The struggles over future paths that are unique to high school students… “Endo-kun’s Experiment Notes, Vol. 1”

We’re introducing “Endo-kun’s Experiment Notes” from Taiyo Tosho, H&C Comics ihr HertZ Series!

The following is quoted from the back cover. This review does touch on the story’s content! If you just want a quick overview!! I’d be happy if you read only the red text and highlighted sections.

“I want to stay by your side. I want to touch you more…———”

After finding themselves seated one in front of the other in their high school classroom, “Endo” and “Tsuda” gradually begin to spend more and more time together without even realizing it. They were never interested in others to begin with, yet each other’s presence slowly grows larger and more significant. Wanting to stay close. Wanting to reach out just a little more. But as the time comes for them to decide their future paths, they begin to realize that things can’t remain the way they are forever…

From Taiyo Tosho, H&C Comics ihr HertZ Series “Endo-kun’s Experiment Notes, Vol. 1”

This is a sequel series to the HertZ Series “Endo-kun’s Observation Diary.” I started reading this work without knowing that beforehand… but I instantly fell in love with the cover, drawn in watercolor-like hues. So beautiful and delicate—wondering what kind of story it would be, I eagerly turned the pages with growing excitement.

Panel layouts that feel like snapshots taken straight from a film capturing youth.

The handwritten dialogue and sound effects expressed through text, along with the dynamic energy of panels that go beyond simple square frames, create a world unlike any other manga. When it comes to stories about students, the usual flow tends to be falling in love, confessing, and moving forward—but this work follows a passage of time that doesn’t end so neatly. It gives off a strange, gentle feeling, as if you’re quietly watching over two people who exist beyond the confines of what we call “romance”. (＾＾)

Two people who don’t quite fit into the conventional label of being “partners.”

When being by each other’s side starts to feel completely natural, I do enjoy giving that bond a noun—like calling them partners or a duo. But these two are simply close friends: walking home together after school, making little detours, worrying about their future paths, and hesitating to open up to one another. And yet, there are moments where the flow of time between them feels strangely out of sync, unfolding in a rush of stop-motion–like intensity. That contrast left a particularly strong impression on me. (＾＾)

The direction of the vectors pointing toward the two of them.

Endo is just so adorable. There are scenes where Tsuda gently strokes his cheek or pats his head, and it almost feels like a skittish animal cautiously letting its guard down and accepting affection. Adorable. Tsuda, meanwhile, finds himself confused by Endo—and that, too, is adorable. (＾＾) The friends around them are all directing their emotional arrows in various directions, and being able to read those dynamics is part of what makes “Endo-kun’s Observation Diary” so compelling—but I’ll be introducing that in a separate blog post. This time, the highlight is the moments where Endo becomes flustered and openly shows his emotions in response to the arrows aimed at Tsuda.

As graduation draws near, you start wondering what you yourself did at that time—feelings on the verge of being overwhelmed by vague anxieties and quiet hopes about the future. There’s a sense of realism that gently stirs your own memories, and watching how the characters move forward becomes enjoyable in different ways: sometimes from the perspective of someone who’s been there before, and other times by imagining it from an entirely different standpoint. That range of ways to engage with their future is part of the fun.

I plan to dive even deeper into the story in the next volume, so please look forward to that as well!