OKAY LADS. This manga is the epitome of what it means to be a homosexual teenager struggling with their identity in the subtly oppressive, conforming culture of Japan. The characters come off as not manufactured personalities but instead hold realistic emotions and the story has slow but beautiful development which i heartily appreciate and is what makes this manga specifically my favourite Shounen Ai story. The plot is not forced and it reflects realistically how it feels to be alienated and blamed for something natural and uncontrollable which allows for this manga to be more representative of bl when compared to some shallow meaningless stories. I appreciate the author's hard work for the detailed and delicate art for which i hope to see more from. This story has a special place in my heart which it rightfully deserves.
Edit: just gonna edit for the first time to say this slaps and no matter how many times I reread, I still can't help but fall in love again
EDIT 3: UWAAAAAAA, today is the day that I have managed to finally get both available volumes in physical format. Not only does it feel great to know that I am legally supporting tagura sensei for her gorgeous works, having the physical manga is for me like holding an invaluable form of art which, in this case, transfers volumes of messages in an unconventional but beautiful form. I absolutely will never get sick of rereading this (even though now is probably at least the 8th) because every page maps out heartwarming messages. I both can and can't wait for the series to finish and am unbelievably excited for the third volume release so that I have the full story!
Edit 4 26/07/21: ch 23 finally came after 9 months of agony. Was it worth it? HELL YH. You can't look me in the eye and tell me that yamaji hug wasn't worth it.
Edit 5 31/07/21: so today I finally finished rereading it (for what must now be the 8th+ time??) and my gosh nothing can compare to this manga fr. No matter how many times I reread it and how I'm scared I might get sick of it from rereading, my fears never materialise and I only fall deeper in love with the rich, powerful writing and art this manga encompasses. I think when I look back at the days of my youth from an adult's perspective, koimonogatari will definitely be an irreplaceable highlight. Ugh, even i can't fully express what this manga means to me. Also, I just clocked i will now start including the date at which I create my edits just so that I can navigate my exploration of this manga by tracking the time I read it at.
18/03/22: I feel incredibly agonised right now at the realisation that every update is more and more distanced from the last. This manga truly means more to me than I could ever describe fully in words and it absolutely breaks my heart when I imagine that it...may...never....be...complete. That just crushes my heart so badly it hurts and I'm wondering how to prepare myself if, in the hopeful unlikely situation, this situation does arise. I will probably challenge myself to finish it off alone lol but hopefully tagura sensei is able to give this work the full respect it deserves
Koimonogatari