Shiina. Japanese Volume 3 Cover Art Cropped, Gusts and Beats, Shueisha.
Gusts and Beats – Information
Author of Story: Karuho Shiina
Chapter Count: 24 chapters
Status: Ongoing
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below, only the literary work itself.
- Topics about death, dying, the afterlife, gods, and ghosts.
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
Gusts and Beats – Plot Summary
After bringing us the heartwarming first-love shoujo romance masterpiece Kimi ni Todoke, Karuho Shiina is now releasing another manga series called Gusts and Beats. And boy is it wildly different in the best of ways! I wanted to do a sort of early review or “first look” post about it as it seems very promising!
This series follows a high school girl named Hikari Niike. At the start, she seems very much like a go-with-the-flow sort of character. She’s very easygoing and is pretty unbothered; apparently being tardy often and always wearing earbuds.
She seems like a pretty cool character—and to top it off, she can see ghosts. Interestingly, she can’t always tell when she’s seeing ghosts or real people, though; and always treats them the same anyway.
This makes her think that her classmate, Kuraku Nemoto, is a guy who’s popular with the ladies. She used to see him in the mornings since they took the same streetcar, and he would always have very some flashy ladies attached to him.
He also wore a lot of layers for some reason, and stopped coming to school once the weather got hotter. This makes Niike really curious about Nemoto; luckily, she gets a chance to go see him when a teacher requests that she delivers some school papers to him.
This is when she learns that Nemoto is actually allergic to the sun’s rays, and that the flashy gyarus hanging around him are actually ghosts! Nemoto is shocked at how Niike seems unable to tell the difference between the dead and living, and how unfazed she is about the potential dangers of this issue.
Ironically, Nemoto soon finds himself saving Niike from this exact problem, and they quickly become friends. With Nemoto agreeing to be her personal ghost-buster and Niike shielding him from the sun, we have a unique and exciting start to Gusts and Beats!
Why You Should Read Gusts and Beats
Plot:
This manga’s plot is delightfully weird and told in such a unique way.
The story might feel a bit confusing at first, but stick through it and it’ll all make sense eventually. This manga doesn’t spoon-feed you the plot, and relies on a lot of dialogue and artistic elements to hint at what’s going on; so if you feel like you can’t keep up at first, don’t worry!
Things are kept a bit secretive and slowly revealed over time. Once you read through the story more, things from the beginning start to make a lot of sense.
I really like when mangas have a weird premise like this. It’s not really a major spoiler to say that this series uses a lot of supernatural elements to create a strange and fun plot; but to be honest, I was delightfully surprised that this was the kind of story Shiina decided to create.
It’s weird, it’s fun, and somehow works well even in a romance. I feel like if you enjoyed Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, you’ll probably enjoy this series, too. Both mangas blend a unique premise with very wholesome romance!
I feel like things are still coming together in Gusts and Beats, so I’m excited to see how this manga’s story progresses—especially in terms of the romance.
So far the romance has felt very natural and sort of like a given. The characters have an obvious chemistry and obvious feelings, but of course there’s always got to be an obstacle in the way!
Although there’s an obstacle to the romance, the protagonist doesn’t seem to have any problems understanding her feelings. I have a feeling that this romance will be much less hesitant and maybe even faster-paced than Kimi ni Todoke. But don’t worry… it definitely still has that sweet, soft, and meaningful shoujo romance feel!
Characters:
The characters in this series are fantastic. They don’t rely on strong stereotypes or character tropes, and feel really natural, interesting, and unique. Their personalities are strongly shaped by their dialogue and actions, rather than the story “setting up” things for you in that usual shoujo fashion.
Niike is a really unique female lead. Like I mentioned before, she’s pretty easygoing and goes with the flow. She feels a bit good-natured as she clearly likes helping others, but is also rather forgetful. She seems like she is naturally good at getting along with most people, though.
One thing I really loved about Niike is that she has a slightly more mature air about her, despite not seeming extremely responsible or anything of that sort. She’s forgetful, yet still feels reliable and has this air of a humble confidence. She’s not hyperactive or over-expressive, but also doesn’t feel stoic or emotionless. She’s just such a balanced character—easy to like without being boring.
Nemoto is a fun character, too. He’s a bit frantic and maybe a little sassy, but obviously kind at heart. He’s sort of a humorous character due to his circumstances, and is often made to look a bit lame, haha. As a shoujo male lead, he’s an attractive character, but is often hilariously hidden beneath several layers of clothing. It’s so silly.
Shiina. Japanese Volume 2 Cover Art, Gusts and Beats, Shueisha.
Shiina is great at creating male leads that feel real and lovable. Nemoto’s personality is unique and fun right from the start; it feels like his character received the same amount of thought and care as Niike’s, rather than being made solely to serve as a male lead.
He’s not Mr. Perfect—he’s a character with his own fun quirks, opinions, and personality; which makes him very relatable and interesting.
I guess what I really mean to say is that these characters feel creative without being way too tropey or exaggerated. I liked this balance of weird-yet-cute characters and the weird-but-fun premise, which somehow all ends up being wholesome overall.
Art:
I love the art style of Gusts and Beats… like, everything about it. It’s so flowy and beautiful. The meaningful moments are lovely, the humorous moments are fun, and overall the vibe is just so nice. Maybe I’m just a big fan of Shiina’s style, haha.
But really, the character designs are super pretty, too. Niike’s character has such a lovely design that feels really fresh for shoujo. She looks a little mature or perhaps a bit daring, but is still playful and cute. The characters all have such pretty eyes and lovely hairstyles.
Shiina. Japanese Volume 4 Cover Art, Gusts and Beats, Shueisha.
Nemoto is also incredibly cute when he isn’t being hidden by numerous pieces of clothing, haha. He often looks a bit goofy with his glasses hiding his eyes or with his many layers of sun protection, so it’s fun to see his handsome face revealed now and then. I love the gyaru girls and other cute side characters, too!
Everyone has such distinct designs, so it’s easy to tell everyone apart. And of course, when environmental art is present, it looks very nice, too! High scores overall for the art style.
Any Cons?
I don’t have any cons so far for this series. There’s not really any annoying tropes, and everything about the plot feels really interesting and fresh. The characters are fun, the art is beautiful, and the story so far is so enticing. No complaints here!
Final Thoughts
Gusts and Beats has a really promising start—an exciting premise, unique characters, a cute romance, and a lovely art style. It’s been such a great read so far, I’m excited to see where it goes from here!
Disclaimer: Any volume covers or official promotional images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Shiina, Karuho. Gusts and Beats, Shueisha, 2026. Yen Press, 2026.
