This series felt like a warm hug.

I cannot express how much I appreciated creator’s careful and respectful approach to neurodivergency. As a ND myself seeing some of the things I have experienced on paper, and beautifully too, has left me speechless. In a good way!

While you could say the artist needs a bit more time for their art style and character designs to settle in, I found the pages to be cute and wtih a series like this, what truly matters is how capable the creator is when visualising an experience or a feeling, And Doronoda is excellent at this!

This is a series that everyone has to read, doesn’t matter you’re ND or not. We all share the same space and leaving room for diversity and not making a portion of people not feeling welcome or feeling like they’re too much simply for being themselves is all the more important now!

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this arc!

5/5 stars

This is a lovely and heartwarming first volume in a series I'm sure will be one of my favourites! Here we follow highschoolers Kobayashi, who has trouble focusing in and out of school, and quirky new transfer student Uno. Both teens are clearly neurodivergent, and seeing them become close friends and teach each other different ways to deal with every day life is so refreshing and sweet. I love Kobayashi's patience and understanding with Uno, and Uno's slowly coming out of his shell and learning how to have a friend 🥹 Absolutely fantastic, can't wait for the next volume!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing a free of charge eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Inuhiko Doronda crafts a beautiful story of acceptance and friendship in this first volume of her award-winning slice of life manga series.

The book focuses on two teenagers, Kobayashi, who lacks focus both at school and at work, and Uno, the new, eccentric transfer student. Although never specifically addressed the two teens are both neurodivergent. This first volume sees the two of them becoming friends, and gaining a deeper understanding of themselves as they learn how the other copes with a world that can be difficult to navigate, and unkind.

This manga is definitely one where the plot is secondary to the characters and their interactions, Inuhiko Doranda has created beautifully complex and relatable characters. This is a beautiful, heartwarming book that highlights just how great people can be, and one that will give a feeling of hope to every reader that doesn't feel like they fit in, or feels adrift in the world.

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone again in volume two, and sharing the next stage of their journey. If you enjoyed Heartstopper, this should be your next read.

Spacewalking With You 1 is a heartwarming coming of age slice of life. The characters learn about themselves and friendship. The characters are also relatable and realistic.

[Thank you to NetGalley for ARC access in return for an honest review]

I've been in the worst reading slump recently and so I've been gravitating towards mangas and graphic novels and honestly I'm so glad that I did. I really enjoyed this manga, I love Uno and Kobayashi - they're both characters who struggle to fit in with the rest of the world around them and while there aren't explicitly stated, there are elements of neurodivergence from Uno and we some learning difficulties that Kobayashi struggles with (which has made him come off as a delinquent student). I love how the characters, despite being quite different at the start of the story, postively impact each other.

Absolutely recommend giving it a read.

Throughout this reading experience, I was thoughtful and reflecting on my own life and coping mechanisms.
This coming-of-age manga follows Kobayashi, a teenager, struggling to focus on school and at his part-time job, until the arrival of the new student, Uno, shakes up his usual routine. I think there is possibly neurodivergent, learning disability, and mental illness representation in this manga; it’s not explicitly stated that characters are neurodivergent or have learning disabilities.

I love reading about chosen/found family and enjoyed that aspect of this manga. I loved how this story explored the importance of standing up for what you believe in. It also explored taking accountability for your actions and practicing open communication. The characters are layered and imperfect; I enjoy this in character development because it makes them feel more realistic. There was such an accurate artistic representation of what it feels like to be overstimulated in public. I really admire it when an artist can portray deep, complex emotions in their art.

The ways this manga explored neurodivergence and how people cope with living in a neurotypical-centered world made me feel seen.

Spacewalking with you Volume 1 by Inuhiko Doronoda is an amazing introduction to the characters in this manga. The main character, Kobayashi, struggles with school and part-time job and befriends Uno, a new transfer student. What I love about this manga is that it each character, including the teachers and Kobayashi's classmates have their own unique personalities and motivations. As a slice-of-life manga it deals responsible with social issues such as learning disability and forming new friendships. . A wholesome read.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this comic. As an autistic person I found it incredibly emotional story and a very good portrayal (despite not being explicitly stated as being such).

