Manga: Waiting For Spring 11

Waiting For Spring Vol 11
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

It's time for the New Team Tournament, and the stakes are high. If Seiryo wins, the basketball team's ban on dating will be lifted, and if Mitsuki agrees, she and Towa can finally be an official couple. But then, Towa has a dream that he misses a crucial shot and loses to Aya... Could it be an omen?! 

Volume 11 starts off quickly, we've got New Years and Winter Break speeding by and then we're straight in with the first of three games that the boys need to win! We have quite an action packed volume thanks to the sports element, and we breeze through the tournament before pulling through in to the finals league and the showdown we've all been waiting for...Towa and Aya going head to head and the Champion being decided. 

Alongside that we have some little interludes at the cafe and with Sudo...I do feel for her, but it's also kind of funny because as much as she wants to ask questions and dislike Mitsuki, Mitsuki is just too nice! I have to say I was quite proud of Ryuji this volume for having the balls to ask Nana himself, he's come a long way, bless him! 

I still haven't quite warmed up to Aya, he just keeps popping up at the most annoying moments and it always makes me screech. However, I do like the way that Towa has handled this whole thing, particularly in this volume and despite his own feelings he gives Mitsuki space to figure things out for herself. 

There are a lot of important moments in this volume, there's realisation of feelings in some cases, important games and then the most important game of all which is suitably tense, nail biting and dramatic! Of course we're left on a cliffhanger, once again making me screech, but this is an overall intense volume that contributes some important scenes!  

Manga: Waiting For Spring 10

Waiting For Spring Vol 10 
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

With Aya's leg injured, Mitsuki wants nothing more than to see him fully recovered. And to everyone's surprise, Towa wants to help! He uses his grandfather's connections to arrange a group trip to a hot spring that will help Aya heal. Aya is reluctant to go at first, but Mitsuki manages to change his mind. Can Hojo's star player really become friends with the rest of the guys...? 

Towa demonstrates how well he knows Mitsuki and it's not long before, as the synopsis says, everyone heads off to the Hot Spring. Including Aya. What could possibly go wrong? Am I right!? 

I don't particularly like Aya, I'm not going to lie, and I knew he was up to something, so I was side eyeing, and kind of annoyed, by the fact that he manages to get Rui and Ryuji on side with him. Or at least friendly with him, the traitors. Luckily Kyosuke doesn't seem as easily bought and is rightly suspicious. I honestly wasn't sure if Aya was trying to drive a wedge between Towa and his friends or what, at one point. 

After the little interlude at the hot springs, that I will admit, I didn't really see the point to. I mean Aya says it makes him realise he needs to change but...does he really? Things do heat up after that as we start to prepare for the winter cup and Mitsuki slips up with her feelings which had me squealing because finally! 

For the most part though, nothing much happens this volume other than what happens at the end which finally pushes things forward a little bit. I feel like this was a pretty slow volume, and as much as I enjoy this series and can't wait to see how it ends because there are allusions made in this volume that she might pick Aya because of various reasons, and how it's going to be a difficult choice. Although I do feel like the obvious choice is actually Towa because her feelings for him are obvious but whatever. I'm starting to get a little bit impatient with this series, as I feel like a couple of volumes have been on the slow, dragged outside, along with this one. 

Manga: Waiting For Spring 9

Waiting For Spring Vol 9
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The pressure is on now that Aya and Towa have both professed their love to Mitsuki! Fortunately, she has a reliable mentor in Nanase, who is happy to offer what advice she can. But in the course of the conversation, Mitsuki hears some news so troubling that she forgets her own romantic woes...Are Ryuji's hopes doomed to come crashing down around him?! 

Okay so, with both of them confessing, it's obviously caused Mitsuki to have quite the dilemma. She does decide to be upfront with both Aya and Towa, so she's dropping the truth all over the place which I personally think shows how much she's grown as a character so far in the series. 

Meanwhile...we get to know some more about Nana and a past relationship, and of course Mitsuki caves and tells Ryuji who promptly had a little meltdown bless him. BUT there's some...progress perhaps with that relationship? I like that we're not forgetting about them, and keep flitting back to them alongside all the drama with Mitsuki and co. 

