Manga: Love in Focus 3

Love in Focus Vol 3
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Swept along by Kei's suggestion to give dating a try, Mako struggles to see where she really fits in. Meanwhile, Mitsuru has become distant, and in her attempts to get back the friendship they had, Mako discovers his hidden past. Mako, Kei, and Mitsuru now have to confront their own feelings, and they might get a little lost before they find their true answers... 

The final volume is here at last, bringing this quick little series to an end! I can't say I was Kei's biggest fan before, but I didn't agree with his behaviour in this volume I have to say. He basically pushed her in to dating him and I was side eyeing him a lot...but then I've always had a soft spot for Amemura in each volume so far! 

Obviously, that decision of Kei's brings the drama this volume and Amemura understandably distances himself from her, but more importantly when it comes to him, we get to dive in to his past once again. I liked getting to understand him a little more, and why he is the way he is, he's quite easy to sympathise with and relate to. I also feel like we came to understand and get to know him a lot better than Kei which might be why I was never really team Kei at all. I never had a moment when I was torn between who Mako should end up with, if I'm honest. 

What was a nice aspect to this volume, was Amemura talking to both Mako and Kei about his past. I expected him to talk to Mako, but Kei was a surprise, they also gave him good advice that presented two different paths for him to take. Kei and Mako's advice and options for him both really fit their characters as well, I have to say. 

There's a little bit of drama and tension in this volume, and there's some humour too before everything comes to a satisfying end with each storyline being wrapped up, both the romance and Amemura's past! While not my favourite manga series ever, and while being a little predictable in places, it was still an easy, fun read! 

Manga: Love in Focus 2

Love in Focus Vol 2
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

After earning Mitsuru's trust, Mako's beginning to get the hang of living in Lens Inn with the high school photo club. Behind the scenes, however, Mako's best friend Kei warns Mitsuru to keep his distance. This ominous message exposes Kei's feelings for Mako, but Mitsuru is the only one who knows! Later, when the club members all go on a field trip together, a sudden downpour strands Mako and Mitsuru. What will the two do?!

If you cast your minds back to the first volume, a certain gauntlet was thrown at the end of the last volume. It would appear that I was right about a love triangle, as the feelings and romance step up in this volume with Amemura and Mako having some moments right from the beginning of the volume, and of course there's Kei. 

We get a nice amount of insight in to Kei as we get some more of his background and what his family was like, as well as concisely showing us how his feelings for Mako developed. It adds some depth to him as the character, making him more than just 'the childhood best friend', but it doesn't really make me root for him yet, I'm kind of Team Amemura! 

Nene decides to push the plot along by broaching the subject of love and feelings to Mao who we all know is completely oblivious to all of that! Kei meanwhile is struggling with his feelings, and we do have more of a focus on him this volume for the most part, as well as his little tense moments with Amemura. Of course, Mako has had her eyes opened a little bit and is trying to figure out what she's feeling and why when it comes to one of the boys....all in time for someone to make a confession that certainly complicates things. 

Volume two moves the story along swiftly, stepping up the romance after the initial introductions last volume. It gives us some cute moments, even if it's a tad predictable, and with the fast pace pushing the story forward with no time to drag it's a quick and fun read! 

Manga: Love in Focus

Love in Focus Vol 1 
Rating: 3/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Mako's always had a passion for photography. When she loses someone dear to her, she clings to her art as a relic of the close relationship she once had...Luckily, her childhood best friend Kei encourages her to come to his high school and join their prestigious photo club. With nothing to lose, Mako grabs her camera and moves into the dorm where Kei and his classmates live. Soon, a fresh take on life, along with a mysterious new muse, begin to come into focus! 

Love in Focus starts off sedately, Mako arrives at the boarding house she'll be staying at for school, we meet her childhood friend Kei, as well as her grouchy fellow first year, Amemura. She does get off to a shaky start with the latter, and there's somewhat of a mystery about him and his dislike of his face. Can relate bro. 

I'm assuming the boys we meet in this first volume are our love interests, so we have Amemura who's love interest 1. She's determined to take his photo because he moves her heart and she only takes photos of things that do so. 

Love interest 2 is predictably her childhood friend Kei. She's sure Kei sees her as a sister and....with those words I was quite sure he didn't. The little threatening scene with him was therefore a little unnecessary but I guess we need the confirmation. 

I'm assuming that Lucas is quite probably love interest 3, he's described as a sparkly Prince Charming after all. I'm curious to see whether he actually is a love interest or if he's just another pretty boy. 

This first volume has her settling in, we quickly get to grips with Amemura's secret and his reason for hating photos, which was actually a lot deeper than I expected to be perfectly honest, and I was pleased they didn't drag it all out for too long! We also get introduced to the other characters that we'll be seeing a lot of. 

Mako is a bright character who always seems to see the good side to things, and I'm liking her as our MC. There are a couple of cliches, but it's an enjoyable, nicely moving volume, and I did like the art! Particularly when it comes to drawing the settings and the photos! The volume ends with Kei throwing down quite the gauntlet but it's not really a surprise! I believe this is only a 3 volume series, so I'm intrigued to see how things will play out, but so far...it's off to a good and speedy start!