Okay, so I finished this manga and wanted to write a review for it. I don’t usually write one so I’m not really used to this but here goes.

The manga started off great. Most of the action scenes are really well done and very engaging at parts. Hijikata as a character is really well fleshed out and explored. Same can be said with quite a lot of the characters individually though not all. However, they aren’t really developed that well as a group.

The plot starts out well with good pacing but along the way, at some point near the end, it just escalates way too quickly involving way too many organisations. I am well aware of the other manga that is connected to this one and has yet to read them, so that may also be a reason for it. The ending still felt rushed and a bit forced.

One of the major themes of this manga seems to be romance, as suggested by the name but there is hardly any development on that aspect. I mean it gets brought up here and there a few times but is never really developed properly. It just sorts of works out in the end. I don’t really mind but it would have been nice to see some of the interactions between Hijikata and Haruka on those aspects.
The other thing is that Haruka gets used the whole commander mindset a little too quickly for a little girl her age but her growth was quite solid.

The ending felt quite rushed as I mentioned. The defeat of the final main villain was a little disappointing. This is because I believe, that they made him out to be almost omnipotent being that no matter what way they would have defeated him it would have felt disappointing.

Overall I would give it a 7 because I quite enjoyed the consistently strong and well-developed battle and the character development of the characters at an individual level.