A very wholesome story about childhood friends who begin discovering new aspects of their relationship as they navigate high school and the challenges of growing up. With the added caveat that Subaru is a rising star in acting, Chiaki learns to navigate her growing feelings alongside the complications that arise with his growing fame. The pockets of romantic moments set the foundation of their past and the tone of what their relationship could be in the future. Definitely a fun read and cannot wait for volume 2!

I absolutely adore Chiaki and Subaru!!! Their friendship is so cute and Subaru had me swooning. I am happy we saw emotional vulnerability in both characters and there wasn’t anyone being mean. I am ready to read the next book and see what more we find out about their lives!

Usually I'm drawn to idol stories, but they end up disappointing me somehow. I'm not sure why that is, but for some reason I don't tend to like them. However, this series, something about it feels different and I'm not sure what it is. The MMC is an actor/model and the FMC is his childhood friend who feels practically like his mom. This creates an interesting dynamic between the 2 of them, and while you as the reader can tell they both have feelings for each other, neither of them can tell in the story. The MMC isn't as obvious about his feelings as the FMC, but you can still tell. I'll be curious to see which one of them confesses first and how their relationship will progress afterwards, and let's just hope it doesn't take the entire series for them to take their relationship to the next level.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an e-copy of #GazingattheStarNextDoor by Ammitsu to read and review.

This was such a fun and cute set up. I loved how hesitant our Heroine is about her crush and wanting to move forward from it. I also enjoyed the art style a lot.

Overall this is a series I can see myself picking up digitally to read over time!

A cute romance manga with a great beginning. You can tell these two are going to have a rocky road ahead of them. The art style is reminiscent of classic shoujo manga with the authors own style played in. Excited to see where this goes!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an Earc for review. This does not alter my opinions/ratings of this manga.
Rating 5/5 star
The illustrations are stunning and I absolutely fell in love with the characters and the story. The FMC believing that she is not good enough for the MMC because of how famous he is becoming at such a quick rate. This story is absolutely swoonworthy. I can connect with the fmc so much because of her personality and character traits. I absolutely recommend this cute romantic manga for a quick read!

I know it's a good read when I'm giggling my way through the story.
Gazing at the Star Next Door started off strong for sure. I'm not always a huge fan of childhood friends to lovers trope, but here I liked it rights off the bat.

Chiaki and Subaru have such a close and, may I say, domestic relationship from the very beginning, which is absolutely lovely to watch because they are too cute. But I think that's what makes them oversee the part where they both like each other? Also, it's pretty interesting to see how one person's being in showbiz affects the other and their expectations of each other.

It's pretty obvious that we're dealing with two oblivious idiots in love and I'm assuming it's gonna be a roller-coaster of emotions and misunderstandings until they get to the point where they finally confess, but I'm here for all of it. I'm definitely going to pick up the next volume (and every other after that).

Also, the art is beautiful and storytelling flows seamlessly, with a lot of humour and funny scenes so it's an absolute blast to read. I'm so, so excited to see where story goes from here.

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

sooooo stinking cute i love the story and how it seems like the feelings aren’t totally one sided! i’m excited to see how chiaki evolves and if she’ll start acting differently towards subaru … the art style is simply to die for and they’re all so cute, love their smiles and when chiaki is blushing! can’t wait for more

I am so glad this series got picked up for an official English release. This is series is equal parts sweet and heartbreaking. I can't wait to buy the physical copy.

Chiaki and Subaru have been friends since childhood. When Subaru's acting career takes off, Chiaki begins to assess her own place in his life.

What I found interesting about this graphic novel is that this isn't really about showbiz or fame, it's about the real life of famous people. Chiaki treats Subaru like he's a normal person while still being aware that her perspective is not the same as the public perspective. She doesn't seem to see how important this is - though it's very visible in the ways Subaru looks at Chiaki. I'm excited to see where the story goes from here.

