Socrates in Love by Kyoichi Katayama and Kazumi Kazui

Title: Socrates in Love
Mangaka: Kyoichi Katayama (Story) & Kazumi Kazui (Art)
Age Group: Teens
Series is: Completed with 1 volume
Volume(s) Reviewing: 1
My Rating: 3/5

Sakutaro (Saku) met Aki in elementary school. They became close friends. When they reached high school, Saku confessed his feelings to her. From there, they are a happy couple.

But ill-fated, Aki has leukemia. Time is running out and the days Saku gets to spend with her grow shorter.

This is a sweet and sad tale of inseparable love between two young people that has caused a sensation throughout Japan. Now it has been adapted into a manga and translated for English readers to enjoy.

In this single volume series, it opens up to Saku mourning after Aki's death. The reader is then revealed to how the characters first met. From there, it time skip to their happier moments after Saku's confession. Once Aki is diagnosed with leukemia, you watch as how both characters cope with this situation.

Personally, I am not into contemporary realistic manga. It is much too slow for my liking and I would prefer to read the novel version of Socrates in Love instead. I always favour a manga that is more fun. But I think this is a great manga to introduce to a YA fiction reader who is still new to Japanese graphic novels.

Even though I am not a fan of it, I think it is a very beloved manga. It will definitely appeal to anyone who likes stories about loss and devotion.