Kimi no Iru Machi

I'll have to say, I started reading this manga series on a whim because I'm just a wandering bored Vanilla style nut. Please bear with me because this is the first review I've written on a manga series.

In many ways I somewhat find this series disappointing because of the MANY similarities I find with Kimi no Iru Machi and Nozoki Ana. The only difference I found really in the chapters around 1~150 was the lack of just fan service sex that was in Nozoki Ana. (Although getting farther on into Kimi Machi it provides some of that too, but in a more romantic way). Anyway back to my point I found myself easily predicting every thing that occurred in the first hundred chapters or so because of the lack of originality I found. I'm not saying that the author plagiarized anything, but the plot development and character relationship development was just too damn similar for me to fully enjoy this series.

That all being said after trudging through cliche predictable events I still found it interesting as the story began to differ with the addition of Yuzuki's terminal boyfriend and following that the heated battle between Kazama and Haruto over Yuzuki. The romance aspect is enjoyable yet the situations Haruto gets himself into while not around his girlfriend seem repetitive. He goes to help another girl, something is either of the three following. There is a major misunderstanding due to an act or situation that is questionable. Two, something relating to jealousy. Or three, a conflict occurs attempting at a roller coaster plot twist that is easily predicted. Except in one occasion where Kazama dies, that is one I didn't see coming.

Now ad I look at what I have written above it seems very negative. Well, I hope you consider what is above, but don't take it to heart. Those are my personal opinions on the matter and they are heavily influenced by the fact that I have read another very similar series that distracted the impact of this one. I still like this manga series very much because of the growing relationship between Yuzuki and Haruto which FINALLY has some couple's romantic feelings for each other translated through sex and the possibility of marriage! I hope it all turns out well and the author gives us the happy romantic ending we are all looking forward to.

Now to end this review I'd kike to say one meaningless thing that is but a mere trifle and achievement. I read all 234 chapters currently released as I am writing this afterwards and written this manga review all on my phone.
Thanks and have fun reading Kimi no Iru Machi!
-Nebarto

Forewarning: This reviewer is 25 years old and have only read like three serious shonen romance manga his entire life.

I picked this manga after reading Dome X Kanojo because they're similar and to chill down the emotions I got from that manga. Ended up binged through all 27 volumes in nearly one month.

It was quite an emotional roller coaster, especially the early-mid chapters and the last few. My reactions were shifting constantly between "that's so romantic ~" and "WTF why would you do that?!". This is why I and many people have a love/hate relationship with this manga.

The general consensus seems to be that the manga got worse after a certain arc, but I do not think so. The chapters after that arc feel a bit slower but still have progress and character development, though hard to see if you get distracted by the fillers (261 chapters but only about TWO events are actually of significant importance). What I quite dislike about this manga though, are the sudden changes that didn't have enough build-up to them. Dramas popped out of no where then got resolved relatively fast in ways that feel a bit too convenient. There are a few exceptions, of course.

Story: the main methods of developing the story seem to be "a character making terrible decisions", "misunderstandings" (there are a lot of them) and "adding new characters" (most of whom are female, probably to cater to the shonen demographic). I imagine it would be quite annoying for people who have read many manga that do this, but I am a newbie to shonen romance so I didn't mind. The romantic moments are really touching, too.

Art: Awesome and unique, though in certain angles in some scenes the characters look weird.

Characters: Most of the characters seem to not change much from start to finish, each keeping their own unique personality throughout (except for a certain character who goes back and forth between shy and free-spirited). The main character, Haruto, is your typical country bumpkin who is naive but can be brave at times. His slow pace of development despite having the most appearance annoy a lot of people, including me.

(possible spoiler?)

To be frankly honest, after things settled between the protagonists the only thing I enjoyed were their romantic scenes. I don't think I have read a manga where a couple love each other this much.

