Photo by Nicole. Kuzushiro, Volume 1 Cover, The Moon on a Rainy Night, Kodansha.
The Moon on a Rainy Night – Information
Author of Story: Kuzushiro
Chapter Count: 8 volumes + 32 digital chapters
Status: Ongoing
Check out the official The Moon on a Rainy Night Kodansha page!
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Ableism, systemic ableism
- Death, loss of loved ones
- Bullying
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.
The Moon on a Rainy Night – Plot Summary
The Moon on a Rainy Night is an impactful slice-of-life style story that centers its story around two high school girls. The main heroine, Saki Kindaichi, is a cute first year high school student who, by chance, runs into the beautiful Kanon Oikawa on her way to piano lessons.
Kanon seems like a quiet and mysterious beauty, and doesn’t say much to Saki. The next day at school, it turns out Saki and Kanon are classmates and even sit next to each other! Saki is excited to try and make friends with this gorgeous person whom she had met previously, but an obstacle is discovered very quickly…
Kanon turns out to be hard of hearing almost to the point of being completely deaf, and seems to have walled herself away from others. She doesn’t think others will understand her well, and doesn’t want to receive even the slightest bit of special treatment.
This is completely understandable, as we very quickly see other classmates misjudge Kanon’s situation and even her personality. However, Saki is determined to learn more about Kanon, and tries her hardest to become friends.
The Moon on a Rainy Night (also known as Amayo no Tsuki in Japanese) is about two young ladies with very different life situations and beliefs, and how they grow closer during this important stage of their lives! This manga does a great job portraying different life experiences and important topics that aren’t always considered by society.
Kuzushiro, Volume 1 Cover, The Moon on a Rainy Night, Kodansha.
Why I Enjoyed The Moon on a Rainy Night
I’m very happy to write this review for The Moon on a Rainy Night. The plot is very engaging and takes some very interesting angles in terms of friendships and how people perceive the world.
I love that this manga doesn’t shy away from these girls’ differences. They obviously have very different ways of seeing things and have had very different life experiences, but that doesn’t stop Saki from trying to become friends with Kanon and understand her better.
Luckily in this series we don’t have to deal with a long period of shyness or difficulties while these girls are becoming friends. They have a great chemistry and become friends rather quickly! Of course they slowly learn more about each other over time, but the two become friends normally like high school girls usually do.
Additionally, The Moon on a Rainy Night does a great job at showing the difficulties of invisible disabilities. Rather than just the physical differences in daily activities and life in general, it also shows the emotional side of Kanon’s experiences; which I feel like isn’t something many people consider as deeply as this manga portrays.
Not just Kanon’s point of view, but also how the thoughts and feelings of those around her can still affect her, even if they are well-intended. It is very well done in my opinion—I really liked that aspect of this series.
Speaking of difficulty, we also have an obstacle in terms of the romance. It’s pretty obvious from the beginning that Saki likes girls, but as for her crush, it’s not so certain. Saki struggles with her feelings and the uncertainty of whether or not Kanon would feel the same; or what her preferences even are.
After all, they have just become friends and are still learning about each other. Saki seems to even feel a bit guilty over her feelings. The romance is still mostly absent so far (although it is hinted often), but I am looking forward to seeing how it progresses in future volumes!
Even with only a few volumes available in English at the moment, I was very quickly drawn to The Moon on a Rainy Night. It pulls you in with the characters’ contrasting personalities and the problems that arise so quickly.
Kanon may seem reserved and not interested in making friends at school, but she’s just a normal high school girl who gets lonely, too. She simply has more obstacles to this seemingly simple activity than others do.
When we begin to see more of Kanon’s personality, it is actually so cute—it makes you want to see even more of her true self. Luckily, we have a character like Saki who is very curious about Kanon!
Kuzushiro, Volume 2 Cover, The Moon on a Rainy Night, Kodansha.
Saki is a very inquisitive person. Even though her teacher and even Kanon’s mom ask her to look after Kanon, it feels more like Saki tries to befriend Kanon out of her own volition.
She’s drawn to Kanon’s beauty, and is very interested in learning about her life. She does research at home, and makes sure to not make the same mistake twice when it comes to interacting with Kanon.
Overall, both characters in The Moon on a Rainy Night are incredibly cute and lovely. I really like the art style and character design in this manga! I think these characters compliment each other nicely personality wise, and their different views on life will likely help each other grow.
Any Cons?
I have none so far; this manga is really cute and well written!
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
For the in-depth review of The Moon on a Rainy Night, I wanted to explore the main topic of this series a bit more. It isn’t as if we haven’t seen stories or manga representing disabilities before; but something about the way some series portray them isn’t the best.
Some plots just seem to put a lot of sympathy or weird romanticization on characters with disabilities, and that isn’t really ideal. This manga is taking a much different and more preferable approach.
We get a relatable, realistic character who is trying to take charge of her life and her situation in the best way she can. Kanon refuses to be babied or treated differently, for fear that she won’t be on equal footing with her peers.
Although this is an understandable reaction to the cards she’s been dealt, it takes away from her own needs as a human and student. The plot takes hold of this issue very well, with a teacher helping Kanon understand the difference between “equality” and “fairness.”
I really loved this teaching-moment scene in The Moon on a Rainy Night. It really shows where the root problem lies, and it isn’t with Kanon. It reveals the issues we have in our society where things aren’t made fair for the minority who need accommodations.
But it doesn’t show this in a weird romantic way; instead the manga makes it an educational moment between teacher and student. Her teacher helps meet her needs without making it seem like he’s treating her special or differently.
I think the way this manga is approaching the experiences of the Deaf and hard of hearing community is a little similar to A Sign of Affection; where the story is a learning experience without an unnecessary inspirational message or glorification of a character.
However, The Moon on a Rainy Night delves even deeper into the emotional experiences of Kanon and openly discusses the problems she experiences as a person with an invisible disability. In my opinion, this message is much more obvious than in A Sign of Affection.
I also appreciate that Kanon is different in terms of her life experience than Yuki from A Sign of Affection. Yuki was born deaf, doesn’t speak out loud to anyone but her parents, and uses sign language. Kanon lost her hearing as a child, but still speaks to others around her and doesn’t know sign language.
Obviously I’m not saying one is preferred over the other—but rather that this varied form of representation is just as impactful and important. It’s nice to have a range of representation throughout different mangas. Both authors have done a great job!
The Moon on a Rainy Night has a lot of little details that makes both Kanon and Saki relatable characters for many readers. Both girls have a lot of growing and learning to do, but this manga portrays it very well and it is clear that the author took a lot of care in the writing of this story.
I feel like the author wasn’t afraid to get into what many would consider uncomfortable or touchy topics. This aspect of the manga is impressive and (in my opinion) necessary in order to have a well-portrayed representation of someone’s personal experiences.
Final Thoughts
I have enjoyed The Moon on a Rainy Night so much so far. Although this manga shows a lot of difficult topics and negative interactions that people of the Deaf or hard of hearing community experience, it does so in a way that is either very eye-opening or relatable for many readers.
It’s very well written, and the romantic aspects are slowly building more as it progresses. This manga has a lot of room for fantastic plot growth, and I’m so excited to see more of these lovely ladies and their sweet relationship!
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: Kuzushiro, The Moon on a Rainy Night, Kodansha, 2023.
