rouge_red 's review for:

Chihayafuru, Volume 1 by Yuki Suetsugu

4.25

emotional medium-paced

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I wasn't supposed to read this all in one go, but I was gripped! It's a mixture of friendship, excitement (sport) and a surprising amount of vulnerability. The story begins with the 3 characters not being that friendly/getting along, but they soon bond over Karuta. As they spend more time together and work on becoming better at the game, they all get closer. Soon though, it all seems to fall apart as the two boys will have to move away. During this time, Chihaya felt alone in valuing her friendship with Arata and Taichi, but I love that later, she shares that she feels really lonely, knowing their time is limited together. This first volume was at once wholesome and pretty exciting in the same breath, and I can't wait to keep going!

ps. didn't expect Alain Delon to get name dropped.