This is my first ever manga review so please bear with me. (Also my english may be lacking because it's my third language) My review will most likely be negatively biased because I dropped the series halfway through (around Chapter 113) and just looked up the ending. I will try to keep it spoiler free but I will add a big spoiler warning if I just have to write something.

2 days ago I was looking for a nice Romance and Slice of Life kind of a manga to read and I happen to remember this manga. I'm the type of guy who likes to read before going to sleep so I started reading this again. The setting was nice, the characters were lovable so I stuck with it until I fell asleep.
The next day I picked it up and I was really enjoying it. The pacing was good and I never felt that something got dragged out. I was really expecting to finish reading this that day because I was hooked. But then everything started to take a turn for the negative.
Other reviews have most likely also talked about this point. The first arc was great. I really liked the characters, the setting and the pacing. But then came the Tokio Arc. I realize now that I can't keep this review completely spoiler free so here is my spoiler warning. I will give my conclusions after the spoilers.

-- SPOILERS --

Eba was a character that I loved. She had a good personality and was all around just a nice going happy school girl and I was rooting for her to end up with Haruto. When they decided to try long distance I was all up for it and the Tokyo Arc at first developed how I imagined it would. You have a couple far away from each other, both caring for another and trying to make it through a long distance relationship with the usual misunderstandings that I came to expect from other stories with similar settings.
For me the straw that broke the camel's back was when we found out that Eba really was in another relationship. I was expecting this to be a lie from her sister to try to stir things up like she always did. I was thinking that something happened which forced her to stop talking to Haruto and now that Haruto went to Tokyo, we would all find out that she was in a difficult situation from which Haruto would save her.
However when they met each other again at the hospital and it turned out to be true, I was disappointed to say the least.
The girl that I rooted for the entire series long just became someone I started to hate. How did the girl, who was nice and lovable turn out like that? How can you love someone and then out of sympathy for someone else just cut all ties with that person and start going out with someone else and refuse to even talk again to that person? And how much of an idiot do you have to be (Haruto) to still try to love a girl like that? When all she did was toy with your emotions and not think about how you feel at all.
I care for characters in a manga/anime. I cared for Eba and hoped there would be a happy end for her with Haruto. However her character became something I hated and she was the main reason I dropped this series. And after the xth time a new girl was introduced (Amaya) and some forced drama started to take place it was enough.

-- END OF SPOILERS --


I really don't know what to say about this manga. It started out really good but came spiraling down. The plot twists often don't make any sense and the way the characters react way out of their character becomes infuriating to say the least.
If you like forced drama then this manga is for you. But expect to get angry at how illogical the characters react. I don't understand how this manga was praised for being realistic.

STORY - 5/10
Starts out good but makes a turn for the worst.

ART - 8/10
Apart from some still shots it was good.

CHARACTERS - 4/10
This is this shows downfall. They act out of character and when you introduce one after another and forget about the previous ones it just becomes tiring.

ENJOYMENT - 3/10
If you like forced drama, you will probably like this manga. It wasn't my cup of tea though seeing how I dropped it out of anger.

OVERALL - 5/10

So I dropped this manga that i was enjoying a lot because I just cannot handle what the MC will do to Asuka, despite that the manga is pretty good. So for me the problem is that the author created one of the most incredible girl in all manga and when I was really enjoying MC's relationship with asuka, he ruins every empathy that i had for the characters, and the fact that I used to ship Eba after introducing Asuka, Eba is so boring in comparison so if you prefer Eba, I think you will like, idk because I dropped.

This manga is really depressing. But it doesn't have any drama or tragic story. It's depressing, because of how boring those characters life are.

I was reading from start to the end of this manga just in case that something interesting might be happened at near the end of story. And that was worthless, because nothing happens, nothing remotely interesting. This manga is about "real" life, so real, that everything in it is average at best. The story is average and characters are so "real" they got zero personality. And all those jokes, that author trying to pull, are useless, they just bad and uninspired. I think that if author trying to tell us "real" story, that the story itself should more "serious" and should have less silly humor and nudity which is plenty of here.