The tension between Towa and Aya heats up as Mitsuki is honest with both of the boys about her feelings towards Towa's promise. Aya gets a heroic moment...again. Sorry guys, I'm so not on team Aya. Basketball comes back in to focus this volume as we have some matches to enjoy this volume but there's a lot riding on them winning the tournament that they're entered in. Like being allowed to date for instance, which means...my boy Towa can up his game although after he and Aya's little testosterone fuelled showdown I figure he probably will already! I'm looking forward to things stepping up in the romance aspect and in the basketball aspect in the coming volumes! 

Manga: Waiting For Spring 8

Waiting For Spring Vol 8
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Mitsuki is ecstatic to find out how Towa really feels about her, but some rough patches still lie ahead...As long as Towa is on the basketball team, he's not allowed to date anyone. And what's more, Towa's not the only one vying for Mitsuki's affections! As Mitsuki wrestles with her own complicated thoughts, she makes her first visit to Towa's house! 

I love how the volume opened with Towa and the others having some casual bro time, discussing their feelings. It was actually quite cute and it showed what Mitsuki means to all of them and how she is perceived by them, although the flashback for Towa was kind of sad! It did make me smile that Mitsuki hasn't really had friends before and now she's really important to our little group. 

With Towa's little revelation, I was interested to see how it might change the dynamic between Towa and Mitsuki, and Mitsuki was honestly so relatable in her shy/embarrassed state afterwards. I was mildly concerned about Reina's reaction but it was actually kind of sweet of her, and I so love their friendship. Plus Reina was totally relatable in the sense that she is literally all of us reading, when she was told about the Aya thing and when she had her realisation. Her reactions are hilariously extra to these new developments. 

We get their first "date" and it brings us getting to see Rentaro from last volume again, and we get to know him a bit more. He's going to be joining the basketball team, and I'm interested to see whether that'll happen in this series or not. But he lets slip about Towa's family life and situation. 

We spend the whole volume pretty much, with Towa and Mistuki and we get to learn about Towa and see baby Towa and co, plus there's a cute moment or two thrown in! Not to mention the hilarity of Towa's grandpa throwing him under the bus "he may not be very friendly but his face is nothing to complain about". Poor Towa. 

I feel like this volume really lets us get in to Towa's mind and find out why he acts certain ways, which was becoming more necessary as the story progressed. Of course after all that we had to have Aya pop up at the end and honestly...I may have hissed "go away" at the page, especially when it gave us that ending. At least there's never a dull moment!

Manga: Waiting For Spring 7

Waiting For Spring Vol 7
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Mizuki is a shy girl who's about to enter high school, and vows to open herself up to new friendships. Of course, the four stars of the boys' basketball team weren't exactly the friends she had in mind! Yet, when they drop by the café where she works, the five quickly hit it off. Soon she's been accidentally thrust into the spotlight, targeted by jealous girls. And will she expand her mission to include... love? 

We pick up from last volume's cliffhanger with poor old Mitsuki who passed out. Aya has taken good care of her and we get to see some of what life was like for him after they separated and I do admit...I have now softened towards him a little bit. But I still want to whack him a few times. Things are moving along in the romance department, as Towa makes an interesting statement and basically....it's all set to kick off at the school festival. 

Cosplay abounds at said festival, and it's varying degrees of hilarious but none of it is as funny as Ryuji trying to have a heart to heart with Towa about his feelings. Awkward. 

The bickering between Towa and Aya never ceases to amuse me, nor does Towa's friends epically failing to eavesdrop on them. Honestly, they're such a bunch of idiots. 

As you can probably tell, this volume has plenty of humour and I was kind of on the edge of my seat waiting for Towa to do The Thing....and I may have cheered when he finally did. 

As of the end of this volume, everything's out there with both Aya and Towa and now the real competition can begin, I guess! Aside from that, we get more background on Aya and his feelings, and we get to see some more hilarious scenes with the group. 

