An adorable twist on "introvert meets extrovert" it's the story of a popular boy who seems to have everything and a shy quiet girl who has nothing but a book she reads over and over.

This is so stinking cute and the characters feel so real I think that readers will relate to them. I look forward to seeing how the characters develop.

Classic-style shojo school romance where opposites attract. Suehiro is happily living life through her beloved books and staying in the shadow of high school. But then popular guy Takasago asks her out as part of a game, to her mortification. All she wants is to go back to her quiet life, but something about her captures Takasago's heart. He's determined to become a part of her world. Highly recommended for both fans of the genre and readers new to it.

The Springtime of My Life Began with You is a cutesy high school rom-com about a typical popular guy, Takasago, and an introverted girl, Suehiro. At first the two of them get off on the wrong foot when he asks her out due to a batsu (penalty) game , but Takasago actually becomes interested in Suehiro. I was pleasantly surprised how hard Takasago tries to redeem himself so that Suehiro opens up to him, but he can be pushy and overbearing. I hope that Suehiro can grow and make some new friends in the next volume. Would reccomend to readers who enjoyed 'Say I love You' and 'Kimi Ni Todoke'.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for sharing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept of calling him out in front of everyone so they have to actually date, It was hilarious! I hope we get to see more of the class president though, that subplot has so mucho potential. All in all, a funny, sweet romance manga with all the right cliches that I really enjoyed

3,5/5 stars

A simple and cute story about an introverted girl, who loves to read, whose world changes when the most popular boy in her class asks her out. It all starts as payment for a bet, but it transforms into something else. Takasago wants to get to know Suehiro better and help her accomplish everything that she has not done since she started high school due to not having friends.

Takasago is a pretty funny boy, but he is too much imposing, to the point that it seems that he wants to kidnap Suehiro in the Literature club for him only making excuses not to attract new members, and he drags a trauma with the club in which he was in middle school. Suehiro is a person who has always been alone and lacked the courage to make new friends, which is why she always took refuge in books.

A simple manga but I'm looking forward to seeing how the relationship between Takasago and Suehiro evolves, but especially the evolution of each of them.

It All Started With a Dare – The Springtime of My Life Began with You Vol. 1

Author: Nikki Asada
Publisher: Kodansha
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shoujo
Published: May 2021

A lot of good stories start with a dare, especially when it’s fueled by youthful naivety. We’re pretty sure everybody has some weird stories about what other people dared them to do, for us we’d rather not tell. We do know tha there are also some cases a stupid dare, which initially caused a lot of headscratching, becomes a catalyst for the better. The plot of The Springtime of My Life is exactly that a case of a stupid dare that raises a flag of change.

Contains Spoilers

Discussion Time

Takasago is a likable, yet a little bit narcissistic popular boy. After losing a batsu game, a game where the loser ought to do a dare, he is asked to ask Suehiro, the class wallflower, out. The boys think that Takasago should after asking Suehiro out publicly state it “was only a joke.” But unfortunately for the boys Suehiro overhears their confessions. When Takasago asks her out, she tells him outright that she knows it’s just a batsu game, then the whole class looks at Takasago like he is bullying Suehiro. The boy forced into a corner decides the only way not to be stuck with the bully tag is to assure her the confession is real.

Why You Should Read The Springtime of My Life Began with You Vol. 1

1. Slow Development

Honestly, the series doesn’t start that amazingly, but what we loved about it is how Suehiro and Takasago feelings slowly develop. Despite Takasago’s tendency to be pushy, he doesn’t drag Suehiro outside her comfort zone in order to conform to his standards. By doing so, both of them slowly open up to each other and slowly grow to understand their feelings. In fact, we learn towards the end that the reason Takasago quit playing baseball isn’t because of some shallow reason like being with Suehiro but because of a shoulder injury. On the other end, Suehiro also starts to open up to Takasago, which results in Takasago reviving the Literary Club.

2. Interesting Characters

The Springtime of My Life Began with You has some interesting characters. First and foremost, we have the protagonists, Suehiro and Takasago. Suehiro is this wallflower who likes the comfort of solitude. As the story progresses, we learn that despite her liking being alone, she actually did try to reach out. But before she actually does something, she ends up backing away. Takasago, as we’ve already mentioned, is this seemingly self-absorbed popular boy. However, he also turns out to be quite considerate. Towards the end of the volume, another character is introduced, the class representative. We’re guessing that he’s the author of the book Suehiro loves, and we’re excited to see how he’ll stir the pot.

