Haru yo, Koi

First and foremost, anyone expecting this manga to be centered around yuri themes should reconsider. The narrative primarily revolves around Takashi and his interactions with various women, notably the main character Sae. Sae is clearly portrayed as bisexual, having met Takashi through her relationship with his sister, who identifies as an experimental lesbian. Beyond this slight connection and a few suggestive illustrations, the story does not delve deeply into characters' sexual orientations.

Having said that, the manga is quite enjoyable. The artwork is clean and easy to follow, without overly exaggerated tones that might hinder readability or visual appeal. Character designs are appealing, although it can sometimes be challenging to distinguish between some of the main cast and background figures. On the downside, while the plot is fairly decent, the protagonist Takashi is rather unlikable. He spends much of the first half of the manga behaving selfishly and promiscuously, which will likely frustrate readers given how much both Sae and Mariko care for him.

In summary, I would classify this as an above-average seinen romance manga, though I find it difficult to offer more praise than that. For some reason, the emotional scenes did not resonate strongly with me, and if you're seeking an adult romance manga, I believe alternatives like Hetakoi might serve better.

Despite the somewhat lighthearted tone, I regard this work as a serious coming-of-age seinen romance manga, particularly delving into adolescent sexuality.

With these premises in mind, you shouldn't approach it as a typical romantic drama. Instead, view it as a narrative centered on the challenges that accompany sex and love, and how individuals evolve through these issues.

The storyline centers around several adolescents who are relatively inexperienced with love and sex, navigating various situations tied to these themes. Their immaturity often leads them to stumble over these difficulties; however, despite being significantly scarred, they learn from their pain and move towards a hopeful future.

My issue with it is that I find the ending somewhat rushed. The main heroine deserves more development within the plot.

This manga appears to aim for multiple arcs with only the main character as a common thread, each featuring different sets of characters and their own melodrama. However, melodrama succeeds only when the characters are well-developed and captivating to the reader. Thus, the first arc works relatively well. To be honest, though, most characters weren't particularly engaging here either; Mariko seemed rather flat, Mafuyu appeared fickle, and Takashi felt like he was just along for the ride. Yet, Sae was an outstanding character, experiencing significant growth and responding in various compelling ways. The conclusion of the arc was satisfactory and resonated emotionally with me. Unfortunately, the subsequent narrative became somewhat weak. The new characters introduced in the second arc, or what seemed to be another starting arc, lacked interest or involvement in intriguing relationships. It was interesting to see Takashi apply wisdom gained from the first arc and demonstrate personal growth, but beyond that, the new arcs never captured much interest. Nonetheless, the author manages to tie things together for the ending, which, although feeling somewhat forced, refocused on the manga's sole strength and presented a conclusion I found entirely satisfying. Still, everything between the end of the first arc and the finale felt somewhat pointless. The artwork was decent.

Tl;dr: A manga centered on relationships that starts strong but loses momentum until it recovers for a solid ending.

A dramatic seinen manga that delves into the tumultuous love life of an emotionally immature college student, though it falls short of its potential.

For most of the narrative, the focus revolves around four primary characters:

- Takashi: The aforementioned student who lives alone until his sister and her girlfriend move in with him.

- Mafuyu: Takashi's younger sister, a high school student exploring sex and love for the first time.

- Sae: Mafuyu's bisexual girlfriend, a high school dropout chasing after her lover.

- Mariko: A girl harboring feelings for Takashi, ready to make her move on him.

In the final third of the manga, the focus shifts predominantly to Takashi and his personal struggles, while the other characters fade somewhat into the background.

The manga primarily deals with themes of infidelity and maturity. It was refreshing to see the characters making deliberate choices about their relationships rather than being driven solely by their emotions. They choose to become close to others (often unwisely) and then decide whom they want to be with, sometimes wisely, other times not. Throughout the manga, we witness Takashi's decisions gradually improving.

I also appreciated the artwork. The characters and backgrounds are meticulously drawn and consistent. There is a significant amount of explicit content, but these scenes often serve to reveal something about the characters involved, rather than purely for titillation.

However, I had two major issues with the manga. Firstly, the characters' actions weren't always believable, especially those of the female characters. At times, it felt like their behavior was dictated by plot necessity to prolong the melodrama, rather than flowing naturally from their personalities.

This contributed to the middle section of the manga feeling dragged out. One particular storyline was very predictable, yet it was stretched over almost two volumes. This part of the manga was particularly hard to get through; twice I nearly gave up on it.

Lastly, the ending felt rushed, especially compared to the methodical pacing of the rest of the story. While I liked the pairings that resulted, at least one felt underdeveloped.

In conclusion, "Haru yo, Koi" is a decent manga that had the potential to be much better. It’s certainly a solid entry in the Seinen Romantic Drama genre, and fans of the genre should give it a read. However, it missed the opportunity to become a truly great romance, falling just short of greatness.

Just finished reading all of Haru yo Koi. I first heard about this manga when only the initial chapters were available as scanslations. Fast forward a few years, and I finally got the chance to read the entire series. I must say, Saki Kaori, despite being more famous for his adult comics, really knows how to craft a heartfelt story.

Haru yo Koi, contrary to its initial premise, is fundamentally about the protagonist Sone and his various relationships. We witness his first serious girlfriend, followed by a side girlfriend, and see the end of those relationships. As time progresses, we encounter two more girls whom Sone will eventually fall in love with and have his heart broken by (or vice versa). Everything unfolds in such a realistic manner, capturing emotions that most people would experience at some point in their lives. This drama is what makes Haru yo Koi so engaging. Yes, there's a lot of explicit sex, but it's not pornographic; after all, it is a manga for adults.

In the end, Sone does find someone he can keep, and although it's not surprising who it turns out to be, the resolution works incredibly well and feels quite cathartic. Fans of realistic romance depictions (not the idealistic versions found in shoujo comics) will definitely enjoy this work.