A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 1 by Gido Amagakure

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 1 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Kodansha Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Ichiro Kuga’s dad passed away, he took it upon himself to support his siblings and make sure they were always taken care of. Drawing the type of manga he wants to wasn’t earning him the money he needed to save up for his siblings to have the best possible futures, so he’s doing what earns him the most money. Now that he’s haunted by deadlines that leave him without enough time to complete things on his own, he’s hired a new assistant to help out. When Shiori Goshiki arrives, it’s like a dream come true until he tries to save her. Unfortunately, he accidentally binds himself to her, making him her fiancé!

This was such a cute read with pretty artwork and a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed seeing Ichiro Kuga’s family life and the strong bond he has with his siblings. I personally found how great the three of them are as characters as well as their strong bond to be the true star of the story. It was really heartwarming and believable.

However, this is meant to be a romance between Ichiro and Shiori Goshiki, so of course we have a case of insta love all thanks to an accident! Unfortunately, the pair don’t have any romantic chemistry, so it was a little hard to believe that they suddenly grew feelings for each other so fast. Plus, I was a bit confused because we didn’t get a whole lot of info about the Star People. We learned bits and pieces, but not enough to make some things make sense. For example, I’m still baffled by Shiori’s stinger that appears to be a tail of some sort.

While I enjoyed reading this, I’m having a hard time buying it as a romance at this point in the story. I was also hoping to learn more about the Star People than we actually did, so I’m hoping the author expands on this in the next volume. I’m planning on picking that up soon, but at this point in time, this felt a lot more like a novel about family over a romance between two people from different worlds.