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.

Spacewalking with You is an ideal coming-of-age novel that blends comedy with reflection and also with the way young people interact with each other.

I didn't really like the art, but I think the story makes me want to continue despite that. I'm not saying it's not good (I wish I could draw like that!) It's just that when I read manga, the art is very important, and I've often left some stories rather flat because I didn't have an illustration I liked. But in this case, the story is worth it.

Thank you so much, Kodansha Comics, for the ARC I read on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I can't express how much I love this series already. It is all about normalizing accommodations, learning how to communicate with other people whose needs are different from yours, and respecting that your brain having its own needs does not make you "stupid" or "bad." It was like a hug to read it, and I really liked all of the individual characters and learning about them. I will be suggesting this series to every manga reader I know and think it would also be really useful for schools to utilize at least this first volume in summer or required readings.

4.5⭐️

As is beginning to be the usual for me, I went into this completely blind. And the first couple of pages I was a little unsure about the setup and where it was going to go – but my worries were put to shame.

Uno is just starting at a new school, but people already seem to think he’s odd. When people start picking on him Kobayashi, the school slacker, comes to his rescue. Despite their very different personalities, a new friendship launches.🚀

While it’s never explicitly stated, it’s pretty clear that this is a story about neurodivergence. And, while I would never speak on behalf of the people who are being represented, to me it felt like a very nicely balanced portrayal of both some of the strengths and challenges – and of finding ways to navigate your limitations.

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

All in all, I thought it was a heartwarming and thoughtful story about friendship and helping each other grow – and I absolutely adored the dynamic between the two main characters.🫶

I loved how this manga dealt with the theme of neurodiversity set in a time when people didn't understand how autism works.

Kobayashi just can’t focus on anything in his life. He feels like he will never succeed in life. One day he encounters Uno's and helps him. Through his relationship with Uno, Kobayashi learns about his own self-worth and that he can succeed. Uno's appears to be spacy but he is autistic and views and interacts with the world differently than other people. Through his friendship with Kobayashi, Uno starts to enjoy his high school life.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-Arc and this is my honest opinion.

This is an extremely sweet, important manga that I think will be so useful to help both kids and teens understand what they may be experiencing. Helping to understand that they are not alone and knowing to reach out to others - an important and tender work.

I see why this was nominated for the American Manga Award, if it wins I wouldn't be surprised. This would be good for fans of A Silent Voice, and Our Dreams at Dusk. This was a really heartfelt story, the characters are all so well developed.

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this manga that much. I gotta say I'm not a fan of the art style, so when I started reading I got a bit predisposed to not enjoy the manga that much, but when I met Uno and Kobayashi, learned about their struggles and their ways to overcome their hardships and how their friendship developed... my heart just melted. I found myself giggling and kicking my feet several times throughout every chapter!

While Uno isn't officially diagnosed with anything so far he comes across VERY heavily as an autistic teenager, and while I'm not autistic myself I find his portrayal a pretty accurate representation so far.

If you're in need of a feel-good manga that isn't completely fluff and doesn't focus on romance but on friendship you need to read this one for sure. You won't regret it. I'm eager to continue the next volume already!

This book has done something that I think is going to be so important to so many readers. The struggles these kids go through and developing ways to cope, develop friendships, and discovering that it's ok to be different. I think people could pick out parts of each of these boys and see things in themselves. The 2 main ones for me and my personal journey were Kobayashi and it's ok to not understand something right away, if you don't understand it's ok to ask again & Uno with his notebook and "don't cry until you get home". As a person who deals with high functioning anxiety and depression this hits so close to home. You just feel like to need to put on a happy face and not let others see how you are truly feeling.

I think this is just one of those important reads for everyone.

this one's about an unlikely friendship between two people who despite odds, do have some similarities. it's a story that teaches us to learn from one another to be the best version of ourselves.

chapter 2 resonated with me a lot because as someone who gets hyperfixated on a specific thing, people taking interest in what you're interested in is always a positive!!

it's a big weight off your chest when you have the freedom to venture out the world knowing there's an anchor that can guide you back to safety

excited to see how this plays out as we go through volume 2. love the astronomy club dynamics already!!

