This was honestly so unbelievably cute and endearing. I started out with a bit of concern that this was going to veer into savior-complex territory, but was pleasantly surprised by how well-written and informed the story and characters were. I can't wait to see how this develops!

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics!

"One rainy night, Saki is rushing to a piano lesson when she crashes into a beautiful, long-haired girl, dropping her sheet music in the process. Saki stutters an apology, but the girl simply hands back her sheet music and leaves without a word. Saki begins her first day of high school the following morning, only to find the stranger from the night before sitting at the desk next to hers. She learns that the girl's name is Kanon and that she is not quite completely deaf, but very hard of hearing. Though Kanon needs to be close to people to read their lips, she tends to push people away with her icy demeanor. Through one kind gesture, Saki slowly begins breaking down the walls around Kanon, even as she feels something new blossoming within her."

Wholesome and sweet! The pacing was a little quick for me but I find that it didn't take away too much from the plot. I like the disability rep and the developing friendship between Kanon and Saki. Gorgeous art style too! I'll def pick up the next volume to see where the story leads! <3

Rating: 3.81 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3.75/5
-Cover (+art): 4/5
-Story: 3.75/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: LGBT, Romance, YA, SOL
-LGBT: 2/5
-Romance: 2/5
-YA: 5/5
-SOL: 5/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Yes

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

A story about a girl who becomes friends with someone who is hard of hearing. It was cute and the message is nice but the story in a whole didn't really draw me in that much.

I loved this, it’s super cute. It seemed to develop quite quickly so I’m intrigued as to what that will mean for the pacing of future volumes. Will definitely be buying the hard copies of this!

4.3/5

I knew this one was going to be a favorite from the Netgalley Kodansha catalog and I was so right.
This first volume was amazing. The story was very well crafted as were the characters.
They have specific traits and specific personalitites, the plot is focused and very easy to follow and fall in love with.

In this first volume we meet our two girls dealing with everyday life, struggles and relationships.
It's a slow burn cute romance, the drawings are super pretty, as was of course the cover.
Definitely a series to keep an eye on.

I would like to thank Netgalled for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a great first volume, it shows you the two main characters becoming friends and the chemistry growing between each other. I love the art work and got lost reading the story. I will definitely be picking up volume 2.

This is a great first volume. I appreciate that they became friends in the first volume because their friendship allowed the audience to gage the beginning of their chemistry. The pacing of their relationship and narrative is good as it keeps you engaged. I appreciate that Saki doesn’t pity Kanon but rather reflects on actions she previously overlooked. I’m looking forward to the next English translated installment.

his one was super cute and I can’t wait to check out volume two. We follow the blossoming friendship (and perhaps romance) between a hard-of-hearing high school girl and her classmate. I’d of course want to hear from the Deaf community about this manga’s portrayal of an HOH character, but I felt as though she was written with respect and agency. Her disability is present in her life, but it’s also not the <i>only</i> important part of her life.

"The Moon on a Rainy Night" is balancing several elements -- it's a manga that has two high school girls as central characters. One is hard of hearing but not entirely deaf, which the book goes into a bit in the dialogue and in the translation notes. The other studies piano and is continuing her studies, even though she doesn't seem to be particularly gifted or entirely into it. Their paths cross and while it's a good setup, it feels like there should be more than a hint of history repeating in terms of friendship fallout the end of volume 1 to hook the reader for the next volume. The art is good, it's got a promising story, and it's always refreshing to see female characters interacting without having to react to male characters, so I think it's worth a shot. (I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This was such a wholesome read & so much sweeter than I expected! I appreciated that this first volume focused on their growing friendship, especially the fact that even though Saki is trying to understand Kanon, she doesn't always get it right, and that's okay. The art is lovely here, too. I'm definitely looking forward to the next volume!

