I read this like a year ago. I'll write a review for it now so I can come back in the future.
(Review inspiration from u/rmaca. Their review on reddit is simply outstanding. I agree with mostly everything they said.)
Heavy Spoilers ahead:
Amazing read, really it was.
The characters were great.
Everything was amazing.
...Except it wasn't. Yuuta's and Tachibana's character were the ones that really stood out to me. I still remember them to this day. Both were pretty much perfect.
But the rest weren't so amazing. Yui felt so lackluster and rushed. So much character development was needed for her.
Then there's Kazuma. He was there for support yet he really did not provide enough support for the two.
They forced their ideals on Yuuta and forced him to act more like a girl, and basically took away most of his freedom. While they themselves didn't attend to that much at all. Yui continued to be wanting to be a girl instead of a boy and everyone just accepted it. But if Yuuta did it, it was wrong? Yuuta was mostly always there for Yui but Yui was barely ever there for Yuuta. This clears the difference in their character growth.
Most other side characters were also became irrelevant as time went on.
Yuuta could be himself around Tachibana and everything in the Tachibana-Yuuta arc was flawless. It was the peak of the series and I will never stop glazing it.
Let's move on to the ending.
"The ending is better than the webcomic one" Okay? That doesn't justify anything.
The series was entirely set up for them to go back in their own bodies. If you want to make them stay, you have to actively develop character around them to make them stay.
I hated how Yuuta's dream was crushed. It was his dream after all. Couldnt they have had some way to implement it? Maybe if they swapped back he went into it as an adult. Or if they didn't swap back(as in the story), he could've played it as a girl. Being a girl doesn't stop him from playing. Even if he is weaker that doesn't mean anything. Strong girls exist too.
And about the swap mechanic. They swapped due to dying/near death experience when being near each other. The last swap happened due to a wish??? That completely kills the consistency.
In addition, the last swap made the truck swap completely meaningless. What was the point anymore?
If you wanted them to stay, you couldve cooked a backstory on how they both wished for it or something and just make them not swap back.
If you wanted them to swap back, they couldve swapped back and then yuuta could've recovered.
Wait a minute..recovered? Lets talk about this plot hole too. When yuuta and yui first swapped by falling and effectively dying from the treefall, it was explicitly stated that they felt no pain. Why would they feel pain or be in near death condition this time??? That makes no sense.
Also uh...what happened to the other characters after?? ..like my glorious king Tachibana..
Nobody even ever found out that they swapped.
The ending was simply a massacre. As from what I've said, it's pretty clear that the ending was rushed.
I loved the series so much man.
If only it was not ruined by the ending. A proper ending could've made it so much better. I'm not a writer on this man's level but something surrounding around Yui's final character development, everyone else finally realizing, Kazuma's last help out. And a proper ending where they either swap back or don't. (I won't argue about that as both sound good.) THAT..That could've saved the series.
To say I'm dissapointed is an understatement. But that's the review. Was it really a review or a crashout? Idk but those are my thoughts.
Still remains my favourite manga though! Cheers.