Manga: Waiting For Spring 6

Waiting For Spring Vol 6
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

In her efforts to become a more proactive person, Mitsuki has agreed to join the school festival committee. Now she must lead class in putting together a cafe for the day of the big event. Towa has agreed to help her, but his mind is elsewhere. His team is about to have a joint practice with Aya's team, and he and Aya will finally have a basketball showdown...! 

Towa inexplicably agrees to cosplay for the cage their class is doing for the festival...much to Reina's delight and Mitsuki's bemusement. Mitsuki is all of us really, in this scenario. Turns out he's too focused on the practice against Aya which is imminent at the beginning of the volume. This series really doesn't hang about, the pacing is excellent! There's always something going on, whether it's action with the basketball games, or fluffy and cute scenes. 

Aya manages to rile up Ryuji and Rui and get on their bad side...and mine, I'm not going to lie. He has a one on one match with Towa and...let's just say he's out to win. As usual the action shots are beautifully drawn, and I'm in awe of them! 

There's a little bit of a mystery for us this volume, as something happens between Towa and Aya that we don't get to see, but other characters keep alluding to, and it ramps up the tension for the big showdown...and drives you mad in the process trying to work out what went on! To the extent I shrieked when Reina accidentally deleted the video! Like I said...it adds a nice bit of tension to this volume, and the game was wonderfully drawn. The tension between Aya and Towa really came off the page though. 

I have to say...Towa finally gets some balls in this volume, and provides us with a cute moment to rival Aya...finally! He also manages to crack a smile and laugh! Woooooo progress! 

Speaking of tension, Sudo gets her hands on Towa's wristband and see's a certain message...but she doesn't know who wrote it. However it does serve to give Rui some more page time as he realises Towa likes someone and Towa actually confesses to Rui who then starts to avoid him!? Oh yes folks, everything is kicking off this volume! 

Sudo has her suspicions but she actually goes to Reina for advice which provides some hilarity because it's a hilarious disaster...like that's the worse person you could go to! At this point I'm waiting for it drop and Sudo find out and some more drama come in to the series. 

Kyosuke is totally on to Towa and Mitsuki, despite the former trying to hide his feelings, and I'm curious to see if he's going to help them. 

I have to mention Rui, because this volume...there's a question of if he has feelings for Mitsuki or not or if he just wants to be a good friend. His character is expanded upon a lot more this volume, and I was living for it. Mitsuki opens up to him and it was nice to see the two become closer. Rui said he's on her side and honestly, I ship the bromance between the two of them! 

Things start to move this volume as Towa, with a push from Rui, determines to tell Mitsuki how he feels! ....I think. That's the impression I got anyway, but let's see if he follows through on it next volume! There's more potential drama being brought in, and more character development and growth throughout the volume! The volume ends on a cliffhanger, that had me screaming because of course when the thing happens with Mitsuki...Aya is right there. Forever screeching at this series honestly. 

Oh and we get a cute bonus chapter featuring Towa and it's totally adorable! 

Manga: Waiting For Spring 5

Waiting For Spring Vol 5
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Summer vacation is in full swing! When Mitsuki and her friends go to the amusement park together, she's faced with plenty of romantic date spots and superstitions. When she finally works up the courage to ask Towa to ride the Ferris wheel with her, her plans are interrupted and she has to think of another way...but just when Mitsuki's about to throw in the towel, Towa picks up the game right where she left off. Alone together on the Ferris wheel, Towa's confession of a secret past may be more than Mitsuki is ready to hear. 

This volume hit me right in the warm and fuzzies you guys! Mitsuki kinda misses her chance to tell Towa how she feels and Ryuji misses a prime chance with Nana. I think Kyosuke spurs Towa on a bit and makes him think a little. He kind of lays down the challenge when he mentioned Aya and kicks Towa's ass in to gear! 

This volume is such a tease with the Mitsuki/Towa moments and the almost thing that happened. But we do make progress as Towa realises his feelings for Mitsuki......fiiiinaaalllyyyyy! But....Mitsuki and Aya do hang out for the first time and she has it out with him about lying to her about being a girl and all of that. They finally have an honest talk and we see deeper in to their friendship and in to Aya himself...but I'm still Team Towa although he might have a struggle on his hands in the upcoming volumes. 

