A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Genres: Manga, Romance
Pages: 162
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #16
Rating:

Synopsis:

Nobuko and Hiroki's long-distance relationship has hit a bit of a rocky patch. Hiroki is plagued by his own anxieties, but still rushes to Nobuko's side when he senses something is amiss. But when they finally meet, she has an unusual request to make of him... How will their relationship change as they try to focus on life beyond love?

Volume 16 of Akane Tamura’s is the last one I hadn’t reviewed fully, and now I’m almost at the end of the series so far in my reread! Boo. It’s another really cute volume, even though Hiroki is struggling with feeling jealous and Nobuko is still finding her way with new friends and coworkers. I love how Hiroki and Nobuko communicate and work things out, and how Nobuko resolves herself to do better — for Hiroki and also by apologising to Asuka.

The side characters are really quite prominent over the next few volumes, with Hiroki so far away, and I don’t always love that because I’m here for Hiroki and Nobuko. Still, Asuka’s love for Tai is cute, as is Aoike and Shiotani’s friendship.

Honestly it’s all a pretty realistic portrayal of young adulthood, made interesting by the fact that Hiroki and Nobuko are sweet and determined to make their relationship work, unwilling to let lack of communication hinder anything. You can really root for them.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)