The unremarkable Taichi has been friends with baseball star Touma since they were kindergartners. Now enters classmate Futaba who has feelings for Touma like many others, and Taichi agrees to help her make her love come true. Despite Taichi’s best efforts, Touma has his own feelings on who he loves. Futaba’s friend Masumi who has been in and out of multiple relationships sees the writing on the wall, but she can’t stop her feelings either and remains silent.

We hate to be vague, but there’s just something special about reading this that shouldn’t be spoiled and should be revealed naturally. You can probably piece it together by now, but the only two people completely in the dark in this group are the two about to unexpectedly fall in love. Taichi and Futaba’s developing romance is going to shake up everything at their school in ways they don’t yet realize.

This is a perfect love polygon. No anger, no judgment, you understand how the characters feel and why they struggle. You feel for each one of them, and it can’t develop any other way. This manga is near impervious to our habit as readers to second guess characters. It’s as flawless a school drama as we’ve ever read. We just can’t stop reading it.

Satoko Tawada is nearing 30 and filled with a loneliness she’s just learned to accept. One night, she sees the pitiful Mashu Hayami, a boy of 12, playing soccer by himself unsupervised. Concerned, she ends up giving him some pointers on how to play from her school days. The two begin a fast friendship of meeting at the park and dark details of his home life begin to worry her. But as an adult, Satoko understands fully the risks of dealing with an unrelated minor, even with the best intentions.

As he ages, Satoko’s relationship with Mashu perplexes her to no end. Does she see him as a son, a brother, a lover? He clearly has feelings for her, but she, as an unrelated older woman, can’t continue to remain in his life forever. As much as she wants to help him through his domestic issues, she faces challenges from those questioning her motives and her own conscience. This is a mature, introspective look at a realistic situation that doesn’t feel any less real despite being a manga, and we’re enjoying reading it.

Yuuki has always been short and feminine looking, so when his first crush brutally rejects his confession, he is heartbroken. Crying in the park, he encounters the cool and beautiful Takamine, a street performer who happens to cheer him up. Happy with the encounter, neither of them expects to meet each other again at school. They grow closer, but Yuuki doesn’t believe what they share is love, and devaluing his own self-worth, he isn’t willing to test his theory. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and these two’s feelings can’t be denied.

Looking Up To You is a fantastic fast romance of a mismatched couple with Yuuki being short and feminine and Takamine being handsome and tall. At every turn, she accepts Yuuki for who he is, which shocks and scares him, but reveals the best sides of them. As those around them begin to see the changes in both, they begin to learn just what they mean to each other. This is a fantastically enjoyable manga about accepting one’s self despite what others think.