Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the e-ARC of this manga via Netgalley!

The Summer of You was a short but sweet read featuring the blossoming love between Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda, two high school boys who bond over their mutual appreciation of films. I was instantly drawn in by the art style of this manga, the artistic style wonderfully portrays the essence of summer and new adventures. I liked the unique premise of this manga, as the characters embark on a 'pilgrimage' to differing movie locations that had an impact on them - incredibly wholesome and enjoyable to read.

This manga was extremely faced paced, more so than I would've liked - the plot escalated very quickly, I would've personally preferred more of a build-up towards the characters' connection. Due to the fast-paced nature, the plot lacked substance for me, however, I still appreciated the sweet-hearted core of this story.

Overall, this was a 3.5 star read for me: It's a credit to the author that they left me wanting more and I am definitely interested in seeing how Chiharu and Wataru develop as characters in the next volumes!

This was amazing! I loved everything about it, it finished too quickly, I wanted more!! And it's only the first book too! I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out, I'll be waiting here, very patiently. Wish it could of been downloaded to kindle though! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A very sweet and adorable read. This BL manga has a lot going for it in that the characters are well-developed and a lot of problematic tropes in BL manga are absent from this one (although some parental behavior in one of the protagonist's childhood made me pause for a minute. That's why it's 4/5 stars.).

The art style is beautiful and this screams 'summer'. I know this is volume one out of a two-part series and I genuinely cannot wait to read the next part.

This was an incredibly sweet read that didn't fall into many pitfalls typically found in BL manga, which causes me not to enjoy them. Instead, it is just a sweet love story.

One plot point gave me pause, but most of the time, I was vibing as I watched Wataru fall for Saeki.

This is apparently part of one of a two-part series, but I will say that you could happily read just this volume on its own and enjoy it thoroughly.
That being said, I will be picking up Volume 2 because I need to know what this is about since everything feels complete at the end of this volume.

Well paced BL school romance. Friends turned lovers. Story has good pacing on main lead realizing his feelings for his friend that developed over summer time.

This was such a cute read! I really loved the depth of the emotion in this book and how their friendship blooms into something more It felt real and organic and in no way forced. It was just shire desire that brought them together and I loved that! The art style was great and I loved the flow of the story. My only complaint is the length, I wish we had even more time to dwell on the conflicts and the emotion to really make it hit hard.

My only complaint is that I wish this had been longer!. It was so sweet and I loved the friendship between the boys and how it developed into more. I can't wait to read the sequel!

My Gosh, this was such a cute read. I saw this book floating around my spheres of book recommendations and had to try it out. I am so glad that I did. It was just so cute all around. I love a good sweet romance and this 100% delivers on that feeling. Our two protagonists were just so likable and cute together. It also felt very realistic to how relationships develop over time between friends. If anyone wants just a super fun read this one will suffice.

This was such a sweet and wholesome coming-of-age manga about two boys journey from friends bonded over their love for movies, to discovering and sharing their feelings for each other, to being together. Their relationship felt so real and relatable in a way I'm finding difficult to put into words. It took its time and felt very organic. Can't wait to read vol 2!

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

The cover for this manga is simply gorgeous, and the colors are perfect for summertime. It just gives off such a relaxed, and laid-back feel. The great artwork continues through the story with cute character designs, and detailed scenes. The quality is never compromised, and it's a perfect 5/5 for me.

I believe this is one of the cutest mangas I have ever read. It felt refreshing to see characters that are honest about their feelings, and truly respect one another. We dive right in to the story between Saeki and Wataru, so no scenes are wasted, and nothing about the story feels padded.

I saw that this is a two volume series, but honestly even this first volume showcases their relationship brilliantly to where a second volume isn't really needed. (Of course I want to see more of these characters though, so I will definitely read it !)

Another positive to the story is that it wasn't loaded with the typical tropes you would expect. Of course there were a few, as this is a manga, but it felt more realistic than average, which I enjoyed. I would give the story a 4.5/5, but I would still say my overall rating is a 5/5 due to how much I enjoyed this volume.

This story was so sweet, I loved it so much!! The art style was beautiful, the pining was incredibly done, and the emotion felt very raw and real. I loved this!!

Thank you Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review:

I loved everything about this lovely little book! And while I readily admit I am not terribly well-versed in Manga, the art of ‘My Summer of You’ just took my breath away—I found it so beautiful. I also found myself entirely invested in both Wataru and Saeki as characters and the journey they embark upon together; both figuratively, as they test the bounds of their friendship, and quite literally with their pilgrimage to different sites from movies they watched together.

This is absolutely a perfect little summer read (if entirely too quick [it took me maybe two hours total?]): light and fun, with just a touch of angst, enough to make the characters real and believable—while also opening the door for a slightly more serious discussion of gender identity and personal attraction and connection. I also adored the 3 bonus stories, along with the notes on Japanese culture and story development included by the author.

Now I just have to wait until November for Volume 2… Oh! And if you loved this—I also recommend the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman (and vice versa, obviously). 🤓

The Summer of You is a cute Shounen Ai about two high school students who bond over their love for movies. The confession of one of them might affect their friendship. However, despite the awkwardness, the more time they spend together the more Wataru realizes Saeki's feelings for him might be reciprocate.

The art is fine, not super beautiful but better than the average, the chemistry between the characters was nice but since it's a shounen ai, there's not much romanticism and sometimes that lukewarm affection is the most frustating thing of the genre.

