The plot of this story was fun - I always like a travel-back-in-time-and-right-old-wrongs stories. The artwork was also great. I look forward to continuing with the series.

A story of two characters who got sucked back in time to three years ago and have to go through their high school life all over again, yeah I don't envy them at all!!! Despite that, this was a great story about second chances and really making the most out of your high school lives.

I really quite enjoyed this first volume of the manga. Both Imamura and Fujieda are interesting characters and I would love to get to read more of them, especially Fujieda, and let's not forget Usami. So I'd probably watch out for this series. It is light and fun and the time travel aspect is a plus.

I got to this manga the same way most readers will, I'm a fan of Yuri on Ice and thus I can't not admire Mitsurou Kubo. But I was pleasantly surprised this is no Yuri on Ice.

Our main character has always been isolated and now high school is over he has no friends or good memories, but one: the Ouendan club. When trying to get into the room o the now extinct club, he's seen by a classmate and starts chasing her, until both fall down the stair and end up reliving their lives from the day they started school three years before. And things won't be the same, regardless whether they want it or not.

I don't know if anyone is familiar with Yu Yu Hakusho but the main character half reminds me of Yusuke Urameshi, seen as a bad guy but it's just a misunderstand. Except he also sees himself wrongly. It's rather sad, so you can't help feeling happy whenever he does react to things.

Talking about characters, everyone here is very unique, even those I thought would just be in the background ended up growing on me. And I'm pretty sure I'll be shedding tears—or a river—in the next volumes, since one of them is already dead in the beginning of the story. And the captain! I can't wait to learn more about her.

Additionally, stories about time traveling always make you think of our choices—or in the case of this manga, his lack of action. How with even doing just a little made a lot in his life change already.

I'm not sure if this is a manga I can expect romance from. So far there was some ground-building but nothing that makes it definite. Although I'm a sucker for romances, I don't think I want it. It smells too much of a love triangle. Not my type of read.

In any case, this an entertaining story with lots yet to happen and lovely characters that will get you cheering nonstop. Pun intended.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

ARGHH!
This one has a cliffhanger. I am not a fan of cliffhangers, but understand why they would have one in this serialized type of story. The story is set in a high school in Japan. We begin on graduation day and meet several characters before an accident takes them back three years to the first day of their high school lives. The main characters do not get along and it is interesting to see them navigate this new opportunity at high school life. It seems to be a redemption story, but there are some problems for the two main characters to overcome. I liked the story, but it seemed pretty juvenile. The art is interesting, it was fun to see the changes going back in time three years wrought on the characters. I would recommend it for a younger reader. It also leaves you waiting for the next book, so be prepared for that.

When I saw that one of the co-creators of Yuri on Ice was working on a new manga, I knew I had to read it! This manga is quite different from Kubo's most recent/popular work, but I found the premise interesting. What if you went through high school as an outsider and had an opportunity to go back in time and redo it over again? Would you change things?

I'm a huge fan of underdog/outsider stories and this manga didn't disappoint that way. As a first volume, it's not quite as inviting as Yuri was and honestly if it were an anime, it'd be one of those shows where I'm on the fence about it for a few episodes before quitting it.

There's a lot going on in this first volume with introducing you to characters, time traveling, and whatever the heck Ouendan actually is. It's kind of like the Japanese version cheerleading but with a lot more drums and less acrobatics. My problem with this volume is that it's definitely a case of too much information all at once and it took me away from the story. I did found some of the characters annoying but I'm all for the changes Kinichiro is making and I kind of want to know what happens after that cliffhanger. I think it's going to be one of those manga series where all the set up happens in the first volume and it gets really good after that.

Honestly, I thought it was okay but I was interested in the characters by the end. I'll be picking up the second volume at one point but I don't know when.

