Interesting concept where the main character doesn't see herself as the main character. Great interaction between the four leads but the story can feel generic at times.

I *flew* through this one so fast! It has a great pace and the characters have a lot of facets to them, especially the “main character” who is set up in the plot as a secondary character, Hikari. I love that she treasures her friendship over love which can potentially bring in drama, but she also loves herself to a degree that allows her to say “Yeah, I like him” despite the circumstances.

Her best friend Mari is the most mysterious, I think. I hardly know what she’s thinking most of the time. Only Hikari does. The MMC is Ohtani, which I truly love! He’s a golden retriever that has a very high emotional intelligence. What a green flag!

I hope I get to ARC the next volume. I can’t wait to see what happens next after that cliffhanger!!

Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC!

This story was really cute and I definitely want to see where it heads. The main character sees herself as average in all possible ways, despite her exceptional musical talent and her boldness. She sees herself as the side character in her conventionally beautiful best friend’s story, but through interactions with another character, we see her move ever so slightly into wanting to be the main character (lol) in life.

It’s a sweet story set in high school following a small group of students who are interacting during break times and after school. It’s very slice of life with a sweet romantic leaning plot line and if that’s your thing, I’d say there’s. Safe be you’ll like it as much as I do!

2.5 stars.
This was kinda interesting I guess. Probably won't read the next volume unless I get it from netgalley though.... It's not really my cup of tea personally.

I have mixed feelings. The pacing is slow and the translation is awkward. In addition, the characters are shallow. I also have trouble telling the male characters apart. As a result, the story is slightly hard to follow. Still, I want to keep reading just to see where it'll go.

4.5 stars
TW: Objectification (Minor action of a teenage girl from love interest friend of classmate)

Such a cute story about unrequited love. I love how to the story shown how both boys and girls handle it very differently.love the art style also. I do wished that It would have been longer and had more fleshed out parts as far as the friends.

i love a good shojo manga but this felt very bland and the dynamics it sets up feel very meh. the mc's 'i am but a secondary character in my own story' also felt boring

I feel like so much happened but also nothing. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t amazing. I know that the start of a story is usually not THAT interesting but I feel like not much has been set up for later volumes. Also the ending had me a bit confused might just be me tho. I would prob only recommend this to people who like typical high school stories and don’t want a bunch of crazy stuff to happen. I would prob read vol 2 just to see what was going on in the end and to try and see if I like the story more as it progresses.

A cute but unoriginal concept with lovely art. Sadly, the translation is extremely unnatural and rather awkward in places, but this may be the standard for manga (which I do not often read). I would be interested in continuing the story but hope the translation improves.

beautiful art !!! also i can smell the upcoming angst and drama from a mile 🤭 so excited for the rest (i hope they don’t make the teacher a predator though)

+tbh i wish it was yur[SHOT GUN]

The unrequited love in this is heartbreakingly accurate, with gorgeous art, but the “ordinary girl” getting jealous over her pretty best friend is too overdone in my opinion and so this didn’t feel like anything new.

I may continue reading this series as it releases because it has potential (and the art is beautiful), but I don’t know yet.

I read this through Netgalley.

I didn't love it. The art was a bit bland, the story didn't engage me very much and I didn't really click with any of the characters.

The smart is pretty, however I found myself struggling to grt into the plot. It's about a girl who sees herself as nothing more than the side character, but her worldview is forced to shift when a boy confesses to her.

It's cute, simple, and sweet. And I think fans of this genre of manga will love this. However it just wasn't for me.

Review to come next week to blog/other places.

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

This was a gorgeous manga which reminded me of Blue Flag. In this one we meet four classmates and see their lives/love lives.

In this first volume we meet Hikari (with the last chapter being the beginning of Ohtani's part), a quiet girl who plays the French Horn, and is quietly admiring/falling in love with her classmate Ohtani. Problem though? Ohtani seems interested in Hikari's best friend, the cute Mari. We see how this is for Hikari, at first she is all shipping them, helping them both out, but then she starts to wonder. Is this what she wants? Does she just want to stay on the side lines? I really found myself rooting for her to just try to express her feelings. It helps that Ohtani and she have conversations on the way home, plus also at school, and I just wanted to have something happen between them. ARGH! They really would make a cute couple, you know.
Next to having the problem of should she continue to root/help out her friend, there is also the fact that she worries about her monolids and wishes she had double. This one wasn't relatable to me, but I can imagine in Asia/for Asian people this would be something to nod along with. For me I just couldn't entirely understand the deal, Hikari looked beautiful as she is. But I guess there is a whole cultural bit around it. I will definitely be reading a bit more about it when I can.

