Chiaki and Subaru are really cute, I really liked the art style and the premise, but I also read enough shoujos to smell a love triangle and unnecessary drama miles ahead, so I already know this manga is out for blood and will hurt me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

How do you feel when your childhood friend turns into your crush, all the while he rises into stardom?

This is a cute shoujo manga, with your average highschool girl, Chiaki, who has to deal with her angst, insecurities, and confusion. And of course, there are sweet moments caused by her crush & childhood friend/model/actor, Subaru. I like the art style, and I can see that the author is taking her time developing the story and the characters. I'll be waiting for the next installments for sure!

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Cute manga! Subaru is staying humble by not letting his newfound fame stop him from remaining close friends with Chiaki. I cannot wait for Volume 2!

Such a cute, sweet story! If you've watched Japanese serials before, you can easily recognize the chapters as episodic format, and it makes everything fall into place. The story is funny and tender as Chi contends with her feelings for her childhood best friend and now mega-star, Subaru. Definitely hoping to add this series to my high school collection.

This is such a cute manga and I am obsessed! I cannot wait for the next one! I love the plot and story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me a copy for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gazing at the Star Next Door was a fantastic first volume! I'm loving the dynamic between the two main characters. Subaru isn't letting his newfound fame stop him from remaining close friends with Chiaki. I'm looking forward to volume 2 to see what is next in their relationship! The art in this volume is gorgeous and matches the vibe of the story very well.

This was super cute and exactly what I needed during a reading slump. I loved the art, and the childhood friendship turned crush was lovely. I really can't wait to read the second volume and see where this goes. A total 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this ARC!

This was a super cute and wholesome manga 🥰 I really enjoyed the style it was drawn in and the storyline was unique.

I’d definitely read more of Gazing At The Star Next Door!

Gazing at the star Next Door was a cute manga, but volume one rested on the major tropes regularly seen in shoujo. Chi is best friends and nextdoor bright to upcoming model and actor Subaru. Chi has feelings for Subaru, but feels she is not good enough to be with someone like him. I feel that this title has potential I feel if it can escape the tropes to find its own original voice for the characters.

Gazing at the Star Next Door is a cute shojo manga about two childhood friends. Chiaki is your average girl and her neighbor and best friend is Subaru. The guy happens to be a model and an actor too and Chiaki is hopelessly in love with him. She's afraid the distance between them will grow bigger and it's wonderful to get inside her head. Chiaki is so normal that it feels refreshing. The feelings are slow-burn, which is surely the best part and I do hope Ammitsu keeps up with it. The two act so normal together and that makes this wonderful as well as Chiaki's little sister and friends. This is such a feelgood series!

The art looks nice. It's nothing spectacular, but the characters are lively and have actual facial expressions. This hardly even happens in shojo, so points for that. The manga can be funny too, but most of all it's full of heart and understanding. So, one of the better shojo mangas by far.

"Gazing at the Star Next Door" is a sweet, heartfelt, and very fun manga by Ammitsu! The characters feel three-dimensional and have personalities, thoughts, emotions, and problems of their own. They are both lovable and were so much fun to get to know! I enjoyed all of the friendly teasing and banter between them. The speed of the plot is just right, the friendship/emotions expressed feel heartfelt and are very well-written. That scene after the mixer was so compelling! I love Subaru! I think it's great how much he cares about Chiaki and how he always looks out for her. And Chiaki! She is so sweet and says the funniest things to try to hide her feelings for Subaru! The cats in this manga are so cute! This is a wonderful manga that has: lots of sweet and swoony moments, emotional depth, lovable characters, humorous hi-jinks, a beautiful art style, and emotional depth that will make you feel very invested in these characters and their story! I loved reading volume 1 and I can't wait to read and review volume 2! I cannot recommend "Gazing at the Star Next Door" highly enough! It is SO. MUCH. FUN!!! 5 stars

Thank you very much to Kodansha International and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to read and review honestly.

Gazing at the Star Next Door was just the fluffy slice of life read that I needed! The artwork is so pretty, and the story is cute so far. I love the whole idol x non-idol storyline, and this one also happens to have the best friends trope too? Yes please. Chiaki and Subaru are so fun together, and I especially liked the scenes where they're hanging out with Chiaki's little sister.

