Thanks to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Summer of You" follows two best friends as they hang out together but also deal with the fact that one of them has feelings for the other friend.

A fantastic slow burn story! I like that it's sweet as well and the awkwardness is handled well. The bonus chapters at the end were great too. I really enjoyed both of the main characters and they felt fleshed out enough (their home lives weren't really expanded on but I was fine with that) and felt real.

A wonderful story with gorgeous artwork!

This was such a breath of fresh air.
A sweet story of friends to lovers but done in a way that I don't think I've ever experienced in this genre.
If I'm to be considered well-read in any handful of areas, you can bet Yaoi Manga is on that list - and somehow, I've never encountered a story so removed from the usual toxicity I've come to expect in the beginning of these types of story.

This first volume ensured that I'll be coming back for next one.

This story follows high-schoolers Wataru and Saeki as they navigate their relationship and what they mean to each other, all in the span of a single summer.

I really enjoyed this story. The narrative was a bit fast paced, and sometimes the speech bubbles were done in such a way that I couldn't tell who was speaking, but I still had fun reading this.

YAOI, has a beautiful blue cover and is based in the summer? Bring it on!

While I've read manhwa and webtoons before, this was only the second manga volume which I finished from beginning to end. And how could I not? It was such a feel-good meet-cute and I was all eyes for the cover <3

Watching Wataru and Saeki fall in love with a slow burn over movies in the summer was all I needed to detox after a long day working from home. The art was as beautiful as the cover, especially the ones in the end. Although it just had 4 chapters, the twists, resolutions and romantic moments were pretty much balanced enough to give the yaoi a sensible plot.

I can proudly say I'm more confident to read more manga and obviously the volume 2!

An absolutely heart wrenching and lovable story. It is so sweet and well told, that you get swept away with the lovely romance and beautiful friendship that you cannot help but enjoy. This is definitely forming up to be one of my favourite boy love romances and cannot wait for anything g else by the author. A definite must read

Comics & Graphic Novels | LGBTQIA | BL | Manga | Romance

My summer of you was a realistic, sweet and heartfelt manga perfect for readers who love shounen-ai and the friends to lovers trope! This was exactly the BL manga I was looking to read while enjoying my last days of summer-break!
The Summer of You (My Summer of You Vol. 1) - Nagisa Furuya

RATING: 5/5 ✩
AUTHOR: Nagisa Furuya 

r e v i e w
Chiharu is the boy every girl wants to date - very handsome and popular, who by chance becomes very close friends with Wataru (who is contrastingly plain/unpopular) when they discover that they have a similar taste in movies! However, their perfect summer takes a turn when Chiharu confesses that he likes Wataru as more than a friend! 

I had the feeling that I was going to love this manga from the first page! I absolutely lovedddd the art - the expressions are very nice! And the art style is very important to me!  

Furthermore I loved the characters, their unique personaliteis and especially their friendship!  I loved how they stayed friends after Chiharu’s confession - but still their friendship slowly develops into a relationship. This made the story feel very realistic and not “forced” at all! Along the way they have their hurdles and hardships to overcome which adds to that!  (Omg the heartbreak and background stories had me sobbing) 

One point of critique is the plot development towards the ending. *minor spoiler* While I absolutely love a HEA and I am so happy that this was the case for “The Summer of You vol.1”  (and therefore allowed a second volume to be written which I am SUPER excited for ) it made the story a bit less realistic - however I guess we all dream of a lovestory with a HEA so I can’t complain  

Thank you so much Kodansha Comics and Nagisa Furuya for approving my NetGalley request and providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

[edition: Kindle Edition, 262 pages
Published: June 29th 2021 by Kodansha Comics (first published July 28th 2017)
Original Title: 君は夏のなか
Language: English
ASIN: B097NSFFS4
https://kodansha.us/volume/the-summer-of-you-my-summer-of-you-vol-1/
Series: 君は夏のなか / Kimi wa natsu no naka #1 ]

Comics & Graphic Novels | LGBTQIA | BL | Manga | Romance

It's a sweet and lovely story. Saeki and Wataru are cute and the storyline was simple which made it enjoyable to read.

Mangaka Nagisa Furuya has maintained notable popularity amongst fans of the slice-of-life and BL genres. Their next original work, Futari no Lions is set to be released this December, and rounds off a successful year which has seen both volumes of their My Summer of You series published in English over the course of the last two months.