It's a very strange premise but weirdly enjoyable!
High school senior Imamura has weird eyes. They're kind of small and shifty and give him the appearance of always being up to something bad. Coupled with his intense shyness and super long blonde hair, those eyes have been one reason why everyone has been terrified of him since Freshman year. It's now graduation and he doesn't have a single friend.... until he has a literally run-in with Aki, a cute, popular, smart student which knocks them both out and sends them back in time to their first day of Freshman year.
For Aki it's a nightmare, but for Imamura it's a chance for a re-do. He decides to do the one thing he regrets not doing the most - and this time plans to join the school Ouendan... a sort of old-fashioned, traditionally all-male cheering squad. Immamura remembers that when the group's one remaining member - the pretty, though, SUPER intense female captain - graduated the club disappeared so he's bound and determined not to let it happen again... but the captain doesn't want any members who don't take the club COMPLETELY seriously... and the underhanded captain of the cheer squad is not going to make it easy for the Ouendan to survive.

Not really sure how I feel about this title... it's an interesting take on the time-travel / high school do-over trope, and I like that the main character doesn't seem to be driven by romance, but I don't really like the art. It was a serviceable read but I wouldn't run out to recommend it to a friend.

So here's the thing - my mom is obsessed with anime and manga. She's an almost 50 year old teacher, but she loves Japanese culture more than anything. It's endearing at times (and also frustrating), but she can give some pretty good recommendations. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. And for once, I have a recommendation for her.

Regret's a funny thing. Imamura is an 18-year old high-school student who, on the day of graduation, realises that nothing good or bad really happened to him for the duration of high school career. For the most part, he was drifting through the work and the people

Due to some pretty strange circumstances, Imamura finds himself back at the beginning of high school and three years younger. He's given a clean slate to define high school life for himself all over again.

Pretty soon, Imamura finds himself enamoured of the school's ouendan leader, Osu. (Osu is also the only member of the ouendan.)

The ouendan is like a cheerleading squad, but with more horns, shouting and formal uniforms instead of short skirts, cute girls and pompoms. Osu, the captain of the ouendan, balks at nothing. She's not stereotypically cutesie or flirtatious. She's a hardass with a stubborn streak and the most gruelling training regime ever to strike the terrified hearts of young students

What Imamura realises is that there was so much intrigue, betrayal and mystery going on when he was being apathetic in his previous incarnation of high school. He's missed out on so much drama that he could have watched and reluctantly participated in. It's great that Imamura doesn't have a moment of "Wow, high school is great." Instead it's a moment of "High school is absolutely terrifying, ridiculous and petty, with some good people scattered in the mix. And it's worth it."

Again!! is a humourous, rewarding and solid manga that defies many stereotypes associated with the high school sub genre.

Another entertaining manga offering from NetGalley and their publisher. I definitely enjoy the artwork and the story of this old fave of mine.

A great and fun series from the co-creator of the amazing Yuri on Ice. This is every bit as crazy, fun, page-turning as I anticipated.

The manga Again!! by Mitsuro Kubo has been out for a couple of years in Japanese, but the first volume was just translated into English and I was able to receive an eARC through Netgalley.

Goodreads synopsis: From the co-creator of surprise anime megahit Yuri!!! on Ice comes a dramatic, funny, time-traveling high school story about what it means to cheer on a friend! What would you do if you had the chance to do everything… again?

Kinichiro isn’t even that bad. It’s just that on the first day of high school, his eyes made him look shifty, so people assumed he was trouble. Now it’s graduation, and he’s looking back on three years with no friends. He never even joined a club. But after a bloody collision and an accidental fall, he wakes up a high school freshman, with the chance to try it all over… AGAIN!!

My rating: 3 stars.

Review

Again!! is a fun slice of life high school manga with a time travel twist. This first volume sets up an interesting set of characters that I’m excited to learn more about. Kinichiro, the main character, is a loner who’s never made any friends in high school when a freak accident causes him and a classmate to travel back in time to the day they started high school. He decides to do it all differently and joins the school ouendan, which is straggling with only one member.

There’s already some character development in this first volume with Kinichiro deciding to help the ouendan instead of going through school alone yet again. Apart from that it’s mostly set-up, though, as might be expected from a first volume. I am interested to see how the story continues, so as far as I’m concerned this volume has done its job!

I must admit I was drawn in by the fact that this was made by a co-creator of Yuri!!! On Ice, but in just one volume it was hard for me to point out many similarities. Regardless, it was a fun first installment and I’ll probably read the next one when it gets translated.

