lol this is the manga that motivated me to study Japanese, just so I could keep reading.
Kind of same. After about 2 years I came back to it and finished it in japanese, dictionary in hand. I wish it to be translated, so I can refer other people to it. But it seems no official translation was ever released.
The person translating it had some great taste and was working on various things, but suddenly stopped all activities. That was about a decade ago.
This is probably the greatest work of shojo manga, it synthetizes the femenine arsenal of sentimentality developed by the genre, and follows the flow of fine japanese tradition and trope delightfully. A sober gulp, which would definitely entice even the male demographic, as it is a secret influence to the masterpiece of shonen. By the way, it recently received a theatrical adaptation, in the traditional japanese way, which is terribly fitting.