Dec 2, 2025
In the romance genre of manga, Houkago Kitaku Biyori confidently falls into the categories of drama-free and wholesome. Accompanied by cute, high-quality art and consistently compelling chapters, all of that would be enough to hook a five or six out of ten from me. The extra digits, however, come from the incredibly well crafted yet subtle character development that tacitly propels the story forward. Despite being a quiet and standoffish MC, Shun Satou is no stereotypical blank face. He has a distinct character and personality, as well as an engaging backstory that is gradually brought to the forefront and helps to better define his growing
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friendship with fellow club member Naoki. Likewise, Naoki (affectionally referred to by her classmates as Chokki-chan) embodies typical moe qualities mixed with a charismatic, whimsical disposition that stills leaves room for enough emotional intelligence to recognize the implicit stakes of a given situation. Simply put, the characters have genuine depth that is slowly teased out with every chapter.
And on that note, the pacing of the manga is spot-on. As you would expect, most of the chapters are a mix of casual interactions, funny situations, and light-hearted "will-they won't-they" teasing. But just as I would begin to grow tired or anxious of all the various charades and games, something would happen that permanently changes the dynamic between Naoki and Shun, even if just a bit, and the plot would move forward in a meaningful way. Unlike the majority of mangaka who write romantic interests into their characters (I'm looking at you MHA), this author actually allows and encourages the characters to *change* little by little without sacrificing cathartic moments of connection and closeness. It is so refreshing to read a story that isn't just some money-milking machine that recycles the same material over and over again hoping that readers will stick along for the ride with the vain hope that in another 100+ chapters the two might brush their hands while walking (gasp), but a worthwhile attempt at crafting a light, original, and sincerely expressive story about two teenagers falling in love. Let's just hope the author can stick the landing! 8/10
Edit: I'm returning to this review now that the manga has progressed a good chunk further (42 chapters as of writing this) and an anime is in the works: Everything I said before that was positive has held true, and what's more, the author exceeded my expectations and progressed the romance in an exciting new way! Even as things slowly progress, it's great to see the manga continue to hold onto its silly and wholesome beginnings while slowly opening up more significant emotional moments for the characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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