Thank you to netgalley, the author, illustrator and publishers for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a review.

LOVED IT! Such a cute story and Kanon is stunning! Defo looking forward to ready the next volume ❤️

This book was adorable!
And the art…
The art was amazing, I loved it so much!!
I very recently got into manga when my friend convinced me to buy one to read, and now I’m obsessed!
This one just added to my obsession and I recommended it to all my friends!!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this manga volume. I am always so happy to see empathetic and accurate disability rep in any literature, and this manga so far has done it brilliantly! It addresses misconceptions and shows real human experiences in such a beautiful way. Aside from that, the characters are really likeable and adorable! This series is one I will definitely continue reading.

This first volume was pretty darn good. At first I didn't like the new girl in school's attitude. Eventually you realize why she's being rude to everyone, but in the beginning she was extremely off-putting. My feelings changed by the end of the volume, though, and I ended up thinking she's actually quite cute! And the heroine of the story is just the kind of friend you'd love to have, because she doesn't give up on you. I myself am very introverted, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the people who, rather than think I'm a snob and ignore me, actually approach me and put in genuine effort to get to know me, even though it takes a while.

I will definitely pick up a copy of this manga and am eager to see how the girls' relationships blossom from friendship to something more.

Date finished: 14th November 2023
Publish date: 5th September 2023

Series: Amayo no Tsuki #1

5⭐
📱

Thank you to @Netgalley for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was super cute. It focuses on the budding friendship of Saki and her classmate, Kanon. There are also lots of potential hints to their friendship blossoming into something more in later volumes.

This manga also shows deaf/hard of hearing representation, with Kanon. It also shows some of the challenges and struggles she has had to overcome.

This one is definitely a breath of fresh air and one of my new favourite manga series. I can't wait to read the next volumes.

"The Moon on a Rainy Night" was such a delightful manga read for a variety of reasons. It's been a moment since I picked up a new series manga and this did not disappoint. For lovers of queer experience stories and disabilities representation and slow burn romances... this is your read! I am a huge fan of "A Sign of Affection" by suu Morishita (which is a popular slow burn, college-age romance manga where the FMC is hearing impaired similar to Kanon) and felt a lot of care and consideration in both series for the experiences of those with hearing impairments. There were so many moments reading "The Moon on a Rainy Night" that I felt the excitement I experienced when I first read "A Sign of Affection" but in a different story with different characters and different experiences. I'm always here for a slow burn, friends to lovers story, so Saki & Kanon were just the the ticket.. My favorite part of the volume (and what solidified my love for this series) was when Saki used JSL (Japanese Sign Language) by herself in her room to sign her true feelings for Kanon. Such a smart, uniquely beautiful way the mangaka confirms what we're sensing from Saki's feelings over the course of her & Kanon's blossoming friendship. There's no guarantees where the story will take us from here, but I'm hopeful for where I believe the story is naturally progressing towards. Haven't been genuinely excited about a series like this in a while!

Thank you netgalley for the digital copy in exchange for the review.

So I was really looking forward to reading this one because I saw an account I follow recommend this in a list of disability rep manga with happy stories. I didn’t expect going into it there would be bullying and ableism and just nastiness in reference to people with disabilities. Other than that it was a good first volume and I’m interested in seeing where the story goes. It already feels like romance is starting on one side so I’m curious to see how the relationship will develop overtime and if there is any roadblocks.

So yes recommend just know secondary character/ background characters say harmful things.

Kanon is hard of hearing and therefore rather wants to be left alone. But Saki wants to get to know her and in her open blunt way she manages to befriend Kanon, who is astonishingly vivid under her cool shell. Very cute drawing and the story is heartwarming thanks to Saki's tender feelings. I wanted to read the next volume right away.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is a super cute and easy to read manga with some adorable characters and a beautiful friendship. I knew nothing going into it so was happily surprised to learn that one of the main characters is hard of hearing and I feel like the representation is great. I’d definitely be interested in continuing with the series to see how their friendship blossoms!

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This was a really adorable manga first volume and I’m excited to see where the series will go next. I really enjoyed the main characters Saki and Kanon. Sakis is super adorable, I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t fall in love with her. And Kanon is someone I related to and really enjoyed. She’s more sassy and upfront but also a bit oblivious. Their budding friendship is really sweet, but I’m also super curious to see how it will grow into something more throughout the series.

Thank you to netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the arc I was able to enjoy reading.

This graphic novel was absolutely the cutest novel I have ever read. It is about two high school girls who become friends. One of them is hard of hearing, so she gets nervous in social situations. But eventually, they become best friends. I absolutely loved seeing their friendship blossom in such a wholesome way.

