(First of all, thank you so much NetGalley, publisher, and author, for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review)

Synopsis: Shu is a student who had a hard childhood; he's a delinquent, and people talk rumors behind his back. He also doesn't know what to do in the future until he meets with a talented young pianist and fellow student Akari Yuzuki, the girl with the "Angelic Left Hand". But when tragedy cuts their relationship short, Shu realizes he must find a way to live for them both... And realizes that something is no longer quite right with his own left hand...

This book caught my eye because of the cover. I usually read just shojo, but this cover was unique, and I was curious if I would enjoy this manga genre. It has beautiful drawings, and it's easy to read. At first, the manga was rough, and I didn't like Shu's personality. But then I didn't see coming Akari's death (I didn't want to read the synopsis. I wanted it to surprise me). And it did surprise me. I love Akari; she is so kind to everyone that my heart melted, and how she encouraged Shu to play his music and not only copy hers. However, although I enjoyed it, I think something was missing to give it >3 stars. I hope to read soon the next one and see if it goes better.

I love how anything vaguely competitive in manga reaches the same level of dramatics like sports manga.

We have Shu, a delinquent, who gets mixed up with Akari, a piano prodigy. Akari dies in a tragic accident that severely injures Shu. When he reaches the pit of despair, Akari comes back, but as his left hand. Together they start playing the piano.

The first manga moves super fast. It's honestly a bizarre plot. I almost wish it was a little more believable. However, despite the oddness, I still very much want Shu to succeed.

On a technical note, there's a few typos in the typeset where the words are repeated. Besides that, the flow is good so the typos might be easy to miss.

Piano Duo (vol.1) is about a delinquent named Shu. One day he meets Akari who loves to play piano. However while they are riding a bike together Akari is killed in a car crash while Shu survives. Shu's left arm is paralyzed until Akari spirit takes control of it. Because of this Shu's left hand is now extremely good at piano; however, his right hand isn't. He decides to learn piano and so the adventure begins.

I really enjoyed this manga. The art is good, I like both the main characters and the plot is enjoyable. Overall would recommend

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC for an honest review.

A delinquent (Shu) meets a young girl (Akari) who loves the piano by pure chance, and as they get to know one another, a truck tragically kills Akari and leaves Shu's left arm paralysed. However, Akari's spirit takes hold of Shu's left arm, telling him to live.

For the first volume, this is a very interesting start but I will need to read a couple of more volumes to really get into this.

The volume starts out rough, but ultimately the art kept me there until the premise fully bloomed. I'm glad that Akari is a genuine character in this and not just Shu's inspiration to play. Once that was established, I was into this completely.

Basically a ML delinquent and a young girl who likes piano started to get to know one another and then suddenly truck kun tragically kills the young girl in which her spirit then helps out the ML to getting his life together. It’s a good idea for a story don’t get me wrong but I found it dragging on. Yeah if this was going to be an anime in the future, the music and voice acting would help big time but I can’t say I would like this in the long run tbh…..

Thanks anyways publisher and Netgalley for giving me the first volume!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read, but I found the execution clumsy. This is Kenta Matsuoka's first serialized work, so the issues I saw may be addressed in later installments. But there were some plot points that made me uncomfortable.

Piano Duo for the Left Hand tells the story of two middle schoolers—Shu, a rascal with a bad reputation and bleak future, and Akari, a rising piano star who's forecast to win the next nationwide competition. After both missing the last train, they have a conversation about the future as they find their way home together. Before they part ways, an accident takes Akari's life and leaves Shu with the blame, and a paralyzed hand. But things take a turn when Shu discovers that Akari is still alive in his left hand, and this development might mean there's still hope for both of their futures.

I dislike the trope of someone living tethered through another, especially when that other person is virtually a stranger. It robs both people of agency. This story progression made me uncomfortable, and although the art was lovely, I cannot rate this book higher.

Translation: Devon Corwin
Lettering: Jan Lan Ivan Concepcion
Edition: Salud Campos Blasco