[Review for manga as a whole; no spoilers]

This manga as a whole is so utterly dumb. I think at one point it genuinely tried to be suspenseful and dramatic, but everything is too ridiculous to take seriously. This is trashy reality TV, greasy fast food, and the most erratic telenovela you’ve seen. And yet I enjoyed it! I love this hot-behind mess. I think I’ve read it at least 4 times throughout the years since I first read it in Dec 2016.

The male lead, Soichiro, starts out mean and borderline abusive (he’s also terribly and inappropriately hand-grabby in the beginning chapters). He begins as a jerk until he has some SERIOUS growth. The female lead, Sumi, is beyond stupid, but I loved her determination to take care of her siblings. And the older brother you will want to dropkick in the throat. Nozumu was a. lot. And he never stopped being a lot.

So yeah, with no spoilers, read this one. It’s entertaining. The sibling relationships will wreck you all with tender hearts. Stepping on Roses does get tropey at times, but it’s worth it for the pure foolery it pulls out of its nose.

SN: I adore the way the mangaka draws babies and little kids. They always look so precious with their little bobble-heads. Also, men are always drawn startling handsome as well.

Major spoiler (read, only if you've completed manga): Something that annoyed me to no end is that the manga tries to pretend Nozumu's obsession with Sumi is because she's secretly his sister and somehow his body knows or whatever. But no dude is just messed up. no ifs ands or buts about it. ( )

It's the end of Stepping On Roses, one of Shojo Beat's most entertaining series to date, and it's an ending well earned. Despite being melodramatic soap opera shojo, Rinko Ueda's Edo-era romance series has gotten plenty of dedicated fans - myself included - who have been waiting forever to see if Sumi and Soichiro's relationship will win out in the end. Will this be a happily ever after or a doomed love affair?

You can read my complete (spoiler-filled) review of the STEPPING ON ROSES finale at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/ ( )

A fitting and beautiful ending to a historical, romantic, shojo manga that kept me on edge! Probably my favorite manga series so far.

In a nutshell, for those who haven't read the previous volumes, the main characters, Sumi (a poor girl) and Soichiro (heir to wealth), agree to marry, although they are strangers, for their mutual benefit. Through their shame marriage Sumi gains the money she needs for her family and Soichiro gains his inheritance and the respect of his grandfather.

Throughout the course of the series, it seems like Sumi and Soichiro could truly fall in love if they would just put their differences and conflicting personalities aside. Soichiro's best friend, Nozomu, also causes conflict, because to begin with Nozomu and Sumi have a mutual crush on each other. As the series progresses, Nozomu more or less becomes the villain, forcing Sumi to leave Soichiro against her will.

Nearly every chapter ends on a cliff-hanger...almost soap opera style. I ran through volumes 1-6 in a matter of days because I couldn't stand the "not-knowing" what was going to happen. I called it my manga "Downton Abbey."

I was a little surprised that Vol. 9 was the final volume, but a little glad too, because the overall conflict couldn't have realistically lasted much longer. In my opinion, the volume didn't feel rushed and all the loose ends were tied up, plus a few I hadn't really thought of.

My only, and very small, compliant, is that Sumi didn't stand up for herself in the end. She, seemingly, has the opportunity to save herself from a bad situation and doesn't take it. Soichiro rushes in to save the day, which makes for a more classic, romantic ending, but it wasn't the one I was expecting.

But with that aside, when I have more free time, I'm looking forward to re-reading this series again and again! I think it's safe to say I'm going to be a life-long Rinko Ueda fan. ( )

I got disappointed to this last volume. I think the story has so much potential but the mangaka suddenly dumped all these cliché things out of nowhere ´д`;
Eeeeeeeeeew she's the long lost sister of Nozomu! Nozomu's obsessing over her sister (..and he's kissing her ugh he also tries to rape her) and he still wants to marry her wtf! how did this turn out to be a fucked up story?!
It all went well after but I didn't really like it. I think the mangaka clinched the story. (￣ー￣ )

I still like the illustration.

Sumi was hard as rock then and now she became a damsel in distress. The story became weird(er) with Nozomu.
The climax was abrupt and so was the ending! ( )

A fitting and beautiful ending to a historical, romantic, shojo manga that kept me on edge! Probably my favorite manga series so far.

In a nutshell, for those who haven't read the previous volumes, the main characters, Sumi (a poor girl) and Soichiro (heir to wealth), agree to marry, although they are strangers, for their mutual benefit. Through their shame marriage Sumi gains the money she needs for her family and Soichiro gains his inheritance and the respect of his grandfather.

Throughout the course of the series, it seems like Sumi and Soichiro could truly fall in love if they would just put their differences and conflicting personalities aside. Soichiro's best friend, Nozomu, also causes conflict, because to begin with Nozomu and Sumi have a mutual crush on each other. As the series progresses, Nozomu more or less becomes the villain, forcing Sumi to leave Soichiro against her will.

Nearly every chapter ends on a cliff-hanger...almost soap opera style. I ran through volumes 1-6 in a matter of days because I couldn't stand the "not-knowing" what was going to happen. I called it my manga "Downton Abbey."

I was a little surprised that Vol. 9 was the final volume, but a little glad too, because the overall conflict couldn't have realistically lasted much longer. In my opinion, the volume didn't feel rushed and all the loose ends were tied up, plus a few I hadn't really thought of.

My only, and very small, compliant, is that Sumi didn't stand up for herself in the end. She, seemingly, has the opportunity to save herself from a bad situation and doesn't take it. Soichiro rushes in to save the day, which makes for a more classic, romantic ending, but it wasn't the one I was expecting.

But with that aside, when I have more free time, I'm looking forward to re-reading this series again and again! I think it's safe to say I'm going to be a life-long Rinko Ueda fan. ( )