Gazing at the Star Next Door Volumes 4 and 5 Review

When I last reviewed Gazing at the Star Next Door, Volume 3 left us with a mighty cliffhanger. Where will things go next for our childhood friends? With two more volumes at hand, let’s find out!

In Volume 3, Chiaki had confessed to Subaru and been turned down, and she vowed to put her feelings aside and continue their friendship. However, Subaru ended up ill, and Chiaki came to the rescue, only to fall asleep in his room. Upon waking up to find her in his room, Subaru made a move on Chiaki, which resulted in a kiss. And that’s the scene we return to in Volume 4!

Having been turned down already, Chiaki is incredibly confused by Subaru’s action and can only assume he’s engaging in ‘kiss practice’ for his drama. This is something she’d previously suggested, and Subaru had turned her down, saying she was too important to him to do that. While our heroine is still reeling from the shock of it all, Subaru plays off his actions as simply a way to get Chiaki to back off, which, of course, only upsets her even more. Chiaki declares she’s done with him and then storms off.

And it’s up to co-worker Takahashi to cheer up Chiaki. She tells him all about her heartbreak and the day they went out on a spontaneous day trip as a way of getting her feelings in order. Secretly, Takahashi has feelings for her, but for now, he’s keeping that quiet as he attempts to console her.

After avoiding one another for far too long and both drowning in their loneliness, Chiaki and Subaru patch things up and return to being “just friends”. But with Subaru’s growing popularity, it’s not long before a new problem arises. Chiaki finds out that a photo of the two of them is circulating on the internet, which could put Subaru’s job in jeopardy, so she begins to wonder if she’d be better off out of his life entirely.

It’s this crisis that pushes the two of them closer together. Subaru may love his job, but he loves Chiaki more and can’t stand the thought of losing her. Finally, he musters up the courage to confess the feelings he’s kept bottled up. Now their relationship moves into an entirely different state as Chiaki finds herself dating the boy she’s been in love with all this time. But she’s still increasingly concerned about what their relationship means for Subaru’s work-life.

Gazing at the Star Next Door had been stuck in this back and forth for what felt like too long. I cheered when Chiaki found the courage to confess in Volume 3, only to be devastated when she was shot down hard. So I’m grateful that, at last, something changed over the course of another two volumes.

And now we’re moving into some interesting new storylines. Mangaka Ammitsu has done the groundwork to set up for the difficult realities of Chiaki dating a popular model/actor. Subaru has told his management about his desire to date her, and he’s even told Chiaki she means more to him than his work, but that doesn’t mean all the problems instantly vanish. With Subaru leaping from modelling to lead actor in a TV drama, all eyes will be upon him, and not everyone will be happy if his relationship truly becomes public knowledge.

And dating him doesn’t mean Chiaki’s fears of not being suited to stand by his side have gone away, either. I’ve said before that this manga has more melodrama than something like In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, but it’s still relatively grounded when it comes to the emotions of its two leads. And it’s this careful balance of drama but relatable emotions that makes Ammitsu’s series such a compelling read. I always find myself finishing a volume and then eagerly picking up the next to see what happens.

Gazing at the Star Next Door Volumes 4 and 5 come to the West thanks to Kodansha and continue to be translated by Nicole Frasik with lettering by Lys Blakeslee. Both releases read well and include some translation notes at the end, but no extras to speak of beyond the mangaka’s afterword otherwise.

The series is still ongoing in Japan with 9 volumes now available. Here in English, Kodansha has released Volume 6 and 7 already, with #8 currently on the schedule for May. There was also a live-action film adaptation released in Japan last year, starring Riko Fukumoto and Yusei Yagi as Chiaki and Subaru, respectively. That hasn’t yet made its way to the West, but hopefully it will in the future.

Overall, Gazing at the Star Next Door is still an interesting shojo series. While melodramatic at times, it has still moved the core relationship forward and laid the groundwork for some interesting storylines to come. You certainly won’t find yourself disappointed if you’ve been enjoying the manga so far!