Ready for some will-they-or-won’t-they hijinks between a pair of childhood best friends? How about some misunderstood confessions and willful ignorance of the other parties’ intentions? Then look no further then Mika’s I Cannot Reach You!
Joking aside, this is a fairly conventional BL manga, but one that still managed to captivate and draw me in with its likeable main characters and romantic tension.
Synopsis:
Despite being total opposites, Kakeru and Yamato have been friends since childhood. Kakeru is carefree and friendly, but a poor student and he can sometimes be a bit slow on the up take. Yamato, on the other hand, is smart, handsome and composed, but most people find him hard to approach and he doesn’t really have any friends, aside from Kakeru. He’s also never dated anyone, despite being popular with girls. While this doesn’t seem to bother Yamato, Kakeru wants more people to see just how great his friend is and tries to get him to put himself out there more, but things suddenly get awkward between these two friends when Kakeru asks Yamato if there’s anyone he likes and Yamato responds be saying: “Kakeru.”
Review:
I Cannot Reach You might not have the freshest premise out there, but it’s an example of the basics being done well. I found this friends-to-lovers story to be very enjoyable and quickly became invested in seeing these blundering boys end up together.
Kakeru isn’t sure if he understood his friend’s words correctly, but he can’t quite convince himself that he got it wrong, either. Yamato seems to lose courage after his initial attempt at a confession is met with blank confusion and both boys try to act as if things are normal, but the genie can’t be put back in the bottle and things only start to get more complicated between them.
Cool and collected Yamato isn’t very sociable, but he’s actually a pretty considerate guy and capable of navigating social situations just fine when he has too – he does need Kakeru to push him into them, though. He’s always got his eyes on Kakeru and is always willing to help him, but is resigned when it comes to pursuing him romantically, having convinced himself that it’s hopeless. Kakeru, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to think of his friend in a romantic way and can’t quite wrap his mind around the possibility that Yamato might like him. Despite this increasingly sticky situation between them, he’s still devoted to Yamato and does his best to look out for him. Kakeru genuinely thinks that Yamato is incredible and wants him to have more friends then just him.
Both boys are always thinking of the other and trying to help each other, but can’t quite seem to connect. They’re both very sweet and I hope that they’ll be able to start properly communicating and can work things out between them soon. There are some indications that we might need to sift through some unnecessary drama before that happens, however, as Yamato’s younger sister also seems to have a crush on Kakeru!
Love triangles are decidedly not my favourite story convention, so I could see that plotline potentially becoming tiresome in the future, but, so far, I Cannot Reach You is a cute story of youthful first love that I’d say is worth checking out. I plan to pick up the next volume and see if Yamato can manage to get his feelings across to his ever so loveably clueless best friend!
Final Score: 7.5 out of 10
What did you think of this manga? Anyone else dreading the love triangle drama? Let me know in the comments.
For more information on this manga, visit Yen Press’ website.
Be sure to check out some of my other recent BL manga reviews:
- Sasaki and Miyano Vol 1 Review
- The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions Vol 1 Review
- The God & the Flightless Messenger Review
- Manly Appetites: Minegishi Loves Otsu Vol 1 Review
- Birds of Shangri-La Vol 1 Review
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Al's Manga Blog 
I adore the cover art for this. Sounds rather sweet too. Looking forward to hearing how you think the series progresses. I’m currently reading a bunch of dark series at the moment but something like this might be the pallet cleanser I need once I’m caught up.
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The title seems rather melancholic, but the story sounds sweeter/less gloomy than I expected. Looking forward to learning more about how it develops.
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There are certainly some melancholic moments, but it’s mostly full of cute teenage awkwardness.
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