A Galaxy Next Door by Gido Amagakure

Description From NetGalley:

The new sweet and wild romantic comedy from the creator of the hit manga and anime about food and family, Sweetness & Lightning! A desperate manga artist, called on to support his two young siblings, meets a new art assistant. But her arrival isn't just a small step, it's a giant leap…

Princess Meets... Manga Artist?!

Ever since their father died, Ichiro Kuga has struggled to support his two younger siblings on nothing but a small inheritance and his passion for drawing manga. But it's becoming harder to keep up with his growing responsibilities and deadlines, especially after his last two assistants quit to follow their dreams. Just as he’s nearing his breaking point, the beautiful and scarily competent Shiori Goshiki applies to become his new assistant. But there’s something almost otherworldly about Goshiki, and soon Kuga finds his reality turned upside down when she suddenly declares them engaged to marry!

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My Review:

Not gonna lie, I pretty much requested this manga on NetGalley because of the beautiful cover and the title. Like yeah, the description was interesting too, but I just had this feeling when looking at the cover. I am so happy that Kodansha allowed m,e early access to this manga because I absolutely loved it. Warning: there are mild spoilers.

Shiori is a bit neutral in her expressions and wardrobe when she is first introduced. She starts getting more animated and talkative once she gets more comfortable with Ichiro and his family once she gets to know them more. I especially love how animated she gets when she talks about her favorite manga or becoming a better artist. Shiori is an alien from an island and she sets off into the world to experience new things, manga being a particular passion of hers. She looks relatively human except she has a stinger that pops out once which causes her and Ichiro to be tied together in a stronger bond.

Ichiro is a very kind person who bears a strong send of responsibility towards his family. He is doing a job he loves but overworks himself to make sure that his family is provided for. I like how encouraging he is to Shiori, especially when he learns she's only been drawing manga for a year. He also is very nice when he gets stung by her stinger and learns the unfortunate consequences of it. I found his character to be overall refreshing as I feel normally with the personality Shiori has, the ML would be a grumpy negative Nancy who can be rude to the FL but does sweet things sparingly. I like Ichiro and Shiori's dynamic a lot more and look forward to seeing how they work together in the next volume.

The only thing I will say is I do wish Ichiro could have found out Sjiori was an alien another way. I'm not a huge fan of him being "magically" tied to her because of an accident. I would have liked to have seen them grow closer a bit more naturally. Otherwise, I thought they were really cute together.

Overall, if you're looking for a sweet encouraging manga with romance and a hint of sci-fi, then I definitely recommend this manga. It's so adorable, the characters are all likable, and there's just that hint of wonderment that makes this manga special. I'll definitely be reading the next volume when it comes out.