4.5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐

this book/manga is really good
it nicely portrays the beginning of the friendship of the main characters
it stands out mainly because how uno unknowingly becomes inspiration for kobayashi and even somehow motivates him to change for the good.

I loved this. The story was just really great and the art was similarly fantastic. Watching the way Kobayashi and Uno interact and impact one another, while their relationship slowly changes was just adorable. It was so enjoyable and I am really looking forward to the second volume, which I think comes out in November. (I can't believe I have to wait so long *crying*)

Spacewalking with You
- volume 1 releases, volume 2 release Nov
-coming of age, slice of life, wholesome
-@netgalley and @kodanshamanga eARC

Originally I was on the fence to request to read this one, but my friend rated it high, so I checked it out and I'm so glad I did! It is so wholesome and a nice change in reading. Uno is so adorable and Kobayashi is getting drawn into his pace and accepts him for himself- even if Uno is different from his other classmates.
Uno's analogy for how he feels in situations and what his notebook means to him, gives an unexplainable feeling where you can some how connect with how he feels.

Kobayashi and Uno are opposites so you wouldn't think they would interact with each other. Well the transfer student, Uno, is slowly impacting Kobayashi's life in unexpected ways- for the better. Kobayashi also does what he can to help Uno, who does things in his own way.

I picked up this manga without expecting much, but it turned out to be incredibly wholesome. The main characters are complex and multi-layered, with rich inner lives they struggle to express to those around them. As the story progresses, it's heartwarming to see how they become a positive influence on each other, gradually easing each other's burdens day by day.

The manga offers a thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of neurodivergence and mental health. It powerfully illustrates how people can be silently struggling, and how difficult it can be for them to reach out for help. That aspect really resonated with me.

It is unique.
It is platonic
It is neuro-divergent representation, written in a time when Neurodivergence was not widely recognized amongst the common public.
Written with a neutral lens, it is about friendship of two unlikely boys who each find a friend in the other that will reintroduce them to the world from a new perspective.
To achieve that level of thematic expression in the first volume is a remarkable feat.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Spacewalking With You, Volume 1 by Inuhiko Doronoda was such an awesome and important volume, surprising me with how much I loved it. It is set in a high school setting and follows two neuro-divergent main characters in a time and place before anyone really knew that was a thing. You follow these boys' struggles in their life and how they become friends throughout the volume and expand their friend group as well, giving this read a wholesome, found-family feeling. This is a fictional story told with such heartwarming care that I feel it could really bring awareness to a lot of people, even though it's set in a bit of an older time. I recommend this for any and every body and hope many people read it. It is beautiful.

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

Spacewalking with You Vol. 1 surprised me a lot. I picked it without thinking too much, just because of the cover and the genre, and it ended up moving me to tears (flooded with tears). I didn’t know what to expect, and maybe that’s why it hit me so hard: it’s a simple but very real story.

The manga follows Kobayashi, a boy who’s lost motivation and stopped trying, until he meets Uno, a new student with a distinctive personality. Both carry their own struggles, but little by little they connect through everyday moments, without grand gestures, which makes their relationship feel very genuine.

The story doesn’t minimize Uno’s needs and carefully shows why they matter to him. It also portrays Kobayashi’s experience well, as he struggles with school and work, feeling disconnected and left behind.

The illustrations are simple but very expressive, and the visual depiction of stress and emotional overload is very well done.

It’s a story I would 100% recommend to everyone, especially to people who have ever felt out of place.

⭐ Story: 10/10 | ⭐ Characters: 10/10 | ⭐ Illustrations: 10/10 | ⭐ Overall: 10/10

📆 Reading date: 26/06/25
📖 Read on: NetGalley ARC
💖 Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good read!

"When I don't understand something, it feels like I'm floating in space."

Thank you @netgalley and @kodansha_en for providing a digital ARC! I loved it so much I bought a shelf trophy.

Thoughts
The whole manga was adorable! It had such a heartwarming feel while diving into the representation of mental health and neurodivergent.

