LOWKEY LOOK AT THE ARTSTYLE ITS SO CUTE!!!!! The cover and the whole premise overall its pretty intersting already. But sadly, not my favourite due to the pacing of the story, but lowkey stay for the artstyle because I just love the mangaka's artstyle.

But the one thing that irked me was the age gap. I think I already came to a consensus that I'm not that much into high school and adult relationships even as hard as I tried to.

Not a bad read overall but mind the age gap.

3.25🌟

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

The art is absolutely gorgeous but it didn't take away the very uncomfortable fact that the main guy is 20 and the main girl is the second year of highschool. I am not a fan of age gaps or anything like this but I found myself reading more and more due to the art style, the main girl's friendship with her friend, and the story. I am giving this a 3.5 but it would be higher if it wasn't for the age gap.

Lightning and Romance is a cinnamon roll disguised as grumpy-sunshine shojo manga.

Lightning has a bad reputation in and outside of school, how he is part of a yakuza, and also a 20-year-old in his second year of high school. I really found this manga cute and adorable. I was giggling at so many parts of the story.

Can't wait to read more, i already bought the rest of the series hehe.

Really beautiful art but the writing just didn't grasp me. I had hard time finishing the volume :( I was on a search for a new romance manga series but i dont think that this one is for me

I really was not sure what to make of this from the premise - a cliched but cute slice of life? a forbidden age gap romance? and I am still not sure where it is going to go. but I cannot wait to find out! I love the art style, I really like where the story is going so far, and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next!!

Has anybody else been searching for a sweet new romantic manga to dive into? My latest search brought me to Lightning and Romance, Vol. 1, written and illustrated by Rin Mikimoto (the creator who brought readers Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight and Kira-Kun Today).

Like many high-school students, Sumire can't stop thinking about romance. More specifically, she wants to find herself in the center of a romantic story. Yet she's never had the chance, and her latest seatmate seems to have made this possibility even less likely if that is possible.

Leo Ninomiya is currently back in high school. A fact that shouldn't seem all that out of the ordinary, except that he's twenty years old and rumored to be connected to a criminal organization. The scar doesn't help.

Um. Hrm. Okay, so we have a budding romance between a high-school teen and a twenty-year-old guy? The age difference isn't huge, but it is still pretty uncomfortable. I just couldn't shake that feeling, even though I did try really hard to enjoy Lightning and Romance, Vol. 1.

Part of the problem is that Leo's arc felt so moody and serious, while Sumire's story arc felt so light and fluffy, very much following a traditional high-school girl story. The two don't mesh, so seeing them as romantic partners was challenging.

Perhaps Lightning and Romance, Vol. 1 would have been a bit more enjoyable had half the story not been intentionally obfuscated from the reader's view. I know it was meant to build drama, but all it did was distance us from the characters.

As far as romance manga go, this is a very lacklustre one. While the art is pretty at times, it was incredibly bland and generic. I have been finding it difficult to find romance manga I like. Most of them take the safe route where there isn't anything unique grabbing me, or maybe I'm not jiving with the genre anymore. Ah well.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. This manga was a pleasant surprise. I love the artstyle, the fashion, and the age gap is interesting?? I think what I am most intrigued by is the mystery of it all whether it is going to be supernatural, yakuza, I am not sure. But! I think if you love a bad boy good girl romance dynamic, you should read this manga. Because of these points, I have to give this manga a 4 out of 5 stars

Such a wholesome introduction into Rin Mikimoto's creation. Beautifully illustrated and genuinely enjoyable. Our two leads have great chemistry (though the age gap is a little disconcerting at times). I was left with a taste of mystery and unanswered questions that have me craving volume 2!!

I'm intrigued! I wasn't much of a fan of this author's Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight series, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The illustrations are amazing and the plot has a mystery element that makes me want to know how Reo knew her before meeting in class. I'm going to pick up the next volume for sure!

I am curious about why do they know her? and I know he is older then why he is still going to HS? The MC is sweet and needs to move forward I enjoy seeing them follow the story and how they will strike the friendship and OMG he is kinda cute for taking care of his nephew can't wait to see the next volume

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

One thing that originally attracted me to the story was the pretty cover that it had. The art within the manga is especially beautiful and is something that I very much appreciate.

I always love romance manga so when I first saw this, I wanted to try reading it. It is an interesting story and I do like the main character, but the thing that made it difficult for me was the age gap. It feels like that was an aspect of the story that wasn't needed. I know that sometimes a 2-3 year age gap isn't that bad, but the idea that this is a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old girl is something I cannot get behind.

