Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this manga to review!

In this manga we are following a struggling mangaka, who must now look after his orphaned siblings, and a strange being in the shape of a beautiful young woman who becomes his assistant as they struggle to meet deadlines and navigate their feelings for one another.

This manga is competently drawn with well paced plot. It has charcters that at first glance have all the appearance of the romance mediocre: A bland man with no redeeming features and an overly pretty vaguely foreign fashioned Yamato Nadeshiko wannabe. Honestly, this is basically a romantic comedy with an unnecessary sci-fi element! It really could have been the exact same without the weird star supernatural element added. I don't know who this manga is aimed at? It feels extremely self-indulgent on the mangaka's part!

Fumio is a side character and the youngest of the siblings and a fantastically cute addition. Give this a go, if just for Fumio!

This was a very cute story! It is a tale about how a princess from the stars comes to a manga artist she admires to work for him as his assistant. I found myself reading this manga in one sitting because I was really enjoying the story. The artwork is very nice and the artist goes out of their way to make some panels extra nice, especially when there is something important being said. I enjoy things like that because it puts emphasis on the situation in the story. The story so far is a lighthearted comedy with some romance aspects put in. I really did enjoy this story as I am a bit of a sucker for lighthearted romance. I do plan on reading other volumes because I'd love to know which way the story goes.

SCREAMING AND CRYING

I absolutely ADORE this!
The plot,characters,chemistry ugh everything is just *chefs kiss*

Ichiro is a mangaka who is caring for his two siblings after their father died. Goshiki is his new assistant - but wait! She's an alien. Or a semi-alien.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this at first. I wasn't as fond of the alien stuff as I thought I would be. However, by the end, I thought it was very cute. Definitely a bit odd, but cute. More of a 3.5 from me.

This was actually really cute and wholesome... It took me a minute to get into it. But I am curious to see what's going to happen next!

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for letting me read an ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodancha Comics, and Gido Amagakure for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Ichiro is a Shojou manga artist taking care of his siblings after their father passed away (and mother abandoned them?). Goshiki is his new hired assistant and is seemingly amazing at art. She also has an interesting secret of her own. After Ichiro touches her "stinger", he is betrothed top Goshiki, according to the customs of the Star People. They have a strange connection after that predicament and must test the bounds of her control over him and how their connection works. Having just met her, Ichiro is hoping Goshiki can annul this strange arrangement. In the meantime, she learns what Tokyo life is like and helps out as an amazing manga artist assistant!

A quirky, light-hearted start to this manga romantic comedy series. The Star People myth is interesting, though the whole setup is a bit surreal. It will be interesting to see where this one goes as the series progresses!

A Galaxy Next Door follows Ichiro Kuga and Goshiki’s rom-com story.

It is such a witty and funny book, I really enjoyed the concept of Goshiki being a princess from another world. I want to read more about them and Ichigo’s siblings. They are very cute. “Wanna squish Fumio’s cheek?” Yes please. Want to follow their romance!!

This book has a cute idea but doesn’t really live up to its potential. It has no conflict which is a problem in a story. Also the way Goshiki’s powers are used in the story are pretty underwhelming. Pretty much all her abilities (with the exception of her telepathy which isn’t working) seem designed to force Kuga into a relationship with her. It feels very contrived and takes me out of the story. I would have enjoyed the book more if she either had no powers or had powers that played a more interesting role in the plot.

Brilliant story, I loved the characters and the surprise of the Princess being a star person. It was pleasant to read something different for a change. Looking forward to the next.

I never read a romantic comedy manga before but it was really good. I really loved the art style and the story and I thought it was just really beautiful and heartwarming definitely recommend for people who may want to get into manga for the first time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet story to read! The gradual character building and worldbuilding through this first volume were so well done. I honestly can't wait to see what more we learn about Ichiro and Shiori and Ichiro's sisters. I was squealing as I was reading this one! There were so many cute moments and I can't wait to see Ichiro and Shiori's story progress! I am super intrigued to learn more about the Princess's dynamic with her people back on the star, as well as why her grandma encouraged her to leave. I can't wait to read the second volume when it debuts.

3.5 rounded to 4

Ichiro is a manga artist that has recently lost his father and is caring for his two younger siblings. He desperately needs an assistant and in comes Shiori – his dream come true. For work purposes. ;)

The art in this one was really good - loved all the pictures. The relationship with the children was great and I did think the plot was a little more unique from some others I've read recently. But once this one 'took a turn' I kind of didn't love where it was going. It gave me a lot of anxiety. It is cute, and I would consider with the series sometime.

