Where do I begin? This title is very famous for its erotic visual novel version as well as its anime one, due to the fact they have great artwork. The manga follows suit, as the characters and scenes are superbly drawn. Since you have probably seen, or at least heard of, the anime version, I will be mentioning some comparison points later in this review, but I will still treat this as a stand-alone one.

The story follows Itou Makoto, a boy who started noticing a beautiful girl commuting with him to and from school. Her name is Katsura Kotonoha, she likes reading books, and she goes to a different class. After hearing about a charm, that if one takes a picture of the person he/she likes, put it as wallpaper on one's cellphone, and keeps it hidden for three weeks, his/her love will come true, Makoto does the first steps, but is discovered too soon. Enter Saionji Sekai, Itou's energetic classmate. She finds out about the photo, and while initially threatening to give Makoto away, she decides to help him get together with Kotonoha. However, why is Sekai helping Makoto? Is there something she hides?

That is the premise, which is also undertaken by the anime version of School Days, and this is where I will get into my comparison points. First of all, this, the manga version, is definitely not ecchi, where there is no fan-service, unlike the anime one. It concentrates more on the love triangle, not the anime's love polygon. Itou Makoto, the protagonist, genuinely cares for the heroines in the manga, making him a more likeable person, whereas in the anime he, well, cares for other things. Also, his friend from middle school, Katou Otome, is noticeably not even mentioned in the manga (she just has a cameo), while in the anime she plays a major role (she breaks the three-way relationship), and could be considered to be on equal footing with the other two heroines (refer to Valentine Days). Finally, the question often asked by those who have finished the anime is, "does the manga end the same way?" The anime has a dark ending that is shocking for those who have not played or heard of the game version, which contains quite a few similar endings. To answer that question in a non-spoiler manner, yes, the manga's ending does technically differ from its anime counterpart (if you are a Sekai fan, you may want to see this one), but it still contains a similar atmosphere, albeit less gory.

To sum up, as I mentioned, the artwork is amazing; the story flows smoothly with wonderful romantic/dramatic scenes; and if it were not for the final two chapters, I would have given School Days a perfect score. This beautiful story is right for you if you like comedy, drama, romance, love triangles, and a short-lived (literally) high-school life with an unexpected twist. Oh, and hot girls. ;)