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I picked up this book because the title sounded interesting (Good Bye, But I love You) and I have enjoyed other series from the author. The cover is really pretty, too. I like the light background and the bright colors; I get a nice feel for the time of day the scene takes place in. I thought that the series might be sad — I generally stick with happy cute fluffy series, but hey, a sad story every once in a while can be nice — but no, this collection of short stories is actually rather happy and romantic. There are 4 chapters in this book. The first 2 are interesting because they are essentially the same story, but the first chapter is the story told from the guy’s point of view, and the second chapter is the same events as seen from the girl’s point of view. I like when series do this, it’s fun to see how the same events can be interpreted so differently by different characters. The stories in this book are non-smutty, and slightly angsty, but not depressing. There’s even a teacher-student story thrown in for good measure! ^_^
The first chapter focuses on a high school guy named Yutaka. He is cute and popular thanks to his friendly, easygoing personality. Unfortunately, that doesn’t prevent him from being dumped by his girlfriend. Her name is Mariya, and they had barely begun to date when she suddenly tells him that she can’t date him anymore because shes in love with someone else. Yutaka is crushed. He can’t believe it. There is no way this could be true, he loves Mariya so much, and he knows she likes him! He has a flashback, and narrates how he fell for her right when they first met. It was before school started, when he was taking the entrance exam to get into their high school. He was late getting to his classroom and his seat. Even worse, he didn’t have an eraser that he would need for the test. Fortunately, the girl next to him loaned him one in secret. That girl, who looked so adorable to Yutaka, was Mariya. He fell for her right away, and it wasn’t long before he could not stop himself from expressing his feelings. In a surprise move, he confessed to her right in the middle of the school hallway, and asked her to go out with him. Naturally, she is surprised by this, but to his delight, she agrees! Everything is right in the world, and they begin to date. Things are going great between them. He even goes out of his way to ride home on the train with her (a good thing, too, as he catches some creep groping her, and has to punch the guy out!). Therefore, Yutaka is shocked when Mariya dumps him. It is so out of the blue! There must be something going on. Yutaka is truly heartbroken. Is there any way he can convince Mariya to come back to him?
Chapter 2 retells the relationship of Yutaka and Mariya from Mariya’s point of view. She noticed Yutaka right away too, and her eyes would always follow him in the halls. He is so friendly and popular. Thus when he confessed to her that day, she really was shocked, but also very happy. She had to say yes to him! Things seem to be going great, even from Mariya’s point of view. But then she starts to notice something that prevents her from being happy while with him. She tries to ignore it, but soon she feels she has no choice but to break up with him! But is this really how she feels? Why does she do this?
It’s fun to see the same scenes first from Yutaka’s perspective, and then from Mariya’s. The sometimes have very different reactions to the same things. I also like how totally in love with Mariya Yutaka is. He is pretty goofy about it, actually. It’s sweet 🙂
The 3rd chapter in this book is a teacher-student story, yay! Well actually, he’s the school doctor, but it still counts. High school girl Nana-chan is in love with her school’s doctor. He’s a really handsome guy and is really popular, but he is also known for having a bit of a sadistic personality. All the girls flock around them, but he always shoos them away. This doesn’t stop Nana from trying to get his email address, though, or from trying to get to know him better. But like with the other girls, he wants nothing to do with Nana. Nana’s friends thinks she should give up on a guy with such an “S” personality, but she refuses; she knows he is really a nice guy. Earlier in the year she collided with him, and her hair got tangled in the button on his coat. Instead of cutting her hair to free her, he instead cut off the button. This alone is enough to cause Nana to fall in love with him. But can Nana make such a cold guy feel the same way?
Yeah, as far as teacher-student stories go, this one has little substance. The teacher is really hot, but I honestly can’t see why he would ever fall for Nana. She is kind of an airhead.Well, maybe not an airhead exactly, but she seems sort of naive, innocent, stubborn, and dumb. I can’t quite find the right word 🙂 I mean, falling for a guy just because he didn’t cut your hair? Seems a flimsy basis for a relationship:) But this is shoujo manga land, and apparently that’s all it takes ^_^
Next up is another story that starts with a girl rejecting a guy. In this case, the girl is named Rinka, and she is very popular with the boys at her school. It’s not her fault , really. She doesn’t do anything special, but for some reason lots of guys fall for her and confess to her. Unfortunately, Rinka usually has no idea who these guys are, and turns them down. She has no interest in dating some random guy she doesn’t know. This is understandable, but Rinka could be nicer in the way she rejects the boys. Instead of acting with empathy toward them and letting them down gently, she states her refusal in a matter-of-fact tone that makes her seem very cold. When the story begins, she is turning down another guy, and a little while later she is confessed to by another guy. The second guy seems overly affectionate and nerdy with his glasses. She pushes him away as well, but for once she may regret her actions. This guy shows up at school the next day looking quite handsome! Without his glasses he is much cuter, and Rinka recognizes him right away. Thanks to some student council activities, she starts to get to know him, and slowly falls in love. He seems to like her still too, but is he for real? The boys Rinka has rejected are known to hate her, could he be out for revenge?
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