Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 1

Asahi (dark-haired girl on the cover, love interest) is a new girl crush; she's so charismatic. And Hinako (main character) is so adorable. Both of their personalities meshed really well together, in the way that opposite personalities sometimes just click.

My one gripe would be how the portrayal of Hinako's insecurities was executed. There were a few times when the monologues about her struggles didn't make sense. Hinako kept reiterating how she's ‘different' and wishes she wasn't so, but... how is she different? It seemed like a convenient and contrived attempt at adding conflict for the sake of her character development. In order for me to empathize with a character's struggles, I need it to actually be understandable.

But aside from that, this was overall a pretty cute story.

This review is for the whole series not just Vol. 1.

Very relatable and sweet. I loved how the mangaka focused on Uno's emotional journey (about having low self-esteem and struggling to meet society's expectations of ‘normal') parallel to the romance. I loved her character development even though it did follow the manga formula (being surrounded by great people who know how to say just the right things, serendipitous events, linear progress, sudden mindset shifts).

Satou - I feel like she wasn't nearly as rounded a character, but she was so cute I can't even complain.

I don't know any other manga with main characters who are asexual and I was pleasantly surprised when that part was discussed in a mature way. It also touches on some other issues that I don't usually see in manga - childhood neglect, complex parental relationships, workplace harassment, codependency maybe (satou with her sister). Again, all of that was solved way too easily, but still, it was refreshing.

Overall, this manga is adorable and I loved it. Always makes my day to come across gems like this!