When a childhood friend has a naturally pretty face and the inability to get up on time for school, it can be hard to reconcile your feelings. Chiaki has spent years cooking for Subaru and taking care of him since they were kids. She even tries waking him up on time for school because five alarms won't cut it! You can't blame Chiaki for being exasperated, as Subaru's pretty face helps him build a model and acting career.

Chiaki starts realizing stuff, though; she has a crush on Subaru. So does her little sister. But Chiaki knows that she can't compete with the prettier and nicer girls out there, as she roasts Subaru for needing regularly cooked meals and a human alarm clock. It's betters to move on and try dating other boys. But when that goes pear-shaped, Subaru helps her out. She doesn't know if it's because they are childhood friends, and feels selfish for wanting something more. After all, Subaru is already giving so much to his fans and deserves better than a mom-friend as a girlfriend. 

While a predictable premise, the manga is very enjoyable to read. Chiaki is all of us when we've had to wake up someone, including ourselves, for school. We also wonder what happens when someone we know gets a life-changing opportunity. There may be some jealousy if they're in the same field, or utter cheer for them. Most importantly, we wonder how they change, and how. And does that bond stay the same with fame or money?

Subaru is surprisingly more insightful than he appears at first. He talks about how no career is built by one talent, and you need to appreciate everyone during every step of the way. That includes Chiaki, who made him his favorite pancakes as a surprise. Chiaki does think he's useless with school stuff. His acting career, however, is realistic; he starts as a child model and starts going to auditions. He admits that he's a shy person, and has worked on it by trying to thank people out there. The guy is also terrible with social media posting, considering he was going to put up a school ID photo as a thank-you post. For all that Subaru undergoes, he remains sincere and well-intentioned. And if someone is messing with Chiaki? They better watch out!

The art style in the book is better than what we see on the cover, and Chiaki has an adorable character design. She toes the line between seemingly aloof and dorky. Subaru also convinces the reader how his good looks would nail an acting job for him. He's charming, and the sincerity helps. I wonder what will happen in Volume Two.

Gazing at the Star Next Door Vol 1 is the beginning of a beautifully illustrated shojo with a "prince" ML who is becoming a star and a childhood friend who is CRUSHING on him hard while dealing with being a teen in high school and if she wants to shoot her shot.

This vol really is setting up this story and has adorable flashbacks and shows their dynamic as it exists, but while it does feel a little slow, I think it will end up being an adorable must-read for fans of these tropes.

I love a good childhood friends romance story, so I'm super down for this first volume. Chiaki and Subaru have been friends since they were kids, but Subaru's fame as a model is skyrocketing and Chiaki fears she might be left behind. A ton doesn't happen in the first volume, but there is a nice set up of the friendship between the two main characters. Looking forward to volume 2.

I do like friends to lover manga, this one just lost my interest halfway through the story. I know it's a series. I might not continue it. The art is beautiful though.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.25/5 stars

Very cute, very fluffy, very interested to see where it goes! Love the art style too! Read it in under an hour!

Gazing at the Star Next Door
-vol #1 release February 6
-vol 2 release May
Thank you @netgalley
and @kodansha_en (@kodanshamanga ) for the chance to read a ebook version of volume 1.

Subaru and Chiaki are not only childhood friends but also next door neighbors. Chi knows basically everything about Subaru and cheers him on in his modeling/acting career. Chi helps wake him up, shares notes, makes food and more for him. However, he doesn't know that at some point she developed feelings for him and is doing her best to get over him. One day her friend invites her to a mixer with some college students, but one wrong comment from one of the guys about Subaru's acting puts Chi into protective mode.
As Subaru continues to get more popular and his career takes off, what will they do?

