My Future Starts Today: Miku & Kyoko

Kyou kara Mirai is both more than the sum of its parts and a surprisingly good read. Story: One girl likes the other and gives her an ultimatum: Go out with me or I'll move on from you when we graduate high school. This premise isn't exactly what is conveyed (at least in my translation), but that's the idea. The plot meanders for a while before introducing elements that do a good job livening up each chapter. In the latter half, there is enough going on in an exciting sort of way to keep you going. The earlier, more meandering parts of this manga are oftenenjoyable more for their philosophical musings than anything else. Overall, the author was able to salvage a weak beginning with enough interesting elements until the plot kicked into gear. Chemistry: It's decent, though confusing for awhile. Miku is better understood as time goes on, but the way she phrases some things early on makes it difficult to understand her. Again, this could have been my translation, but it mars what is otherwise fairly compelling chemistry between the two. Miku's intense affection pairs nicely with Kyouko's quiet obstinance. This improves fairly quickly with both leads developing some neat interiority that pushes their relationship forwards in an almost refreshing way for the genre. Art: The art is often decent and sometimes quite good. Character designs are merely okay with Kyouko sometimes seeming a bit off in the way she is drawn. The author went for a more realistic style in terms of everyone's designs, which I appreciate, but something more could have been done here. Posing is the greatest strength of this manga. Everyone's personalities are vibrantly expressed through subtle, high quality expressions, gestures, etc. It's quite good. Panelling is above average and easy to read. Backgrounds are fantastic, though hampered somewhat by the limited setting. It feels like a greater variety of places would have been nice if only for the art. I'd say give this a shot! Some odd choices are made and the first few chapters are a bit strange, but this is different enough from most yuri to recommend while eventually becoming a good read all on its own.