I personally don't think its a bad manga. I think that it is trying to be serious love story and comedy harem-manga in one time. But problem, is it fails in both categories.

If you want to read good love story manga, I would recommend comics like I"s or Bitter Virgin. This one - over-hyped.

Basically: Read if bored, and there's absolutely nothing else you can read. As far as romance Harems go, it does its job. Characters don't really shine. Honestly, I forgot who half of them were, they just didn't have much of an impact on the story. Ultimately, read this to see how a bunch of girls makes Haruto the best dude for Yuzuki. Oh, and how Yuzuki is freaking adorable.

Why you shouldn't read it:
Boring. Plot twists and character introductions are so boring! Considering it is a harem, the elements are of course played the same way over and over again, with no real rejection from Haruto himself. Yuzuki usually seems none-the-wiser, and I'm not even sure if it's because of her trust in Haruto or it just doesn't click. Haruto himself is a pretty boring dude too. Other than his dream to be a chef he just doesn't have the charisma or the spark of a typical main character. But then again - this is a harem. They males are supposed to be as plain as possible to relate to the male audience. The females are annoying and almost always require some sort of approval or support from the male lead, and none are realistic enough for you to go 'Hey, I know someone like that!'
Bottom line: Read it for the harem.

Why you should read it:
The art! I'll have to admit the story sometimes takes interesting turns - sometimes. Read it for Yuzuki. She develops immensely throughout the story and, if anything, becomes the most mature and actually has confidence in herself by the end of the story. Haruto, being wishy washy, actually MAKES DECISIONS when it comes down to it.
Bottom line: there aren't many reasons to read it, but Yuzuki makes it worthwhile most of the times.

This MANGA.

It's so good and, at the same time, so bad.

What makes it so bad? Well, let's go straight to the point─the story got too good too early. Yes, what makes it good is also what makes it bad (there's some Yin-Yang shit for ya).

Kimi no Iru Machi (or A Town Where You Live) is good drama. No denying. But the part where the writing was at it's prime happened too early in the story so I understand that to follow up an act like that is difficult. But Seo Kouji had the option of ending the series right there instead of prolonging this shit. So what happens is the experience, the praise, and the respect that you have with this manga are now replaced with meaningless fillers and fan services. If you're okay with that, then fine. That's your business. But that's not okay with me.

I was close to dropping this manga because the story got too boring in some parts.

I mean, sure, yeah, there are some arcs after "that particular arc" that talks about the ACTUAL STORY but when you realize that this happened after "that arc", it'll just feel inferior and that's a damn shame.

I'm sure right now you feel I'm over hyping you about this '"arc" and how it is superior among other arcs. I'm sorry. Results may vary.
(Edited: For those of you who are wondering, I'm talking about the "Tokyo Arc" here; the one the anime was focused on. And of course, the "better" part is everything before Volume 16.)

But let's talk about the good stuff now. KNIM is packed with a lot of plot twists. Some mild and some heavy which will leave you in the edge of your seats. I also like the amount of realism this manga has. It's one of the few things the didn't waver even after the series went downhill.

And the art. MAN, the art.

The amount of details in the eyes of these characters (especially the girls) is insane. Even to the point that it's..... creepy. I don't know if that's a standard to Shoujo mangas (even though it's not a Shoujo manga). I don't read them.

And the BGs are aces. Kudos to you, Seo-san.

It's kinda sad how this manga could have been better of what it is right now had it not been stretched out. But even though that it's been through shit, I still acknowledge this as one of the best that I've read. The emotional roller coaster this series has makes it seem worth it even though at times, you wish you were reading another manga. But regardless, I do recommend you checking this one out.

I just finished the manga today. This is probably the first manga to change the way I view my life.

The characters in this all have their own flaws. They made mistakes. They made up. The journey from Highschool to College to Adult world. This is realistic in someway. I have to say that the main character seems to be a bit popular in that kind of "kind personality".