Why You Should Skip The Springtime of My Life Began with You

1. Not the Strongest Start

With Takasago’s half-assed attempt to ask Suehiro out because of some stupid game, their relationship kind of started on a bad foot. In fact, it’s cringey and a bit hard to get into, since we can’t shake the idea that Takasago is merely asking Suehiro to save his image. Takasago’s self-absorbed personality only makes things worse. Given that he’s kind of a school celebrity, he definitely knows how to act appropriate for his fame. Since Suehiro is a wallflower, he kind of teaches her how to adapt to such situations too. Although he’s actually cool when he does it, it kind of strengthens his narcissistic side.

Final Thoughts

Despite the not-so-amazing first impression we have, The Springtime of My Life Began with You turns out to be rather enjoyable. Even though the male protagonist can come off as obnoxious at first, he redeems himself as a considerate human being later on. Also, the interactions between the leads are really adorable. With a possible third party coming into the protagonists’ relationship, we can’t wait to see how the story will unfold.

By: Christian Markle

SO CUTE!!

Suehiro is a cute and soft school girl who loves to read and I like her already. Now our male lead, Takasago, a popular and supposed to be athletic school boy.

I was really skeptical with the synopsis at first but as I go on, I was glad it didn't dragged out. The interactions were really cute, I love it.

Highly recommened!

Firstly I wanted to thanks for the opportunity to the publishers and netgalley and apologize that it took me so long review it.
It was a super cute manga, I really liked the characters, the draws and I loved so much how it all just flowed. It was obvius that the heroine would fall for the male lead but just you SEE HIM. It’s difficult not to, not just bc of the looks but for how you see more of his true self with her. I wanted to read more right away that I had to fight the urge to cry out loud(? I’m looking forward for the next volume to come!

A bundle of sweetness, laughter and the adorable awkwardness of young love! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this as not only does it have beautiful art and a cute premise—but every character is very relatable. I feel very close to the characters already, despite it only being the first volume and I see that as a lovely sign! Suehiro is a pure-hearted soul and the kind of protagonist that makes you want to root for her. No matter who you are, you see yourself within her, which gives you all the more reason to see her (hopefully) happy ending all the way through. Meanwhile, Takasago is wonderfully sweet and a breath of fresh air from all the "bad boy" types that seem to have taken media by storm. Takasago shows that there is beauty in friendship and that sometimes being by someone's side can mean the world to them.

Overall, it was such a pleasure to read, and I'll definitely keep up with the rest of the series :)

This was a sweet story, nicely drawn, with lots of soft and cuddly moments. When I first started reading this I wasn't too sure about the main characters. Suehiro is a quiet, withdrawn young girl, who doesn't have any friends at school, doesn't speak to anyone and is a total recluse who is quiet happy to exist within her own solitary bubble. When she is asked out by Takasago she thinks it is a joke because he is simply the most popular boy in the school.

Everyone else thinks this is a joke too, except for Takasago who insists that Suehiro go out with him. I wasn't too sure about the way he pushed her into going out with him, but gradually as they share time together they get closer and suddenly they both realise they are boyfriend and girlfriend.

Everyone else is shocked too especially when both of them start a book club. The way they start to change each other and support each other is heartwarming. Takasago begins to speak about the hurts and pain of his past and Suehiro finds the courage to speak up and ask for what she wants and make choices instead of hiding. They both bring out something good in each other and their fellow pupils are astounded.

But will this last?

I suppose the reader will need to read subsequent volumes and follow the story of what might have the makings of epic teenage love with lots of drama and feelings. This is an opposites attract story at its best and I found myself cheering them on as they got to know one another.

This first volume is drawn well and certainly hooks the reader in. I want them to graduate, go to college, get married and live together happily ever after. I think that is going to take a number of volumes but I want to go along for the ride!

A great start to what looks as if it is gong to be a great teenage romance.

Copy provided by Kodansha Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This manga is is about Suehiro is a super insecure girl and Takasago a popular boy. Takasago asks Suehiro out on a dare. She accepts even though she knows its a dare, after spending time together Takasago develops feelings for Suehiro and he asks her out for real. Takasago encourages Suehiro and held her become more confident in herself. There are many heart melting momets in this manga, its sweet and adorable. I recommend it if you want a contemporary romance manga.

Many thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

his book didn't hit the mark for me. While some aspects of it were good, and I did like the female lead. There were just a lot of things that didn't work for me.

