Why would someone leave in the middle of a confession? Well, if part of the declaration includes, “If you want a boyfriend that bad, I’ll go out with you,” it’s easy to understand why Makoto just walks away. Plus, considering she views Reita more like a brother (a girl-crazy one at that), anyone can understand why she wouldn’t take it seriously.
…Well, anyone but Reita, that is.
Fortunately for him, the pair do start going out to avoid Makoto some embarrassment after a failed group date. Reita seizes this opportunity to get Makoto to admit she has feelings for him, but she’s weirded out by Reita’s romantic attempts while he can’t figure out why things are going wrong.
While the manga could be seen as comedic, the heroine is generally a casual person, and the manga follows this same down-to-earth attitude. Makoto doesn’t bat an eye when a guy almost sees her underwear nor descends into a epic crying spree after a potential boyfriend instead pushes for a casual, physical relationship. A lot of authors would have made Makoto more like a traditional tomboy — perhaps the ace of a sports team — so it’s rather refreshing to see someone who is friendly with boys yet open to group dates.
Reita is likely to have his fans as well. Proud, haughty romantic leads are fairly common, but these traits aren’t usually found in childhood friends. There’s almost this self-awareness about The Walls Between Us, as if Reita read some shoujo manga and thought acting like this is the key to getting out of the friendzone. Even though I’m not a huge fan of narcissistic love interests, I can’t help but sympathize with him as he sulks, unsure why things aren’t going smoothly.
Since the rest of the school classifies Reita as a catch, Reita and Makoto’s best friend suspect that Makoto is purposely avoiding love. And the reason is not treated as some deep, dark, off-limits-to-mention personal tragedy. That’s rare. Lots of manga characters deal with parents leaving because of an affair, but The Walls Between Us treats this in a more realistic fashion. Yes, young Makoto was deeply saddened by her parents’ divorce, but it’s not something that she keeps dwelling on. In fact, she meets up with her father once in a while, although she admits she doesn’t feel that close to him as a daughter — and it doesn’t bother her. Her family breaking up does color her view on relationships, but I feel like Makoto naturally falling in love will overwrite the bad memories rather than some long, drawn-out dramatic arc…at least, I hope.
The only part I was a bit disappointed in was the art. The style is a little similar to Robico (My Little Monster), which makes sense considering they’re from the same magazine. It felt empty, the characters hanging out in a sea of white far too often. I wish Tsukishima had put some little flairs like those manga swirls or something to fill in some of those voids. Maybe as the series goes on, she’ll have more assistants to help with the backgrounds. As for the adaptation, I noticed at least one typo, but otherwise, there’s nothing to note.
The Walls Between Us shows a lot of promise thanks to its practical protagonist and a love interest whose own behavior is his worst enemy. Will Reita knock down those walls that are in the way, or will he run right into them? Either way, I want to find out!