Half way through the series, you will find yourself wondering about the MC decision, "Would you fight the world for love?"

All in all, I can only summarize this manga in one poem that Yuzuki raises in this manga about an unrequited love, "No matter how much I'm with you, it never satisfies me," :)

Enjoy the journey! Daiki

Before I read this manga, I wasn't into manga. Oh sure, I sporadically watched some anime, such as Fate Stay Night, Honey and Clover, but manga, not so muchl.

A friend of mine introduced me to Kimi No Iru Machi by chance. It was in the middle of exam week, I was borrowing his usb to pass on my work when I came upon the first volume of this manga. I decided to copy it into my laptop, thinking I would read it later that night.

Looking back, I didn't think I slept at all that night, and I had an exam at 7 a.m.

There's something about the story, that makes it impossible for you to put down before you finish it. By the end of the night, I had read al 166 chapter of Kimi No Iru Machi, and I couldn't wait for the next chapter to come out.

I guess the reason for that is the female protagonist(which is somewhat debatable), Yuzuki Eba, who I felt really came alive in the story. Her characterization was so strong, so fantastic, it sucks you up into the story where you are taken on an emotional roller coaster with her, at first by falling in love with her, then by hating her, and at last, by accepting her for who she is (at least, at this point in time). The way Kouji Seo manages to portray her emotions throughout the chapters are amazing, and the artwork is very, very good. After reading this, she's definitely my favorite female character (though I haven't read that much manga to be such a good judge).

A special mention should also go out to Haruto Kirishima, who I feel is a character that many guys can relate to. He experienced it all, unrequited love, long distance relationship, rejections, heartbreaks, cheating, the works. But he does it all with such finesse that in the end, you can't help cheering him on throughout the story, even though you sometimes don't really feel comfortable with his actions. What a guy.

Still, this manga wouldn't be that great without the assortments of characters around Yuzuki and Haruto, and they too, managed to inject different colors into the subplots that makes it all the more interesting. Still, I feel that because of Yuzuki and her strong characterization, over time, the others kind of fade into the background. But that is to be expected.

All of the above was the recipe for an awesome, realistic story about love, thought it's not as straightforward as that, as you'll see when you read the manga. It portrays love in all of it's sides, the good, the bad, and the cold, harsh, reality. It's definitely one of those story that are just impossible to put down, so be prepared when you want to read it. And for me personally, Kimi No Iru Machi was what got me really interested in manga.

What more can you say about this masterpiece then that. This is one of those mangas that pull you in,suck the hate out of romance novel and slap you some sense into you. Specially if you are a straight male like me that usually avoid super sentimental manga's. This one did just that and man I was so glad it did. This manga is pure Platinum. The story is so well written,the characters stick in your mind and won't disappear with the passage of timer. All I can say if you ever wanted a well written love story where love,hate,jealousy,mischief and friendship play and important part this is the one. You won't be sorry if you read it. Every chapter is so addicted sometimes i would miss my stop when i return home from work so i can read a bit more that how captivated it has me. Thank You Koji Seo Sensei.

"... that was something"

Those were literally my words as I finished reading through Kimi no Iru Machi, or A Town Where You Live. This manga is completely different to anything else I've ever read in the sense that it just keeps on giving. While I was originally worried that they managed to extend a standard high school romance for over 200 chapters, my expectations were completely and utterly thrown out the window. We see the main characters start off as annoying and naiive teenagers, and then to young adults, which seamlessly evolves into a story about actual, 20+ year old adults. Color me with a shade of fuckin orange cause if that isn't a departure from what we're accustomed to I don't know what is. The even bigger surprise is that this style of storytelling works amazingly well. We grow attached to the likeable cast of characters as we've literally seen them go through the trials and tribulations of adulthood, things that pretty much everyone can relate to. I was right to assume that there was no way they could have made a 200+ chapter manga about a high school romance without it feeling drawn out because that's exactly what didn't happen.

