My Fair Neighbor

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Megumi Morino's mangas so far I've come to adore. Definitely one of my favorite mangakas. Unfortunately, right now, it seems that Morino only has a few works published.

I quickly came to read this after finishing 'Ohayou, Ibarahime' (which I absolutely love, by the way). 'My Fair Neighbor' was a short, but heartwarming story.

Though at first, I thought that it was gonna leave a bad taste in my mouth because of the 12 year age gap. Some don't mind but realistically speaking, a minor still contrasts with an adult in many ways. But! No worries, this is not what 'My Fair Neighbor' is all about. (Oh, ... but, I'm glad they waited for each other though...)

There's only a few romance in the chapters. It definitely focuses more on their lives rather than romance.

Yuki, an adult who's still struggling with the things of the past he buried inside his heart,
and Momo, despite being young, is actually quite more of an adult in some ways more than Yuki.

The final chapter went too fast for me, but I really felt for these two. They were always there to save each other. And I don't think I'm exaggerating here.

All while still holding the childish-puppy-love shoujo genre, both the story and characters were mature and journeyed smoothly until the end. I learned a lot from 'My Fair Neighbor'. I say it totally deserved my tears. ლ(ಥ益ಥლ)

A really adorable short story! I was surprised by the depth of the characters - the thoughts and dialogue are more realistic and nuanced than pretty much any other shoujo I've read. The emotion is honest and multifaceted, the art is cute and clean, and the pacing was excellent. I honestly think this manga deserves a much better score than the one it has.

The interaction of the characters and the honesty that they use in interacting with each other is really refreshing. The characters' dilemmas are communicated clearly without resorting to long, over-involved monologues, and their responses and feelings towards other characters (for example ... the mother's relationship with her daughter) are realistic and an unusual find in this genre.

'My Fair Neighbor' is a short romance story about a former delinquent and his young neighbor.


The Bad:
The ending is --in my humble opinion-- a bit rushed and forced, but that does not deter from it being a satisfactory ending. I personally feel that the romantic ending did not really fit well with the rest of the story, but I guess that is my personal taste. I would have liked this to be a story about friendship more than a story about romance.

The Good:
Where this story really shines is in its characterization. The main characters are properly fleshed out. Both characters (and even Momo's mother) ... explore the meaning of maturity and responsibility in an age-appropriate way for their characters, while relying on their friendship to grow as people.

It's a short, feel-good read. I enjoyed it.