Ammitsu, Volume 4 Cover Art, Tonari no Stella, Betsufure, Kodansha.
Gazing at the Star Next Door – Information
Author of Story: Ammitsu
Chapter Count: 8 volumes, 38 digital chapters
Status: Ongoing
Check out the official Kodansha page for Gazing at the Star Next Door!
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Nonconsensual acts / advances
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.
Plot Summary
Gazing at the Star Next Door (or Tonari no Stella in Japanese) is a recent ongoing work created by Ammitsu! This shoujo manga revolves its story around two childhood friends: Chiaki Amano and Subaru Hiiragi (both probably around age 16 or 17).
They are both in their second year of high school (which would be junior year in America). These two have been close friends for a long time, and it’s pretty clear from the start that Chiaki feels a bit more than friendship for Subaru.
Subaru is a rising star actor slowly making his way into fame. He’s great at a lot of things, and is very attractive. At such a young age, he’s already become an ambassador for a clothing brand and has a role in a tv show. He’s very handsome, and looks to be on a very high pedestal in Chiaki’s eyes.
Therefore, feeling that her affection is one-sided (and feeling left in the shadows by her shining star of a neighbor) Chiaki decides to pursue other options in terms of love!
However, when her childhood friend and one-sided love is her next-door neighbor, forgetting her feelings becomes quite a challenge…
Why I’ve Enjoyed Gazing at the Star Next Door
The childhood friends trope is often an underrated shoujo manga storyline that can actually be really cute and enjoyable.
Some may think it’s cliche, but I personally feel like it’s used too often for the side male lead who never gets endgame with the FL. It’s nice to see it at the forefront of a story for once!
Another reason I’m enjoying Gazing at the Star Next Door so far is because of the beautiful art style. Even if our main female lead is supposed to be objectively “plain,” she still is incredibly cute in this manga style. Subaru is also a very handsome character with an attractive design perfect for a model.
Ammitsu, Volume 1 Cover Art, Tonari no Stella, Betsufure, Kodansha.
Their designs are gorgeous, and I love how extra attention is put into the more dramatic, emotional moments of this manga. Just like in the author’s previous works, they often feature panels that have a dazzling, smiling character; which I really like!
There’s a lot of cute moments between Chiaki and Subaru from the start that create some romantic tension, and it makes you really want to root for a sweet and successful relationship between them.
They seem like they are very close, and it makes you wonder if Chiaki is not the only one feeling romantic emotions… or if maybe she’s just getting led on by a celebrity.
But, the main leads of Gazing at the Star Next Door seem like admirable, earnest students. Chiaki may be a simple high school girl, but it’s clear she cares a lot for Subaru (and not just because she’s crushing on him).
Since his mother is very busy working as a nurse, she is absent often and has asked Chiaki to look after Subaru as his childhood friend. Chiaki makes sure he wakes up on time daily, as well as cooks meals for him from time to time.
She cares about his health and career success, and supports him in whatever ways she can.
However, poor Chiaki thinks so highly of Subaru but doesn’t seem to think much of herself. She’s very insecure, and doesn’t seem to have much confidence in herself or her appearance. She often shuts down the notion of her even having a chance with Subaru due to this, even though she really likes him.
She puts herself down a lot, especially after being compared to Subaru while growing up. Hopefully, we can see her character grow as a person throughout the series. I want to see her grow more positive and learn to love herself.
Subaru is also very hardworking, handling his modeling jobs, becoming a rising actor, and also doing high school work all at the same time. He has a very busy schedule, and has a lot of practicing to do to improve his abilities.
He also has to deal with the occasional hate from non-fans. Despite being so busy, he still seems to make time for hanging out with Chiaki and her family, as well as helping out with normal activities (grocery shopping, cooking, etc).
Because of the stark difference between the main two, Gazing at the Star Next Door has a lot of drama at first! To be completely honest, the story will make you frustrated pretty early.
There’s a lot of tension and a lack of communication at first in this shoujo, so be prepared to get a bit irritated. The romantic tension and awkwardness create a lot of pressure between the two main characters, but this build up of tension and frustration usually lead to a very satisfying ending.
Ammitsu, Volume 5 Cover Art, Tonari no Stella, Betsufure, Kodansha.
I am pretty surprised at the amount of drama and angst in this series. It has a lot of suspense so far, making us readers wonder which route the author will take in terms of shoujo tropes.
The author, Ammitsu, also wrote the adorable completed series Takane no Ran San, which I thoroughly enjoyed; but it has a completely different vibe!
Takane no Ran San was filled to the brim with sweet, fluffy shoujo romance. While it seems like Gazing at the Star Next Door will have its own share of sweetness, I was pleasantly surprised by the drama-filled start to this story!
Any Cons?
So far, there has been a lot of drama and misunderstandings in Gazing at the Star Next Door. Many readers were concerned that the main lead, Subaru, was not going to be likable due to some of the decisions he makes early on in this series.
However, I think his character’s personality was rather obvious from the start. He is a caring ML, who doesn’t seem like the type to intentionally hurt anyone; especially not his childhood friend. He makes a mistake, but I think that’s pretty realistic for his situation.
After all, the story would lack all the fun drama if he (and Chiaki) were perfect. But, it is up to you to decide what you think once you read it!
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
I’m loving the plot of Gazing at the Star Next Door so far!
The angst, the suspense, the awkwardness… it’s all so fun, and creates a really intriguing romance. I absolutely love the most recent developments we see, with Subaru deciding to do what he truly wants; and that’s to pursue Chiaki!
It was incredibly satisfying to see his backstory and how he has also liked Chiaki this whole time. He makes a dumb mistake by outright rejecting her without telling her the proper reasoning, but this helped drive the story’s suspenseful plot and his not-so-perfect hidden persona.
Unfortunately the main downfall for these two turns out to be Chiaki’s lack of confidence and self-love. Even her embarrassment and denial of how she feels for Subaru is what drove him to become an idol!
She constantly acts like she isn’t worthy of him, which I feel will become a big obstacle in their relationship. I am looking forward to seeing how the author may approach this topic!
Chiaki is also sort of funny in how she constantly told herself she was going to give up on Subaru over and over, but clearly couldn’t ignore her feelings.
Not only her romantic feelings, but she also didn’t want to lose that important connection of friendship that they had formed over the years, and she also felt responsibility in helping Subaru as she had to promised his mom.
Chiaki is clearly kind and caring, she just needs to learn to love herself a bit more!
Final Thoughts
Overall, if you’re someone who loves romance mangas full of tension and drama, this series will be a good pick. Although the plot has been very suspenseful so far, it feels like more romance is coming soon! Gazing at the Star Next Door series is ongoing, but so far is rather promising.
I hope we get to see lots of individual character growth for Chiaki and Subaru, as well as some more blooming romance in the future!
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: Ammitsu. Tonari no Stella (Stella Next to Me). Gazing at the Star Next Door. Betsufure, Kodansha, 2022.
