I LOVE THIS MANGA. It is my newest standard. Any manga less amazing than this no longer deserves my attention.
Art: 10/10
Minato's eyes, oh my gosh. When he got that intense look later, or the tender and adoring look, or when he cried, I just wanted to stare at him. I seriously did, several times. I just stopped reading and stared at him for a while. He's tall, broad, and masculine with the appearance of a delinquent, the piano skills of a modern Mozart, and all the tenderness of a man in love with the woman of his dreams. This was very well portrayed in how he and everyone around him was drawn, and I loved it!!
Characters: 10/10
I'm normally not a big fan of overly positive female leads with some sort of mysterious past and a doting older brother, but I loved Hikaru! Especially whenever she bit back at a comment another character flung her way. I was like "Oh, snap!" all the time because she was all cute and sweet one moment and then all rebellious the next. It was awesome. She fits Minato perfectly, too. Whenever he looked at her all adoringly, it was a total "aww" moment.
I even liked Hikaru's brother, Yui, who has a major sister complex for reasons revealed later in the story that go beyond the normal hinting-at-incest type shoujo manga. Yui isn't in love with his sister, he just takes care of her, so don't not read this manga because of him. He has very good reasons for his actions.
Did I mention that I love Minato? Cuz I love him. <3 I want someone just like him for my own.
Story: 10/10
Seemed cliche, but turned out surprising, riveting, and intense. I read it all in one day because I just wanted to know what happened so dang badly. BTW, there's a great ending. Very satisfying. 😀
All in all: 10/10. Perfect. Amazing. Romantic while not going over the top. Feel-good, yet still deep and emotional. As expected of Mitsuki Kako-sensei. Kiss/Hug is another of my favorite mangas, and she definitely fulfilled my expectations for awesomeness on this. Long distance high-five, Sensei!!! 😀