Reviews

The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 1 by Kuzushiro

kellysavagebooks's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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.

Ebook ARC provided by NetGalley and  Kodansha Comics  in exchange for an honest review.

arminam's review

4.25

After being helped by a stranger while coming home from a private lesson, Saki realises that this stranger is her new classmate Kanon, who is hard of hearing. This story follows them as their relationship develops and romantic feelings bloom. 

This is a refreshing take for the Yuri/GL genre, since it's rare to encounter much disability representation there. The author clearly makes an effort to faithfully capture what that experience is like. I also love being able to see how Kanon opens up to the people around her. Really looking forward to seeing where their relationship goes from here ! 

CW for ableism and bullying.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Bullying

amieco's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

akiharu_cosplay_reads's review

hopeful lighthearted reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dive into the heartwarming world of 'The Moon on a Rainy Night,' where unlikely friendships bloom amidst the rain. 🌧️

Meet Saki, a kind-hearted piano enthusiast with a tight-knit circle of friends, and Kanon, a newcomer known for her aloofness and preference for solitude. As someone who's felt like the odd one out before, Kanon's struggles resonated deeply with me.

Their evolving friendship forms the core of this captivating manga, and I can't help but root for them. 🌟

Drawing inspiration from beloved anime like 'My Little Monster,' 'A Silent Voice,' and 'Your Lie in April,' 'The Moon on a Rainy Night' beautifully captures the emotions of not wanting to get hurt again, reaching out to a newcomer, and finding warmth in unexpected places. 🎶

Vibes: 😨🙅‍♀️🤝🌈

If you're a fan of heartwarming stories of friendship and personal growth, 'The Moon on a Rainy Night' is definitely worth picking up. Grab a copy and let the rain of emotions wash over you. 📚💖 

 *I received an eARC from Kodansha Comics & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review 

itsmeeryn's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

High Schooler Saki meets new student Kanon. After Kanon is introduced to the class and it is revealed she is hard of hearing, she walls herself off from the other students. Saki takes it upon herself to become her friend and after Saki ends up at Kanon’s house for piano lessons, the two quickly connect and open up to each other. 

This Manga is perfect for those who are fans of I hear the Sunspot. It is a cheery romance with a ton of heart. The characters are incredibly lovable and unique, with great chemistry. It was a joy to get to watch them grow as people and get closer to each other in the process. The author clearly did their research and poured so much love and effort into making these characters as real as possible. Teaching the audience as the characters learn themselves. 

I am incredibly excited to continue reading and see where these characters go in the future.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

tc_booksandmore's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the free eARC.  This is my honest opinion.

I loved this, simple as that.  I loved the disability representation, hearing loss is little represented disability that affects a large portion of the population. I loved the characters and how Saki tries to help and understand Kanon and she screws up, but she learns from her errors and adjusts, which is realistic. I am looking forward to seeing how their friendship develops.

5 out of 5 stars.

reptilianreader's review

5.0

SO GOOD

thisboricuareader's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

I was hooked since page 1. I think the story doesn't start of slow and the artwork is stunning.  I'm here for it. 

irl_bookworms's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Saki is a highschooler and works hard at her piano lessons so she can impress her teacher. It appears that Saki has a crush on this teacher and is devastated when the teacher reveals she is going on leave to have a child. Heartbroken, this is when Saki bumps into Kanon, a beautiful new student at her highschool, who is hard of hearing and because of it, keeps her guard up and spends her time mostly on her own.

When Saki and Kanon are placed next to each other in class and Kanon’s mother turns out to be Saki’s new piano teacher, they spend more and more time together and their friendship grows from there. Saki also discovers how inaccessible parts of the world are to Kanon and puts in work to be a better friend to Kanon.

I’m not hard of hearing so I cannot speak to how effective or thoughtful the efforts Saki goes through for Kanon, but I did appreciate how Saki isn’t a perfect ally at first and doesn’t realize what situations are difficult for Kanon to maneuver through but, as she learns, she begins to take initiative and this was really heartening to read. I will leave own voice reviewers to discuss Kanon’s representation.

One of the softest moments in this volume, and the moment we realize that Saki’s feelings for Kanon have blossomed into something alongside their friendship, occurs when they are learning some simple Japanese Sign Language together. Kanon shows that the symbol for marriage is represented by using the thumb for the man and the pinky finger for the woman. Later on, we see Saki wondering why the symbol for marriage could not be signed with both pinky fingers instead.

This story is very soft and very thought provoking.I think this manga will have readers feeling empathy for these two characters and falling in love with them too. I would very much like to continue reading this series and I look forward to more from this mangaka and their gorgeous art.

*I received an eARC from Kodansha Comics & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

readingunderadesk's review against another edition

informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

CUTE SAPPHIC ROMANCE with a hard of hearing love interest! Not only that, but there's a list of works cited by the manga writer in the back, as well as a set of three reference notes early on? Love that, love the care put into trying to represent a hard of hearing character well, while also putting out that each person experiences things like that differently.

I also like the big context clues that Saki has always been a lesbian, so when this eventually blossoms into more of a romance it won't meet the unfortunate step a lot of GL manga do where "oh but we're both girls oh nooo" since Saki is already well on that path (Kanon who knows but this is the first volume and she's the love interest so! We'll see.)

This is cute and I want to keep up with the series after this!

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