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.

It was very difficult to read the NetGalley copy I received due to the illustrations being severely washed out. I will not comment on the illustrations because of this, but I was able to read the words clearly so I'll keep my review to the story only. (Which is sad because I love Io Sakisaka's illustrations.)

Saku Fujigaya is a young, unassuming girl who is rescued by a guy after falling ill on a train. She has no memory of who saved her but is so moved by the gesture that she decides to help people out whenever she can. (Which is a lot- to the point that people call her a goody two shoes.) She is determined to eventually find her rescuer and thank him properly.

It seems to be your typical sweet romance between the kind female lead and her potential love interest who is also kind but standoffish. It's very cute, but I might be reading too much of the same trope lately because I don't have enough interest in reading the next volume.

Thank you NetGalley and Viz Media for the ARC! Sakura, Saku follows Saku Fujigaya, who is helped as a junior high student by a mysterious stranger who opens the window for her as she is about to faint and returns her bag to the station for her. He leaves a note with his phone number and name: Ryosuke Sakura. Saku attempts to reasch out to him, but the phone is out of service. But his help greatly impacts Saku and from that moment, she decides to change her life and help others whenever she can. Now in high school, Saku meets a fellow student, Haruki Sakura, who just so happens to have an older brother, Ryosuke! Will Saku be able to reach Ryosuke and thank him for his help? Does she feel more than gratitude toward Ryosuke? And what about her feelings for Haruki, who seems so kind and helpful in his own way? Sakura, Saku is a new high school romance from Io Sakisaka (Ao Haru Ride), and is sure to have many more moments of poignancy and heart fluttering sweetness.

I really like this author in general, but this didn't fully grab my heart like I'd expected it to. Still, it was nice and easy to read. I would recommend this to certain readers.

I read and love "Ao Haru Ride" and part of "Love Me, Love Me Not" by Io Sakisaka so I was very excited to read another series by the same mangaka. I really loved "Ao Haru Ride" and wasn't as much of a fan of "Love Me, Love Me Not", but I was still excited to read more of her work. I love this style of art, and while a lot of her male MCs look similar I don't mind. I do appreciate that her stories all have differences to them so far, she doesn't seem to get stuck in one trope even though she writes romance manga. She will drop characters from other series into new ones as an homage though, which I like. I have to judge the book wholly on story because the art work wasn't completely done for this volume. None of the backgrounds or effects were done, and most of the shading wasn't done either. It really seemed like the bare bones for the art, but fortunately it didn't take away too much. I did really like the beginning of the story for this new series and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #vizmedia for an eARC of #SakuraSakuVol1 by Io Sakisaka to read and review.

Sakura, Saku Volume 1 is by Io Sakisaka, the author of such favorites as Strobe Edge and Ao Haru Ride, and a favorite mangaka of mine and I never hesitate to pick up a new work by her. Saku has a good Samaritan return her bookbag to her after she forgets it on the train, and receives his number. She waits in calling him, and by the time she does, his number has changed. This doesn't stop Saku from deciding to be a Good Samaritan to others in return however, and to also someday meet Sakura, the man who returned her bookbag. Prepare for heartbreak.

This novel didn't hit as hard as Sakisaka's prior series did. I didn't feel the emotions that I would have expected, every situation seemed to fall flat and I didn't feel compelled at the end of the novel to continue the series. The hero we meet also had very little personality on the page. He had moments where he becamed embarrassed and usually for someone who is as reserved as him I would squeal during those moments, but I didn't here. The art also needs to be cleaned and editted! The lines were so faint that at times it was hard to see what was going on on the page. I'm not sure if this is due to it being an ARC and the cleanup of the artwork hadn't happened yet, but I do not think it should be published in the state it is in. At times, it was borderline unreadable when it came to seeing the figures.

I look forward to further Shojo Beat releases!

Thank you NetGalley, VIZ Media, and VIZ Media LLC for access to this lovely arc!

5/5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. It's a nice slow paced story that's easy on the brain and went by so quickly!

My only concern is for the line work, it seems so choppy and in some places non existent but you can kind of make out what you're supposed to be able to see based on precious parts of the work. I've looked up this manga to see if it's just the art style, but it doesn't appear to be so. I hope this will get fixed before it goes to print, as I'd hate for this to be underappreciated and overlooked!

The fresh beginning of a beautiful school days shojo. Despite following a lot of the same tropes and characters that most shojos adapt, it still provides that fresh sweet feeling that you read shojo for. A great start to a story about kindness and new beginnings in the “springtime” of the characters lives.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

4/5

A new series by my favourite mangaka Io Sakisaka?? Don’t mind if I do.

Sakura, Saku begins with almost high-schooler, Saku. One day on the train she ends up losing her bag, but because of the kindness of a stranger, she ends up getting it back . From that point on she has vowed to also be extra kind to those in need, but also find the mysterious Ryosuke Sakura who apparently helped her (known by a note left by them).

So far a decent opening to the series. I’m enjoying Saku and Haruki as characters and I’m interested to see how the side characters are going to become more important too.

When I say Io Sakisaka is my favourite mangaka, I. Mean. It. To me, their art, and the way they draw the male lead is imcomparable. Haruki’s design reminds me a lot of Kou’s design from Ao Haru Ride. I absolutely ADORE it.

Honestly? I can’t wait to get emotionally destroyed by Io Sakisaka again. If this series is as good as Ao Haru Ride then I wouldn’t be surprised if I found myself crying in my kitchen at 4 AM again. I guess there’s no other choice to find out, but to continue reading. Can’t wait!

I haven't read any of Io Sakisaka's earlier works, though I've heard all the hype. This first volume of her new series is very sweet and fairly chill, and I can imagine it going in lots of heartwarming directions. The art style is very interesting and unique too.

Rejoice - Io Sakisaka is back with a new series! The queen of thoughtful shoujo romance is at it again with another quietly hopeful, bittersweet story, this time about a girl named Saku who has always felt like Tree #2 in the school play of life. When she was in late middle school, she nearly fainted on a train and lost her bag; later when she wakes up she finds that someone rode back to the station to return it to her. All she has is a piece of paper with their name and a non-working phone number, and Saku makes it her mission to find her savior.

The realization of how one kind act by a bystander helped her makes Saku decide to become a good Samaritan herself, and even if people call her a Goody Two-Shoes, to her that's just validation that she's doing something worthy of notice. But inside she's still anxious and uncertain, and when she meets a boy at her high school who has an older brother with same name as her savior, she becomes determined to use him to find and thank who she assumes is her guardian angel. But...Haruki Sakura isn't thrilled with girls always trying to get to his brother via him, and he distrusts Saku pretty fiercely. He's just as unsure as she is, and even if there's a love triangle being set up, seeing friendship blossom between the two of them is worth it.

As a note, there's a subplot about Saku's new friend Kotono and her emotionally abusive, controlling boyfriend. Haruki and another boy recognize his behavior as NOT OKAY, but the girls don't. I trust Sakisaka to handle the plotline well, but be aware that it's there, because it is upsetting.