so carelessly to "help" someone else. I very much enjoyed his goofiness, how direct and upfront about his feelings he was. I think Nao is a very refreshing character and girl, WHY? why on earth would you reject a very kind guy, who is offering you security and something steady and stable? specially when he is good looking and Mayo obviously liked him enough to be able to develop some feelings for him if she had let go of Aoba.

Enjoyment 5/10
So, it took very long for me to finish reading such a short manga and the truth is, I had to kind of force myself to continue reading. It is a shame, because the story had potential. I think it might be a combination of previously discussed things that made the story not realistic or mature enough to deal with the depth of the central topic (Aoba's trauma).

I LOVED IT!

The story was very interesting I couldn't put my phone down and I just kept wanting to read more. I bought the last volume since I couldn't read it anywhere else because it was so engaging.

I liked how the main girl seemed so meek at first but she's actually very strong and very optimistic even though the guy was being cold to her. This story is kind of different to all the manga's I've read before. The guy has a very unusual problem which is very interesting and makes you want to read more and learn why he has it. As the ... story unfolds you start to get a sense as to why he thinks the way he does and he end up feeling sorry for him. I especially like it when even though the guy has completely given up the main girl doesn't and tries to help him even if she won't get anything in return as long as he finds his passion and happiness again.

Story: Very innocent and pure and at times very comedic, especially the childish best friend and senpai. The ending was a little unexpected but cliche. I would have given this a 10/10 if it didn't have a time jump.

Art: Art is so important to me because if the drawing isn't good then no matter how good the story is I just can't find myself to be interested in it. I've always loved Ema Toyama's work. So I'm quite pleased.

Character: I love the main girl, she's just so adorable and cute I love her. She has a quiet voice like I do and only finds the courage to speak up before she realizes it because of the courage the boy and the people around her. The main guy is also very interesting with an unusual problem and pitiful backstory. The guy's best friend is also very interesting and I like him the most because he says the most unexpected things to the girl out of nowhere and with people around. It's so endearing.

Enjoyment: I loved the story. Loved the characters. Love it!

Overall: 9/10 So close to pushing the 10/10.

I usually don't write reviews just because I feel like my opinions wouldn't be helpful for anyone. But I had to rant.

First of all I'm not really enjoying this that much is kind of a i'm bored at work kind of reading and i'm not picky when it comes to reading or rating but I hate this character so much. So spoiler warnings?!?!

I hate asuka or asuma i don't remember her name, this teenager is unbearable. She is annoying and selfish as megumi from say i love you and i hate that woman with such a passion. This girl did not express her feelings ... when it was relevant like 1 or 2 years ago and now expects him to be yeah i love you though you made me feel awful. She legit said "technically he didn't break up with me" and expect everyone but her to set up a path for her to get the boy back. She not only made everything about her when the ML tried to express his worries about his own issues but blame him for everything and then 2 years later was like yeah i still like you and can't be with anyone else. I don't care if you are not happy with me and you are not allowed to be happy without me.

That's it is all i had to say