There is a full length review forthcoming on my site, MangaLibrarian.com and on my YouTube Channel! I go in depth on my analysis there.

I found this manga quite sweet but not very deep.
The sweetness was on the surface. There were so many characters that just grinded my gears.
It was okay at best but not one of my fave mangas by any means.

Overall this manga has a very pleasant art style. Simple and straight to the point. The shamisen is a very interesting instrument to use and I've never read a manga revolving around it before so I was pleasantly surprised. I personally like manga's revolving around music and this definitely made it into the top ten. The main characters Setsu and Yuna are both likable making it easy to root for them. I'm definitely interested to see how the story plays out.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book for review.

This volume was fun, I liked getting to know the main character and his journey. I didn't like all of the characters but I'm interested to see where his story goes.

I thought the first chapter was the premise of the whole story. Yuka and Setsu’s coming together and how their friendship would continue as he finds his “sound” again. The art style wasn’t my favourite but I was interested how this would go and then the story didn’t follow the blurb, yes, it’s Setsu’s story but Yuka has left but the other characters stay – why? After the first chapter everything just took a downhill turn and I don’t see me continuing with this.

This manga was really interesting. At the beginning, I was really confused because the story switched between Setsu and Yuna and I had a lot of trouble distinguishing the characters from one another. However, once the two of them meet, it becomes easier to follow the story as there are less switches.
It was really interesting to discover the instrument called Shamisen. I even went on YouTube to hear what the instrument sounded like. I think the story of this manga is promising and I can’t wait to read the second volume to know what happens.
I can’t recommend it for sure, but if you’re like me and you push past the first pages, I think you will like it.
3.5/5

So basically I have watched the first 2 episodes of the anime that pretty much covers the whole volume 1 and my god, the anime as well as the manga are both equally as excellent as each other. I’m a very picky anime watcher and manga reader so this is a rare sight boys for me to say how wonderful it is. I would compare this series to Kono Oto Tomare! in terms of the somewhat involving “same types of instruments” but at the same time, they are both unique. I just effing wish this type of a musical opportunity was offered in both my secondary and primary schools. Anyways I’m getting carried away. I could be too early to say that it’s near to a masterpiece but like you hardly see a young person/s playing a musical instrument in the anime/manga world.

I would definitely recommend this series in its anime or manga format to all if you really need that coming of age goodness!

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for supplying me this wonderful manga ❤️

This didn't work for me. I feel like there were multiple storylines going on that weren't properly shown and it all just became very confusing and messy.

The main character Setsu is 16 when his grandfather passes away. He runs away from home to Tokyo to find himself and his sound. While there he meets Yuna, a young woman trying to get into entertainment with a controlling, vile boyfriend who is the lead singer of a band. Honestly after this, I just got confused and there was a lot of dramatic scenes which made little sense to me.

This was a shame as I was really intrigued in the description of this manga but it just didn't meet my expectations.

*DISCLAIMER* I received a free copy of this book for review purposes. I only accept books I think I’d like because life is too short to waste on bad books. That said if I don’t like a book, I’ll say so, free or not. With that out of the way, onto the review:

The story begins in February. Setsu’s grandfather has died. Setsu feels like their is nothing left for him at home so he heads off to Tokyo in search of some place louder.

Meanwhile in Tokyo Yuka is wishing for more. She’s dating Taketo, a musician in a band that’s just starting to get attention. Since he’s not making any real money yet, Yuka is stuck working as a hostess to support them both. She’s frustrated as she is not getting any of the roles she’s auditioned for and her agent’s plans for her aren’t anything she’s interested in.

Then Setsu, distracted by the lights of the city, bumps into Yuka. It should have been a 30 second interaction but fate had other plans for these two.

Yuka notices Setsu may need help after also bumping into some guys who seem dangerous and who clearly intend on stealing from Setsu. Yuka defends Setsu but injures him accidentally so she feels obligated to take him back to her home.

Setsu and Taketo meet while Yuka is out. While they somewhat bond over music, they don’t seem to like each other much. Taketo thinks Setsu is taking advantage of his girlfriend’s generosity. Setsu thinks Taketo is a jerk. Yuka is just excited to find the boys seem to be friendly.

Enter Setsu’s mom and brother. Mom hasn’t really played a role in her sons lives but with their grandpa gone, she’s,shown up to mourn her father. Realizing her youngest is all alone in the big city, she insists he move in with her and attend school. Knowing their mother’s parental track record, Setsu’s older brother shows up, to play guardian.

At times this book feels a bit all over the place, but that’s life. Certain aspects of the story work better than others, but overall I’d read volume two at least as I liked the main characters and their relationships with one another.

