Manga Review: Love at Fourteen, Volume 8, by Fuka Mizutani

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 7. 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Kazuki and Kanata may be considered Class 2-B's mature students, but they're not the only ones getting tangled up in emotions and new relationships. Aoi quietly pines for Kanata, but her curiosity is piqued by the mystery surrounding the school nurse. The woman from the bus continues to fascinate Shota, and even class clown Kato surprises everyone when he manages to catch an unknown girl's attention...

Review:

Shiki kind of confronts her feelings in this volume, and gets to move forward in a different direction. Then we meet a new couple, this one who's age difference isn't what either of them realized, only in the opposite directions. I do quite like the diversity of couples in this series, how it mixes up normal expectations and gives a wider view. Even if the age differences might bother some people.

Other than that, mostly just some teasing and new romantic situations for our couples.

This series is fun to me. It's fallen a little in the background, and sometimes it's easy to forget some of the characters because there's so many at this point. But it's still fun to read and I'm glad we're getting more variety in our manga now.

Manga Review: Love at Fourteen, Volume 7, by Fuka Mizutani

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: April 2018

Volumes: 9+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

As Class 2-B makes landfall in Kyoto, everyone's talking about who's going to confess to whom. Amidst the mayhem, Kanata is shocked to realize that despite their developing romance, Kazuki's never actually told her how he feels about her! There's love in the air, but for Kanata and Kazuki, will this momentous confession--if it ever comes--just be too little, too late?

Review:

There's some light plot in the beginning of the volume, as the classes get together for group projects, and our characters decide to research the schools seven wonders. They're mostly either doubters or scaredy-cats, though, it seems. Throughout this, Kanata and Kazuki are still just trying to find time alone together, and Nagai is trying not to be affected by the teacher.

This leads into it being time to decide on their next step in the future. They have to decide on what school to apply for, or whether they want to work or do something else. Kanata and Kazuki don't communicate it at first, but we all know they hope to stay together. There are several unrequited crushes that struggle with deciding where to go for themselves, or to find out where their crush is going. We get a little bit of development with the minor characters during this, but in the latter half of the volume, we meet a new character that ruffles Nagai a bit.

Meeting this new character has me excited, honestly. I absolutely love the diversity in this series, and getting to see so many characters with such a range of interests and sexualities. This new one appears to be pan or bi, and I appreciate that. He also seems like fun, so I'm excited by that.

This is a really well done series. It shows a good range, even though it's a school romance. It's thoughtful and pretty and diverse. I hope to read the next one soon.