Haru no Noroi

This manga is unexpectedly raw. I expected it to be a sad-sob love story, which is partially what it is, but there's an element of darkness and an unforeseen twisted mix of sinister emotions. The characters are so well crafted, everything is explained amazingly in the limited amount of chapters.

I didn't expect each character to have so much depth and similarities to every mundane actions and thought processes. Whilst reading the manga I saw a lot of raw and innate human emotions that was wonderfully expressed, it shows how humans are innately selfish and ignorant to those who care about them most. The variety of different character emotions and ambitions, a plethora of people to relate to, made me feel an attachment to each character.

If you want a dark, sad but bittersweet love story I highly recommend this underrated piece!

Basically this very sad story is about Natsume and her late sister's fiancee who are in the process of grieving because of her sad passing. I do wish this series expanded out even more like I did feel ok about it at first but the same time, I would've liked to have seen where and what the main characters have decided to do for themselves in a epilogue chapter. That the main reason why I'm giving this a 7/10 rating. I'm trying my best to keep this spoiler free so please just read this manga and you'll understand my point here lol.

If you're expecting a fluffy happy go lucky romance story, this definitely is not for you. It is quite heavy and intense in some scenes so you have been warned if you're planning to read this!

This story was cold cut and raw. Raw feelings, raw human emotions, real situations, and real feelings. Genuinely curious about how this manga would end, it was satisfying. Throughout the story, you could see both perspectives of what happened through each own lover's eyes. This story is a tale of at first unbelievable pain and grief, then heavy guilty and realization, and then finally mending.

The author's art style is unique, to say the least, but enjoyable and kind of bold, you can tell the characters standing by just the way they look. Cold eyes, elegant stance, and high dignity. In some moments of the story eyes and stance could really tell the character's emotions, especially with Natsumi in chapter 1 going through the grief of her sister's death.

The characters were really important and in-depth in this manga. I really enjoyed how raw they felt, without going into much detail, the characters weren't angels but they weren't demons either. Natsumi and her sister were well thought out characters, Even though Natsumi doted on her sister her whole life as best friends, and was in indescribable pain when she died realize that her character goes beyond that and she's actually a comedic person just going through grief like any other actual human would, she doesn't feel 2D. Touga was a character of less emotion than Natsumi and her sister but you can also find a way to relate to him throughout the story as you look into his life and other expectations. I won't say much about Natsumi's sister because that would be too much of a spoiler, but she's about as well as a person as Natsumi. The story does go into more about Natsumi's sisters feelings which were an eye opening experience for both the reader and Natsumi.

Such a shame that this manga doesnt get the recognition it deserves!

story:
The story follows the life of haru and her dead sister's fiancé togu. Now, you may think that romance between these 2 people may be a bit inappropriate; I know I did, but I decided to give this a chance. And boy am I glad I did! The story and the protagonist are well aware if the messed up situation she's in. The characters actually deal with the fact that their relationship is peculiar, to say the least. The story also shows how haru dealt/deals with the death of a person she was so close to. The pace is just right and despite the kind-of messed up plot, this series pulls it off very well!

Art:
This is where it truly shined for me. The mangaka does such a good job of portraying the emotions of the characters! The disgust they feel, the horror of losing someone, hesitation and so much more is so real. And the character design is very well done too. Honestly, one of the most unique and best arts IMHO in manga.

Characters;
Also where the manga shines. Like I said, they know what situation they are in and act and react like actual human beings. They are realistic, which is so much more than what can be said for a lot of mangas. Especially Haru. She feels like aperson you could actually meet and even relate to a bit.

Overall:
Amazing. Not cliché, realistic. Characters don’t automatically fall in love, everything takes time. I would’ve liked it to be a bit longer, but if it had been, it would’ve been to stretched out. The pacing was great. Highly recommended to everyone.

This manga really had me enthralled from the very first page. The drawings are pretty and add a good charm to the story.
The story pulls at your heartstrings. I could feel the sadness from the characters, the jealousy, the guilt, the grief, the confusion and I felt it with them. Every time Togo showed Natsumi any type of affection, even though he maybe didn’t do it consciously, my heart was about to jump out of my body, and I think even the neighbors could hear me squeal while sitting with my knees under my chin. Damn, Togo is so cute my heart can’t keep up.
The flashback does not seem confusing and follows the story perfectly, so they don’t seem forced in any way. Which make it very readable. I couldn’t find any faults in plot or pacing, just a wonderful, beautiful story.

I will without a doubt recommend this manga to everyone I know, it was so much better than I had anticipated, and I want to read more. What happens next? I want to know!

i highly, highly recommend reading this manga. it's relatively short too, which i wished it wasn't, but as you'll see, it adds even more depth to the story.

fair warning, don't expect to feel...refreshed after reading this manga. it's very heavy-hearted, and after reading it two times now, it's still has left me feeling like the heart i carry in my chest was much heavier than before. i really enjoy how this author constructs their characters and develops their plots, and i really recommend reading raise wa tanin ga ii too. you'll get to see how this author isn't afraid to question our morals through characters who feel more like real-life people rather than 2d fictional illustrations.

what i got from reading this manga was that 1) life is short and 2) because life is short, it's meaningless to live your life for others. both natsumi and touga found themselves in situations where they naturally were living for others. it never bothered them until haru died. and that's probably why it feels like such a bittersweet read. this manga really tests the way you see life in such a subtle yet strong way.