This may sound arrogant but Ive always known that I was talented when it came to my reading ability. Its not something I consider much of a brag as being able to read your own language well isnt anything particularly difficult yet Id spent most of my childhood being told that my reading ability was ahead of my age. Believe me since its not a brag there is a reason why Im bringing this up within this review Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is a very wellwritten novel completely up to standard with the equally wellwritten manga it is a spinoff of Nio Nakatanis Yagate Kimi ni Naru and twists so much detail into its writing that it even tested the likes of me in trying to take in just how well this side story was handled. Hitoma Iruma author of Adachi to Shimamura takes the reins on this novel with Nakatani being involved in deciding where she wanted the story to go while leaving the how to Iruma and as somebody whos never read any of his work this initially made me sceptical before I began reading since I didnt know how he handled his own characters and story let alone somebody elses. However my expectations were very pleasantly surpassed Nakatani left this project in the right hands. Irumas original story elements were very well thought out and his handling of the existing characters and plot elements rivals even Nakatani herself. Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is a side story of the original Yagate Kimi ni Naru manga series that focuses on Toukos close friend and Yuus rival to Toukos heart Saeki Sayaka delving into her distant past in volume 1 her close past her present in the eyes of the manga and her closer future in volume 2 and finally her full future in volume 3. While not the most original of ideas Iruma worked wonders with this formula of separating 3 time periods across the 3 volumes and was able to tell a very down to earth story within them. Volume 1 shows us Sayakas past her first and second encounters with love and the emotions she took away from those encounters that would shape her into the strong character that we see her become in later volumes of this novel and second half of the manga. Sayakas first encounter was completely original content from Iruma and I believe that was a great starting point as it gave him a way to showcase his original writing first before fully immersing himself in Nakatanis guidance. Iruma used Sayakas childhood encounter with love to showcase her initial disposition and confusion around love and somebodys attempt to be close to her and to fuel later analogies that Sayaka was always running from her emotions which would be built upon in volume 2 and when referred to the mangas content. The second chapter of volume 1 shows us a much more familiar part of Sayakas past for both anime watchers and manga readers Sayakas junior high school relationship with a certain Chie Yuzuki. Rather than running away from her emotions this chapter would be in contrast with the first and show us Sayakas initial joy followed by hurt and loss by running into her emotions headon without considering the reality of it all. In the manga and anime this period of time is pivotal to understanding Sayakas character and with how brief this plot element is Iruma did an incredible job of translating it into this format. Volume 2 shows us a closer past of Sayakas first meeting meeting with Touko Nanami during her first year of high school and coming to terms with the realisation of her sexuality due to her easy love for Touko despite her previous confusion and sorrow leading Sayaka to believe that she wouldnt let love into her heart again. Given that this period of time is mostly told through Toukos perspective in the anime and manga its interesting to see Iruma spin it all into Sayakas perspective instead. Along with this volume 2 gives a somewhat quick recap of everything that happened in the manga without feeling too rushed at all giving us detailed reminders of everything Sayaka would go through with the introduction of Yuu Koito and her newfound relation with Touko and how the final circumstances would affect her. Its not often to see authors pull off recaps of so much content without a feeling that things were moving too fast though I guess thats more of the result of assuming that the reader has read the manga and understands the original plot from start to finish which describes myself and many other readers. The end of volume 2 moves into a snippet of the beginning of Sayakas college life following her heartbreak and graduation in the original series where she meets a crying Haru Edamoto and then the fully original plot takes off from there. Volume 2 was the peak of this novel series with some of the most beautiful writing and subtext Ive ever read. Volume 3 is where everything goes original and I cant explain much without spoiling this original content but I can assure you that its equally as great as Irumas writing up to this point just... read it for yourself and get the full experience. It was a beautiful wrapup to this side story. As mentioned prior though she doesnt do the main body of writing for this novel like she does with the original manga original series mangaka Nio Nakatani returns to do the artwork for this novel and it looks just as good as any fan of the series would likely expect. In the years between the beginning of the manga in 2015 and the release of this novel in 2018 its clear that creating the manga gave Nakatani a great opportunity to develop her skills and the very detailed and frankly stunning art of Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite stands as a testament to that. Sticking to her recognisable style Nakatanis art style is perfect in my eyes there is no way I could comment on anything to improve it. Absolutely outstanding. I didnt think it was possible for anybody to handle these characters as well as Nakatani herself but Iruma understands this series and the characters within very well. He explores the characters Nakatani has already written expands upon them shows where recognisable characters ended up in their future in volume 3 3 years after the end of the manga and of course introduces original characters drafted by Nakatani to keep true authenticity. Iruma and Nakatanis joined skill in character writing was very good despite Irumas own claim that hes no good at coming up with names. Nakatani understands Sayaka and the circumstances surrounding her life and she clearly did a great job communicating her understanding to Iruma somebody who also understands. With all of the elements within and how it ties to the original series its safe to say that I enjoyed Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite very much but Im not the biggest fan of Irumas inconsistent chapter lengths. Its not inherently a bad thing but it felt a bit jarring at certain points and subtracted from my enjoyment just a little but everything else makes up for that. Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite is an absolute essential for anybody whos a fan of the original series and even if you arent yet I strongly recommend getting into the series for it. If you look at my profile its not hard to tell that Im quite big fan and as a big fan I believe that the original series is a masterpiece and can guarantee you that its worth giving a chance. Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite focuses a lot on Sayakas realisation of love relationships romantic or not and emotions. In terms of emotions Sayakas character journey taught me one crucial lesson. I dont need to run away anymore.