This manga was so wholesome! I loved the friendship between Uno and Kobayashi and how they were able to grow and learn from each other. The way the author portrays neurodivergent characters, specifically teenagers, feels realistic and refreshing.
Ultimately, I would say it is definitely worth reading! I would recommend it to anyone who likes heartwarming friendships.

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

This is too freaking cute. I am obsessed. First of all I think this is a really nice representation for people who are not neurotypical. Moreover, it's just super wholesome and really easy to read. The story is super entertaining and I see the potential for this to become an Anime. I am enjoying that from the get go we are seeing really great character growth and more than that, the complexity of the characters themselves. I flew through this first volume and definitely saw myself picking up the next one. I can’t wait to see where this goes! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing my access to your content and allowing me to review it!

This is such a heartfelt manga!

It beautifully well-drawn, although there are some scenes where actions characters made are not very clear - like when the book gets thrown out.

There was so many quotes and panels that really stood out to me as important or memorable.

“Everyday, there is new stuff I don’t get. Sometimes I tumble or find it hard to move forward. Like I’m floating in space. But I still want to keep walking. It might be slow going, but i’ll do my best so that one day, you and I, can space walk together”

This one stood out to me the most - I loved the idea of representing feelings of misunderstanding or feeling behind as being ‘floating in space’

It’s definitely a manga for anyone who has ever felt like they just don’t quite get things - it shows two characters struggling with different aspects of life, wherever it’s social or in their jobs, and how they overcome that.

This manga is adorable. I like how the characters learn how to see past stereotypes, but mostly I like this manga because social interactions can be hard, and Uno found a way to deal with that.

I have never read anything like this, but then again I'm fairly new to reading manga. The art style matches the story very well, especially when Uno is having a moment. I assume he's on the spectrum, which makes this a very interesting story that can help people like Uno.

I only read volume 1, but I'm looking forward to volume 2-4 when they are published in English.

RATING : 3.5 STARS

Where the friendship dynamics of Haikyuu meets the concept of Insomniacs After School. This manga features Uno and Koboyashi's journey to friendship. The dynamics between Uno's more neurodivergent tendencies and Koboyashi's deliquency is such a great pairing and offers duality to a rather simple plot. I resonated with Koboyashi's internal conflict of trying vs not trying due to his fear of failure and also really liked the depiction of Uno's internal conflict debating weather or not to follow the list of social rules in his notebook, because social interactions is very much ever-changing based on the person and setting. This sweet manga inspired me to embrace the Beginner's mindset and encouraged me to pick up a small notebook to note down things and also be more open to asking questions because it's better to be a "nuisance" before something bad occurs from your lack of understanding

This light hearted yet serious story is one that I think a lot of teens and adult can relate too, but also use as a tool for developing empathy for those around them.

This was so heartwarming and caught me off guard. We meet and follow a couple of neurodivergent teens and see their friendship blossom. I really liked how we dive into their thoughts, but we also see them learn to communicate and help each other.
Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Spacewalking With You" is a fresh look at an unlikely friendship between the new transfer student and a "delinquent", but there is so much more to these characters and how they go through everyday life. It is implied that Uno is autistic, and on the other hand, Kobayashi struggles with learning and doing tasks with minimal help. After meeting each other, they're looking at things in a new, positive light, and their influence on each other is so sweet! I teared up with the first chapter, and I cannot wait to see what lies in store for this fun duo!

This book is so precious!

It follows a story of 2 high school boys who couldn’t be more different yet became friends and slowly helped each other get through life despite its hardships.

“Sometimes people just need a little something extra…so they can live like everyone else”

As the story progresses, it gets wonderful to see their growth and influence towards each other. It’s a wonderful representation of neuro-divergence, giving it some found family vibes and the importance of friendship in our life.

The illustrations are beautiful and very expressive.

100% would recommend it to anyone!

Thank you Kodansha for the eARC on Netgalley

This was a precious slice of life managa. Contrary to what the title, Spacewalking with You, might imply, this is not a scifi story. Instead we follow the story of two boys becoming friends and discovering its ok to need a little extra help or use tools others might make fun of you for. It's like a wholesome hug, especially if you can relate to the difficulties these boys having. We have learning disabilities and Autism coded rep.