Overall, i liked it for what it is: a cute highschool romance.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the ARC in exchange of an honest review.</i>

[Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.]

For movie buffs Chiharu and Wataru, summertime means a pilgrimage to several different filming sites. The two have already spent a lot of time together and Chiharu’s very sweet on Wataru, while Wataru’s not given it much thought. That’s about to change, however…

Hey this is pretty charming! BL is not really my genre, but I don’t mind broadening my horizons now and then. In a way this is a very tame bit of romance where two friends become something more to one another bit by bit.

Or, more accurately, one friend confesses his feeling super early on and the other decides to take a lot longer to work through it. Still, it all follows the basic manga beats and I do like that little bit of familiarity and the movie pilgrimage genuinely feels like something a couple of guys would get up to over a summer.

It is definitely a low, long simmer for things to bubble over. Both guys are particularly likeable, if not especially distinct in terms of personality beyond the basics (light haired guy, dark haired guy is the initial difference and then they get a little extra pencilled around it). This story’s focus is definitely the road to relations, rather than what happens when you get there (another manga-ism).

There are two particular story curveballs that I do want to obliquely discuss, as one is handled in a way I really appreciated and another is so dumb that it feels like it was a contortion made so it could fit a trope.

The one that is handled really well is arguably the one that occurs once the guys are back at school post-summer. It at first seems like the events of the season have caused what happens to happen and I was rolling my eyes so, so hard.

But then the whole thing is quickly cast in a different light when we know what actually happens and it completely recontextualizes the entire summer in a way I wasn’t expecting and, as a consequence, really enjoyed. It makes a somewhat melancholy story even more of a bummer, but the good kind.

The second instance involves one of my least favourite tropes (I have a few), whereupon people in the present have met in the past for the briefest moments. While this isn’t the worst thing ever, it definitely is in this book.

Where things go with that idea is into some super weird territory involving parental behaviour that would seem more appropriate for a 90s psychological thriller with no concept of sexuality rather than a book that for the most part pretty clearly does.

It combines a truly ridiculous character beat with an implied eyebrow-raising nature vs nurture debate that I genuinely don’t think was the intent but I feel you <I>can</I> read that scene in a way that’s super regressive and it might be me (probably is) but I could not unsee it.

Beyond that one thing, this does acquit itself quite well, using a fun hook with the movies and the summer to slowly weave a pretty fun little romance that is, again, easy on the romance part. Still, that’s partially what you have bonus chapters for…

3.5 stars and I don’t think I can quite push it up to four, so there we sit. Like I said, this isn’t a book FOR me, so you may enjoy it that much more if you like the genre. Still, even with that caveat I had a good time reading this one.

4 ⭐
2021 really is the year of finding amazing manga series! This is an automatic new favourite that I will be 100% buying a copy of! The characters were so much fun and I loved their conversations and adventures. I can't wait for volume 2!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an e-ARC of this book.

This is a very sweet manga, that follows two high school boys Saeki and Wataru, who share a common hobby: they both love to watch movies. After meeting, they become fast friends, until one day Saeki confesses his feelings to Wataru. Wataru is not fazed at all by the confession, and throughout the summer they continue to pilgrimages to see film sports from their favourite movies.

But when one day Saeki suddenly vanishes, Wataru starts to reevaluate his friendship with Saeki, finding hidden feelings he didn't realise he had.

Beautifully drawn, and a very sweet story. I am excited about future volumes!

This manga is such a cute summer read. I like how movies, in which both main characters are interested, are implemented into the story. In general I have quite a good grasp on the protagonists, but learning more of their personalities, besides being interested in movies, and ther lives would've been nice.

This was one of the cutest manga I read in a while.

I really loved everything about it, from the characters to the plot, and even the ending was just the perfect wrap for the story.
I think maybe there will be more volumes of these mangas but this on it's own is quite auto-conclusive, so if you don't like cliffhangers that's the one for you.

The drawings were really beautiful and sweet, and I can't really find something bad to say about it, so I'm telling you just one thing:
READ THIS.

This was a cute manga that followed two high school boys named Saeki and Wataru. Saeki is considered to be one of the hottest boys in school, and girls keep asking him out without any luck. Wataru, who is friends with him, doesn't know why Saeki doesn't want to go out with any of the girls- until Saeki confesses his feelings for Wataru.

I really enjoyed this manga. Wataru and Saeki had a wonderful friendship, and I loved watching their relationship and romantic feelings develop. I especially enjoyed watching Wataru re-evaluate his friendship with Saeki and figure out exactly how he felt. I also enjoyed the boys' adventures together, and their shared hobby. They both love watching movies, and that's a big part of their relationship.

There were some things that happened in the manga that I completely didn't expect! Then there was another plotline that had to do with a character's backstory that I partially predicted but that still wasn't completely expected.

There's supposed to be another volume of this, and I'm looking forward to it!

rating: 4/5 stars

This is an insta fave for me! I love the slow pace of this story and the way that Wataru's feelings for Saeki gradually develop the more time they spend together. It reminded me of I Hear the Sunspot -- where one character (Saeki) is up front about declaring his feelings and it takes the other guy (Wataru) time to catch up and reciprocate. I loved getting to know the characters more, and Saeki's backstory is especially interesting. Their story is sort of bittersweet at times but has such a good ending! And I love the bonus stories at the end! The art is lovely and gives a tranquil vibe while also communicating the nostalgia of summer. This manga delivers the best feels: deep friendship, gentle romance, and the promise of good things to come. I'm looking forward to adding this one to my collection.