Characters:
Uno* is everything. Every time he would say anything, it had me smiling. I want to jump in the story and protect him with my whole being.
Yamato* is so relatable he is just trying to live his life holding on with all his might, but he can barely focus on anything. I felt so bad when he was at his job and the coworkers were talking about him 😭.

Art:
The art alone had me! One of the main reasons I bought the manga. (BTW Yamato is so pretty!)

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

Just one chapter in, and I’m already floored.

Whereas others see oddity with Uno’s tether, Kobayashi sees strength and resilience in him.

“It’s thanks to you, that I can walk in space.”

They’re just a precious bunch of sunshine. Kobayashi who doesn’t treat Uno like he’s something fragile, just give him space and encouragement when he retreats, and best believe Uno have Kobayashi’s back.

This is just simply a heartfelt coming of age and emotional neurodivergent story between two unlikely bunch who found friendship as they learn to navigate life. Definitely a must read and I just can’t wait for the release of the 2nd volume.

This was delightful! I love this they showed Austin’s & neurodivergence without infantilizing the main. character the art was beautiful and conveyed the inner turmoil and peace well. Looking forward to more!

Such a heartwarming and cute story! I actually bought 3 japanese volumes when I went to Japan last month but happy to read it in english as well. I'm so glad we have manga with neurodiverse characters. I resonate with a lot of them in all different aspects and almost cried more than once. I hope more people read this manga. I also think It's a nice way to introduce young people to neurodiversity since it flows so well withing the story without a strict language or difficult explanation.

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. I can’t wait to pick up the other volumes. There was just so much packed into this volume that I did not want this to end. The characters are just so well done.

ENGLISH: this manga is so good that i wish i had all the volumes like... now, but now FOR REAL!!! it was a light read, considering that we are in a school context, where the 'trope' (let's call it that) of the newcomer is present and, consequently, of the character who welcomes him into his wing. and it's not just all of this, but much more: both protagonists are in fact, neurodivergent. One knows very well that he is, and has managed to find a way to survive in a world that is not at all used to all of this, while his classmate Kobayashi hasn't understood it yet. And he thinks he is wrong or something is wrong with him, when the reality is just that... he needed a friend like Uno who could show him who he really is. Great start, I can't wait to continue with the next volumes!

ITALIAN: questo manga è così bello che vorrei avere tutti i volumi tipo... adesso, ma adesso PER DAVVERO. è stata una lettura leggera, visto che ci troviamo in un contesto scolastico, in cui è presente il 'trope' (chiamiamolo così) del nuovo arrivato e, di conseguenza, del personaggio lo accoglie nella sua ala. e non è solo tutto questo, ma molto di più: entrambi i protagonisti sono appunto neurodivergenti. Uno sa benissimo di esserlo, ed è riuscito a trovare il modo per sopravvivere in un mondo che non è per niente affatto abituato a tutto questo, mentre il suo compagno di classe Kobayashi ancora non l'ha capito. E pensa di essere sbagliato o di avere qualcosa che non va, quando la realtà è soltanto che... aveva bisogno di un amico come Uno che gli mostrasse chi è davvero. ottimo inizio, non vedo l'ora di continuare con i prossimi volumi!

A simple message embedded in a sweet friendship. Kobayashi and Uno bounce off really well off each other, and the way they fill each other's weaknesses while giving each other strength made this a very wholesome read. I love how Kobayashi doesn't treat him differently and how considerate he is of Uno.

The idea of spacewalking is a nice analogy for navigating situations that feel unknown. Uno's notebook as his safety tether and Kobayashi taking inspiration from that (and finding immediate success) endeared me to the both of them. How open Kobayashi is to Uno, and Uno expanding his world simply by being friends with them was a nice dynamic see progress.

I relate to Uno and hold him dear to my heart. It's refreshing to see neurodivergent traits be accepted with little pushback and met with curiosity to learn instead. Incredibly heartwarming and such a good cleansing read inbetween more complex plots.

OH. MY. STARS. As someone who’s obsessed with space, this hit me right in the nerdy soul! The characters?? Instantly iconic. Each one feels like a real person, and the fact that there’s already so much growth packed into one volume?? I’m screaming. I need volume two like, yesterday — give me more telescopes, star charts, and emotional breakdowns under the night sky!!