The first of these short and sweet summer treats, The Summer of You, compiles the early days of duel leads Wataru and Saeki's friendship-turned-romance. Both film fanatics, the boys bond fast over their love for the big screen, despite seeing little of one another inside of school. Their dynamic is turned on its head one evening at the beginning of summer however, when Saeki admits that his true feelings for Wataru run a lot deeper than friendship. It's an immediate diversion from most romantic shorts, which save their confessional scenes for the most climactic of moments.

With his reveal, Saeki invites Wataru on a pseudo-pilgrimage cross-country to the set locations of one of his favourite films. This refreshing change of pace invites with it some truly investing narrative beats, which sees Wataru able to compartmentalise his own feelings for Saeki while also being supportive of his friend's coming out. As their journey unfolds, Wataru worryingly comes to the realisation that this entire venture is Saeki's form of a farewell, secretly planning on transferring school to begin afresh and put behind him what he believes to be unrequited love.

The Summer of You successfully drip-feeds its readers with hints of Wataru and Saeki's shared past, foreshadowing that aids in enriching the pair's developing feelings for one another in the narrative's present. By the volume's climax, Wataru and Saeki's reunion and tender first kiss feels entirely earned, their feelings for one another timid, unsure, and all-the-more natural.

Furuya's assortment of supporting characters are not nearly as developed as Wataru and Saeki, though fulfil their purpose well enough to relay information and add some dimension to the world. There is potential for their own stories to be explored in future volumes, though should focus remain solely on the journey of Wataru and Saeki, this does not necessarily warrant criticism, given Furuya's leads are strong enough in their own right.

Overall, The Summer of You is a tender and well-realised young romance. Its mature approach to queerness and gender performance were a pleasant surprise, with both Wataru and Saeki's personal views of sexuality refreshing in their openness. Unlike many initially one-sided BL romances, Wataru is never "freaked out" by Saeki's romantic confession, rather he is more concerned with supporting his friend and affirming that his view of Saeki has not changed. Wataru's immediate acceptance is what allows for their romance to blossom so naturally. There is never any concerns regarding a same sex-relationship, nor the potential of negative reactions from other characters. Wataru and Saeki simply fall for one another, like a scene out of a movie, and it is wonderful.

This was such a fun read. Following two boys who fall for each other during the summer break and it starts from a friendship to a relationship. I really liked the pace of the story and it was more realistic that way. I also thought that the two of them were so cute together and how one has a crush on the other and is so smooth at it is so wonderful. I liked that there wasn't a big change in their relationship and it wasn't cringy at all. This is the kind of story I really liked even if the relationship isn't sexual at all. I definitely ship these two together. I really hope there is no love triangle in the second volume.

I would love to check out other mangas by this author in the future.

***eProof gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction***

What a nice manga to pass the time with on a grey August Bank Holiday.

While I didn't get swept up with the story like I hoped when I requested this on NetGalley and there were several elements that I wasn't a fan over (won't say here due to spoilers),, this was a nice slice-of-life/first summer romance read.

It just wasn't for me.

I got to know this manga thanks to this platform and I have been totally enchanted by the story. Apparently, this volume is a self-contained story that is part of a saga, so I'm sure I'll read the whole saga.

This volume tells the story of two boys who are high school friends. One of them confesses his feelings to the other and from there begins a plot of love, insecurities and self-acceptance.

The story behind the characters' past touched my heart. What's more, the main characters are cute and they have a good heart.

The drawing is very neat and beautiful. The author has done a great job conveying feelings through the different characters.

The summer of you is a sweet and romantic story, with some dramatic touches and a lot of representation that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

You will have the complete review in Spanish on my website soon.

My Summer of You is raw and an innocent storytelling about these two charming boys. And I had so much fun reading this manga. This is quite the cliché one but it was so beautifully done. The art style is so cute and vivid as well. Everything about this book is lovely and it felt so real. You’ll about to fall again for the first time.

(Massive thanks to Kodansha Comics for my digital copy!)

First, I want to say thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the copy!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was great to see more LGBTQ+ representation and the story was definitely a cute romance between the two main characters. I love the lengths that both of them went to to guarantee a great summer and how it started out as a friendship until both were able to reciprocate their feelings.

I do wish there was more development with the other characters, because I found myself forgetting who his friends were. I also wish we would've gotten more of a peek into what places they actually went to over the summer.

Overall, it was still a great Manga with beautiful artwork and I cant wait to see where their story takes them next!

What cute, light-hearted manga! I enjoyed the friendship/romance, despite there being one particular element that seemed a bit odd. I did not expect the plot twist, but it was not for the shock factor- it definitely built up to it. Overall, the characters were cute, as well as their adventures. I thought the plot elements and character development were well balanced. I do want to continue with the next volume when it is available!