I can't emphasize enough of how great the beginning chapters of the story are, which set up the framework of the characters and how they evolve yet stay the same as the story progresses. This is a shame since the anime adaptation of this decided to throw the entire arc out of the window, which makes the characters' decisions seem nonsensical at times. While the first few arcs are without a doubt amazing, I can't lie and say that the story is consistently superb through the duration of the series; it has a good bit of misses and other parts that may drag out too long, however rest assured many of these inconveniences are tied together by the end. If anything you'll be so invested in the characters that you'll just breeze through the iffy-bits.

Speaking of the characters, they carry this story immensely. The closest example that comes to mind when thinking of this would be the cast of Friends; which consist of a variety of likable, but realistic characters. The characters in Kimi no Iru do a LOT of stupid shit, and you're going to rage. But the thing that separates them from other manga is the fact that a lot of their decisions are understandable and can have a variety of perspectives justifying why they may or may not have done something. The cast feels remarkably human in the sense that the story sets itself up to feel like they are living in their own worlds, minding their own business, as opposed to constantly revolving around the MC. SPEAKING OF THE MC, I was generally surprised by how down-to-earth, unique and absolutely stupid he was. Note that the last one is actually a really good thing. We see so many times in other manga that the main protagonist does absolutely no wrong doing, the general framework of their stories set this up. However, our MC is portrayed as a confused dumbfuck in a world full of clusterfucks everywhere. He makes mistakes frequently, but not only are there consequences to those mistakes (yes "friend breakups" can ACTUALLY happen in a manga), but he does the wise, and realistic thing, of learning from those mistakes.

There's not much to say about the art other than it's fantastic. There's a noticeable improvement as the series progresses, with highlights being more accentuated, shadows being more detailed and the characters and setting just looking drop dead gorgeous.

Overall I can fairly say that this is one of my favorite manga/stories ever. The character development itself is a reason to read this just because of how close you get with the characters .

1st and foremost I'll give you this warning: This review is bias towards my tastes so if you don't like romances you'll probably wan't find my review helpful.
Now then, let's get started...

I'm going straight to the point and say it... If you haven't read this manga you should because it's amazing and I'm going to tell you why.

CHARACTERS

I decided to start this review with the characters because this was the selling point of this manga to me...
I've never seen characters receive so much development in a manga, each and every single one of them will evolve through out the story being affected by each ever little thing happens in their life.
Due to how the story progress you will get attached to them and for me that's a big plus. If during a manga you get attached to a character that means that you sympathize with it and can relate at some level with them, the fact that this manga was able to portray this with almost every character just means that they were so well created.

STORY

I'll try to keep this short...
The story is really good and well created overall... There cannot be great characters without a a great story behind them, and this is exactly what happens here.
This is a romance so obviously what takes focus in this story the most is our MC (Haruto) love life for the most part but the fact that this happens while you follow his daily life is just too good.
The Story is an emotional roller coaster and because you relate so much with the characters there will be times where you'll depressed and other while you'll be so happy to the point of crying.
The story is also full of twists and turns which also adds to the fact that you'll want more and more until you reach the ending.

ART

Not much to say about it... It was beautiful, well designed and the character designs really suited their respective personalities.
One think I liked about it is that the character designs also evolved during the story... As the time passed and our character grew older so did their designs... so you really can keep up with the flow of time in the story.
Side note the panels well placed and were not obstructive one to another.

OVERALL

This is how I described the story in a few words to my friends:
An emotion roller coaster of a story with great character development in which you could related extremely well with the characters and feel their pain and happiness... This is a great Romance manga because you will feel the hardships of life while you are reading it and you will truly wish for MCs happiness.

This manga will take you by the heart and you'll only be released from the spell when you are finished reading it.
While reading you wont be able to stop.

SCORE: 10 (This is a masterpiece)

----------

I just fished reading this manga 3mins ago and as you can see it had such great impact on me that I felt that I need to write a review... a thing I never did nor considered doing until now.