We get some interesting tidbits about Nana dropped, and there's plenty of cute moments no matter who you ship, but with Towa realising his feelings and starting to attempt to do something about it about it..and Aya throwing down the gauntlet for next volume, things are really heating up on the romance front and after this volume we know exactly where everyone stands ready for some drama to kick off! 

Manga: Waiting For Spring 4

Waiting For Spring Vol 4 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The preliminary games begin, and Towa and the squad are all fired up! Mitsuki's childhood best friend, Aya-chan, is also at the arena playing his best, and the stakes are high. As Mitsuki and Reina cheer on the Seiryo team, Mitsuki sees the boys sweep the floor and is inspired to work hard, too! But when a ref's whistle cuts through the air, a close friend lies injured on the court... 

The games about to start and we meet the Captain of the team who's kind of...elusive I guess you could say. There's a cute moment between Towa and Mitsuki right from the start. Mitsuki bless her, is so awkward sometimes! Reina cracks me up to another level, she's even a little bit relatable at times. She's formed an odd sort of alliance with Aya which is quite funny for us, but not great for Mitsuki! 

Speaking of Aya, I still can't bring myself to like Aya. He's so cocky and arrogant, plus I'm fully Team Towa! We're kind of getting spoiled with cute Towa/Mitsuki moments so I'm guessing we're going to have to have some Aya/Mitsuki moments soon. 

I'm not going to lie, I thought everything would be fine and rosy so I was surprised at the two little plot twists with one characters injury and the outcome of the game and so on. It was a nice little twist that not everything went the characters way as usually happens in these kinds of manga. 

We get to see Reina, Mitsuki and Nana hanging out with the boys and Rui and Ryuji get some more page time for once! Rui gets some solo interaction with Mitsuki too which was interesting because we don't really see them interact all that much away from the group and to be honest we don't really see Rui much anyway. Kyosuke has his own moment with her too, and I'm totally sure he's messing with her because he clearly knows exactly what's going on and who has feelings for who. I kinda want to smack him one. 

The volume leaves us with excitement for the next as something could fiiiiiinally be about to happen, and there's plenty of cute moments throughout the volume as well as some well drawn action shots of the basketball tournament! 

Manga: Waiting For Spring Vol 3

Waiting For Spring Vol 3
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Mizuki is a shy girl who's about to enter high school, and vows to open herself up to new friendships. Of course, the four stars of the boys' basketball team weren't exactly the friends she had in mind! Yet, when they drop by the cafe where she works, the five quickly hit it off. Soon she's been accidentally thrust into the spotlight, targeted by jealous girls. And will she expand her mission to include... love?

Things are hotting up in the romance department! Kyosuke confronts Mitsuki about she and Aya after spotting them, like not really confronts but more like teases her a little bit! Although he does fully throw her under the bus later in the volume like the brilliant friend he is! I can't quite figure Towa out, but he does appear to be quite jealous, and he's definitely making his move....finally! Aya is kind of bugging me, possibly because I don't ship he and Mitsuki and I'm like 'yes okay...go away now!'. 

Mitsuki makes another friend this volume in Maki! Although she doesn't seem to realise that Maki is a love rival for her! Maki seems nice enough to be fair, and she and Mitsuki are quite fun together! They plan to do their best and keep trying which was sweet. I'm wondering how much of a misunderstanding she's going to cause and how much it's going to screw everything up though! 

Reina continues to be completely hilarious to me. Bless her. I wish I had the money for a camera lens like hers, I'm not going to lie. That's some heavy duty telescopic stuff right there! But she's exactly the kind of friend Mitsuki needs and she's helping her to be better and I live for their friendship! 

Ryuji bless him, tries to thank Mitsuki in his own gruff way which was kind of hilarious and I really need more of him and the two of them interacting! I love how all the boys act like her squad and are kind of like annoying older brothers at points, it's sweet! 

