4.5 Stars

This manga includes 4 one-shots, meaning 4 separate, independent and complete stories without prequels or sequels to be written.

1. Hanauta Nagaruru (Overhearing a Flower Song)
2. Hotarubi no Mori e (Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light)
3. Kurukuru Ochiba (The Falling of Autumn Leaves)
4. Hibi, Fukaku (Deepening the Scar)

Story No1: Shima is a class president and all around serious and grounded. After overhearing someone playing a specific melody on the guitar for a few days in an abandoned building at her school while cleaning she overhears a classmate humming it at school. The boy, Fujimura, is the lone troublemaker. No one likes being near him much due to his face and demeanour being very intimidating. The two become unlikely friends and consecutively fall in love.

This story was not quite clear to me but i enjoyed it none the less. I believe that if it was a bit longer it would had come across more clear.

Story No2: Hotaru gets lost in the forest one summer day while vacationing at her grandpas and a boy called Gin, who is really a spirit, helps her find her way home. They become friends; they start meeting every summer holiday for the years to come, and grow closer with each passing year. Those feeling blossom into something more though and present a problem as she cannot touch him, or he will seize to exist.

This one is so warm and yet so incredibly heart breaking i actually cried! My number one in this collection and an all time favourite. My kokoro bleeds!
It was made into an anime adaption with the same name, which was also very amazing. I seriously recommend it!

Story No3: Tsubaki, a poor girl who fell in love with her next door neighbour and childhood friend Kaede, a boy from a rich family. She is very protective of him and is always beating up people who try to bully him. He always feels lonely, since he rarely sees his parents due to their work, but the energetic girl-next-door always supports and protects him. This is the story of how they came to realise their feelings of each other.

This is another great story, though i did feel it was a bit unbalanced. Same as with Story No1 this one needed just tiny bit more length to bring everything into perspective.

And finally

Story No4: Ritsu and Sou, two siblings. They had a very close relationship in childhood but were separated for eight years because of their parents. When Sou returned, Ristu felt that they couldn't interact like they did eight years ago and so tells him that she has fallen in love with her brother.

I do not like insect so this story was not something i would ever like. These types of feelings were addressed properly though and it's atoning quality is the ending. The ending was great.

All in all this is a great collection of stories. I did enjoy them immensely despite them making my kokoro sad.