"I was drowning, in feelings I didn't know the name of." Here we go again? NOPE. This is a warning for lovers of the yuri genre. This is not a story of how two girl friends (best friends?) become lovers and we get a sexy yuri scene at the end. This is a story... about FRIENDSHIP. As most western fans know, both the yuri and shoujo ai genres deal with love between women, the former focusing on the sexual aspect while the later focuses on the emotional aspect of it. And so we come into the genre with full expectations that they become lovers at some point.Yet one must realize that there are many different kinds of love and it is not limited to the passionate kind of love between lovers.

Alright that was a bit heavy for my liking and so we shall start this review with the art. Beautiful. I was never a fan of the shoujo genre but one thing that no one can deny is that most shoujo mangas are (or at least attempt to be) beautiful due to an art style which can only be described as poetic.
Disclaimer: If you were allergic to Clannad's "big eyes" you will disagree with me.

Although the art was great, the essence of this manga is inevitably the two main characters: Kurihara Ayumu, a very social, well liked person and overall very popular with the girls in her school and Tsukishima Misuzu, an anti-social short tempered person who despite all that is very popular among the boys due to her beauty. At first glance, it seems that the mangaka has fallen into the same trap that many writers of the yuri/shoujo ai fell into; that of creating a manly character and a more feminine character. At some points, short haired Ayumu is made to look like a guy along with some not so subtle hints from her friends while Misuzu reveals her fragile feminine side.

Yet as the story progresses we notice that this isn't a story about two lovers. Rather, it is a story about how two friends support each other with their varying strengths and weaknesses to break free from the chains of their past.

Yes, looking at it again, there is nothing especially ground-breaking in this manga and it is full of cliche themes, yet it remains enjoyable nonetheless due in no small part to the beautiful art.