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"Love really is a horrible thing" & by Mari Okazaki does not shy away from the harsh side of love and presents this as the naked truth. This slice of life follows Kaoru Aoki, an aimless 26-year-old woman who has never had a lover and embarks on a relationship with a brash man who intrigues her. It's not exactly the pretty romance you want to root for, but that's what makes it so realistic and interesting. It is a peculiar relationship, presented in a deeply introspective manner as dialogue frequently overlaps with an overflow of each character's thoughts.


The story is complex with little frivolity and ... an unwavering sense of unease. It features several characters, most with interesting, well developed backgrounds and all in different kinds of love and lust - "All have fallen into a love trap" They all share the burden of a troubled love life. Most of their individual insecurities are splayed out through their thoughts, and for the leads, flashbacks of the events that plague their minds are replayed with equivocation - as if they are still too painful to discuss. I deeply sympathised with Shiro and Konno and would've loved to see the latter fleshed out further.


Hands hold a heavy focus as touch is a strong theme. One of Kaoru's idiosyncrasies is an aversion to being touched by others, especially strangers, so her decision to open a nail salon could be viewed as a desire to grow or a kind of self-inflicted punishment. Hands are one of the most difficult parts for an artist to master, and Okazaki does a great job with all the long, limber fingers. Sex, which often goes hand in hand with touch, is beautifully drawn.


The illustrations are absolutely marvellous. Hair is drawn with satisfying fluidity. The scenes with swirly clouds are particularly magnificent as they resemble a sixties psychedelic dream. Everything is excruciatingly detailed, with the exception of important moments, which are often simplistic in contrast. Most pages are dotted with little clouds, as if they are trains of thought bubbling away, or the characters are drifting through a dream. The art also naturally evolves with Kaoru. It shifts away from the earlier flowery motif to spiky palm fronds as she spends more time with them. As for character design, Kaoru is cute but has the tendency to appear odd and a little froggy, as her head and bug eyes are disproportionally massive. The male characters, Dr Yagai and Shiro, have a rough sketched look which contrasts most of the others.


To conclude, & is about a romance that's not as sweet as the art. It's worth a read if you're looking for a mature story about first love.

This manga seems so unassuming with its rich boy/poor girl premise however, it turns out to be so much more than a cliché as the plot takes a turn into unexplored territory at the halfway mark. The story delves into something that's still taboo even in modern times. It's very refreshing especially for the genre. I think that's all I can say without spoiling anything. The romance between the two leads, Kanae and Haruki, is quite rushed. There's one particular gesture towards the end, that's supposed to come off as sweet but it really shouldn't...

The art is not very good as the manga is more ... plot driven. I disliked how Haruki was drawn with those weird beady eyes. There's a lot of overcrowded panels and lengthy dialogue on finance. Like Kanae, I didn't really care for it even though I should.

Io Sakisaka wrote that she hopes this will make your heart flutter and for me, that was just the case. I felt my heart flutter a lot as I made my way through this sweet and tender story. Sakisaka does a great job depicting a quivering, hesitant first love. She says it best in the afterword of the fourth volume, "There is something about these youthful kids, striving to do what they can... It elicits an aching feeling that is difficult to describe. I really love it." That familiar aching feeling flows through the manga and never leaves you.

I adore Futaba, the heroine of the ... story who takes things into her own hands. Her initial isolation felt all too familiar. Her awareness of her worries, drives her assertiveness and new friendships. She goes through a lot of growth which I really admire. Kou also changes but to a lesser extent. I liked the initial tension he brought to their relationship.

The beginning was my favourite, with that feeling of seeing your crush once again and realising they've changed and so have you. I will admit that the love triangles were a tad tedious but they were necessary for growth. Kikuchi was okay but Narumi felt more like a plot device. Otherwise, the story is well-paced with succinct flashbacks and little filler. The art is also very cute. Most of the dark haired characters have highlights in the hair - perhaps to fit in better with the light and airy art but it just makes me think of badgers. There's also a cat which is always a bonus.

My heart was pounding and eyes were watering up as I read Mars by Fuyumi Soryo. I couldn't put it down and only got three hours of sleep that night... It's such a compelling manga.

The coupling of the outgoing playboy/bad boy and quiet, artistic girl is such a cliche but the story departs the shoujo stereotype of typical high school drama and love triangles, after the first few volumes. The story matures, personal traumas are unveiled and darker themes are explored. There's an unwavering sense of fear as the characters always feel like they're on the edge of death especially when there's a motorcycle ... in sight. I have no knowledge of motorcycle racing let alone have been on one but Soryo translates the feeling well onto paper. I could feel the adrenaline. I really adore Rei and Kira but I did wish there was little more focus on Kira and the romantic aspect of their relationship. I'm very content with the ending even though they weren't literally riding off into the sunset.

The art is also lovely. Rei has the face of Björn Andrésen in Death in Venice (1971) which was a little distracting. I discovered this manga after seeing the scene of Rei kissing the statue on Pinterest (I seem to be having a lot of luck finding new manga on there)

"A human life lasts such a small amount of time. But humans minds are limitless, like space"