2.5 ⭐️
This was a cute ya manga about childhood friends turned famous model and school girl with a crush. I really enjoyed the art style and thought it had some cute moments, my main issue was I found it kind of boring. Most of the time I didn’t understand why she even liked Subaru. I would understand why he liked her, but he gave her almost nothing the entire book, other than tiny tiny moments. I think I just wanted more from him overall.

I don’t think I have read a romance manga ever before!
This was a cute, yet super wholesome story. Perfect for any teen or YA reader. I’d say, good for more mature-ish tweens also.
This is perfect. I never thought I’d say that a combination of romance and manga is going to feel like a hand and glove, but this was indeed perfect.

While Childhood friends to lovers trope is one of my least favorite tropes, it actually really worked here!

Chiaki has a crush on her next door neighbor/childhood best friend/celeb but thinks hes way out of her league - anyways, their paths seem to keep crossing.

This was my first romantic manga, I think I am obsessed? Will definitely pick up the next one!

Title: Gazing at the star next door by Ammitsu

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars


I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

This was such a cute wholesome read!

Chiaki, a typical teenage girl, grapples with unrequited love for her childhood best friend Subaru. The twist comes as Subaru, now a rising star in Japan's acting scene, teeters on the edge of slipping away, straining the bonds of their longtime friendship.

This was a great start to the series. We can see that both sides have feelings for each other, more than friendship, but cannot grasp the reality of it. I will be looking forward to read the next one as soon as possible!

Subaru and Chiaki are Childhood friends but whilst Chiaki is a regular high schooler, Subaru is a growing famous model and actor. Chiaki likes Subaru but sees herself as his “babysitter” and not the type of girl he’d go for. This was adorable and I really can’t wait to continue this series. I hope Subaru reciprocates Chiakis crush. The way he acted with her younger sister was so cute too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy for an honest review. Rating 5/5

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

This is a very cute and interesting start to the series, where we see Chiaki who has a (secret) crush on next-door neighbour and childhood friend Subaru, who also happens to be a celebrity. Despite having a crush on him, Chiaki has already made the decision to get over him, but finds it very difficult, as their lives are very much intertwined.

Even though this is just the first volume, setting the story, I am interested in reading the next volume to see where this goes.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! Usually the childhood friends to lovers trope can be a hit or miss for me but I really like the direction the author decided to take with the story. Chiaki and Subaru have such a fun dynamic, I’m excited to see where the story will go next! I’ll definitely be picking up the next volume 💖

Thank you NetGalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Cute story but very obvious where it's going to go (like most romance stories to be fair). While I'm not going to go out of my way to read this series, if I came across this in my local library or on netgalley I'd pick up at least Volume 2.

This is a no spoilers review!

The ARC was available to read immediately on NetGalley and I’m so thankful to Kodansha Comics for doing so.

What drew me: The premise haha it’s a typical trove (mix of friends to lovers (hopefully) and ordinary girl with celebrity status boy) with just a slight twist I haven’t read before.

Overall Review: I thought I wouldn’t get pulled in but I absolutely fell hard into this one.

At first both main characters are pretty typical and they still kind of are but the main character’s feelings got me invested and feeling like a school girl with a first crush all over again.

The main guy is of course attractive but has cute flaws that make him more realistic. The main girl is just a girl trying so hard not to fall for a guy who she thinks is out of her league. Really tugged on my heart strings even though I knew the tropes going into it.

I read sooo many romance mangas in middle school, so I didn’t think I would get lost in this, but surprisingly I absolutely did! It was late at night and I had to sleep but stayed up to finish it. When it ended I was like “Noooooo! What happens next!!?!l That’s how I know this one got me lol

I love childhood friends trope so much so it’s so perfect for me. This first volume introduced us to the main characters but mostly on the fl’s point of view and leave you wanting more for the ml’s point of view. The art is so good, you can always trust shoujo manga to have an absolutely beautiful art. I am looking forward to read more from this manga.

Thank you netgalley <3