Futari no Table

Every once in a while, I go to read a manga and am really pleasantly surprised by the depth of what I find. This was one of those manga. It deals really poignantly with the feelings of children abused by their families, and a struggle to trust and rebuild mental health. The art is adorable and the characters are unexaggerated and relatable. As much as I like reading about taboo and age gap relationships, this one was a bit of a stretch for me. However, as it never really turns into a romance and nothing inappropriate happens, it comes across as a strikingly believable scenario ofa young girl developing feelings for the man who saved her from a rough situation, and a lonely guy who is still hurt by his own experiences as a child finding solace in helping and loving someone who is in a situation similar to the one he experienced. The 'romance' doesn't even really need to come in to it - this is a story of two people with complicated feelings who thankfully understand and come to lovingly support one another.