Given vol 1 by Natsuki Kizu

Uenoyama has found the perfect napping spot at school, but he’s miffed one day to find another guy sitting there. This new person is clutching a guitar with broken and rusty strings, which morally offends Uenoyama, a serious guitarist. He fixes the strings and reluctantly gives it back, and the newcomer begs Uenoyama to teach him guitar. After wearing him down, Mafuyu finally gets Uenoyama to teach him. Uenoyama dreads the task until Mafuyu sings, and Mafuyu’s voice pierces Uenoyama. He introduces Mafuyu to his band mates, Akihito and Haruki, who are both also stunned by Mafuyu’s vocal talents. When a classmate tells Uenoyama that Mafuyu dated a boy in junior high, and that the boy committed suicide, he must figure out what he thinks and feels about Mafuyu, or decide to ignore this information completely.

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This first volume sets up a wonderful romantic storyline but doesn’t sacrifice story development for it. There’s already a bit of romantic tension between Akihito and Haruki for readers to enjoy in the first volume, but the foundations for another in-band romance are definitely set up here. Not as much time and attention is paid to Akihito and Haruki and they are a little bit blended in my head presently, so hopefully future volumes will focus a bit on them and making them distinct. Uenoyama is sort of a typical suave, cold protagonist that is popular in Shōjo and Yaoi, but he’s showing signs already of softening up.

This series is rated as Teen+, but this first volume is a little tame for that rating. It may get more serious as it progresses, but the only thing to look out for in this volume is the conversation around suicide. 

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: SuBLime (VIZ Media)
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
ISBN: 9781974711826 (Paperback)

​​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Music, School Life, Romance, LGBTQ+, VIZ Media