Title:  A Long & Short Story
JP Title: 長くも短き恋の話
Romaji: Nagaku mo Mijikaki Koi no Hanashi
Author/Artist: Kei Ichikawa
EN Publisher: Yen Press
EN Publisher Rating: Older Teen
EN Publication Status: Complete

Setting: Slice-of-life
Content Notes: N/A

Story Overview
Kippei and Ibuki have been neighbors and friends for their entire lives. Now in high school, their relationship changes when Ibuki kisses Kippei one day. From then on, the two of them navigate these changes.

Review
Rather than having a more traditional chapter length, A Long & Short Story instead captures snippets of Kippei and Ibuki’s relationship over the course of a few years from high school to university. It was sweet to see how the two chose to figure out their feelings together and later maintain their relationship even though they live further apart. And even with the short length of each chapter, Kei Ichikawa is able give glimpses of personalities in their actions and words.

As mentioned in the afterword, it was serialized over the course of three years. Reading the chapters as it serialized was probably a different reading experience than reading the entire story all at once. I imagine reading it that way lends itself better, as it gives readers to think and imagine more about what happens in between each chapter. But even as a collected volume, readers who enjoy coming up with their own ideas can still find space to fill in the blanks of Kippei and Ibuki’s relationship.

Thanks to Yen Press and Edelweiss for the DRC!