I received an advanced reviewer copy of Number Call by Nagisa Furuya published by Kodansha from NetGalley and Kodansha in exchange for an honest review.
I am a huge fan of Nagisa Furuya so when I saw a new manga by her, I tapped in! Nagisa Furuya is the mangaka behind The Summer of You series and The Two Lions. She has such a distinct sweet and tender style to her stories. A lot of them have a slow-burn romance that focuses on the characters slowly falling for each other. Her works capture the beauty in things taking their time.
All this being said I knew her newest story to be licensed, Number Call, would be a nice and fluffy read. I was not disappointed. Number Call was Nagisa’s debut manga in Japan. It is published in the US by Kodansha.
In Number Call, Eito Tachibana is a high school senior who is self-conscious about his name due to it meaning the number 8. One day he meets another boy, Tomoya Hatta, who also goes by a variation of the number 8 “Hachi.” The two seemingly hit it off and Eito finds himself becoming more curious about Hachi.
Although the two are in different classes, they start hanging out and spending more time together. Eito has other friends but he starts noticing his time with Hachi just feels different. He soon realizes he has feelings for Hachi. However, a misunderstanding between them causes them to drift apart right before graduation.
As with all of Nagisa’s work, the art perfectly captures the characters and what they are feeling at all times. We see Eito look at Hachi first through a lens of curiosity and then that slowly changes into longing and love. While Eito doesn’t always say what he is thinking, the readers can view it all through his facial expressions.
What I love about Number Call is the slow progression of Eito and Hachi realizing their feelings for each other, even when they are up against the clock since they are both seniors about to graduate. I think that the touch of not making them rush to be together gives the perfect amount of angst for the reader. It serves as a reminder you don’t need to rush good things. Their timing will be perfect no matter what.