There's some cute and fluffy scenes between Mitsuki and Towa and it seems like we might be getting somewhere with this romance fiiinally! Like there's definitely developments but there's a misunderstanding possibly about to cause a snag, and then there's Aya. Aya is the ever present thorn in my ships side. Or should I say iceberg? Either way, there's incoming drama to offset the sweetness of the story!

The volume once again leaves me wanting more, I've yet to be disappointed by a volume. We get some basketball games in this volume, and they're drawn brilliantly! The volume and story in general are moving at a nice pace too, and there's always something happening. This is such a lighthearted, sweet series! 

Manga: Waiting For Spring Vol 2

Waiting For Spring Volume 2
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

A sweet shojo story of a soft-spoken high school freshman and her quest to make friends, Waiting for Spring will delight fans of earnest, fun, and dramatic shojo like Kimi ni Todoke and Say I Love You. 
Mizuki is a shy girl who's about to enter high school, and vows to open herself up to new friendships. Of course, the four stars of the boys' basketball team weren't exactly the friends she had in mind! Yet, when they drop by the cafe where she works, the five quickly hit it off. Soon she's been accidentally thrust into the spotlight, targeted by jealous girls. And will she expand her mission to include... love?

I'm not going to lie to you guys, I love this series. It's my little dose of fluff and humour whenever a volume comes out and I genuinely look forward to each new volume. It's the only shojo manga I've ever read, so I'm not brilliantly versed in the ways of them so I could have missed/be missing something. That being said...on to the review and my feels about what happens in this volume.... 

So, we're a day or so on from the events of the last volume and we do get the rest of that scene in a little flashback and it played out kinda similar to how I assumed it would. Towa is giving Mitsuki the cold shoulder because he's mad, about what...well that's up to you. I figure he's jealous or upset about her friendship with Aya. 

Now, I ship Mitsuki and Towa so hard, it's not even funny. Things where going so well last volume, way too well for a first volume now that I think about it. So of course, along comes Aya to screw it all up. Which was fine because Towa makes his little declaration...interpret it as you will. I think I know how we're all interpreting it. Mitsuki and Towa do get a little closer in this volume, she's more relaxed around him to an extent, although the author does keep faking us out. Like when I thought we where about to get a date but it's like nope...group basketball time! 

But....I just can't figure Towa out. The guys do end up grilling Towa a little bit about Mitsuki and his feelings, and I can't decide if he realises his feelings or not. It becomes obvious in this volume that he's pretty dense. But it's also obvious he likes Mitsuki and they have mutual feelings for each other. I just cannot for the life of me work out if Towa realises how he feels or not. Because at one point it seemed like he was pushing her towards Aya at one point and I was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HOW DUMB ARE YOU!?".  So I haven't decided if he's actually as dense as he seems, or if he hasn't realised his feelings or what. I guess we'll see. 

Mitsuki does come out of her shell a bit more in this volume thanks to said group basketball time, and she's attempting to put herself out there and make more friends with the help of Reina. Aya provides an interesting change in Mitsuki, previously her BFF, upon finding out that Aya is in fact a boy, Mituki becomes quite uncomfortable around him and isn't really sure how to act. Which is going to prove interesting next volume. So we kinda get two Mitsuki's....more relaxed Mitsuki with Towa and co...and then old school Mitsuki with Aya. 

Reina continues to crack me the hell up. I love her so much, she's such a shameless boy's love fangirl and I know full well she's shipping each of the boys with each other. It's becoming more and more glaringly obviously, except Mitsuki still hasn't figure it out. It genuinely cracks me up so much, like the whole "I hold in my rage" bit and when she's so happy but trying to cheer Mitsuki up and she's like "Shake it off" *Big smile*. 

Anywaaaaayyy, Aya surprised me this volume a little bit, because I spent most of last volume looking at Aya and trying to decide if Aya was a tomboy or was actually a boy...I went with tomboy and then the reveal happened in this volume and I was like "Oh". So it was a nice little twist that some may or may not have seen coming. We get to see some more of what Mitsuki and Aya's friendship was like when they where younger, and how they met and so on, which was really adorable and totally hilarious because Mitsuki realises all the things they did and discussed only because she thought Aya was a girl. Mitsuki is so relatable, I love her! I can empathise with her as well, with the bullying situation and how she feels. We get an....interesting scene with Mitsuki and Aya towards the end and all I can say is...love rival much Towa? 

