nathandouglasdavis

If you've read the second story of Hotarubi no Mori E, this manga will feel very similar. They both portray a human girl-child who grows into a teenager and realizes fe's in love with the spirit fe can only meet in the forest. In this one, fe can only meet Konoha during the autumn. I would say that this one feels a bit worse--maybe less poetic, less deep-cutting. One of the problems is that I can imagine a better, more tragic ending than what this manga wrote*. Another problem is that the elderly light-brown spirit is initially hinted at being significant, but ended up not doing anything interesting. Another problem is that while the manga tells me that these two people have a close friendship, I don't actually feel like it portrays that very well. All I really see from them is melancholic pining. There's only so much you can do when your story's built upon an isolated romance and wallowing in the tragic nature of it.

*The ending I think would've been better: Have Akino grow old and die.