I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a cute start to a manga. The art was hard to see at first digitally, but that may have just been the copy I received. The main character is interesting but very typical to shojo. A girl who thinks one person saved her on a train, but that person does not appear to be the correct person who helped her. So the question now is, who helped her? What's more, the brother of the person she thought saved her is in her grade and very nice.

She has a decent outlook on life in comparison to how her classmate, the brother of who she thinks was her savior. But he always seems to help her. Very cute and sweet, low stakes manga so far.

A very cute slice of life/Shojo manga, having read another series by this manga artist before I already knew I was a big fan of the art start featured here.
Although the romance element could be a little predictable if you are familiar with this type of Shojo story line, I still can’t wait to pick up the next volume and feel all the cute feels!

A sweet little romance. Saku is trying to get in touch with a boy name Ryosuke who helped her out a few years ago when she thought she was invisible. At a new school, she meets Haruki, who happens to be Ryosuke's brother and sets off trying to get him to deliver a letter. But will her feelings be returned?

The story and art here are fine. It's a fine beginning of a series, but not a ton happens yet. All the characters are likeable and it seems like this volume is laying some interesting groundwork.

Saku had an incident in the train station. She was saved by the kindness of a stranger. Since Saku couldn't figure out who saved her that day; she was determined to pass on the kindness she received to all those around her. She was labeled as a goodie two shoe for her actions. Saku didn't mind though.
When she finally finds a possible connection to the person who gave her hope, she asks nicely for him to give her hero a lesson. Haruki is her hero's brother, so things are a little awkward, but it all works out.
What I loved most: the legacy of kindness and the message to pass kindness on. I love the art style as well.

It was a cute start to a shojo manga, but it didn't wow me. The art was lacking at points and the story was kind of basic. However, it was definitely cute and enjoyable!

If you’re a fan of shojo, you’ve come to the right place! This has the beginnings of a super cute love story and I cannot wait for the second volume. The FL is a little naive but has a good heart and is capable of maturity, as seen with a little bit of growth at the end of the first volume. It doesn’t seem as if there’s a love triangle at all, which is awesome. Slice of life, school. It seems like it will be quite sweet.

Saku felt like a background character, unnoticed in her own life. Never drawing anyone’s attention. One day she was lightheaded on the train and was surprised someone opened a window just when she needed it. When she struggled to get off at her stop, she fell, lost her bag and passed out. Upon awakening, the station attendant told Saku that someone found her bag and rode the train back to return it and check on her. The person left a card with their name and phone number.
Saku was so touched by their kindness, she decided to make an effort to help people out when she saw someone in need. She wanted to that the person who had so inspired her but she was too shy. By the time she worked up her courage, the phone number didn’t work. She tried searching for the person by name and found a boy in a high school nearby but couldn’t approach him because of her anxiety.
When she reached high school herself she was in class with the boy’s brother. Will Saku finally work up her courage to meet, Ryosuke?

A heartwarming high school story about finding courage and kindness in your everyday life and seeing what is in front of you.

Sakura, Saku Volume 1

In a nutshell: A lighthearted, sweet, slice-of-life tale that is pleasant to read but doesn’t leave a lasting impression. The second volume will likely be the decider on whether to continue the series.

This manga follows a girl named Saku who tries to find the kind stranger who helped her out on a train and subsequently inspired her to perform small acts of kindness for other people. To try to find the mysterious Ryosuke, she enlists the help of his reluctant brother Haruki. This first volume primarily sets up the characters and introduces the plot, but it is very slow paced. The characters are pleasant enough that I want to give the second volume a try, but so far, it’s not a story that sticks in your mind long after reading.

The art is character-focused with minimal backgrounds, as is somewhat typical of the shojo genre. In print, I believe the linework is very graceful, light and delicate. However, in this ARC, a majority of the linework and tone are eaten by the white space of the page –I would not recommend reading digital copies on a small screen if they are similar.

Overall, the series is not a bad way to pass the time, but it is very slow moving.

Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for the ARC!

This was incredibly sweet and cute. Now that I think about it, I think what really resonated with me was Saku being so kind and helpful to those around her, as a sort of legacy to the mysterious person who helped her on a day she really needed it. I think being kind and genuinely helpful is something we need more of in this world, so am 100% behind that story thread.

I get why she is so obsessed with finding the person who helped her, but am glad that she realized at the end that it was a bit much. Though now that she doesn't have that idea to fixate on, she's moved on to fixate on something/one else.