There’s not a lot of deaf rep in books and manga, so I wanted to check this out. It was a cute story, but the friendship between Kanon and Saki seemed a bit forced? It was heartwarming that Saki wanted to learn as much about deaf culture as possible so she could befriend Kanon, but the characters just fell a little flat for me. I really appreciate the research the author put into the story though. Many of the situations in the book were relatable as I’ve experienced some of them with my boyfriend. I’m curious to see what happens next in the story, but since I felt a bit “meh” after reading this, I don’t think I’ll be picking up the next volume soon.

The Moon on a Rainy Night is a super cute and meaningful girls' love series. Saki plays the piano, but her teacher is pregnant and can't teach her anymore and thus assigns her to another teacher. She stumbles on this beautiful girl, who ends up in her class and is called Kanon. Kanon has hearing problems and the two start to get to know one another slowly, but surely. Kanon's mom is Saki's new piano teacher too. Kanon is somewhat hard to approach and the whole hearing thing is very credible. It's such a well done condition in the sense that we learn alongside Saki to deal with and help her. Kuzushiro has actually studied the topic, which makes this extra great. The romance is subtle and credible too, a slow-burn one. Mostly it's just friendship now, which is a good call.

The art is beautiful and the facial expressions are lively. The emotions are there and we get inside the head of the characters and understand them. I wish yuri series were more like this, since The Moon on a Rainy Night is so wonderful and thoughtful.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with this beautiful eARC.

It's a very sweet and heartwarming story about blossoming friendships between Saki and Kanon, a hard-hearing high school girl. Because of her hearing, Kanon acts cold at school but Saki insists on talking to her and being her friend. I can't wait to see the romance between them develop.

Very cute story. I enjoyed the sign language and the Deaf inclusion in this story. It was a sweet story. I would’ve enjoyed it more if it had been in color and not black and white, and it did get a little cheesy at times, but overall it’s a really cute enjoyable book.

This manga would be a great addition to a collection. It is a good read that will round out any collection. The storyline was well paced and the characters were well rounded.

This manga was so cute.

Saki is a highschool student who takes weekly piano lessons, one day she bumps into a beautiful girl and falls and gets a scrape. The girl gives her a band aid, but doesn't respond to her. Saki is soon to find out that this girl is Kanon, a new student at her school who she'll be sitting right next to.

Kanon is deaf, and makes sure the class know she wants to be left alone, she can fend for herself. Saki is determined to befriend this beautiful girl, and she manages to thaw Kanon's icy demeanor by learning her accessibility needs so she can affectively communicate with her.

Saki and Kanon find they have things in common like books and drama shows and they're cute friends, and possibly something more down the road.

I'm excited for the next volume

This was so cute! I can't wait for the next volume.

Following Saki as she starts high school, she meets Kanon, a girl who is hard of hearing and because of this, tends to push people away. Saki is persistant, and this volume explores the beginning of their friendship.

I am not deaf or hard of hearing myself, so I can't comment personally on the representation, but I did see that it was researched and had a sensitivity reader. I thought it tackled the concept with care and tried to provide information in a easy to understand but not shying from the subject way.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.

This was such a fun, adorable, and sweet manga!! The Moon on a Rainy Night by Kuzushiro follows Saki and Kanon - they run into each other on the street and end up being in the same class at school. It is definitely grumpy/sunshine, and Kanon doesn't want to talk to Saki at first but then she warms up to her, and they become friends.

I loved watching their friendship evolved, seeing Saki pine over Kanon, and the whole dynamic between them. There's no romance in this book yet but it should hopefully evolve into one in the upcoming volumes, and I cannot wait to see that!! I loved their personalities and it was such a fun read.

I highly recommend it if you'd like to read a sapphic manga that's mostly slice-of-life, sweet, fun, and easy to read.

I. Need. More. Of. This.

The deaf/hoh (hard of hearing) rep was great. It did a good job of explaining that hoh is different from complete deafness, as well as the difficulties being hoh brings. Kanon isn't 100% perfect at lip reading, and she makes it explicitly clear that there are times when it's difficult, or impossible, for her to do. Saki isn't the perfect friend. She messes up at times but is good at reminding herself to fix her mistakes. Their lack of perfection early on in their friendship makes this so much more realistic.

The queerness is subtle so far. I was hoping it would be a bit more obvious as this is marketed as a GL/yuri mangas. Saki clearly thinks Kanon is pretty, but it's not really expressed in a romantic way, yet. Kanon also bumps into an ex-friend who could potentially be an ex-girlfriend. In its final pages, There was a quick "will they or won't they" kiss moment, but it was excused away as Kanon leaned in to hear Saki better.

cw: there are some ableist things said about Kanon behind her back, and Saki doesn't challenge them