I loved seeing the four classmates find each other, talk, and have fun together. It was really fun. I liked that there are two sets of friends, Mari and Hikari, Ohtani and Asagiri-kun but they also form one friend group. If that makes sense, haha.

And then there is the mystery of Mari. She is quite shy, but I was always wondering if that was a front or not. Plus, there is a bigger mystery, because what is Mari up to. Where does she disappear to? I am happy that we find out, though of course there are plenty of questions now remaining and I need the second volume!

I am really invested in this manga and I am curious who will be next after Ohtani. Asagiri? Mari? Hikari again (though that would be weird)? I need to know who will start dating who and what is next for these 4!

The art in this one was just absolutely stunning and I loved every bit of it. Some of these are just so frame-worthy!

All in all, I would recommend this one. Fun characters, dash of romance, a girl to root for, and much more. I loved it!

This deffo didn’t need nudity, even censored.
The story and characters seem sweet enough but not sure I’d be interested enough to continue it.

I See Your Face Turned Away 🗣️
🥰 Romance/Shoujo/Slice of Life (High School)
📚 NEW - Vol 1 Published May 2024
🙅🏻‍♀️ No Anime
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The Main Character doesn’t see herself as a main character, she daydreams like she’s just the average best friend of the adorable, shy, main love interest in a harem manga. She goes so far as to ship her with the boy that sits in front of her in class; daydreaming about how cute they would look together and she’s “just their friend”.
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How long will being “just the friend” be enough?
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The boy confesses his feelings for her best friend and protagonist begins to question her own role in their lives. She realizes that she’s allowed to be more than mediocre and be more than “the friend”. She starts to see herself in a new light and contemplates her own feelings and desires in other aspects as well.
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At the end of Vol 1 we find that the super adorable/cute/shy best friend may be hiding something 🤔
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I’ll be here anxiously waiting for Volume 2.
Read if you liked My Love Mix up.
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Thanks to #netgalley for the chance to read #ISeeyourfaceturnedaway for free.

Hikari is a young musician trying to navigate high school as a freshman. Her best friend Mari is super shy and as a plan to get her to open up and meet people, she decides to hook her up with a popular boy at school. Luckily, he already has a crush on Mari.

I thought this was cute. The characters are pretty shallow for now and it seems like there may be the beginnings of a love triangle. There are similarities between this series and Komi Can't Communicate and I prefer Komi. I would have given this a 2⭐ rating if it wasn't for the art. Every panel is beautiful and I really enjoyed that part of the manga. I don't know that I will continue with the series, but if this every becomes a 12-16 episode anime, I would probably give it a go.

First volume of a new shojo series by Rumi Ichinohe.
Mori Hikari is Takahashi Mari’s best friend. Mari is so beautiful that people always notice her; Hikari is “average”. No surprise that a boy in their class, Ohtani, is interested in Mari, and asks Hikari for help. As you can easily guess, Hikari falls in love with Ohtani.
So we have a love triangle, and things get more complicated when we discover that maybe Mari has someone else she is in love with.
Teenage unrequired love is not my cup of tea, but I can stand it if the series is not too long: in Japan, we have 3 published volumes; if it will end soon, maybe I could continue this series.

Since this title has just won the 2024 edition of the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award I was curious to read it.
This looks like a classic love triangle story, but the main character looks like the other one in the blossoming (?) love story. The point that made the read worthy was the anguished feeling hidden between the MC words: she thinks she isn't worthy but just an average person and in being so she doesn't deserve anything life may offer. So she prefers standing in the sidelines, helping her shy best friend (who looked even too much shy, not so much developed), sacrificing the things she wants. The only possible outcome is doomed with unhappiness and pain.
I hope I am wrong.

If this title will arrive in my mother language (Italian) I will continue this little sad story

This manga immediately caught my eye when I was browsing titles. I love a slice of life type of story, and this was just that. As someone who often was the middle man in a lot of relationships back in high school, this story felt familiar. I loved the subtle nuances from the FMC and the back and forth between her and her friends. Overall, I really enjoyed this manga and will be continuing with the series. It’s all so sweet!