[English below] (Gracias a Netgalley por la copia avanzada)

4/5 estrellas

El primer tomo de Those Snow White Notes nos habla de Setsu, un músico que toca el shamisen, cuya vida cambia tras la muerte de su abuelo. A partir de ahí Setsu decide mudarse solo a Tokio, por la necesidad de estar rodeado de ruido, ya que siente que ha perdido su "sonido" y cree que allí lo puede encontrar.

Está dividido en tres capítulos. El primero es sobre Setsu y su llegada a Tokio. Allí conoce a una chica que trabaja como modelo que lo acoje en su piso hasta que encuentre un lugar. Además conocemos al novio de esta chica y su banda de música, que son los que dan un empujon a Setsu para que vuelva a tocar. En el segundo capitulo Setsu ya lleva tiempo en Tokio y aparece su madre. Sabremos un poco más de la relación o "no relación" existente entre ambos. Y por último, en el tercer capítulo Setsu es llevado al nuevo instituto por su hermano mayor y conocerá a ptra chica que también toca el shamisen.

Este manga me ha parecido muy curioso, ya que conocía el shamisen por otros mangas, pero no se profundizaba en él como instrumento protagonista. Además se puede ver la evolución de Setsu y los vínculos que va creando con gente nueva en Tokio, además de afianzar los de su familia.

Ameno y divertido, os lo recomiendo.

-------------------------------------

(Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC)

4/5 stars

The first volume of Those Snow White Notes tells us about Setsu, a musician who plays the shamisen, whose life changes after the death of his grandfather. From there Setsu decides to move alone to Tokyo, out of the need to be surrounded by noises, since he feels that he has lost his "sound" and believes that he can find it there.

It is divided into three chapters. The first one is about Setsu and his arrival in Tokyo. There he meets a girl who works as a model who takes him into his flat until he finds a place. We also meet this girl's boyfriend and his music band, who are the ones who push Setsu to play again. In the second chapter Setsu has been in Tokyo for a long time and his mother appears. We will know a little more about the relationship or "non-relationship" between the two of them. And finally, in the third chapter Setsu is taken to his new high school by his older brother and he will meet another girl who also plays the shamisen.

This manga has seemed very curious to me, since I knew the shamisen from other manga, but did not delve into it as the main instrument. You can also see the evolution of Setsu and the bonds that he is creating with new people in Tokyo, in addition to strengthening those of his family.

Entertaining and fun, I recommend it.

I really didn't know much about this manga when requested to review an arc, however thought that a musical story sounded interesting. I didn't know I would enjoy this so much and not only for the storyline, characters and illustrations but alo for the fact I become interactive with the manga. I found that I wanted to research more into the main characters instrument, where it came from and the sound it made. In the story the main character talks about certain songs which I then researched and listened to during that part of the book. I believe that if the story didnt have this or I knew more about the instrument, that I wouldnt have enjoyed the manga as much. The learning aspect really hightened the manga.

I volunteered to read this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This manga is so enjoyable. I enjoyed Setsu's character. The characters are described well and it is well written. I enjoyed how this book is set in Tokyo, Japan. I would highly highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. The artwork is absolutely fantastic. This ebook is in stores now for $10.99 (USD).

2/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Setsu lost his "sound" after his grandfather died. Running away to Tokyo, he finds himself overwhelmed. He's saved by a beautiful woman and soon meets other strange people in Tokyo. Along the way, he starts to rediscover who he is and attempts to figure out his "sound."

I was really lost during most of this book. I have a basic understanding of the plot, but I was confused about a lot of the stuff happening in this book. I don't think the pacing helped much either. The art was pretty and I love the music concept, but I wasn't really able to get into the story.

Content/Trigger warnings: cheating, women in revealing outfits, language, death of a loved one

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this manga.
This volume gave me a combination of Your Lie in April, NANA, and Beck Mongolian Chop Squad vibes but with a unique twist on them both? Trigger warnings for grief, violence, and language. I love the art in this manga especially when it came to the sound of the music along with the settings. I also enjoyed the story for what it was so far, however, I am not sure where it is going to go? It could go very profound or meh. I did hear this is also becoming an anime so that may transfer better for me but I do not know for sure. Overall though, I think I want to take this series one volume at a time. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars

I know that the main plot line of the story is about our main character rediscovering his love of music and figuring out his own personal sound. The rest of it... was a bit confusing.

I’m glad the “romance” didn’t really go anywhere because the age gap was a definite issue but I didn’t really see the point of it or that whole part of the story. I also just hated the toxic, cheating boyfriend drama and everything surrounding that.

