Sae (Iwa) and Koki were basically best friends all through elementary school. Koki used to be kind of short and people would make fun of him a bit for his fussiness regarding food and, obviously, his height. Sae was always kind of tall, especially for a girl, which wasn't a problem when she was young, but start to be as they enter their final junior high year. Sae has been secretly crushing on Koki since elementary school, but didn't think he was interested in her that way.

In junior high they were no longer in each other's classes, which is covered briefly, but then high school hits and they are reunited...and Koki grew. And got hot. She discovers that she still has those feelings, but rapidly comes to realize she's not the only one. Koki keeps reaching out to her, claiming that he needs to 'get even' with her for all the help she gave him when they were younger. Something like a friendship blooms, but when a humor goes around that Koki likes someone, she's not so sure where she stands. But even if he's not interested in HER, she hopes he will find his feeling requited.

So what did I think?

This manga reminds me of another I read quite awhile ago. The one where the girl is tall and the boy is short so they both think they are no good for the other because they deserve better or whatever. This reminds me a lot of that one, only both Sae and Koki are kind, thoughtful, non-prickly people. The short guy was prickly about people making fun of his height. lol To the outside viewer it's pretty obvious that Iwa and Koki are probably crushing on each other, but they are too self-conscious or shy to just come out with it.

The support characters are a bit of a mixed bag, but I'm relieved the author didn't go for all the high school slice-of-life clichés and didn't make Sae's new friend, who is also crushing on Koki, an underhanded love-rival posing as a friend. Instead, she seems like a genuine friend who respects Sae's feeling as much as Sae respects hers. And I like the friend with the glasses. lol Zero interest in boys, kinda of literal in how she perceives things. Koki's one friend needs to be smacked though. He really likes picking on Iwa and thinks there's nothing wrong with it.

The art was pretty nice, but nothing to write home about. The story is interesting and I had no issue sitting down and powering through this volume in a single lunch break! So that should say something to you. I hope to read additional volumes in the future!

This manga was exactly what I was hoping it would be! Sweet with some fun moments and a lot of room for the characters to grow.

These two are so clearly in love with each other and have put each other on a pedestal, but instead of letting that be a reason to give up, they use it as a resolve to work hard and I kind of love that concept.

Will definitely be adding this to my list of manga I'm following and I am very much looking forward to the next volume!

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A Star Brighter Than The Sun by Kazune Kawahara was so cute! I loved that Iwata was an extremely tall girl! It seemed like a captivating backstory as to why the character frequently tries to make herself smaller (literally and figuratively). Moreover, the backstory friendship for Iwata and Koki is adorably done and stems all the way back to elementary school. I’m excited to read more in the series and find out if the girl Koki likes is actually someone else OR Iwata who is already in love with him!

Kazune Kawahara’s romance manga A Star Brighter Than the Sun will be getting its own anime this year. Never heard of it? You can start reading it in less than a month! Viz will be releasing Volume 1 in print and digital editions on March 4, so you can experience the love before the anime begins.

We got a sneak peek at the new translation—and we can absolutely see why this series is so beloved. Join us for an early look at Volume 1!



The Story

A Star Brighter Than the Sun starts simply enough: with childhood friends. Koki and Sae grow close in elementary school, but that changes as they get older. Koki grows from a shrimpy kid into a charismatic young man. Sae, meanwhile, just becomes “the big girl.” As time goes on, she feels more and more separate from him. After all, he’s handsome and popular. She’s just tall, making her the butt of her new high school classmates’ jokes. Before long, Sae realizes her affection for Koki has blossomed into love. But she can’t bring herself to tell him—especially when word reaches her that he has a crush, too!

It’s the sort of story we’ve seen time and again in high school rom-coms, but it still works. In particular, this series digs into the awkward changes that come with growing up. Who do we become as we get older? What is the “right” way to behave around someone you care about? Those questions and more surround the manga’s romantic plot.



The Art

A Star Brighter Than the Sun hails from the creator of My Love Story!! and High School Debut, so the art style may look familiar to shojo manga fans. Sae and Koki are unique-looking characters in their own right. Sae’s awkwardness about her height and strength are evident in the way she carries herself. And you may have noticed her favorite thing about Koki’s appearance: his prominent fang.

We can’t wait to see Kawahara’s soft shoujo style animated. For now, it’s an excellent complement to the slow-burn romance of the story.



Why It’s Special

The heroine of A Star Brighter Than the Sun is an absolute sweetheart. She’s awkward in her body and certain she doesn’t shine nearly as brightly as Koki. But even though we’re seeing the story through her eyes, Koki’s feelings aren’t difficult at all to parse. Watching her watch him, and hearing him describe the “mystery” girl he likes, both show just how unaware she is of her merits. While a heroine like that can often be unbelievable, Sae’s anxieties about herself are relatable enough to make them believable—especially for someone of high school age.