Irgendwie hat mich das ziemlich fasziniert. Kobayashi kommt als schroffer Rowdy rüber, dabei wird er einfach nur immer missverstanden, hat ein paar Probleme in der Kommunikation und kann sich bestimmte Dinge oder Abläufe nicht so einfach merken - weswegen er bei anderen oft aneckt. Als dann Uno als neuer Mitschüler auftaucht, entdeckt er neue Perspektiven. Denn Uno ist etwas besonders - er hat viele alltägliche Probleme, aber seine Schwester hat für ihn einen “Sicherheitsgurt” in Form eines Notizbuches erschaffen. Dort sind verschiedene Situationen beschrieben und wie er damit umgehen kann. Beeindruckt davon übernimmt Kobayashi das auch für sich, um bei seinem Job besser klarzukommen.

An sich hört sich der Plot erstmal nicht so weltbewegend oder spannend an, doch die Dynamik des ungleichen Duos und wie sie gemeinsam die Dinge bewältigen, fand ich einfach toll anzugucken und mitzuerleben. Sie sind etwas unbeholfen, aber kommen super gut zusammen aus. Und das Thema Astrologie find ich persönlich ja auch super faszinierend! 🌠

Das Artwork ist auch toll - ich fand's teilweise realistischer, als bei den meisten Manga. Es ist detailliert, hat aber auch Panels mit weniger Details - passt aber alles sehr gut zusammen.

This manga is a great story of friendship, growth, and self-acceptance. I think this manga is a must-read for teens and adults alike, and is one you should absolutely add to your collection. I will be eagerly awaiting the next volume!

Spoilers for the storyline ahead.

Kobayashi meets Uno, sees how he's made accommodations for himself in his own life, and when Uno's sister tells him it's okay to need a little extra help sometimes, he takes the initiative to advocate for himself and ask for his own accommodations. As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent person, it meant a lot to me to see this kind of story with these kinds of conversations in manga. I mostly read manga over other media as a teen, and reading a story like this may have helped me make connections before I was well into adulthood.

Spacewalking With You might be the first manga you will read on neurodivergence as it was in my case.
What a great combination!
Kobayashi and the newcomer Uno are neurodivergent young people who struggle in their own ways.
Then find common ground and support and guide each other.
Cute, touching, loving, and inspiring.
I cannot wait to read the following books in this series.

This was such a heartwarming story about two boys who make an unlikely friendship and gain new perspectives on how they approach life. The neurodivergent representation in this was so well written into the story and it was amazing to see it in manga. The development of the friendship was adorable and seeing them realize how they can help each other have a happier life was perfect. The themes in this series are incredible and this would honestly make such a great book to read in a middle school class.

*4.5 stars rounded up to 5*
This was a really sweet story!

Our two main characters are neurodivergent-coded but since it wasn't confirmed, I can only assume. Even without that, we have two people who don't experience life in a 'typical' way, coming together to help each other out.

I loved how Uno was so vocal with how he has learned what to do, and I liked the idea of his tether, keeping him grounded. The fact that Kobayashi took on board what he said and realised it could help him too was really good - its realistic, many things that help dyslexic folk to read for example can help non-dyslexic folk to concentrate too!

I really enjoyed this, and I think that there's a lot that this story could cover overall. Considering this is the first volume, it gave us a really good primer to the story and what we might expect. I'm curious to see how this story to turn out in later volumes!

"Sometimes people just need a something extra so they can live like everyone else."

This manga is on my TBR list ever since it was revealed to top the Kono Manga Sugoi ranking! The personalities of all the characters (including those with developmental disorders/neurodivergents) are portrayed exceptionally well. I felt that this is a refreshing, heartwarming storytelling about the struggles of being neurodivergent navigating the world. The way it explores how to interact with people who have various challenges and how to find and appreciate their strengths is truly wonderful. As a neurodivergent myself, I resonate with Keisuke the most (remembering things, but then too much overwhelms the senses, don't like unfamiliar, crowded spaces and it frustrates you when you don't understand some things) and we need a friend like Kobayashi who is there to understand us. This is truly a manga I not only want to read myself but also recommend to my friends! Also, as the mangaka's debut work, I just wanna say a job well done! Looking forward for Vol. 2!

