It's Just Another Manga Monday: We Were There By Yuuki Obata

Do we ever really forget our first love?  How long would you be willing to wait if you knew at the end you would be with your true love?  What would it take to throw in the towel and call it a day?  How much heartache would you be willing to bear before you walked away for good?  Is it real love or just the idea of what you think love should be that you hold onto?  How long would it take to be able to feel again and let someone back into your heart.  If you find your way back, would  all the heartache be worth it?

It took me 7 years.

We Were There by Yuuki Obata is a bittersweet story about first love.

Series Description:
Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences T+.
Nanami Takahashi falls for Motoharu Yano, the most popular, carefree boy in class. For Nanami, it's first love, but Yano is still grieving the death of his girlfriend who died the year before.

Publication Date: May 1, 2012 | Series: We Were There (Book 14)
When you’re in love, once you hit the switch…

…no one can really say…

…what will truly happen.

The impossible may even become possible.

My Review:
I had first watched this as an anime called Bokura Ga Ita in Japanese with subtitles.  It was some time after the series was made available in the US through Viz in manga format.  While I have seen the anime in its entirety, the manga series has deviated from the anime and I am not sure how many books are in the series or where exactly it is going to go. Book 14 just came out and I will have to wait until November 6th for vol 15. Argghhhh!!!  I love this story, but it is an emotional one.

Nanami is a cute girl, but pretty straight laced. Yano is not quite the class clown, but he is so easy going and likable. He is not very responisible, so Nanami takes it upon herself to be his conscience. She has never had a boyfriend and can't help but be drawn to Yano. Yano hasn't gotten over the death of his ex-girlfriend, so even though he seems so carefree, he is nursing some heavy hurt inside.

Slowly, Nanami begins to crack the shell around his heart and heal the hurt. They have a very rocky relationship, constantly on again off again. He won't be open as much as Nanami wants him to be. She is sometimes clingier than Yano would like. He is not always truthful. She is too demanding. Things are further complicated when Yano's best firend, Takeuchi, also develops feelings for Nanami, so he and Yano are constantly in competition over her. She only has eyes for Yano, though, even when he completely pisses her off and she dumps him. They always get back together, though, usually with Yano groveling.

Before the final year of high school, Yano's parents get divorced and his mom decides she wants to start a new life in Tokyo. He makes the decision to go with her, but not before he and Nanami make a promise to be together in Tokyo. She is going to apply to college in Tokyo so they can be together again. And then he disappears. Oh, it's not sudden, but he finds that life does not always happen according to design and he ends up calling Nanami less and less frequently until she stops hearing from him at all. Still she promised him she would wait and he promised her he'd come for her, so whe waits. She ends up getting into a university in Tokyo, but now does not know where he is.

Five years have passed since she's seen him. Takeuchi is still in love with her and they have kept in touch all the while. Takeuchi proposes to Nanami, but does she accept? Or can she still not break that promise made to Yano 5 years ago even though she hasn't spoken to him in almost as long? How long is too long to wait if you are truly that deeply in love with someone?