I will reserve my judgment on that until I can see how it plays out in the next volume, which I for sure will be reading. I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork in this one, but the characters and the plot are really solid and I want more.

4, this is a good start to a new series and I can't wait to see how it continues, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this to read and review.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review!

"Sakura, Saku, vol. 1" was so cute and innocent! I cannot stress enough how sweet stories really warm my heart. I can't wait to see how the main characters feelings will develop. <3

This was cute, but it also didn't really grab me. I didn't feel any strong emotions (joy, sadness, etc) reading it and emotions is usually what I am looking for when reading a shojo. The characters were alright and the story very simple. Sadly, this means I don't think I'll be continuing the series, even though there's literally nothing wrong with it.
The formatting in the app though was a bit difficult, like I was missing some of the drawing, so maybe that didn't help either.

forever find these manga arcs really hard to engage with due to watermarks and unfinished spreads :( sadly this let the manga down.

Saku tries to connect with a stranger who saved her on a train by approaching his brother about delivering a letter. Hikaru isn't keen on helping her confess.

This is an interesting premise for a story. The art was really rough in the ARC, so I'm not sure how close this is to the final publication. I would not recommend based on the images of this ARC.

I thought this was okay, a tad bit on the boring side. I did enjoy the 'twist' at the end, though! I hope that the story goes down the way that I hope it is going to!

What a cute idea, to be so touched by someone else's kindness that you commit to spreading kindness wherever you go. I plan to keep reading, to find out if Saku ever finds her mysterious benefactor.

So, I reviewed this for Booklist, and I need to say- VIZ, this copy is totally unacceptable for review purposes. To adequately review this manga, I had to buy the original Japanese volume and read it, then skim this volume for how you did the translation. I ONLY did this because of the need for professional reviews in the current climate of librarianship. It's impossible for me to assess the work of your English staff.

Sakisaka-sensei deserves better than this. Please check your files when uploading; this is clearly corrupted.

Please see my forthcoming review in Booklist for feedback on the actual work.

This is on par with Sakisaka's other works (Ao Haru Ride, Love Me, Love Me Not) and a lovely gentle slice of life contemporary romance. She's gone digital now and the characters are a bit less defined and the details a bit sketchier. But it is an enjoyable read.

Story: Saku Fujigaya has always felt invisible in life. Until one day while riding the train and feeling ill, she accidentally her beloved backpack behind on the train. Turns out, it was found and returned to her along with a name and a phone number of the person who found it. It made her feel special and singled out. She could never get up enough guts to tell the boy thank you - but she has always tried to emulate that kindness. Then his younger brother appears at the school and she gets her chance through him. But things don't work out as she expected.

The gist of the story is that Saku always tries to do something for others, even when it is a bother to her. It has become a way of life to her and a chance to find meaning out of the anonymity she felt trapped within. Haruki, meanwhile, has a kind and handsome older brother who all the girls are always after; the last thing he wants to do is deliver yet another love confession. But as he gets to know Saku, he realizes it is much more and that she is a good person, not a ditzy fangirl. Saku, meanwhile, begins to recognize that Haruki has a lot of the same qualities as his brother.

It's a good story and looks to be just as good as you would expect from this author. Other than the somewhat loose and sketchy artwork, it's a good read. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This was such a cute wholesome read, I’ve gotten into this volume a lot faster than the authors other series’.
The main character Saku gets into a spot of trouble and a stranger that she can’t seem to find helped her out, it drove her to change her way of life and always help others out if they need it, even if it gets her into sticky situations.
I’m so excited for the rest of this series, definitely one to read if you need a feel good read!!

This is a sweet romance that is right in line with Sakisaka’s other works, so if you have readers who enjoy those titles, they’ll certainly eat this one up too. Saku is pretty sweet as far as leads ladies go, and she encouragers others around her to be kind and help others, which is never a bad thing as far as messages in books go. There is a classic amount of miscommunication as is common in shojo manga, but what was mistaken in this volume gets cleared up fairly quickly, leaving room for further problems in future volumes.

This book didn't really wow me, but that's okay! The general setup is fine, a girl wants to find and thank a boy who noticed her, and helped her when she needed it. Decent enough premise for a romance. The art is also fine. The one part that did stand out to me was when she found the boy with the same name as her savior, it was the wrong guy! It was surprisingly refreshing to see a series say that more than one person can have the same name in a school. This has the makings of a cute romance, but I'll be curious if following volumes help it stand out a little more.