So if this review isn't that much help is probably because I don't know how to write one, I'm sorry.

Kimi no Iru Machi was the first time I was read a manga by Seo Kouji and if you will excuse me ... now I'm going to read all his other works now.

This is my first manga review so i I'm sorry in advance for any errors! (:

JUST WOW! I never thought i would see myself enjoy reading once in my life, but this manga (Kimi no Iru Machi) had really touched me and its been sucking me into reading more and more about it! Tbh, I'm more of a person to watch things, and Kimi no Iru Machi is the one that had changed me to reading different other manga!

Okay, enough with expressing me feeling towards it. lets get to the review, this manga centers around a boy name Kirishima, Haruto who is dating a girl name Eba, Yuzuki, but things go wrong and that Yuzuki has to go back to her family. And then the long distance relation starts, I don't wan to spoil you the important stuff, but i'll say this, somethings start to occur.

This is a manga that is worth to read, i trust you, if you are a romance type of a person then you worth regret reading this! This manga has really touched me and that some of their problem are what some people are facing in reality. I hope this interset you in reading it! (:

Art is wonderful!
Characters show lots of emotions and tell the reader what is happening most of the time, Its great!
And trust me you'll enjoy reading this (:

I could not stand the male lead. All he was doing was whining and pouting about one thing or another. He was SOOO unlucky that a pretty girl came to live with him, then he was SOOO unlucky that she wanted to hang out with him. To make matters worse, the male lead is also a bad friend. The new girl in town noticed one of his friends liked someone, also after getting her heart broken he was not there for her, and when someone else was going to console her, he said to leave her alone. If the male lead was not a complete tool, then the story would have been better and I would have continued reading.

I like Shoujo titlesand certainly Kimi no Iru Machi, is a perfect Shoujo manga, but it is also geared towards the public masculine.
It has a beautiful art, i'd say something like an realistic art with a high quality is important in a shoujo manga, and Kimi no Iru Machi have it to spare, Kouji Seo got through the emotions of the characters in a beautiful way, and it hold your breath it is amazing!
But not everything is perfect; reading can become tiresome if this is not your favorite genre, anyway is a beautiful love story !!!

I didnt read all of this shit, if i did it would be a punishment, the art is good, i really do enjoy the style but the story and characters, i really feel disgusted by it, im almost throwing up bcuz i just can't deal with this, what a poorly development, these characters doesnt have any carisma
Storu 1 go read other romances, horimiya is a good choice, u can enjoy it
Art 7.5, idk, it is really good for me, such a waste...
Character 1 where is the carisma ?
Enjoyment 0 ? i was enjoying at the start, but after some events, it just started to be really bad

As probably the greatest hater of mushy crap romance and annoying bitchiness, I wasn't exactly too thrilled to dive into the unknown pages of Kimi no Iru Machi, a romance manga. But what I ended up experiencing was something far beyond what I expected. I sincerely believe that from the plethora of vocabulary words I know, only one can truly describe this manga- EPIC. The author really knows how to make this story epic. He has twisted the plot in every single way to make the story exciting and to keep the readers on their toes. This deep story mixed with outstanding art comes out as a unique masterpiece.

Story (10/10)
The story is one of the most intricate plots you'll ever find in romance manga. It centers around Haruto Kirishima, a sensitive boy living in the rural Hiroshima region, and his school/ romantic life. Unexpectedly one day, a girl called Yuzuki Eba appears at his doorway and begins living with him. His long-termed unrequited love for fellow classmate Nanami Kanzaki isn't helped either by Eba's arrival since Nanami constantly misunderstands Haruto and Yuzuki's relationship. At first, Haruto is baffled and annoyed by Yuzuki's cheery and idiotic personality, but he soon begins to realize the feelings for Yuzuki. The story doesn't just end with a happy ending or a sadface rejection, it thrives. Unimaginable things happen that boldly twist the future for these characters. It's this deep understanding of what keeps readers reading that makes Kimi no Iru Machi so addictive and so different from the rest of the mundane romance mangas that only seek to build pointless suspense solely from staged confessions and illogical rejections.