I can't WAIT to see where else this story is going to take us.

Thank you to Kodansha and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for this advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review! This manga comes out February 6, 2024!!

This little manga is so sweet and a great light read if you wanna feel warm and fuzzy inside. There’s just something really nostalgic about that first love/first crush feeling and I think mangas really do a good job of depicting it!! I love that she’s trying her best to distance herself, in preparation to get hurt and he’s just there steadfast, reminding her they’re each other’s people. So cute!! The art is my favorite style so I really enjoyed reading this. The only downside is that there is only one volume so now I have to wait.😭

A cute romance about a pair of childhood friends, one of whom is a rising star/actor model. It's nice, I think, to read a story where the pairing are pretty into each other from the beginning even if for plot reasons or whatever they don't USE THEIR HUMAN WORDS TO TELL EACH OTHER but it's fine, it'd probably be a pretty short series with that.

I put the next volume on my "keep an eye on this" list.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

4⭐️

**ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

This was such a cute and fun read! I expected it to be unremarkable and boring, but it was pretty good. It also had fun moments that made me smile. The art was awesome, too. I bet it looks even better as a physical copy.

Overall, it was really comforting. It kind of had a K-drama feel to it. Maybe it's because I've been watching a couple of those lately. My bad.

Also, Subaru's sleeping habits made me chuckle. Actually, it was the place where he sleeps. If you know, you know.

I'm really curious to see where the story goes. I would love to read the following books!

What a cute start to a new shoot manga!! Omg the art style in this one is just amazing and the characters are so cute. I love the idea of an up and coming celebrity and his neighbor being friends (maybe something more?). And I cannot stress just how beautiful the art is. Looking forward to the next chapter.

(ARC recieved from netgalley)

I loved this book. So much more than five stars.
I had already heard about it, and I was super curious.
It's finally in English and I was able to read it. And it was so much better than what I expected.
The book lets us get to know the characters and shows their daily lives. And they are so adorable and fun. They are characters with flaws, but who do their best, and support each other by being there for one another.
I loved the drawings, they are beautiful and show the emotions and personality of the characters.

I will continue with the series, because I really loved the book, the characters and the story.

Gazing at the Star Next Door begins the adorable story of Chiaki and Subaru. They're childhood friends who live next door to each other and while Chiaki is a normal high school girl, Subaru is on the path to stardom. He's a model and has starting working on a beloved tv series. Chiaki has been tasked with taking care of Subaru, making sure he wakes up in the morning and that he has dinner when his mom is working late. The illustrations were absolutely adorable and the set-up for the story has me looking forward to the next volume!

A cute story with a little heartache!

Chiaki and Subaru are childhood best friends, but a significant difference between them is that she is a normal teenage girl while he is a popular young actor and model in Japan. Chiaki secretly has a crush on Subaru, but her time spent with him will begin to change when his acting career starts taking over. Before he slips out of her grasp, she must decide whether to take her shot or let that chance go.

This is a personal opinion, but I like unrequited love in a romance story as long as there is a fulfilling ending. The exploration of emotions such as longing, heartache, frustration, and self-doubt resonates with me, making the story more compelling.

Moreover, Chiaki perceives Subaru as someone who is out of her reach. When she glances at the mirror while sitting beside him, she contemplates how he seems worlds away even when he is physically present by her side. She tries to hide her love for him, but it becomes kind of obvious that she cares about him more than it appears.

There are cliche situations in this volume, such as the male lead coming to the rescue, the male lead surrounded by fangirls, and the female lead going to a mixer to get over her crush. Aside from the predictability of the plot, I expect them to happen because they are so common in romance stories that it feels odd when they are not present.

This volume also ended with a cliffhanger, and now I must know his thoughts! So far, Subaru doesn't appear to show any big signs of liking Chiaki, but I think he's starting to notice her feelings that she tried to hide away.

If you like reading a cute romance that explores unrequited love before it becomes requited, this would be the manga to add to your list!

My goodness I love a good shojo like this!! The childhood friends trope, one is a celebrity AND the usual fall into a compromising position, it'll never get old! But really this is about Chi whose childhood friend is a rising start who also happens to be her neighbor - cue the hijinks! I can't recommend this enough for people who like shojos. Definitely going to be purchasing this manga!!