But fear not, fellow Mitsuki/Towa shippers, we get plenty of cute scenes with her and Towa, that will provide the warm and fuzzies, and move their relationship/friendship along a little bit. However....that may be it for a little while as I have a feeling the next volume might be a little bit Aya centric. Just a hunch. 

Rui, Kyosuke and Ryuji are such little shites. That's my take away from this volume. No I'm kidding! I mean it's true, but more than that we do get to know them a little bit better this volume and see how they interact with each other and what makes them tick, although I think we get to know Towa the most this volume, with Kyosuke a bit behind. 

Speaking of Kyosuke, so Towa might not have realised his feelings for Mitsuki himself yet, but you know who has realised? Kyosuke. He's living for this entire situation, he looked way too happy at one point. He's going to meddle so much, I can tell. He's like a gossipy old biddy, sticking his oar in. I mean I'm sure he's Team Towa, but...I don't trust him not to relish his newfound role as Chief Meddler too much and screw it up. I'm not even surprised he's the one who's on to them. 

Waiting For Spring Volume 2 is even funnier than the first, and I was outright cackling more than once. Reina is struggling to hide her little obsession, and Mitsuki is starting to come out of her shell. Not very successfully but she's trying. We get a lot more character development, delving deeper in to some of the characters and their backgrounds. The romance moves along too as it becomes obvious about Towa and Mitsuki's feelings, whether or not Towa realises his feelings is another matter entirely. He's either self sabotaging on purpose, subconsciously or he's just really dumb. Who knows. But either way the plots moving along, we get some cute scenes, we get some trouble in the form of Aya and it's shaping up to be a dramatic third volume in our future. 

Buckle up kiddies, we're heading to love triangle territory and it's going to be a bumpy ride. Kyosuke said so and everything. 

Manga: Waiting For Spring Vol 1

Waiting For Spring Vol 1
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

A sweet romantic story of a soft-spoken high school freshman and her quest to make friends, Waiting for Spring will delight fans of earnest, fun, and dramatic shojo like Kimi ni Todoke and Say I Love You. 

Mizuki is a shy girl who's about to enter high school, and vows to open herself up to new friendships. Of course, the four stars of the boys' basketball team weren't exactly the friends she had in mind! Yet, when they drop by the cafe where she works, the five quickly hit it off. Soon she's been accidentally thrust into the spotlight, targeted by jealous girls. And will she expand her mission to include... love?


I looooveee this manga! Like I read this volume and I can't wait for Volume 2...I need it now! I'd be tempted to read each individual chapter as it's released if the publisher was doing that (I don't think they are, correct me if I'm wrong!) which is something I never do because I love reading just one big volume! I'm impatient and the little chapters aren't enough but I desperately need more of this manga!   I'd been looking forward to this manga ever since it arrived on my doorstep and I purposely saved it for last, I knew it was going to be a mood lifter! 

Mitsuki is so relatable, I'm not going to lie. I loved her so much! As for the other characters....Towa is my favourite so far, I ship him and Mitsuki so badly it's not even funny. Rui is coming in a close second, he cracks me up so much! I'm not sure how I feel about Kyosuke and Ryuji so far, I need to see more of them to decide! They all seemed kind of like a-holes at first to be honest! It was nice to get to know them and see them interact with each other and with her and see another side to them and what they're really like. 

Nana was another favourite character of mine, she was surprisingly nice, I'd pegged her as a mean character! I was also pleasantly surprised by Reina too! I loved all of Mitsuki's interactions with the boys. Waiting for Spring is such an enjoyable read and it really pulls you in and brightens your mood and then it leaves you hanging at the end! 

Waiting For Spring is funny, enjoyable, easy to read and super addictive. It's also ridiculously cute and very well drawn, not to mention light and funny! I'm so excited for each new volume and to see where the story goes and if my ship sails and to get to know the other characters better! I had high expectations for this one and it really didn't let me down! It's looking to be a great romance manga!