By Gwyn

This is the final review for the series until volume 7 comes out in June. I usually pre-order this series because I like to get it as soon as possible. Barnes and Noble is the best place to pre-order to be honest- sometimes you can receive the books a few days before the release in stores. So rather than Amazon, I suggest Barnes and Noble if it’s available to you.

Fumi is caught by surprise by Akatsuki’s confession and at first she doesn’t believe him. He asks why , as he ran in the heat from their house to come pick her up. Fumi explains that he is irresponsibly kind, and then she gets her hopes up, and then only gets hurt in the end. She basically tells him how she had felt for quite some time, although she doesn’t really say just how long.

I find that Tsubaki-Chou is very similar to Daytime Shooting Star, where the emotions are high for both the main character and their crush. I think that both series were written about the same time as well. Both series are full of angst and the main character in them suffer from some form of heartache. One even more so in Daytime Shooting Star, at least so far- we’ll have to see how Tsubaki-Chou progresses when volume 7 comes out later in the summer.

Fumi tells her friend Yoh-chan, who congratulates her for having her first boyfriend, although the relationship between Fumi and Akatsuki hasn’t seemed to change. Fumi tells Yoh-chan that she feels like she is the only one whose heart is racing and asks if that is how it is when dating a man.

Yoh-chan doesn’t know, but when their friend Aioi walks by, she calls him over to ask him if guys get giddy when they date. First, he says how would he know, and then he suddenly thinks of Yoh-chan, and then says “maybe a little.” But Aioi also reassures Fumi that Akatsuki is not the kind of guy that would change drastically and that she shouldn’t worry and just be more confident.

There is a huge change in Aioi since he first met Fumi, when he despised her. After they learned more about each other, they become friends and he becomes more interested in Yoh-chan over time. Aioi reminds me of Mamura in Daytime Shooting Star, where he is moody in the beginning and cools off over time.

When Akatsuki meets Gorou for drinks, he informs Gorou that he asked Fumi out. When Gorou asks why, Akatsuki admitted he didn’t have a good feeling when Fumi told him she liked someone- but even though he was startled when she admitted to liking him, but he didn’t hate the idea. The problem with Akatsuki is that he is completely clueless when it comes to relationships. Once he tells Gorou that he had no intentions on making dates with Fumi, Gorou is at a loss.

It’s up to Gorou- once again- to advise Akatsuki on what he needs to do and not only that, but inform him what a relationship entails. It is very obvious that Akatsuki has no idea what dating entails, and Gorou explains all of that to him. Akatsuki isn’t sure about going on a date because he hasn’t solidified his feelings yet; but he also doesn’t know what it is like to “falling for someone.”

When he gets home, he sees that Fumi stayed up late just to welcome him home. And that is what she explains to him that that was the reason she stayed up so late. Akatsuki stares at her briefly, causing her to blush, and then asks her if she wants to go on a date, and she blurts out that she does, and they go out on their date the next day.

Throughout the date, where they both seemed to pick places for the other, Akatsuki questions to himself why is it Fumi, and what is it about her that he wants to get to know her better. It’s during the date that Fumi sees Katsura watching her and Akatsuki from the train.

So there’s a little bit of drama there, and we learn a little bit about Katsura, and how she likes playing otome games. She mentioned to Fumi how Akatsuki looks like one of the men she likes in her game.

But more drama starts when there’s a third year student at Fumi’s high school, and he begins speaking with Fumi and has an eye on her. This already starts causing some problems by the end of the volume, as Akatsuki is waiting for Fumi at home, and is thinking that she is late coming home. This is where the volume leaves off, leaving no sneak preview for the next volume, which is unusual, since every other volume gives you a little sneak peek. But this is actually a good way to go about it because doing it this way, will make you want to read it as soon as possible.

Until Volume 7 comes out, I’ll be reviewing more manga series and anime series.