It seems universally agreed upon by the internet that the two MCs in this manga are neurodivergent, specifically, Autistic and ADHD. On the one hand, I think its great that the author says they want to show how "some people" can live with a little support. Saying it that way shows that you don't specifically need to be autistic (or diagnosed with anything) to need a little help sometimes, but that anyone can benefit for whatever support they specifically need. I think that's a good model to have in the world. I do also think that sometimes using and owning labels also has a place and can be helpful and another part of me wishes we were explicitly told these two are neurodivergent.

But either way, the story in this manga was wholesome, powerful, and relatable. I'm not sure I totally warmed up to the characters until the second chapter, but I also think a chapter of getting to know the characters, settings, art, story conflict, etc is perfectly acceptable.

I'd recommend this one to people looking for emotional but wholesome neurodivergent representation in slice of life, high school manga.

— 4.5 ✷


OH MY GODDD I LOVED THIS SO MUCH I ALMOST WANNA CRY. It was very heartwarming story that explores neurodivergence and mental health - I fell in love with the art, the characters, it felt like a warm hug that touched me to the core of my very soul.

But, because I loved this volume so much, because I want the future volumes to be just as warm and impactful and good, I do recognize a small flaw of the genre that is cozy; it's that it might become stagnant and redundant in its "life lessons" as the chapters go on. So I'm really holding out hope that this is one of the better series that is both interesting and well-told because I would love to have them physically on my shelves. For now, I'll definitely be reading the next volume as soon as it's out.


Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet, wholesome, and funny story, but also an important one that deserves to be heard.

The main characters and their dynamics were a highlight for me. They managed to be so different but they shared similarities that made their connection feel authentic and engaging. Their interactions were both heartwarming, touching, and entertaining, leaving me completely invested and hooked.

One of the most impressive aspects of this was the use of space. It added uniqueness and depth to the story that I wasn’t expecting, and it worked beautifully.

The art style was another element that I loved. Beautiful, unique, and expressive, it perfectly captured the tone and emotions of the story. Especially the feelings and worries of Uno.

And I can’t move on without mentioning Uno—protect Uno at all costs! This character absolutely stole my heart.

Overall, this was an incredible read that left me smiling and thinking. I cannot wait to continue the story in Volume 2 (and find more about Mikawa as well).

Highly recommended for anyone!

This was truly an adorable graphic novel.
I really liked the artwork.
The friendship was so strong and I’d love to read more.

An apathetic loner meets a daydreamer.

Kobayashi can’t seem to focus. He’s flunking at school and he constantly gets fired from his jobs. And the adults around him think he’s some flunk waiting to be another dropout.

Until he meets Uno. A guy who seems to be too innocent and gullible for his own good. So Kobayashi becomes his friend to, well, look out for him. And before he knows it, Uno becomes the kind of person he’s been needing to meet all his life. Someone to tether him into reality—ironic, since Uno is a space cadet himself.

Overall thoughts:

This coming of age about two buds has a lot of heart. Initially, you’d think this is just a story about two socially awkward guys who meet and become friends. But there’s a lot more hiding behind its conspicuous art style.

Uno and Kobayashi are people who have trouble fitting in because of different reasons. Kobayashi can’t seem to focus on anything, and sensory overstimulation can be a lot for Uno. But through the bond they form, they become each other’s support system and help each other navigate their lives in a way that’s healthy for the both of them.

Their friendship is very wholesome and the representation felt fairly accurate. And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, this manga was nominated for the Taisho Award, and won top shonen of the year in the Kono Manga Ga Sugoi poll!

Who is Spacewalking With You for?

If you want to read a slow-burny and comedic coming-of-age story with neurodivergent representation, you might enjoy it!

A Gentle Exploration of Friendship and Neurodivergence

Spacewalking With You 1 offers a heartfelt and sensitive portrayal of neurodivergent teens navigating the challenges of school and life. The unlikely friendship between Kobayashi, who struggles with focus and overthinking, and the energetic, possibly autistic transfer student Uno, unfolds with genuine warmth and realism. Their bond grows naturally, supported by shared interests like astronomy, and the story beautifully captures the quiet struggles many face but rarely voice. The art varies in style to emphasize emotional highs and lows, enhancing the reading experience.

This manga stands out as a compassionate, relatable slice-of-life that resonates deeply, especially for those familiar with neurodivergence or anyone who appreciates nuanced character-driven stories.