Recommended: yep!
for a bit of insight into the life of someone hard of hearing, for a sweet story of friendship, for hints at some upcoming struggles for Saki

Thoughts:
This is really sweet, y'all. At it's core, it's a story about someone making the effort to get to know another person and to try understanding someone else's perspective. To appreciate them for their whole self. I'm always a big fan of that. 🥰

Saki is surprisingly mature considering she's probably 13 judging by their references to school years. Then again, I think I've forgotten how genuinely kind and reasonable 13 year olds can be (and also the opposite but both can exist in the same space haha). She thinks outside the box and doesn't give up or take the easy way out of things. Genuinely admirable, she also encourages others to open up and be brave, too. That takes it's own kind of courage that was so sweet to see used on someone else's behalf.

A lot of the impetus of the story is on Kanon's disability, but it moved beyond that a lot as well. It's not just a story about someone's disability and letting that define her; Kanon is a whole person and her disability is just a piece of it. I *adored* seeing her working through it and letter her guard down. Saki is giving some hints of her own struggles upcoming in later volumes of the story, and I am so excited to see them work through it all together.

Some of the art was hard to decipher, as some panels had strange square design in the shading that made it seem almost pixelated in a really heavy way. Oddly, some of the text in the backgrounds or images had an effect like it was half wiped away, but the characters directly referenced what it said so clearly we're meant to be able to read it. I had a digital copy so maybe this wouldn't be an issue in a physical printing, but it did slow me down once or twice. I could usually get the gist of what was going on, I just had to squint. I guess it made me have a situation kind of like Kanon described with the frosted glass. 🤣

And of course, there is a lot of genuinely helpful insight to being around someone who is hard of hearing or has a hearing disability. Considering things like background nosie, facing them (if they lip read), sitting on a good side if they have one, and sometimes even just using written text instead -- it was all very practical. And while some might seem obvious, for folks who have never considered it or been around someone hard of hearing, these might be really useful points to make! I was impressed that there was research cited during and at the end as well, and am looking forward to reading future volumes.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for a free copy. This is my honest review.

I loved volume 1 and it felt like a great introduction to the story. The main characters are adorable and I really resonated with Saki's thought process of wanting to get close but understand she can never really put herself into Kanon's shoes. but, what she could do was become a friend and pave the way for future friendships.

I really enjoyed the pacing of the volume and enjoyed the art style. I think this is marketed as a GL so I will be squealing when the story shifts from "I'm close because I can't hear you" to being close for the sake of it.

Thanks NetGalley for supplying me with this ARC. Can't wait for volume 2!

This is an incredibly sweet manga and a fantastic start to a series. The art style is very pretty and expressive. Both main characters are lovely, and they have great chemistry as friends. And there are two side friend characters who I hope continue to have bigger parts in future volumes.

I thought the author did a great job with Kanon's Hard of Hearing, and included some great resources about it at the end of the book. The story has also laid the groundworks for Saki being aware that she's attracted to girls, so I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for future volumes of this manga because I would love to see how their friendship evolves.

Age rating is 16+ on the cover of the book. I think this probably applies to later volumes because this one was pretty tame. If I had to compare it to other series I have read, it could be said that The Moon on a Rainy Night seems vaguely like a Your Lie in April and A Silent Voice mash up. But yuri. It's kinda has similar vibes, but of course it is completely different.

So!

Saki is on her way to her piano lesson when she runs into a silent girl her age, quite literally. The silent girl hands her a band aid for her hurt hand and disappears into the night. As Saki enters high school she is given a choice by her mother as to whether or not she wants to continue her piano lessons. Saki choses to continue, though you get the feeling that she's not continuing for her own pleasure. Or maybe that was just me? But it turns out her music teacher is pregnant and needs to refer Saki to a new teacher.

Fast forward to school. Upon entering her new class she sees the mysterious girl from that night! She sits in the desk next to her no less. Turns out her name is Kanon and she is hard of hearing so she needs to be able to see people's lips in order to figure out what they are saying. Saki tries to befriend her, but Kanon keeps her at an arms length, determined not to burden anyone. But Saki persists. But the turning point comes when Saki informs Kanon that her ears may not work very well, but neither does [Saki's] brain, so she will keep trying to be friends even though she knows she will struggle to understand all of Kanon's needs. It's really quite sweet.

