manga is actually very surprising and unusual, and not many other manga have done this before! The manga's about a young mother who discovers her beloved son, Hikaru, has autism, a developmental disorder of the brain that affects communication and social interaction. The Azuma family go through both hardship and joy as they go on a journey to help their son live to be a "cheerful, working adult" when he gets older.I'm autistic myself, so I relate to this manga on an extremely personal level. In fact, I didn't even know this manga even existed until 2008, when I accidentally came across a Wikipedia article about it! I was so surprised and overjoyed that I literally begged my dad to order the first two volumes (volumes 3 and up weren't out back then) off of Amazon! And boy, am I glad I did! This manga has won a very very VERY special place in my heart. Even the awesomeness that is Shounen Onmyouji (my number one favorite anime of all time) couldn't compare to this manga's beauty and divinity! And boy do I have a TON of praises for this beautiful, sublime, and wonderful manga!Let me start with the story first. Autism is a very controversial yet well known subject nowadays, yet this manga wasn't published until the late 90s, and autism wasn't all that well known in Japan just yet. Heck, NO manga before that time has ever even DARED to tackle the issue that is autism! But in this manga, it's done absolutely wonderfully! The plot is adorably consistent, the portrayal of autistic children (and adults) are absolutely spot-on, and the development is fantastic! Of course, the manga, while having an optmistic and warm and kind-hearted message behind it, refuses to shy away from discrimination and social prejudice toward the autistic. Thankfully, there's no insane melodrama or unnecessary angst or complicated matters or anything of the like. In fact, if you ever have an autistic relative or are autistic yourself, you can actually relate to these problems and issues!And the characters! My goodness, the characters are absolutely and positively wonderful! Sachiko, the mother in this series, is a wonderful and strong character who is able to carry the weight of this manga perfectly. She's a wonderful depiction of a mother trying to raise an autistic child. Of course in the beginning she's in denial and feels alone and abandoned regarding her son, and on one occasion she even takes her anger out on Hikaru, but she grows and develops and learns and accepts whatever she's been given. Her husband, Masato, is also great too! At first he may seem like the stereotype of a cold and uncaring parent, but that's simply not true. In the beginning, he's simply too young and inexperienced to be the star husband and employee that his family, and society, want him to be. And like Sachiko, he grows and learns and accepts what he's given and doesn't look back. I love that in a character! Hikaru...awwww, what can I say about him!? He's soooo adorable and a wonderful portrayal of an autistic child, though I will confess that I haven't met any children like him in my country (America). But I can easily see a character like him in real life! And the minor characters. The family and friends are also wonderfully depicted and developed. Even the very minor characters who only appear for one chapter or more are given a little impact and personality! There's always something about them all that leaves an impression. How can you go wrong with that!?The artwork...of course it looks rather old school shoujo manga-esque with round, sparkly eyes and all that. Thankfully, the artwork never loses it's edge. In fact, even with its simplicity, it really makes everything feel real and soft and warm-feeling, like you're actually seeing the characters and actually playing the events of the manga in your head! No page feels overly extravagant or overly bland. The artwork is nice and well-balanced. Plus, it really captures the emotions the characters feel and the events going on in each chapter fantastically! Wonderful! Sublime! Nothing is wasted and nothing is overly used.In general...I can only label this manga as sublime and wonderful. One of the best ever. An amazing and beautiful and authentic portrayal of a family raising an autistic child! And I NEVER say these words for anything unless I'm really pulled in by it! Of course, the manga doesn't ENTIRELY focus on JUST the family and their autistic child. In fact, the manga also tries to develop the characters around them and give them some depth and development and impact on the story from other families with autistic children to the children Hikaru befriended (albeit impassively) and even the relatively minor characters! Even so, this is a wonderful manga that truly deserves more attention in this world.One thing I was terribly upset about was when the author of this manga, Tobe Keiko, died abruptly in January of 2010. You couldn't believe how upset I was. I even thought it was a joke until I started losing it. I cried so much I even woke my parents up at 6:00 in the morning, I was THAT heartbroken! And the manga isn't even finished yet! Well, I guess it is now considering Yen Press is releasing the posthumous final volume of this manga later this year. Waaaahhh!! Why did she have to die!? She still has so much to give to the world! But what she did give will be greatly cherished and remembered. We will always remember Keiko Tobe and the great things she achieved in life, this manga being her highest and best achievement.If there's one thing I want out of this manga, it's this: A FREAKING ANIME ADAPTATION!!! That's right! This manga would be a GREAT anime if handled by the right staff and production company! We need more realistic anime like this nowadays! We're tired of being bombared by big-boobed, underwear flashing, overblown moe and incest and ecchi moe garbage!!! So many awesome manga like this are left in the dark while stupider titles get adapted! Well, all's not lost. There's apparently a 13-episode live-action TV drama of it. I only saw the first episode, but I plan on watching the rest of it this year.All in all, this is a sublime and divine manga! The best ever! GO READ IT NOW!!!