There’s something rather sweet about watching Sae fret about whether Koki likes her, when the reader can tell very quickly how he feels. The drama isn’t in wondering if they’ll get together. It’s all about when she’ll grant herself the same consideration that she grants her beloved childhood friend. Interesting without being frustrating, slow-burn without being ludicrous, this is a believable teen romance with a lot of heart.

The curse of the childhood friend looms large over A Star Brighter than the Sun. The story starts with our two main characters in their last year of middle school, with plenty of flashbacks to their childhood. When they reach high school, that's when the tension (plot) really kicks in. Sae feels like she could be a thematic cousin of Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke. Even though she's the big girl, I feel the need to protect her at all costs. The unknown quantity is Koki, who is still friendly with Sae, but what else is going on in his head? Kawahara did well by introducing supporting characters but not giving anything away, making the reader come back for the second volume.

This is a super cute and easy manga to devour.
I love the take on this one of Sae being a taller girl and always being the odd one out. In a lot of romance mangas, the girl is perfect with no 'flaws,' but Sae has what she thinks is a visible flaw throughout the book. I like that they already have an established relationship. AND the love interest has a real personality. I love mutual pining in manga and can't wait to read the next in the series.

Iwa and Kamishiro were childhood friends in elementary school, then drifted apart in middle school. Iwa has always been a big girl, which has meant dealing with a lot of backhanded insults and stereotypes. Kamishiro was smaller in elementary school, but now has had a growth spurt and become popular, igniting a crush in Iwa, who sees his popularity as making him romantically unattainable. As they enter high school, the two renew their friendship, and possibly more?

As for my feelings on the title: while I like the general hook of a protagonist with a non-standard body-type dealing with subtle bullying finding romance, it took me a really long time to get into this series (maybe 3/4 of the way through). The internal thoughts of the protagonist remind me of the generic shoujo comic-inside-a-comic from Izumi Tsubaki's Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (titled: Let's Fall in Love) which is used as a fodder for jokes about shoujo manga tropes. It feels very by-the-book shoujo romance at first, especially with the object of Iwa's affection being the constantly smiling Kamishiro, whose smile always looks slightly forced, to the point where I thought this was a rendering problem.

But, I was wrong, that's a very intentional choice, very different from the genuine smiles we see from him later. That's also why it picks up for me in the last quarter, when Kamishiro points out that just because a person is smiling, you don't know what they're thinking, hinting at hidden depths to the character. I'm interested to see where this goes, but as for the volume itself, I felt it took a while for it to find its footing.

Kazune Kawahara has a way with romance stories. You might have read some of her previous works, My Love Story and High School Debut. This story has similar vibes as My Love Story, imo - with a lot of similarities between Takeo (My Love Story) and Sae (A Star Brighter than the Sun).

It starts out in a very cute fashion, and the characters are really likable. The female friendships made early on are great as well, there seems to be true friendship growing and not petty fighting over boys which happens in a lot of manga. This first volume seems like its going to be a great series and I can't wait to see how the love and friendship bloom.

Thanks to #NetGalley and VIZ media for an advance c-copy of #AStarBrighterthantheSunVol1 by Kazune Kawahara to read and review.

I came into this with high expectations, as I loved the author's other works High School Debut and My Love Story!!, and I was not disappointed. At 5'6 (which is not all tall here in the states, lol) Sae is often treated very differently than her female classmates. One person that's an exception to that is her childhood crush, Koki, who used to be shorter than her but is now much taller and super handsome/popular (in true shoujo fashion).
This first volume covers their last days in middle school and their first few months in high school. It was syrupy-sweet in the best way. All the cute moments you'd expect from a good shoujo and from this author were hit, and I can't WAIT to continue this series!

3.5 ⭐️

If you loved the author’s other manga series, My Love Story or High School Debut, then I’m sure you’ll love this volume!

Thank you NetGalley and Viz Media for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read My Love Story but I have read High School Debut and so I found this volume sweet and wholesome (similarly to HSB). It’s a great start to the series, however, it felt like everything was moving too fast imo. But I guess this gets the ball rolling, because I feel an ache in my heart already!! There’s bound to be miscommunication here and I’m preparing myself 🤣

The art is beautiful as always… the story is green flags so far. I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

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Throughout elementary and middle school, Sae Iwata was in love with Koki Kamishiro. Now that they attend the same high school, Sae’s love grows. But the boy she’s helplessly in love with, doesn’t know how she feels. What will become of this unrequited love? Will he see her in a new light now that they are in the same class?

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