We Were There

“I’d been living all this time to meet you, Takahashi.” – Yano Bokura ga Ita (We Were There) is a must-read for all rom-com and drama lovers. Written by Yuuki Obata, it is filled with the most beautiful (and romantic) quotes relating to life, which is one of its greatest aspects as a Slice of Life manga. Given that the story follows a high school romance between an innocent girl (Takahashi) and a popular boy (Yano), it may be assumed that this is just another cliché rom-com or drama manga. However, it’s greatly unpredictable. As the story progresses, you will face several turn of events amongthe characters. Volumes 1-8 (and the anime) focuses on their lives in high school, while Volumes 9-16 goes into their adulthood five years later. The manga takes place within a ten-year time span. Instead of dragging on, the story allows you to understand the characters by reflecting on their past and their daily lives. The story is uniquely remarkable. High school love begins to bloom, and they both face several obstacles over time, especially the meaning of trust. A new chapter of their lives begins after high school, and shocking secrets are revealed that took place within the five years of their separation. Reality hits every character. It focuses on several aspects of life, including unrequited love, psychological issues, and family drama. The drama goes on, and the characters mature as the years go by. The ending is so beautiful that I could reread the last chapter for a lifetime. (10) Thankfully, there are only five main characters, and each of them have their own personality that distinguishes them from each other. They all meet new people that make a huge impact on their lives. Interaction with the supporting characters influences their decisions and allows them to think of situations from different angles. It’s easy to develop a love-hate relationship with the characters as they mature, especially when tears are shed. As you read on into the story, you may find yourself sympathizing with some of the characters as they experience trial-and-error. (10) The art is unique for the most part, but some may find it annoying. The manga’s artwork leaves a lot for your imagination. The introduction of a new scene is fully drawn with a concise background and artwork in general. After that, it becomes sketchy with mere outlines until the next scene. The backgrounds are not fully drawn, and the characters will appear to have either one eye or a blank face. It doesn’t distract from the story at all, and it’s easy to grow used to it. The characters are drawn to fit their personality. For example, Takahashi’s eyes are round, giving off her cute baby face that shows her innocence. (8) After watching the anime, I became curious as to how the two main characters continued their relationship. Honestly, the characters pissed me off in the anime because of their naivety, but my feelings changed after continuing the story. I read the best romance, drama, and slice of life manga in my life. My heart reached out to the characters as they dealt with tragedies, and I found myself relating to the characters, especially Takahashi as she dealt with her first relationship. (10) If you’re looking for a good slice of life, rom-com, and drama manga, I highly recommend Bokura ga Ita. You’ll come to realize why Yuki Obata won the Shogakukan Manga Award for this masterpiece in 2005. Read into the remarkable love story of Takahashi and Yano. Prepare to laugh, cry, and even crave to punch a character in the face. I promise you won’t regret reading this. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to read this beautiful final chapter again. (10) *If you completed the Bokura ga Ita anime series, you can continue the story at Volume 9: Chapter 32. However, read Chapters 29-31, because the scenes are different from the series.*

I think this is the best manga I have ever read. I can't believe Obata-sensei's art. It was so amazing it captured my heart. There was no need for petty dialogues and self-reflections, all feelings were portrayed in the art itself. I've never read a manga that tells a story in a series of pages that have no written words, but still flawlessly telling such a wonderful story. I kind of didn't appreciate how she drew eyeballs at the start though, and how the characters still look like kids even after ten years. Haha. But every flaw was overlooked by every emotion so everything wasstill good. I cried so much til my eyes dried up. I cried still even though it's done. Plus Obata-sensei preaches safe sex. Plus points for that.

How can the act of loving someone be so unbearably painful? Shouldn't love conquer all? Shouldn't love be the key to alleviating all grief and pain in life—the key to the gate of "happily ever after"? This is a story about a boy and a girl. A boy who carries regret deeper than the ocean, weighed down by the death of his past love. A boy who can't help but hurt the one he loves most because hurt is all he knows about love. His name is Yano. A girl who has never experienced love, soon to discover both the joy and the pain that come with it.A girl who sees the boy hurting inside, tries to save him, and instead becomes entangled in a web of love that will shape her entire life. Her name is Nanami. So selfless are they that both sacrificed what they wanted from the other for each other's sake. How ironic that what they believed was best for each other's happiness only brought them endless pain. That their love for each other became the very thing keeping them apart. And yet, despite all the struggles, they remained each other's source of strength. Knowing that somewhere in this vast world, the other was breathing, laughing, crying—living—was enough to keep them going through the longing and sorrow. All because of love. Are we merely a collection of memories? Is our love and warmth just an illusion? Is our grief and struggles insignificant? No. We will find each other again and reclaim all the time we've lost—with everything we have.

In every manga there are two things which I really judge and those are the story and the art. In this manga, it showed a magnificent story but with the art.. well not so much.Wait, I shouldn't bash up my point already..This is only the start of my review. "We Were There" or "Bokura Ga Ita" has a very amusing and phenomenal title that really gives off that refreshing and relieving feeling that suits the taste of every Shojo Manga lover. But of course, the title isn't the only one that's phenomenal and uniquely developed and believe me.. the story is as magnificent as its title.It centers on high school life, a teenage love story and a twisted plot will make your head bang on the computer table, laptop screen or you'll just make a serious face every time a very unpredictable scene comes up. There are also mature sides in this manga and I'm sure people could catch up with it and handle it. What makes the story different is that it has a very dramatic sense of telling the story and there may not be a lot of comedic moments but it has an artistic style of capturing the highlights and the climax of the story. I don't know if I've seen a manga like this before and honestly I haven't. It's pretty original from the beginning to the end. Unrequited Love is truly present in this manga.The author has her way with words that made me absorbed the sad scenes and the emotional message of the characters. I can say that no words could describe the greatness of the story. The drawings or rather the art is stylish and exceptional. The chapters that are near the end didn't have beautiful sketches. It was inconsistent and I had a hard time reading it maybe because it's a bit rushed. I think the author concentrated more on the story than the art. I believe that it's not perfect but it is not that bad either. The characters were extremely enjoying to watch and fun to observe. It's hard to believe that a character can make the readers feel sensitive about the story besides the fact that it's only an anime character. If I were to grade or to choose which character was the best actor/actress, I think it's Yano. His complicated and bipolar personality almost depict a real person. I feel as though as if I'm looking at an award-winning actor. On the other hand,Takahashi Nanami is a typical shojo character who seem pretty normal but resides as the only girl in Yano's eyes. Takeuchi is another character whom I think deserves better (you may not know what i'm talking about but you will if you read this manga.). He is smart and conservative but he always gives up the girl he wants because the girl never chooses him. It's just fantastic that the ending gave a highlight for him even just for a little peek. I can't say I got bored in this manga because if I did then I wouldn't have completed it. I really enjoyed the comedic acts of the characters and their honesty. The truth of life is what I witnessed in this manga and how true love really exist and how the words "if its meant to be then it's meant to be" because in this life you can truly meet your soul mate if you won't give up. Overall, It's almost perfect but the art ruined it for me. I just hope you guys can have the luxury to read this manga because it's such a classic and a fine manga to read. Shojo fan or not, you will enjoy it if you just give it a try. The story, the characters and the drama will keep you coming back for more.