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(4.67/5)The plot: After an injury in middle school, Kento gives up running. Upon seeing a flyer for a handicrafts club at his new high school, he accidentally offends "The Knitting Prince" by implying that handicrafts are FOR GIRLS. The Knitting Prince challenges Kento to try knitting just once, thus starting his newfound passion for knitting and his friendship with the mysterious boy known as the Knitting Prince.
I really enjoyed this one. The first volume mostly focuses on the friendship between Kento and Rui (The Knitting Prince), but by the end it's clear that the other members of the handicrafts club will be a stronger appearance as the series progresses. And I love the dynamic between the two leads! I will definitely be continuing with this series.
Outside of a lot of knitting terminology, the vocab for this book wasn't especially difficult. Everyone speaks as one would expect from boys attending a fancy private school, so not a lot of slang or dialects. The book has full furigana excluding some handwritten asides. If you've ever wanted to learn to read Japanese knitting patterns, definitely check this one out.
From the moment I found out about this manga, I knew that I had to read it. I have three things that I spend most of my free time doing: reading, learning Japanese, and knitting. And this manga combined all those things! (And then there is a really cute cat, and I love cats…)
I think the author did an amazing job when it came to capturing the joys of knitting, and I think it really shows how much joy (but also frustration) knitting can bring. (Or maybe that is simply me feeling extra strongly for this manga since it touches on subjects that are so dear to my heart. I was extremely emotional while reading this manga, it just yarn and two long sticks, but… I love knitting so much…)
Anyway, I do think this manga is amazing if you are a knitter (or do some other kind of handicraft), but I also think it might be good if you are interested in learning to knit. There are small instructions and such on how to knit in the manga, which could help, but since there are only pictures, I do think it is easier to learn through other sources (like videos), but this manga could be of great inspiration. I also really liked that there were comments about there being different ways of doing things, and that you can do it the way that works the easiest for you. At the same time, I think this manga is good even if you aren’t interested in knitting since there is more to the manga than knitting.
Regarding the language, as a knitter it was quite easy to figure out what the knitting terminology meant, but it might be harder if you aren’t a knitter since words like “knit” and “purl” might not have a meaning to you even in English. Apart from the knitting terminology, the language was okay, I did find the language in some scenes to be though, but for the most part it was manageable.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and while I read this first volume for the knitting, I’m also looking forward to learning more about the other characters and their crafts. I have already started reading the second volume, and when I looked at the contents list at the beginning, I saw that there are patterns included at the end of the second volume. There is one knitting pattern and one crochet pattern, and they are both things that appeared in the first volume! The patterns are charted (and not written), which probably makes them easier to follow as a language learner since there isn’t as much text. I'm really looking forward to trying them out one day!