Hanamaru. Promotional Art, おくれまして青春, Kodansha.
Hitting Rewind With You – Information
Author of Story: Kira Hanamaru
Chapter Count: 5 volumes 20 chapters (Japanese) ~2 Volumes in English
Status: Completed in Japanese, English publication ongoing
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- None!
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.
Hitting Rewind With You – Plot Summary
I have been so excited to write a review for Hitting Rewind With You (Okuremashite Seishun). It’s such an incredibly cute series!
It starts out with 20 year-old Wakaba Kayano, a fresh college student who longs for her now-past high school years. So, she decides to dress in her high school uniform one last time on Halloween for a bit of fun and reenactment.
However, while out alone, she gets approached by some pushy guys. Luckily, she’s helped out by a fellow high school student named Fumito Tachibana, who agrees to her silly request of a “date to experience youth.” They get sodas, take purikura (photo booth pics), and go to the arcade.
As it gets late, they are stopped by the police, who’s worried about young students passing curfew. This unfortunate yet lucky encounter actually reveals that Tachibana is also a college student! This embarrassing revelation allows these two to make a connection, and they even agree to continue their fun.
This premise is so incredibly cheesy and kind of gave me second-hand embarrassment—but I really liked it. It’s goofy and unique—a very fun way to start a romance!
Why I Enjoyed Hitting Rewind With You
Plot:
Hitting Rewind With You is a silly and lighthearted series that’s just tons of fun to read. The plot follows these two college students as they relive things they missed out on during their youth, and interact in rather cheesy situations.
The female lead (Wakaba) often acts a bit goofy and overzealous, but the male lead (Fumito) follows her lead and plays along. They have such a cute dynamic, and so the overall story is very fun and lightly comedic.
A lot of the fun of this series is the characters’ reactions to each other. Wakaba often acts rather eccentric about even the smallest things, and Fumito tests her reactions with his own playful acts. It’s a nice lighthearted sort of comedy that isn’t too exaggerated and works perfectly with the slice-of-life vibe.
There’s also an air of realistic and relatable awkwardness that adds to the humor of this manga—the kind of second-hand embarrassment that isn’t too much to handle.
The romance in Hitting Rewind With You is pretty on brand for shoujo. It’s got a level of maturity that matches these characters’ ages, but still hits that classic fluffy and blushy shoujo vibe. The romance doesn’t feel too dreamy or bubbly the way a lot of high school aged romance shoujos portray it, but it is still pretty fun and exciting!
Sure, there is a lot of cheesiness and “coincidental” scenarios laid out perfectly for the plot to develop, but if you are looking for a lighthearted read anyway it shouldn’t be a big issue (or if you love cheesy romances like I do). The comedy is also pretty evenly balanced between silly character personalities and the occasional mature joke.
I’d like to add that this manga has all the best parts and tropes of romantic shoujo, and none of the bad. No annoying drama and pointless misunderstandings. No love rivals. No immaturity. No dragged-out plot or romantic tension. It’s all just fun lighthearted goofiness and fluffy, heart-thumping romance!
The progression of this short romance is very well-done, too. The beginning of this series really feels like one of those “they’re pretty much dating even if they don’t say it out loud” sort of relationships where they genuinely enjoy each other’s company and develop a closeness naturally. Sooo refreshing! And when things do become official, the romantic fun doesn’t end!
Hanamaru. Volume 1 Cover, おくれまして青春, Kodansha.
Characters:
These two characters create a fun combo: The relaxed, straightforward and mischievous ML and the klutzy, daydreaming, and energetic FL. This dynamic is so fun, especially because they don’t have the usual annoying aspects of these character types. Wakaba may be eccentric, but she isn’t annoying or ridiculously immature.
I feel like a lot of FL characters in modern manga are becoming more relatable—with goofy characteristics and more fun personalities. Wakaba definitely takes those characteristics in Hitting Rewind With You, as she’s a bit of a fangirl who loves to have fun and is brutally honest. She’s adorable.
She sort of gives off unashamed fangirl vibes, and is often shown being very head-over-heels for Fumito. I love her character’s mildly embarrassing personality traits, as she is just too funny and, admittedly, relatable.
Then we have Fumito, who is the perfect match for Wakaba. He is refreshingly mischievous and unafraid to do some embarrassing things, without being too far into the “goofy” character type. He feels more reliable and cool, often meeting Wakaba’s romantic expectations with ease.
Fumito is more chill than Wakaba, but not tsundere or stoic. I really liked their personalities and how well they matched up, too. Fumito has a wide variety of facial expressions and dialogue where his personality really shines through.
These characters have an amazing dynamic, and overall the romance runs very smoothly between them (no needless drama). I love their fun and humorous interactions, and the excitement that builds as they grow closer!
I think that readers who enjoyed Loving Yamada-kun at LV.999 may also enjoy this series, as the characters’ qualities and relationship dynamic are a bit similar (though Wakaba is definitely a bit more goofy).
Art:
The art style is very pretty! It’s got that modern manga feel to it, yet doesn’t feel too plain either.
The character design is not necessarily brand new—a familiar dark-haired ML and light-haired FL combo—but they are very cute, and I personally like this familiar style. There’s even a running joke of Wakaba admiring how gorgeous Fumito is, haha.
Even with the cosplay scenes, they feel more like university students than high school students appearance-wise, which is nice. Even though their character designs are technically something we see often, I still really like this mangaka’s art style! It’s very pretty, clean, and romantic!
Hanamaru. Volume 2 Cover, おくれまして青春, Kodansha.
Any Cons?
It’s hard to find cons for this story. I mean, the premise and plot building are all very set-up…but a lot of romances are, so I can’t really consider that a real con. Perhaps one weird thing is that 20-year old Wakaba thinks her youth is over already, haha!
In all seriousness, I have no real cons for this adorable series. Unless you don’t like lighthearted, slice-of-life shoujo romances, this story is very easy to enjoy.
Final Thoughts
Hitting Rewind With You is only a few volumes long, but it is really such an enjoyable manga series. The story just hooks you in and makes you laugh endlessly while you also kick your feet over the super adorable romance! It left a great impression on me and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
The author has done a fantastic job at giving readers everything we want out of a lighthearted shoujo romance while excluding many unnecessary tropes! It’s the perfect read for anyone wanting a short and super enjoyable college-aged romance!
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: Hanamaru, Kira. おくれまして青春, Kodansha, 2024. Hitting Rewind With You, Kodansha, 2026.