I've seen a fair few reviews mentioning how cute the relationship was, but for me it was just littered with red flags.

The whole relationship just felt controlling and weird to me, and I didn't like that aspect at all.

I don't know where the next volume will take this, and potentially it could change my rating of this volume of we weren't supposed to be rooting for them as a couple.

As it stands right now, this book just wasn't for me.

✰ 4 STARS!! ✰

On first look, it looks your typical Shojou manga focusing on an introverted female MC and a popular male MC and somehow their story lines meet. Well, you wouldn't be wrong.
This is a cute story about Suehiro, a high schooler with social anxiety who hides behind her books. And suddenly she's asked out by Takasago, an uber popular guy from her home room. He's given the task to ask her out as a punishment in a Batsu game and people assume that's all there is to it.
But is it really?

As trope-y as this volume was, I quite enjoyed reading it. Seeing as a whole lot of readers are introverts, it feels good to see a character wr can relate to - even if the degrees of the social awkwardness might be different. And Takasago became a lot more intriguing once we saw something past the 'Ooh! Mr Popular here wants to go out with the shy girl and will be involved in every aspect of her life now!' thing he had going on. And of course, the 'mysterious' writer was a nice touch as well. I hope we see Suehiro grow out of her cocoon of low self esteem and naivete.
Definitely will be picking up the next volume as soon as I get the chance to!

Thanks to #Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for making this book available to me.

We follow Suehiro who is a very quiet girl in school, she is usually the butt of the joke in the class. So when one of the very popular boys walk up to her and ask to be friends she thinks he has been put up to it. First, she refuses him and goes back to her small world, but he persists and asks her about the book he had noticed that she was always reading.
The interest he took in her reading tastes was one of the things that drew her to him. So when he asked her to go out with him. She was so happy and willing.
We get to see them build their relationship from friendship to commitment and even influence their classmates, build back a dead reading club. It was so much fun to read and I hope you check it out.

Straight of the bat, I can say I just adored this manga. It is quickly established that whilst the Batsu game may be the reason Takasago talking to Suehiro in the first place, it clearly isn’t the reason he continues to want to spend time with her, and as the story progresses you can begin to see as the characters opinions of each other begin to change and deeper feelings begin to develop. The plot moves swiftly and smoothly, meaning that as the reader you get to see and understand why things are happening and learn a little about each characters personality bit by bit.

Personally, I found the character of Suehiro incredibly relatable – she’s a girl that would rather sit and live in her books, rather than having a large group of friends, but she’s also lonely at the same time. This is something that I totally understand, so being able to see this adorable character grow to make friends and realise she doesn’t have to be so alone just warmed my heart. Whilst being popular and confident like Takasago is not necessarily something I can relate to, it was still touching to see how his world gets expanded as he learns about Suehiro and her little world.

There is something very cute and wholesome about this manga.

The male leads compulsion to keep the female main character all to himself is at odds with her desire to branch out and make new friends. The dynamic between them is cute, and while he wants to monopolise her time, he also wants her to experience new things and fulfil her dreams.

The scene at the end of the story on the roof is cute and a nice way of bringing her favourite book to life in an interesting way. Likewise, the club he creates so she can take about her interests is wholesome and lovable in a way that I am sure will pay off more as the series continues.

This slice of life manga is just what we need right now in this isolating time.

Super sweet slice off life manga with a cute protagonist who is learning to become more confident with the help of someone she believes would never be interested in her, but to her surprise really does like her . This reminded me of one of my favourite anime , Say, I LOVE YOU .

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

The Springtime of My Life Began with You 1 by Nikki Asada was a sweet and lovely shoujo manga volume about a super shy book lover and a popular boy in high school starting a club together. The boy was basically dared to ask the girl out as a joke, but then really started liking her. It's not too deep yet in this first volume and pretty predictable, but I really enjoyed it. Would like to read more in this series.

I loved this manga. I thought that Takasago was persistent in pursuing Suehiro but in a cute way that wasn’t too stalkerish. They have a very interesting meet-cute. As a bookworm it was such a relatable moment when Suehiro fell in love with a boy because he wants to read the same book as her. I also thought it was so cute how supportive Takasago was towards Suehiro and how he tried to get her out of her shell and go live her dreams. The whole club situation is just so precious and OMG there’s head pats 😍 We all know how much of a sucker I am for head pats. I was basically squealing the entire time I read this and I would love to read volume 2 ASAP.