Kawachi. Volume 7 Cover Art Cropped, Namidaame to Serenade, Kodansha.
Rainy Day Serenade – Information
Author of Story: Haruka Kawachi
Chapter Count: 14 volumes, 73 chapters
Status: Completed in Japanese, ongoing English publication
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- SI, SH
- Violence, weapons
- Torture, abuse, kidnapping, trafficking
- Illness, loss of loved ones, death
- Drug use
- Mature content, nudity
- Disturbing images
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.
Rainy Day Serenade – Plot Summary
Rainy Day Serenade (Namidaame to Serenade in Japanese) follows high school student Hina Katagiri, who lives a normal life attending school and hanging out with friends. However, one day as she sits in class, she is transported to a different time. Unknowingly at first, Hina is sent back into time to the year 1907.
She is found by Takaaki Hongo, who calls her “Hinako-sama” and helps her back to her home. Turns out, her “home” is the residence of the true Hinako, who is Hina’s doppelgänger. They look so alike, that nobody realized Hina was a fake, even with her strange clothing and demeanor.
As the two meet, they immediately become friends. Hinako lets Hina stay hidden in her room, and Hina shares some cute kitchenware from her bento box. They quickly learn that they can each gain something from this strange situation…
Hinako does not enjoy meeting with Takaaki, who wants to marry her—with her look-alike Hina around, she now has someone who can go in her stead. Hina chooses to get involved with Takaaki, because the day that he found her, she lost her precious necklace given to her by her grandmother.
In this strange situation with no clue as to when or how she will go back to her own time, Hina is desperate to reclaim that important keepsake.
As Hina spends more time with Takaaki, she realizes he is a kind and likable person who is truly in love with Hinako. However, as Hina is not the “true” object of his desire (she is simply a look-alike), she cannot help but feel a bit sorry and is unsure of what to do—or how to act around him!
Rainy Day Serenade is a suspenseful, exciting romance with an interesting plot line that builds more and more—bringing in new characters and conflict with each chapter. The main plot that I’ve described here is only one small piece of the puzzle, as the story grows immensely to something much, much more.
Kawachi. Volume 8 Cover Art, Namidaame to Serenade, Kodansha.
Why I Enjoyed Rainy Day Serenade
I’ll admit that many of the mangas I recommend often contain uncomplicated stories with simple romances, that very infrequently feature a deeper plot. While I do obviously enjoy those mangas, Rainy Day Serenade is very different. It is a gem of a romance manga that immerses the reader into an engaging historical fantasy genre.
I will mention that the beginning of the manga gives a very different impression than the overall story. Volumes 1-2 are rather tame, mostly introducing the story, romance, and characters.
Volumes 3 and 4 is really where things start to take off in terms of plot, and the story gets more and more complicated (and a bit darker) from there. I definitely don’t mean this as a bad thing, as the story is intriguing—however, I do want readers to know beforehand that this story is plot-heavy and more than just a romance!
Anyway, with that said, I’ll go into more detail about my thoughts on the manga below:
Plot:
First and foremost, the romance in Rainy Day Serenade is just absolutely lovely. Takaaki is a dedicated man, and his feelings for “Hinako” are so enjoyable to witness.
It feels very romantic and appropriately done for the historical setting, and with Hina not knowing what to do with herself—or her growing feelings—in this strange situation, it becomes all the more dramatic. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Their relationship is suspenseful and uncertain, and the build-up is such a lovely slow burn.
Outside of the romance, this story is dramatic and incredibly interesting. There’s a strange conflict occurring between multiple parties, for mysterious reasons that are slowly unravelled as the story progresses.
Side characters begin to play more important roles, and you never truly know what to expect. This manga has a hint of fantasy elements with the whole time-travel aspect, and even more mystery as you wonder why and how Hina ended up where she did.
The historical setting of the story is so dramatic and intriguing, featuring gorgeous clothing designs and beautiful environments, often with references to Tokyo’s past and present history.
I loved the portrayal of nobility and social class in this story, as it laid out many obstacles for the main cast. I think that readers who have enjoyed the setting of Basara or Yona of the Dawn may enjoy this manga, too.
I will quickly add that there were definitely some very dark scenes or topics included in Rainy Day Serenade that I didn’t really see coming. This story is definitely written for an older audience, and these darker topics aren’t for the faint of heart.
Characters:
The characters in Rainy Day Serenade are incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed each character’s development throughout this exciting story. Hina may seem like a young, scared girl at first, but she becomes very brave and determined even in a very unfamiliar environment.
She is a great heroine, and I have enjoyed seeing her grow as a person and become stronger as the manga’s plot progresses.
Takaaki is also a very well written male lead. He is kind and genuine towards others, but admirably stays true to his heart. I love his dedication to his feelings, and how gentlemanly his character is. He is an ideal love interest that has a way with words!
The other characters in this story are just as interesting. There’s quite a few, so I can’t go into each one without making this review insanely long, but I will say they all have very nice character building and growth. Characters you hate at first will grow on you before you know it; and I have to say, the author was incredibly talented at writing characters like that!
Art:
The art style throughout this manga is simply gorgeous. The characters are beautiful, the environments are nicely done, and the portrayal of Meiji era Japan is very interesting. As I mentioned before, I really enjoyed the clothing throughout the series, and especially the dramatic portrayal of romance.
Kawachi. Volume 4 Cover Art, Namidaame to Serenade, Kodansha.
Any Cons?
Rainy Day Serenade is only a bit older (it began in 2015) and is primarily set in a different time period, so it felt a bit difficult to read and stay on track at first. There were many characters to learn and keep track of, and lots of world building to start. However, the progression of the plot is worth it all!
Additionally, as mentioned once previously, if you are easily disturbed, please be warned before reading this josei story. There are some disturbing topics within the main conflict that surprised me quite a bit.
The plot takes a very sharp turn midway that involves most of the content warnings listed for this manga, and many of them are portrayed one by one. It’s definitely a more depressing turn for the story.
Another con is that there’s a massive age gap present between some characters in this story, which isn’t truly revealed until much later in Rainy Day Serenade. I don’t like a majority of age gaps in manga, and this one was a very large difference involving a 16 year old—just unnecessarily creepy and bothersome. Especially since one of the characters definitely didn’t look his age.
As for the main duo, we know the heroine is 17, but her love interest’s age is never explicitly stated. With everything that happens in the story, I do sort of wish she was a bit older.
Final Thoughts
The plot of Rainy Day Serenade is complex and mysterious, which fit really well with the unique historical setting. So many things happen in this manga—it is a dramatic, suspenseful story that I’ve really enjoyed. The romance in this manga is, well, very romantic and rather mature!
I enjoyed the slow building of the main characters’ passion for each other, as it had me waiting desperately—and excitedly—for the relationship to officially form. The deeper plot and conflict of this manga was delightfully unexpected, and captivated me from beginning to end!
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: Kawachi, Haruka. Rainy Day Serenade, Kodansha, 2026. Namidaame to Serenade, Kiss Magazine, Kodansha, 2015.