Ahhh where do I start?! This was so sweet, emotional and moving! Kobayashi is a delinquent who had pretty much given up on school when Uno transfers into his class and little by little these two misfits find a place in the world together and their friendship changes them both for the better Kobayashi realises it's ok to ask for help and manage his feelings while Uno has a real proper friend to navigate this big confusing world with.

Spacewalking with you is a coming of age buddy comedy with some real thoughtful and emotional moments. Can't wait for the next installment to find out what challenges they overcome together!

🚀🧑🏼‍🚀🧑🏼‍🚀🪐

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

THIS WAS SO WHOLESOME 😭 Kobayashi and Uno are precious baby angels and must be protected at all costs

Our boys start out aboard the strugglebus; Kobayashi is having trouble concentrating in class and staying on task at work, while Uno struggles with interpreting social cues and being easily overstimulated. Both characters are clearly neurodivergent and while it’s not directly stated, my guess is that Kobayashi likely has ADHD and Uno is likely autistic. Although the two may seem like an unlikely pair at first, it’s not long before they’re swapping life hacks for living as neurodivergent people in a neurotypical world, helping one another navigate social situations, and joining an astronomy club to learn more about Uno’s special interest: outer space! I’m super excited to read the next volume and see what’s next for this dynamic duo!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!! 🫶🏼

In all its glory, volume one felt like a standalone volume, a storyline where its themes aren't spoon-fed to readers but where it welcomes and tugs at your heartstrings. Even the ending felt like a continuous path for all characters where we can say “I hope everything goes well for them” so I was pleasantly surprised to know that their story continues in another volume. I can’t wait to read and see more of them (especially Uno, I wish for his happiness)

It warms my heart that there are stories like this, because we need it.

This title is surprising, I thought for sure that I was retiring from reading school life tags but there was something about the title that called out to me. I later realized all the characters are walking miscommunication tropes.

Kobayashi’s working on his own trying to learn why he finds certain things hard that are easy for everyone else, then he meets Uno who for other people in their environment knows that he’s different from others where his energy is cranked up and not at par with the social cues teenagers are used to.

Through Uno entering Kobayashi’s space, he tries Uno’s coping mechanism of taking notes to help himself cope and make sense of the world and grasp on its order.

That scene where Kobayashi learns that one of Uno’s notes is “even when it hurts, wait to cry about it until you get home” because we all saw how much Uno has been trying to live through the rules of growing up without knowing what he did wrong even when he tried his utmost to be considerate of everyone because he thought it would be wrong.
I also cried with them.

The characters feel real there’s raw authenticity in seeing these kids find ways to care for their growing pains, finding answers to their unanswered questions:
Kobayashi on why he finds it hard to do things that comes easy to other people
Saku on why his best friend, Kobayashi started being a different person
Mikawa on why he always says the wrong things when he didn’t mean it
Inoue-sensei wondering if his students would ever listen to him on his final year before retiring
And Uno…we shouldn't disturb Uno, he has his routines.

As an adult who sometimes feels like I too am spacewalking with no one around knowing what’s going on with me who fails to tether because I forget or it’s simply a gargantuan mission that I overthink of failing then I actually do, reading this made me feel seen. I too needed a reminder that it is okay to question why I find things hard when people say it is easy, that maybe, I just need to take note of things so that when I am overwhelmed I can see what the next step is.

That such simple things are capable of being lifelines for people who find most things overwhelming.

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

This has wonderful art where each character has their own style and personality and I love how all of the personalities mesh together to create a sweet little story of friendship and interests and how friends, true friends, accept people for who they are. It also shows that some people need extra things in life and it shows it as okay. I could personally see a lot of representation that resonated with me and people I know so in that respect alone I feel like teens should read this.

Storywise, it was a fun and sweet time where I liked every character and how they were fleshed out for a first volume. I am very excited for Volume 2 and perhaps more if they are published!

Fun and cute manga Arc from Netgalley that I decided to take a shot on. I am quite picky with manga but I like trying the first volume just cause they're pretty short and quick to read. I think this is worth giving a shot.