2.5/5

I literally don't understand how can almost each one of the mangas I read turn out so good.

I will tell you what, there's a mysterious, tall and a bit older guy, I would like to say he TRIES to act like a "tough guy", but you know that inside there is a person, who's hiding behind that cold and strong shield. There are times in the story when that shield starts to break and you see his real personality and colours, though it doesn't take him long to get it back up. You probably know the rest ;)

I love characters, their designs, personalities. I think the story was planed out really well. It was interesting to read and didn't feel like a job, just a simple read which hooked me up from the start. It was a bit of emotional rollercoaster. That girl (mc) really has the guts, she's strong, capable, brave and independent. Brave I mean in some of the romance scenes.

Thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I used to really like high school romance stories, the innocence of first loves. This shojo manga definitely ticked the boxes with a very handsome male lead and cute female lead. But i have one problem - that is the age gaps. If i was still a teenager with my immature mind, I probably wont bat an eye to this and only thought how sweet it is but i have grown and learned so much to realize that is not okay for an adult to date a minor. It was inappropriate in many sense. Even if the story was really cute although there are just hints of loves here and there, it still get to me since she is still 16 years old. I really hope the manga explained why the male lead is still in high school when he is already 20 years old because i need to know.

Overall, still an enjoyable read despite the questionable age gap.

3.8 stars

This would easily get a 5 star if it wasn’t for the age gap. It’s sweet. The art style is lovely. The two main characters are super cute. But unless something is explained in the second volume the age gap is a weird.

I am always very hesitant about age gaps, this being no exception. I’m wondering where their connection is though hopefully that will be revealed in volume two. I also wanna know why they let a 20 year old in a high school very weird. I like them though. I really like the boldness of the female lead, it’s nice to see!

I really enjoy another manga by this author, Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, and was interested to see what else she was going to make. Kiss Me is focused on a really sweet and fluffy romance that was a nice escape. This time, was unfortunately not as relaxed as the age gap of this romance in between a high-school aged girl and a male of 20 years old. That age-gap just make me uncomfortable while reading. A few years is not a big deal and rather normal between adults but this is not the case here and didn't need to be included.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Ok, the artwork is absolutely STUNNING.

BUT.

The MC H is a 20 year old male, still attending high school and he has a thing for a HS girl, who also seems to have a thing for him.

There DOES seem to be a reason for him to be attending the HS as a 20 year old male and he somehow knows this girl in a way that she has no clue over BUT.

MANGA WRITERS STOP WITH THE GROSS AGE DISCREPANCIES WHERE THE GIRL IS STILL IN HS AND THE MALE LOVE INTEREST IS A GROWN MAN.

One could argue that 20 isn't that old and he's still almost a teenager and a three-four year age difference isn't that big a deal once one gets older, but that doesn't change the fact that she is still a teenager and that age difference is predatory.

So. I will actually give this 2 stars, since it is hinted that there is more to the story than what we see in this volume and I'm trusting that is true.

The artwork is also absolutely stunning, but it doesn't save the age gap in this one.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A solid first instalment in a new manga series. The translation was some of the best I’d seen. Somehow the translator managed to infuse the dialogue with a noticeably American tone through little phrases and terms of endearment and, whilst it struck me as odd for a manga, it was a standout feature of this vol.

The protagonist Sumire and the love interest Reo had great chemistry which was certainly helped by Sumire’s gutsiness and Reno’s smooth charm. However, there were some problematic aspects to it due to the age difference—Sumire being 16 and Reo being 20—as well as the fact that Reo was technically an adult even though he was in high school whilst Sumire was still underage. Nothing inappropriate happened between them but any premature declarations of love were succeeded by mental reminders of the large age gap.

The plot was relatively short given that this vol was just introducing the characters and setting up the whole story. Unexpectedly, the mystery and intrigue created by certain suggestive comments halfway through were what really made this manga seem like more than your average shojo romance. However, the pacing was off because the ending was far too abrupt. There was no excuse for the sudden ending because the author even had pages to spare to add a little bonus story for her previous manga series at the end so it wasn’t as though she was tight for pages. If it had been a cliffhanger ending that would have made some sense, but in this case the vol ended in the middle of a conversation and that was the main issue that held this back from receiving 5 stars.

An enjoyable manga with a shy quiet teen who longs to have a boyfriend and be more outgoing. At school she sits near the school bad boy who is also much older than the other students. The bad boy is also a loner with no friends.

Eventually the young girl starts to fall for him. Volume one feels like an introduction with much more to come. It is nicely illustrated but I wish it had been longer because this first volume shows that there is more to come.

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.