My Summer of You is the story of two high-school boys who bond over their shared love of movies. After a year of hanging out, Chiharu confesses his love for Wataru. Not wanting things to change or get awkward they set out to pilgrimage to locations from their favourite movies and Wataru starts to realise his own feelings along the way.

This is a really nice, simple manga that feels like summer. It tells a really sweet story that’s emotional without coming across as schmaltzy. The artwork is nice with clean, crisp panels that give everything a really summery feel. There’s not much conflict here and it’s just pure escapism.

I really like the idea of travelling to the locations of favourite movies, it’s a nice touch to the story and makes it more interesting to see the main characters talk passionately about films they like. They are also nice characters that have good chemistry together.

There is a flashback sequence that is a little messed up, that sets the whole plot in motion. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. It’s a twist in the plot, so I can’t spoil anything, but it feels like something I’ve seen before and at the same time I don’t think it works completely. It’s hard to talk about without spoiling it, but I think the flashback could have been tweaked slightly to be less messed up and the story would still work nicely.

Aside from that I enjoyed this book and will read more when the second and final volume comes out later this year. I haven’t read much romance manga, so I’m not sure how original it is, but as a newcomer it’s an enjoyable tale of summer and love.

This was so wholesome and cute.

It really enjoyed the dynamic between Wataru and Saeki.

I loved how open Wataru is towards Saeki and that despite not quite seem to understand where Saeki is coming from he doesn't push him away and freak out.

The ending was also wonderful, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next volume.

Very sweet slice of life friendship turned romance! I was surprised by the depth of the history between the main characters and really enjoyed their film pilgrimage!

This was just okay. Hard to follow at times due to the placement of the conversation bubbles. It was a decent story, just not really for me.

The Summer of You is a lighthearted and fluffy manga. It was an overall fast-paced story but not a very remarkable one. If you're like me and you had your fair share of bl mangas, you are going to encounter many clichés and familiar tropes in this story. There's the popular guy who all the girls want, and he rejects them all, the best friend of the popular guy who is oblivious to his friend's feelings for him, summer vacations trips, and a dramatic backstory revelation at the end.

I enjoyed reading about Chiharu's love confessio, Chiharu's and Wataru's trip, the boys getting to know each other, Wataru's slow understanding of his feelings, and the overall summer vibe. However, the revelations of Chiharu's backstory were a bit overdramatic, and it didn't add much to the story. Also, Chiharu's behavior at the end made me like him less, and the resolution of their problems was too convenient for my liking.

Spoiler zone! Chiharu decides to leave after the summer break and not tell Wataru about it. I was not a fan of how he chose not to come clean to his friend and vanish. It was one of the big things that decreased my general enjoyment of the story. There's also the use of "we knew each other since we were children" which is a classic in romance mangas. I thought it was cute, but as it is a story very based on clichés, it might not be for everybody. End of spoiler zone!

Overall, Summer of You is a cute bl manga with a bit of angst at the end. If you read many bl mangas, you may find this story full of clichés and not very innovative. However, if you love some comfort romance with mentioned tropes and angsty teen drama or if you're a beginner in the bl manga world, you should go for it!

Courtesy of Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to review this volume.

The Summer of You is a story about two high school students and their unlikely friendship. The two main protagonists, Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda can’t be any more different. While Chiharu Saeki is the school’s heartthrob, Wataru Toda tends to blend into the background. However one day, both students bump into each other at a bookstore and come to find out that they share the same hobby, a love for films. This realization then kicks off their friendship and they become close friends fairly quickly. After some time, however, Chiharu Saeki confesses that he views Wataru Toda as more than a friend, deciding to finally reveal his true feelings. While Wataru Toda initially doesn’t seem bothered by the confession, things begin to change as time progresses. The story explores themes of friendship, LGBTQ+, self-identity, and the freedom of choice.


I really loved this first volume! Not only was the artwork beautiful, but the characters, the pacing, and the story itself were amazing. These characters are easily likable and enjoyable to read about, especially during scenes where the reader can really see how different Chiharu Saeki and Wataru Toda are. It was adorable to see how each character could fluster the other. The pacing was quick but was able to still properly flesh out and develop plot points. I think it was a great choice to include the bonus stories at the end of the volume. Also, I found the depiction of LGBTQ+ elements to be realistic. While there are people who are accepting, there is still a large amount of insecurity and fear of judgment that LGBTQ+ individuals face. Therefore, it seemed realistic to see a struggle for both protagonists to be comfortable expressing their feelings towards each other in public. I look forward to reading the second volume and have added this to my list of manga to collect!