Kirio Fan Club

This series completely defied my expectations. At first glance, early chapters set the series up as a comedy about two young women bonding over a shared crush and the hijinks (not to mention cringe-inducing, off-color humor) involved in getting their crush's attention. What followed was a surprisingly gentle meditation on grief, friendship, and adolescent love. The art itself gives the first clue this series is not as it seems. While seemingly simple, the face of the main love interest, Kirio, is always obscured by framing, speech bubbles, and other visual tricks. At first this seems like a comedic choice, but over time you realize the descision tokeep his face obscured was highly intentional. Over time, it contributes to the development of characters, story, and the themes of the manga as a whole. I don't want to spoil the journey, but this is a series that builds on itself. The more you read, the clearer the picture of its true nature becomes. It's a series that sings upon rereading, because small details easily overlooked during your first read-through will suddenly hold so much more weight than was apparent at first glance. At only 46 chapters, it's a short read, and it's worth your time. I highly recommend reading the full story before rating it, because the destination of this manga's journey will likely surprise you, too. I recommend this series for fans of The Dangers in My Heart, Bloom into You, Kimi ni Todoke, and other character-driven romance/romcom series that delve beyond the surface level (just temper your expectations with some cringe humor first, haha).