A Galaxy Next Door vol. 1 manages to be both sweet and weird. It follows the grand tradition of manga where a woman who is far too good (it seems) for the protagonist shows up to make their life easier. In this story, we at least have Kuga the main character's siblings keeping things in line and making sure Goshiki doesn't burn out as a manga assistant. Kuga also appears to be a decent guy with honorable motives. The engagement is another story, and it has quite a few attachment issues involved. Goshiki's background seems pretty open already, but hopefully in the coming volumes we get to understand her motivations. (I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

A Galaxy Next Door is a combination of scifi and manga industry and well, it seems you can put them together like this. Ichiro Kuga is a struggling manga artist trying to raise his siblings and trying to get enough money to get them to college eventually. He does shoujo manga and gets an assistant, Shiori Goshiki. The girl is fast and can draw, but she also has a weird stinger that Kuga obviously ends up touching by mistake. The girl is from a star and a princess and now the two are hitched because of this event. The story moves very fast as these two are already in love by the end of the first book. Mostly the series is slice of life and our main characters drawing manga and talking about it. Then we have the kids, the siblings too, and this is almost like a family series. The manga making content felt like there was to much of that and we don't really get to understand the space and stars part, especially the weird stinger. What is the purpose of it and why have that? I want to know why Kuga doesn't ask anything about the weird situation they're in.

The art looks nice and lively. The cover is very beautiful and all in all this looks great, especially the kids look cute and the way children at that age should. I don't know where the series wants to go though, since there's hardly any content and just your basic "shoujo date" model isn't really enough. This is seinen and perhaps the manga is just cuteness for the guys.

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 1 is one of several mangas I've recently come across that directly portray manga creators. It's fun, tongue-in-cheek, and is surprisingly good as a foundation for something more.

Since his father died, Ichiro Kuga has been desperately trying to keep things together. With two siblings to support, he throws himself headfirst into his passion, hoping to turn it into a career that'll take care of all three.

However, Kuga is struggling to deal with the deadlines of manga creation; that's why he's had to cave and hire an assistant. Only...she's not what he expected and has quickly turned his life upside down – and not in any traditional romantic sense.

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 1 is a fun twist on a guy meets a girl; the guy falls in love with the girl and finds out the girl is an alien. Wait, what? Yeah, it's a head spinner, but an entertaining one. Kuga's new assistant, Shiori Goshiki is an alien princess, and through a strange series of events, they're now destined for marriage.

Naturally, hilarity ensues as the two try to make room for one another in their lives. While I enjoyed the core concept of this story, there were times when it fell flat. Ultimately, I didn't enjoy it as much as others of its kind, which is disappointing.

Ichiro is a manga artist and takes care of his younger siblings after his father passed. As his deadline approaches quickly, he wishes he had an assistant and then he receives a phone call from his editor about an assistant. After meeting Shiori, Ichiro has her help him and to his surprise she is quick at getting tasks done. They make the deadline and they fall asleep. However, by mistake Ichiro touches her stinger. He discovers she's the Princess of the star people and now her fiance. 

So far I love all the characters and find the story interesting. Both end up sharing how they feel about each other by the end of the volume and have very little experience with relationships (like many shojo mangas), so it will be interesting to see how it progresses. We get some background of how the star people were created and I like how Shiori states the difference between what she was told and the story Ichiro knows. Throughout it felt to flow well; glad to see the siblings are still included, not just mentioned at the beginning then rarely appear again. I will definitely be continuing this series.

Rating: 4/5
(Gifted a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

“A Galaxy Next Door” Volume 1 is a weird twist on some classic tropes that was surprisingly charming and sweet!

Ichiro Kuga is a busy manga artist who’s workload gets easier at the arrival of his new assistant Shiori Goshiki. Shiori is pretty, hardworking, and an alien? Who Ichiro is now accidentally betrothed to?! But of course!

“A Galaxy Next Door” threatens to tip into more stale waters but the balance between the supernatural get-together and the everyday manga work manages to keep either storyline from dominating. Shiori and Ichiro are sweet together and their banter really shines. It often felt like the story would get too lore heavy or jump genres but instead Gido Amagakure managed to keep everything cohesive and fun. It has its “trust the process” moments but ultimately “A Galaxy Next Door” is worth the read and I’m eager for the next volume.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I wish we had illustrations in color as that would have made even more enjoyable. Some of the fantasy elements I did find to be very cliche and somethings happened TOO perfectly for my liking. I also wish we had more backstory on the princess but maybe that is coming with volume 2!

I received and eARC of this manga from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This manga was cute but it had so much more potential. It jumped to entangling our main characters really quickly before we even got to know our characters which I’m not a big fan of. However, I do like that neither of them is immediately in love with the other. I honestly would’ve been OK if they didn’t admit that they even liked each other romantically in this volume. I think this volume needed more tension. There was no anticipation attention to propel the story. I would’ve liked to see more of them getting to know each other and us getting to know them. I would have liked to have seen them not reveal that they like each other but start to fall for each other while still trying to break their engagement because they think that’s what the other wants. I like the translation notes at the end explaining certain things more like honorifics and different manga tropes.

A quick and lighthearted read, this was a great start to the series and left me eager to see where it goes next. The love interests are quick to begin dating, which was refreshing that they were able to realize their feelings and act on them rather than the entire series being about them pining over each other. It seems like we will be seeing them stumble through love together as neither one of them knows what they're doing, but they'll figure it out together.