Art (10/10)
The art is a mix between reality and chibi, yielding the ultimate manga art. It's the kind of art that induces the readers to see the characters and setting right besides them in real life (without the horribly ugly details or, on the other hand, the "my eyes are 3/4 of my head" scariness). In addition, countless new girls are introduced and each of them have a distinct visual feature. This keeps the organization of the plot in perfect order... all while enjoying the cuteness of Eba.

Characters (10/10)
The first thing that struck me was how real the characters are. When I was reading this, my mind could imagine such a person in existence. The things they do, they thoughts they think, and their views of problems- it's all just too real. The characters are certainly very unique. Haruto, although completely dense and illogical sometimes, is suddenly very assertive and justified other times. Eba, although very happy, cute, and nice sometimes, is suddenly whorish, selfish and annoying in the next page. One second I'm cheering Eba on and the next I'm cussing at her for her bitchiness. It's that kind of emotional power that the characters impose. I can never guess what's on the next page, and I really do want to know. This professional development of characters that draw readers into the world highlights many of the reasons that make Kimi no Iru Machi such an outstanding manga.

Enjoyment (10/10)
As soon as I read into the 10th page, it had me. I usually avoid romance manga at all costs but here I was reading one non-stop. It has that kind of power. Humor from Eba's idiocy, anxiety from confessions, support from Haruto's resolution, and happiness from good events are only a few emotions that I felt in the massive emotional purge present. It was almost like the author could control how you felt in each situation and made you feel different to the extreme in each coming page. This was something I really enjoyed to take my mind of pointless real life things.

Overall (10/10)
If I have ever read a romance manga, this would be the best. No questions asked. From suddenly joy to bitter disparage, I felt like I was in the story- I felt like I was there. I was always in there, cheering on Haruto silently, thinking how cute Eba was or how tragic (reference) situations had to turn out. The author's masterful comprehension of suspense and the deep roots of love/ romance is reflected onto Kimi no Iru Machi. I highly suggest that if even if you don't read romance novels, give this a try. If you do read romance novels, then this should be on the very top of your list.

Honestly, it's been years since I last read anything about this manga. Or maybe not, as it only just finished a little over a year and a half ago.

(Just skip to the end for a quick summary. Most of this review is just restating the same thing over and over.)

So for those who are a little bored, let me tell you a story. Reading through the guidelines, it does not state I cannot give a little story about myself. So, young me, not quite savvy about the manga parts of the world yet, somehow stumbled upon this piece of work.

Now, I first came into anime and manga thanks to SAO. That really doesn't mean much but at the time I truly thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I do think quite differently now of course.

Back to the review/story.

Reading Kimi no Iru Machi, I was one hundred percent engrossed with the romance at the time. Being the very young me that I was, I loved every little bit of its over the top, exaggerated, brain destroying, ball smashing drama.

Looking back on it now, I don't really understand why I enjoyed it. Truthfully, I don't remember the first arcs that much anyways. If I do remember correctly, they weren't that bad at all. Yes, in fact, the stuff I do remember is in the second half of the manga.

So here. If you're looking for a manga that you can complete, don't read this manga. The story is hardly anything of true importance. The only overarching plot that I can remember is that Haruto, the MC, is trying to get with girl B after girl A rejected him.

The first part offers quite a good teenage drama. (Like I said before, I don't remember too much except that I didn't have much gripes with the first bits).
The second part is more of a slug fest than anything.

The characters, who are already bad and boring, make irrational choices that constantly contradict themselves. The characters are like Romeo and Juliet except that they actually made sense in the first half. Haruto makes the readers wonder why any girl would fall for a guy like him. He's like harem guy except he has a personality, a bad one. I kinda wish that he didn't really, would've made the whole thing more enjoyable. He's constantly bouncing between girls, meaning that if he could, he'd do them all.

