For 6 kids, their lives were changed forever when one of those kids, Subaru, fell from a waterfall. She did survive, but she’s been unconscious for the last 5 years. And without fail, every April 10th since then, Hokuto ends up crying because he believes its his fault. Now all in high school, the relationships between the 5 — Hokuto, Akane, Sen, Arata and Chiiko — are no longer the same and appear to be on the verge of fracturing completely. But a return to the waterfall for Hokuto somehow makes Subaru appear in front of him, all alive and well.
…Except the fact that she floats in the air like a spirit. And touching her seems to be impossible…?
Mito Satou’s Leaving Our Truths to the Shooting Star is not complex — it’s a high school romance manga, but it involves a supernatural occurrence and a mystery involving Subaru, Hokuto, and the rest of the crew. Both those elements go hand in hand, as Subaru being a spirit surprises her, and the few individuals in this volume that can see her are also surprised as well. How is this possible when her body is in a hospital? How she can be seen by her friends — where a wish involving Subaru appears to be necessary — also comes into question as well.
But it’s that simplicity and direction that made volume 1 a fun, brisk read. It does show some lighthearted humor, but for the most part, it delves into these characters who were all friends with Subaru growing up and how that has affected them in the five years since her accident. How Subaru’s re-appearance, through the use of flashbacks when they were kids, is done well, and they aren’t poorly timed. It mostly shows snippets of their past and how they were all together at one point. How that impacts the present, when not only are they not the same people they were five years ago but Subaru still has the mind of a fifth-grader, provides a subtle, and interesting contrast when it comes to understanding Subaru’s mysterious state.
The art is also what aids the manga, as it’s pleasing to look at, particularly whenever there are serious character interactions or something hilarious is about to happen (See: when Sen “encounters” Subaru for the first time). At this point, the only real worry is the love triangle that’s gonna happen since Subaru and Akane like Hokuto…but will not liking him affect another person’s ability to see Subaru? After that somehow gets solved, the biggest question is will Subaru actually wake up in real life?
Leaving Our Truths to the Shooting Star is a real breeze to read, with few awkward misspellings or anything amiss. With one volume left, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of this manga. I hope it doesn’t take too long for volume 2 to come out!