The art is pretty good and the story flows well thus far. It's nothing that is really new to Shojo, but still an enjoyable read. Seems like there will be some jealousy as he acts with a "beautiful/perfect" female lead and I can imagine there will be someone who appears that will ignite the "oh that's my real feelings for Chi" setup.
I like how we see all different emotions/reactions from Chi and how she feels about everything going on. We don't really get much from Subaru's perspective, but maybe at one point we will. It is nice seeing how is personality is different though from when he is working to when he is at home/with Chi. Something I'm not always a huge fan of is when the main character compares herself to someone else like an actor, but I know it happens in real life too.

Chiaki and Subaru are childhood friends, but the latter is a rising star and the former has feelings that just keep growing. As they both struggle with the rising stardom, Chiaki is afraid that Subaru’s going farther away and what it’ll mean for them.

This story, the characters and the events aren’t unique. It’s the storytelling; the execution and pacing. The story takes a measured pace by letting us live through the moments with the characters. We learn about Chiaki’s feelings and insecurities through cleverly placed situations and her realistic reflections. I enjoyed how most of these were not direct conversations or intentionally overheard but passing thoughts and comments that were believable. I also enjoyed the portrayal of emotions and how it was a positive friendship.

The artwork is really beautiful! There aren’t always descriptive backgrounds but when there is, they are beautiful. There is a lot of iconography throughout which helps depict the characters emotions. Both are well balanced. The character art is simply gorgeous and Subaru’s celebrity looks are breathtaking. The expressions seemed so genuine that I just wanted them to be protected at all costs. This volume was a real treat visually.

There is a short story of Ran, the Peerless Beauty at the very end of this volume. It’s a little glimpse into Ran and Akira’s life after high school. It’s really sweet and I guess, I need to pick it up sometime soon.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. So far it’s peaceful and I really do hope it stays that way without any unnecessary misunderstandings. This was a quick read for me because it kept me engaged and intrigued. I’m supporting Chiaki and definitely looking forward to the next volume!

Friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope and I loved the way the mangaka beautifully portrayed the day-to-day life of a celebrity. I admire the humanized representation of a celebrity, which is a profession that many tend to deify forgetting about the fact that they are also humans. I love Chiaki and Subaru's dynamics and I am curious to see how their relationship develops in the following volumes. Some of their moments made me feel butterflies in my stomach which is an indicator of a good Shoujo manga. Also, I love Chiho she is adorable!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an eARC of this manga.

As always, a big thank you for the opportunity to read this first volume! The actual rate is 3.5 stars.

Gazing at the Star Next Door is my first time reading Ammitsu, but their second work released in English. This manga looks so polished, I thought Ammitsu had several works under their belt but looks like they only had two commercial series prior to this one. Talk about being talented!

This first volume gives the feeling of a checklist; the average girl-next-door, childhood friends so close that they can barge into each other’s rooms, everyone’s in love with the boy so sprinkle lots of ‘We’ll never be together, I should keep my feelings to myself,’ you can guess how it goes. However, even then, the volume manages to accomplish what it sets out to do and manages to squeeze those extra couple of heartbeats from you and iit’s overall a pleasant introduction! Might not hit the spot for people who look for innovative storytelling or more grown-up problems in their romances, but it’ll definitely make you happy otherwise.

And did I tell you how GOOD this volume looks? It’s GORGEOUS. You have to have good looking people in shojo and Gazing at the Star Next Door is a feast for the eyes. You won’t be disappointed.

This was a sweet start to a childhood friend romance story, the kind where the lead couple are very comfortable around each other, but maybe haven't realized their feelings have evolved beyond friendship. He's so popular, after all! The art is pleasant and the pace is breezy and I enjoyed my time with it. While it might not wow regular consumers of the genre, but it's solid example for what it is.

Chiaki and Subaru are childhood friends who grew up together as neighbours. Now in high school, Chiaki must confront her longtime crush in the fact of Subaru's rising popularity as an up-and-coming model and actor. In my opinion, this is a great example of how shoujo friends-to-lovers (I'm presuming) should be written. Chiaki and Subaru stand on their own as well-rounded characters that have their own ambitions and drive who just so happen to have each other in their lives. As expected from the creator of Ran the Peerless Beauty, the artwork by Ammitsu is absolutely gorgeous and refreshing. This is definitely a must-read if you're a fan of modern shoujo with a strong female lead and an aloof, but caring male lead.

