Just as a warning this review will contain spoilers. I literally cannot talk about this manga without them. Its a popular series so who wins the love triangle is widely known. I knew who won before I read it. But if you do not know who wins and want to avoid spoilers I would avoid reading this review. Anyways Im not a huge fan of age gap manga. I tolerate them if theres something else I like about the series and Ill even read them to torture myself because Im just like that. Ive found that there are a few series I enjoy despite the weird age gaps but I almost always end up uncomfortable because of them. Daytime Shooting Star is what I would describe as a palatable manga with age gap elements. It explores the uncomfortable side of student x teacher relationships. It explores how being with a much older man will ultimately harm a teenage girl and how a same aged love interest is better for her. Granted the student x teacher relationship is heavily romanticized as the story never really goes in any dark places but Id say it is unique for an age gap manga. https://animemotivation.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/05/HirunakanoRyuuseiwallpaper.jpg Daytime Shooting star follows Suzume a high school girl who has moved from the familiar countryside to the big city. When she passes out on a bench she is rescued by a handsome stranger who turns out to be her uncles friend and her homeroom teacher And school life is tough to adjust to for Suzume especially with her attractive but standoffish classmate Mamura sitting next to her. And what will Suzume do with her blooming feelings for her teacher of all people? Yes Suzume comes very close to dating her teacher. Her love isnt unrequited and Mr. Shishio makes it clear to both Suzume and the readers that he has feelings for his student. Their relationship is very complicated to talk about. The story goes into how their relationship is ultimately harmful for Suzume and being together will hurt her. Teacher and student relationships are forbidden especially if they are between minors and adults. As a result if they were to be together theyd have to keep their relationship a secret. Shishio will not be able to be with Suzume when she needs it. He cannot comfort her or offer her support when shes upset. His feelings are uncertain to her and Suzume will never be able to have stability and normalcy if shes with him. Shishio is hard to read as his own internal battles over doing the right thing negatively affect Suzume. https://.wattpad.com/ec85942bac475e9376b547c2c1783d3deefd13d5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5a42513747596a5332686e3935673d3d2d3533353032343635352e313531326666626633633534366239323333313738383934313130342e6a7067 However the series does romanticize their relationship and it doesnt go into the darker aspects of relationships like these. Shishio is treated more like a love interest who couldnt do their best for their true love rather than a predator. It makes sense due to the tone of the series since its intended to be a lighthearted series exploring first love instead of a darker drama. Were also seeing Shishio primarily through Suzumes eyes which are undoubtedly rose tinted. And its not as though Yamamori fully condemns age gap romances since her series after this one is an age gap romance which is theorized to be a consolation prize for Shishio fans who were disappointed by the ending. So I dont think she would fully condemn Shishio for falling in love with and seriously considering dating a 16yearold girl and portray him as a malicious predator despite Daytime Shooting Star somewhat being a cautionary tale. Shishios rival is Mamura Suzumes classmate who is very abrasive and awkward about women not seeming to like them very much. However Suzume slowly helps him come out of his shell and make friends even friends who are girls. Suzumes persistence gets to him and he slowly finds himself falling for her. He cares about Suzumes happiness above all and hes even willing to let her go. And Suzume finds herself wanting to make Mamura happy and move on from her exhausting relationship with Shishio. Suzume is able to be herself around Shishio. She never feels like she has to walk on eggshells and she can relate to Mamura better than she ever could with Shishio. He can be there to support her in ways that Shishio never could. https://www.manganews.com/public/images/pix/serie/21160/daytimeshootingstarvisual1.jpg I also appreciate the ending and how Suzume was able to get closure and deal with her feelings. This is a story of first love and I got butterflies while reading it as Suzume discovered new ways of thinking about love both with Mamura and Shishio. We even get to see Suzume try and figure out the difference between her platonic and romantic feelings for Mamura which was really nice. Suzume was surprisingly a really fun character to read about. For some reason I had expected her character to be boring especially since she doesnt get talked about much. Shes incredibly laid back and nonchalant. She skips class and gets poor grades without a care in the world but shes still a regular girl who agonizes over her relationships. I loved how straightforward and simple she was and I found her to be a super sweet character with a big heart and silly tendencies. Her friend Yuyuka is easily the most fleshed out side character in this manga. Many of them are lacking in development but not Yuyuka. I feel like its not essential for me to talk about her but I really love her so Im going on this tangent. https://static.zerochan.net/Hirunaka.no.Ryuusei.full.3242651.jpg I found it to be really refreshing how Yuyuka and Suzume became friends. You think Yuyuka will be the catty rival girl who bullies the main girl and she sort of is in her introductory chapter. However she and Suzume literally duke it out with their fists and become best friends immediately afterwards which isnt something you usually see in shoujo romances. Yuyuka is incredibly blunt and prone to holding grudges. Shes got a strong personality but she represses it to avoid causing conflict. She tries to force herself to be cute and friendly but sometimes her real personality escapes. I loved how over the course of the manga she came to accept who she really was. As someone who has felt the need to hide my own negative traits and has had to repress negative emotions my whole life I really related to her. I do think her romantic arc was lackluster especially in comparison to her character arc. I think the overall message it had was strong I just didnt think her love interest or their interactions were fleshed out enough. https://de7i3bh7bgh0d.cloudfront.net/2019/07/09/15/24/12/c2a67a8af65a4720b89b9aedc8788d8b/page56202.jpg The art is gorgeous. It may not be on the level of Mika Yamamoris current work In the Clear Moonlit Dusk but its certainly very beautiful and distinctive. Ive always found Yamaoris art to have a sort of elegant and mature quality to it. The comedic scenes were drawn in really cute ways as well. Daytime Shooting Star is far from a perfect manga but Id say its the best age gap manga for people who dont like age gaps and it can be enjoyable for anyone who loves love triangles where there is ambiguity over who will win. It is very unique as it both romanticizes the student x teacher relationship and explains how it wont work. No matter what I did have fun with it and I found it to be a solid high school romance that beautifully expresses the feelings that come with first love and I have never read something that has given me butterflies in the same way this did.