Our main character’s mother was also incredibly weird and gave off a very strange, creepy vibe.

Overall, I just lost the point of the story and ultimately didn’t really enjoy my time reading this one.

2/5 ⭐️

TW: cheating, bullying, death of a loved one.

Those Snow White Notes follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Setsu, who loses his creative spark for his chosen instrument, the shamisen, after his grandfather passes away. He moves to Tokyo from the countryside in order to find it again, and his paths cross with an aspiring actress, Yuna, who's working part-time as a hostess. This was originally published in a magazine as a one-shot, which probably explains the incoherence of everything past the first 125 pages.

I had actually considered DNFing soon after I finished the first chapter, Track 0, but I was so close I decided I might as well finish... which kind of just gave me more reasons why I didn't vibe with this book. The tone switched from dark, slow sequences of emotion and sadness to wild, over-the-top humor wildly, and I couldn't tell whether or not the story was taking itself seriously. It was strange to have moments where Setsu reflected on his inspiration or his grandfather near really weird exchanges, like the part where Umeko did a weird BDSM punishment on her nineteen-year-old son, which left a strange taste in my mouth. I understand that she was purposefully portrayed as a bad mother, but she constantly made her sons uncomfortable with no consequences and her whole character bothered me since she was made out to be a joke character. In a story that's supposed to be humorous and not serious, I can understand her character, but since I was taking Those Snow White Notes seriously she seemed really out of place and borderline abusive.

Like Umeko, Yuna's boyfriend was a character that deeply bothered me. He was horrible and seemed to bounce back after Track 0 with no repercussions. Honestly, so much of what bothered me about the story came after the original one-shot, so it probably just didn't need a continuation. I certainly won't be continuing with the series, though I thank the publishers for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the art style and the plot gripped me the entire volume I really connected with the main character such to where I am very excited about future volumes.

Setsu is a shamisen player living in the Aomori countryside. However, after his grandfather passes away, his creative spark leaves him too, so he moves to Tokyo to try and find a source of artistic inspiration again. There he stumbles across a hostess named Yuka who dreams of becoming an actress, and together, they try to pursue their dreams.

Those Snow White Notes by Marimo Ragawa is a manga posed with the unique challenge of conveying music without, well … actual sound, and in my opinion, this manga succeeds. It portrays sound though visual allegory and I can feel Setsu’s love of music pouring through its pages. It truly manages to capture the struggles and joys of an artist.

However, I do have one main issue with the story so far, and that is with its pacing. I think volume 1 is way too fast-paced, and I wish it had hit the brakes in parts to allow the story time to breathe and for characters and relationships to better develop.

Lastly, I think it’s important to note that although this is technically a shonen, this is a coming-of-age story that centers around more mature themes. Essentially, this is a story about two lost souls trying to find their place in the world and pursuing their creative dreams—all the while struggling with inferiority complexes. I think that’s something I can personally identify with, so this story really resonates with me right now and hit hard in parts, and I hope to continue following Setsu and Yuka along on their journey.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Those Snow White Notes by Marimo Ragawa is a shonen manga with the theme of music. Although it's marked as a "shonen" manga, I believe that it will have much cross-over appeal to both boys and girls. The story revolves around Setsu, who moves to Tokyo with his shamisen, which is a traditional Japanese instrument similar to a guitar. He befriends Yuna, a hostess with big dreams, and this story in Volume 1 seems to be about him starting his career and following his musician dreams. The art in the sequences when Setsu is playing his shamisen are the most inspiring and magical scenes. I wish there were more scenes like this. I felt like the manga was weighed down by humor that I didn't really find funny. If there were fwer comedic scenes and more dramatic scenes that had relevance to the plot, I would have enjoyed it more. I have this criticism of most shonen manga though, so I'm sure regular shonen readers will find this manga enjoyable. In summary, although there were some jokes that I didn't find funny, I enjoyed the manga overall. If you're a fan of manga about music or about people moving to new cities, you should check out Those Snow White Notes when it comes out this month!

This is stated in the contents but Those Snow White Notes was initially a One-Shot and was only serialized later.

Honestly I really enjoyed the one-shot (roughly half of this volume). While it wasn't a "happy ending". It felt complete. I enjoyed it quite a bit even, even if I felt really uncertain in the beginning.

The first two "tracks" of the serialization also included in this volume. Was not something I enjoyed though. It felt cliche, and flat. It is the cookie cutter "up and coming artist" story.

So I'm not sure I can recommend this book to others.