Hoshimi, Official Art, Kijima-San To Yamada-San, Square Enix.
Kijima San To Yamada San – Information
Author of Story: Hoshimi SK
Chapter Count: 25
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Light mature content / NSFW
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.
Kijima San To Yamada San – Plot Summary
Kijima San To Yamada San (meaning Mr. Kijima and Ms. Yamada in English) is a cute romantic comedy and slice-of-life josei manga. This sweet story is about Takayuki Kijima, a normal office worker who can hear people’s inner thoughts; and Yuna Yamada, his coworker who has many loud thoughts.
Yamada is actually crushing on Kijima very obviously; and so hearing her thoughts at work becomes very embarrassing for Kijima!
Seeing how Kijima copes with his unique ability is a fun and humorous ordeal, and a very interesting manga plot. This wholesome manga is also pretty laid back and easy to enjoy; considering there isn’t tons of drama or conflict. It makes a very fun romantic comedy story and the characters’ personalities are very cute!
Why I Enjoyed Kijima San To Yamada San
I love when josei is written to be sweet and wholesome, and Kijima San to Yamada San really meets that vibe. It has such an ideal and realistic romance, with relatable and very likable characters. The serious topics are well-balanced with humor and cuteness, and overall makes the story very enjoyable.
While the romance in this story is between two adults and does become a bit mature at times, the love still feels very pure and fluffy very often. Our two main characters are a little shy, but that doesn’t stop the romance from rolling!
Hoshimi, Volume 2 Cover, Kijima-San To Yamada-San, Square Enix.
The story is primarily from Kijima’s perspective. He is a kind office worker who is often misunderstood because of his intimidating appearance. Compared to those around him, he has a larger, taller build than average and a scary face.
Those who have gotten to know him better know he is a very nice person, and one of those people is Yamada. She fell in love with Kijima’s personality and even his looks; despite the misunderstandings his appearance causes. Kijima is a fantastic male lead.
He’s very thoughtful and extremely caring; even for others that he doesn’t necessarily need to be considerate for.
I really enjoyed his character! He feels like the perfect green-flag josei love interest.
Both of the two main characters in Kijima San To Yamada San have such sweet personalities and are clearly very considerate and caring of others. Their interactions are so cute and very fun to read, especially since poor Kijima unwillingly hears Yamada’s thoughts, typically consisting of her swooning over him or panicking about a situation.
Yamada is very lovey-dovey and honest with herself about her feelings. Kijima on the other hand is a more reserved kind of guy who seems a bit more bashful. However, that doesn’t stop him from making moves! I love this relationship dynamic, as these two work very well together and their romance feels so wholesome and sweet!
I especially love the perspective of hearing Yamada’s thoughts. She’s so funny and a bit of a fangirl; so her thoughts often made me laugh. She’s such a relatable character. And to make it even funnier is Kijima’s embarrassed reactions to what she thinks!
He often has responses to her thoughts in his own head that us readers get to see and enjoy. This story makes you really want their interactions like this to last as long as possible; but at the same time, you also desperately want Kijima to share his secret with Yamada!
Even the side characters in this story are very enjoyable. We get to meet other coworkers, friends, and families of the main two leads in Kijima San To Yamada San. These supporting characters help not only keep the story interesting and fun, but they also push the development of our two main characters as well as provide some more backstory to their lives.
There is a short love triangle trope in this story, but it was very well-written and all of the characters are still likable through and through. The author does a great job of adding in these supporting roles without focusing the story on them too much. Kijima and Yamada are still the stars of the show!
Hoshimi, Volume 4 Cover, Kijima-San To Yamada-San, Square Enix.
Any Cons?
None really, this manga is fantastic and so enjoyable. Honestly I would have loved to read even more story from Kijima San To Yamada San and see more of this cute pair… but a completed story in 25 chapters was perfectly satisfying, too!
Final Thoughts
Kijima San To Yamada San is a very wholesome romance manga series. Honestly, it’s so adorable, I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of it sooner. I really like the characters, and I really loved the development of their relationship!
The interactions between all the different personalities was also pretty fun to read; the author does a nice job at designing a variety of character types.
Overall, this is a great josei for readers wanting an easy romance without too much drama or tons of suspenseful conflict. It was a joy to read, and had me excited and engaged the whole time.
Typically I get a bit bored with slice-of-life style stories, but this manga had such a fun plot and an interesting relationship dynamic! I was enjoying the plot throughout the entire story while waiting for the big reveal. Check out Kijima San To Yamada San and share your thoughts below!
Disclaimer: Any 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: SK, Hoshimi. Kijima-San To Yamada-San. Square Enix, 2019. Manga UP!, 2023.