Haruto falls in love just as fast as the girls fall in love with him. The thing that really makes me dislike him though, is that he basically gave up a perfectly good love interest to pursue the main girl, Eba. I'd have no problem with this normally, but this wasn't normally. The girl that Haruto gave up was someone he was dating already, and the girl was one hundred times better, more realistic, and caring than the main girl.

First girl syndrome is fine and all, but only is she's a good and likable character.

Eba is the thing that makes this manga unbearable. If you hate her or Haruto, stop reading the manga immediately as they will only get worse. What she does is say, "I love you go out with me." and then breaks up with Haruto soon after. The time that they are together is boring and made me bored out of my mind. Once they get together, for ten plus chapters, it's just lovey dovey stuff that'll literally make one puke. Then, you know, they break up again for a very very bad reason.

It's a lot easier to remember the bad rather than the good, but the bad really is a lot in this manga. You know that feeling that you get when you eat too much, or when you lay down for too long and get a weird headache while your stomach feels out of place? Yeah, that's what reading this did to me.

The only fond memory that is clear to me is the last chapter. Why? Because the ending was handled well? Nope. I was just happy that the damned thing finally ended. If I could forget a manga just because, it would be this one. The only thing that I'd fear is accidentally reading it again. It's really like the world was slowing down when I read this. I felt like that one time when I was so sick, I was hallucinating.

TLDR: Characters make no sense. I felt like I got sick from reading this thing. The story isn't interesting and gets all messed up at the end. The art is the only good thing.

When I first read the synopsis for "Kimi no Iru Machi", I was intrigued by the unique plot, and it didn't disappoint me. If you are a fan of shoujo, then this would be a great story to follow.

Just a note: I'm usually an easy scorer, so 10s and 9s for me are usual, so even if there is something that displeases me, it would rarely go under an 8.

Story (9):
The story was given a 9 because it had a great plot and some unexpected twists. The reason why it wasn't perfect is because there was some repetition and extremely predictable events. The male main character has so many girls fall for or target him is outrageous. In the end, those girls were used for the rest of the story. Luckily, every situation is very original from the former, so it is either something to look forward to or something that will eventually bore you because it is becoming so predictable. The amazing thing is that the author was able to use these unique situations to go along with the progressing relationship of the main characters.

Art (10):
I'm not a professional or anything, so I found the art to be pretty well done. Unlike some manga, the reader can see and interpret the characters' actions clearly and easily without having to stare at it for longer than necessary. The art was beautifully drawn, so I have no complaints.

Character (10):
Just like in most manga and anime, there is usually this one character or a few characters who irritate the readers immensely. This manga is no exception, but these characters are absolutely necessary to construct the story. What was amazing was that every character had some trait that separates him or her from everyone else. Also, the character developement was done well so we can often see their growth.

Overall (9):
I'm going to round down, but this manga is definitely worth a try if you have free time and are looking for a long series. I felt there was some things the author could have done to improve the story, but overall, it is a pleasure to read it.

If you enjoy emotional rollercoasters, you have come to the right place.

Be warned: this ride will take you up and down, and it will require a lot of investment - both emotionally and time wise. However, if you do make it to the end, I am sure that you will feel - at the very least - some sense of absolute fulfillment.

One of the unique things I liked about it was how the author tied up and resolved everything by the end of the manga. It didn't feel rushed - and if you read other reviews, you can see that the author could have definitely sped up some things - and felt very real, if that makes any sense. Lots of other works I've read start out good, but fail to leave me with any other lasting impression by their last chapters.

Not this one (once you get to the last chapter, you'll see why).
:)

Although I do agree with my fellow readers that the later parts seem drawn out and stretched, I think they serve to make the ending that much sweeter. I can guarantee that you will want to quit at some point (most likely about 1/3 into it), but please, try to push through.

You can do it!!