Forget-me-not (OBATA Yuuki) Volume 1
Can a manga be both uplifting and depressing at the same time? Well, this one was for me.
The way the story starts, with an attempted suicide (because of bullying) gone wrong, paves the way to what is expected to be a sorta gloomy tale, but then thanks to the other characters in the hospital everything takes a turn for the better. Umeno, especially thanks to the help of Yukiyoshi, changes her gloomy outlook on the future and decides she'll go back to school. That's when we go back to the sorta depressing part of the manga, because it's when we learn about Yukiyoshi disease and the rest of the young patients in the hospital.
Still, seeing the way Yukiyoshi handles his own disease and how he interacts with the other people really helps offset the more depressing sides of the story, which consists also of the death of terminally ill kids.
A really satisfying first volume, well drawn and with a story that hits all the right notes, even if it's not all roses and sunshines.