They build a friendship together and though it's a little bumpy because Saki doesn't realize how certain situations are really hard for Kanon. But Kanon explains the 'whys' to Saki and Saki is determined to Kanon. Especially with making some friends.

What did I think?

For a volume 1 of a series, Kuzushiro knocked it out of the park.

I was easily invested in Saki and Kanon. The intro to key side characters and such was very smooth and natural, which isn't always the case. It was a really cute start to the story. You get to see the friendship blossoming and you can tell that Saki is struggling a little bit with her identity and the attraction she's feeling for Kanon. I did giggle when she let out the "too steamy" comment. I don't read a lot of yuri genre mangas. I think I should definitely make a bigger effort to read more of them. Cause I am definitely going to figure out how to get my hands on the rest of this series!

I really liked the art. It quite clean with some very good attention to detail. You can tell some of the panels took some time. The manga itself brings some attention to certain difficulties hard of hearing (and in some cases, deaf) people face that we full hearing people wouldn't think twice about. It touches on bullying and arguably 'ableism' but over all is just a really nice start to a relationship, friend or otherwise, of two girls. I really hope it continues this trend without falling into the romance cliché traps that ruined Signs of Affection (in my personal opinion) in future volumes.

Can't wait to read the next one!

On a rainy night, Saki collides with a beautiful girl, who ignores her apology and leaves without a word. When she begins high school the next day, she finds the stranger in her class, in the seat beside hers. Kanon, it turns out, is very hard of hearing. Despite Kanon’s cold shoulder, Saki is taken by her and determined to break through her walls.

This wonderfully sweet, wholesome manga was an absolute delight. I loved watching Saki learn about Kanon’s condition and seeing the two of them make adjustments to make their relationship work. Kanon is prickly and defensive, so getting to see glimpses of her softer side is just as rewarding for the reader as it is for Saki.
As someone who was once a sapphic high schooler with a crush on her apparently straight friend, Saki’s feelings, her awkwardness, her fumbles, the tender care she takes of her friendship with Kanon is all so relatable and wonderful. This is the kind of story I wish I’d had back then so I knew what I felt was normal and good and perfectly okay.

I can’t recommend this enough to anyone looking for soft, wholesome sapphic romance and/or gorgeous disability representation. I love Saki and Kanon and will definitely be looking out for the translation of the next installment.

NetGalley ARC to review!

A sweet yuri manga about a budding friendship (potential romance) between two high school girls. Kanon is a hard of hearing girl who doesn't want to make any friends at her new school. Saki is a happy, social piano playing girl who is infatuated with Kanon. They begin speaking and a wholesome friendship emerges. We get to watch them learn about each others' differences, touching on the ableism Kanon experiences amongst peers. The author references real sign language, deaf community terms, and appears to be respectful of the hard of hearing experience (Although I am not of this group, so that is my interpretation as a hearing person). I think this book would be a great addition to our collection as a queer story that touches on disability.

Oh my god I loved this first volume!! The characters are cute, the story is interesting and includes a hard hearing character. I love when there is diversity in stories + it's a Yuri!

I'm gonna read the rest of this one for sure!!

I finally got approved for a manga! I wish there was an epub for it though because reading on the netgalley app is torture LOL This was a cute manga that I read all in one sitting. Loved the romance and the couple!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Moon on a Rainy Night is the start of a very sweet and wholesome slowburn involving Saki, a piano student, and Kanon, a hard-of-hearing new student.

Although this manga was kept pretty light it does touches on bullying and ableism. The length was short and the “plot” is more or less character based but I was able to connect to both Saki and Kanon instantly due to how different yet similar their personalities are. I can already see their budding relationship starting to shift but I’m perfectly content with the slower nature the author has decided to take.

Overall, this was adorable and lovely!! I can’t wait for the next volumes to come out so I can watch Kanon and Saki grow as both individual characters and together 🥺

A sweet story about a new friendship, and possible romance, between first year high school students Saki and the partially deaf Kanon. The story follows Saki as she works to befriend her classmate Kanon who is standoffish due to her partial hearing loss. It's cute and I'd be interested in reading the next volume.