I know for sure that the tagline "from the co-creator of Yuri on Ice!!" will get the teens in my library to pick this up no problem. Thankfully, I thoroughly enjoyed Again!! on its own merits as well. I like a good life rewind story and the way Kinichiro and Akira deal differently with their circumstances is excellent. Poor Akira had a great high school life but in her do-over she expects things to fall into place too soon and pretty much messes up her original life. Kinichiro on the other hand has no expectations based upon his original high school experience, but decides to change things based on his slight regret of never asking the Ouendan Club president a single question.

I miss YoI! I really do. So when I saw that this manga came from one of Yuri's creators, it was a no-brainer. it didn't give me the same heart tugging feels, but it was a journey that I enjoyed.

The main character is a loner that's been given the opportunity to do it all over again. Does he deserve a second chance? Maybe. Does he make the best of it? He certainly tries.

The cliffhanger ending means I MUST read volume 2.

Unfortunately I couldn't review this book, when I tried to download it it said "error" I had downloaded cardpaptor sakura the day before and it worked perfectly fine so I really don't know what went wrong.
Thank you to Kodansha for the opportunity anyway.

Imagine reliving your entire high school career - some people might welcome the chance, and some might consider it an abject nightmare. For the friendless, misunderstood Imamura Kinichiro, it just might be what he needs.

A funny, light-hearted high school manga that starts with time-traveling hijinks, Again!! develops into a fascinating review of youth, of loneliness, of how important friendship and acceptance are especially for the young. As Imamura finds a purpose in trying to restore the school's ouendan club, he finds himself opening up and connecting for the first time in ages, and it might not be easy - but he persists in this confusing new world.

One thing that stood out with the composition of characters is, aside from main protagonist Imamura, all important characters are women of different dispositions. Intense ouendan captain Usami, the person Imamura wants to help out most (and probably the unconscious inspiration for Imamura's long hair in the 2014 timeline); poor Aki who got dragged into the past timeline along with Imamura; and studious cheerleader Reo with the change of heart. They're all charming in their own ways and their interactions with Imamura breathe life into the storyline.

I must say the main thing I did not like was the stereotypical representation of cheerleaders. Understandably, for plot reasons, there will be rivalry between the ouendan and cheer group, but mean girls are a trope better off retired.

The art style is crisp and expressive, familiar to fans of Kubo's incredibly popular anime series Yuri!!! On Ice. There is even a mystery surrounding the old ouendan troupe that I'm dying to figure out. I'm glad Kodansha decided to pick this up for an English release, and I can't wait for the next volumes.

*I received an eARC from the publisher, Kodansha Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

https://librarynthines.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/again-volume-1-kubo-mitsurou/
http://librarynthine.tumblr.com/post/172108709527/imagine-reliving-your-entire-high-school-career
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2335034789?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

What an amazing series opener! The artwork is fantastic and easy to follow, and Kubo's cast of characters are endearing. The tension between Imamura, Akira, and Yoshiko provides readers a ton of enjoyable, comedic relief, which serves as a perfect counterbalance to the mystery of their times travel and Yoshiko's past. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they work together to save the ouendan club.

A school life manga revolving around 2 soon to be graduating high school students who time travel back to when they were starting high school. They join a cheering group (very different from western cheerleaders), and go about reliving their high school days. This time with future knowledge. A bit reminiscent of Orange, but less wistful and more intense.

Imagine if you had a do-over of the last 3 years? That's the premise behind this fun and easy to read shojo manga.

I really quite enjoyed this start to the series. While the basis of the story is not entirely unique, the way it's told, and the voice it's told in, is very different. I especially enjoyed the fact that the two characters we follow had vastly different experiences in high school and one doesn't mind repeating it where the other immediately recognizes how boring it would be and decides to change things this time around. The slight changes that they make end up making a big difference in what actually happens. For those concerned about content, this is pretty clean. I found nothing objectionable in this volume at all. Just for the sake of interest, I'd say this is probably still young adult but it's safe for younger readers if they enjoy the story. This is one high school manga that I'm excited to follow.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.