I truly enjoyed this book.

I was excited about the childhood-friends-to-lovers and celebrity romance, and although the plot itself wasn't particularly special, I still enjoyed it. The romance was cute and wholesome and the photography scene was my favorite. Chiaki's internal struggles with angst, confusion, crushes, and insecurities were something all too relatable and added a hint of reality to a completely fictional story. The artwork was really pretty, and the book itself was perfectly paced. You can tell the author is setting up the story to be well developed and I'm excited to see the new things the next volume will bring!

[PS. I loved the way the story ended, it was the perfect scene to end the book}

Lovely childhood friends romance with a touch of the entertainment industry. I always love this kind of story so I enjoyed this so much. I love Ammitsu's art. Her characters are so cute and Subaru is super handsome! I can't wait to read the next volume and discover what will happen next to Chiaki and Subaru.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with this ARC!

It is a great introduction to the series, however I found that I couldnt sustain any connection to the main characters and found it frustrating how the main female protaganist would practically mother the male protaganist. The stereotypes of having the female lover as the mom to the male lover is reinforcing the patriarchal ideology of the woman being the housewife and found that this dictated the female protaganists entire personality in this volume. I would have loved to see the female protaganist as more than just the mother to the male protaganist, have more of a backbone.

I thought this was a very interesting manga and I really do like the learning and the pining that was in there, so I think I really enjoy slice of life romantic both pining after each other, but they don’t wanna make it to each other absolutely stunning it was funny and endearing. I think the characters are relate to people and they are fun And I think this is a really good first book for the series. I would 100% read more, and I will definitely be looking into some more volumes in the series.

This was a cute story about friends that grew up together and now one is model turned actor and the other Is still just your average teen. Chiaki sees herself as plain and is majorly crushing on her now famous friend. Subaru is just starting to get famous and is trying to balance his work and school life.
This story is sweet and we get glimpses of how she feels about Subaru, and how he feels about her.
I really liked this. It is right up my alley and I would definitely pick up the next volume!
4⭐️

I absolutely loved this manga and cannot wait for the next volume! the relationship between the FMC and MMC is so relatable. I'm stuck on the edge of my seat waiting for the will they won't they to have an answer. I would definitely recommend this read. This story follows our FMC Chiaki and her childhood best friend (and major crush) Subaru. Subaru is a talented model turning into clear idol while Chiaki is, in her words, the big headed plain girl next door. The story follows the two as Subaru gains in popularity and Chiaki decides to work on forgetting her life long crush. Does Subaru maybe feel the same? Will Chiaki give up her crush? We have to read this manga to see.

I adore this story so much!

thank you netgalley for an early copy of this book <3

I’m such a sucker for these type of celeb x childhood best friend type of mangas especially and I enjoyed chi and Subaru’s relationship. They are absolutely adorable together and chi is just like the rest of us.

these characters are so cute, chi is such a cute and sweet girl, she’s just so motherly and caring for everyone it makes my heart so so full. subaru is just HOT and gorgeous.

I can’t wait for the second installment of this series, i am fully hooked and can’t wait to read more about chi and subaru 🥹

if you like a quick and addictive read about celeb x childhood best friend, where they are lowkey flirty with each other, this is for YOU!

Gazing at the Star Next Door is such a cute read! It follows a high schooler named Chiaki who has a crush on her childhood friend and actor, Subaru, and her adventures trying to sort out her feelings. I was so captivated that I flew straight through it. It's filled with super cute moments like when they went shopping together with her little sister. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a cute slice of life story!

OMG! This was so good. The follow up manga by Ammitsu did not disappoint. I can’t wait to see where this adorable childhood friends to lovers series goes. Also loved the additional bonus story from Ran the Peerless Beauty - such a treat to seee those two again!