It isn't surprising that Evergreen comes from the pen of the woman who wrote both Toradora! and Golden Time. There's an underlying layer of humanity to the story that goes beyond its stock characters in the same way her other works do, infusing a little something extra into what is otherwise a fairly basic shounen romance. While we can see at least one plot twist coming from almost the moment its possibility arises, that doesn't stop Evergreen's first volume from being charming in a strangely bittersweet way that is almost certain to appeal to fans of Yuyuko Takemiya's other works.

The story revolves around Hotaka Yoshimatsu, a high school student. As a child he suffered from a congenital heart problem. While the disease killed his father, doctors were able to perform open-heart surgery on Hotaka, sparing him the same fate. He was left with a large scar on his chest about which he is embarrassed – possibly because it sets him apart from his classmates and serves as a reminder that he wasn't able to do the same things as they were for most of his life. He's now the president of the school's manga club and pretty much the only one who contributes to the zine they're required to put out as proof that their club does something; most of the other members are just free-loaders who want to sit around and read manga undisturbed. The exception to this is On-chan, a go-getter of an underclassman who encourages Hotaka to do anything but sit and stare out the window. But Hotaka has a reason for his window gazing: he's watching Niki Awaya, a member of the swim club. To Hotaka Niki is the embodiment of summer, a gorgeous girl who radiates health and has a head of amazing golden hair. He really wants to get to know her, but he's got an inner sense that he's not worth her time, something that appears to stem back to his mother's anger at his father's death.

This is really the first sign of the story's inner life. We've all read or seen plenty of romances where the nerdy manga guy gets the hot athletic girl, but Hotaka is more than just the reclusive otaku character. His father's death shaped his world view in ways that possibly even his mother doesn't realize, and it was her reaction that had such a firm hand in changing his outlook. When his dad passed, Hotaka's mother didn't show her sadness by mourning, but rather by getting angry. While we don't have the details, we can guess that she was mad that he died So Young and left her alone with a son with the same condition and who might also possibly die on her. There may be something more to it as well, as she cut off all communication with her husband's family after his death, even changing Hotaka's family name to her maiden one. This has clearly had an effect on Hotaka, who suffers from a terrible nightmare about a girl in a kitsune mask stabbing him almost every night. There's something off about the whole situation, and that looks likely to drive the story as the series goes on.

There are basically four main characters at this point in the story, with Niki, Hotaka, and On-chan standing out as more important than womanizing Soga, although his clearly repressed crush on On-chan seems likely to change that. Of the group, On-chan is probably the most interesting if only because we see at one point that she seems to try to look less attractive than she is at school. At first it seems like a throwaway moment, but as we see more of her character, it begins to feel more significant. Niki is a bit of an enigma right now; there's clearly more to her than just the nice pretty girl, and her nosebleed (which is pretty epic) does make me worry a little, given who the story implies she is. Towards the end of the volume we do see that she has more going on beneath the surface than it appears, so I'd hazard a guess that within another book or so, everyone will become much more complex.

Akira Kasukabe's art is very easy to read, and the way she draws Niki's hair is especially good. Hotaka is given a much skinnier body than most of the other characters, male or female, showing his sickly past, and On-chan's energy comes right off the page. Apart from scenes of characters in bathing suits there's not really any fanservice to speak of, and the art is attractive overall. Seven Seas' translation reads very well, although my copy does have one page that is printed twice, so I do worry that there was a page missing.

Evergreen's first volume is a nice introduction to a story that has more going on beneath the surface than it at first would appear. Takemiya writes characters we can get behind and the story is slowly taking off, building organically within the book. While it seems predictable in some ways, it also doesn't feel like that matters too much, making this a series worth keeping an eye on.