Crossroad (manga)

Crossroad (クロスロード) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shioko Mizuki. It was serialized by Akita Shoten in the shōjo manga magazine Princess from 2003 to 2005 and collected in five bound volumes. It is licensed in North America by Go! Comi and in France by Taifu Comics. It is about a teenage girl, Kajitsu, who after her grandmother dies ends up living with her two stepbrothers and younger stepsister, all unrelated to each other.

Manga
Akita Shoten released the seven tankōbon volumes of the manga between June 12, 2003 and December 16, 2005. Go! Comi released the manga's seven volumes between November 1, 2005 and May 30, 2007.

Reception
The storyline has been described as "unique" by IGN, and by Mania.com as a storyline of "delicious complications" that does "a fantastic job illustrating the wreckage that is youth". Mania.com's Julie Rosato described herself to have been "engulfed" by the characters and their story since the first volume, and considers the series to have a good balance between comedy and drama. Rosato enjoyed the pacing of the second volume, finding it unusual that Kajitsu's teacher doesn't mind that Kajitsu has a crush on him. The fourth volume includes a story where Taro supports his ailing birth mother, and Rosato says "touching to see their affections take root and hold on so fiercely" despite the tenuous nature of the family's existence. In the sixth volume, Rosato criticises the mangaka for being "too attached to certain characters to let them go properly" as shown in "the return to school after summer vacation". On the fourth volume, Rosato comments that "the narrative wasn't as clear as it could have been, and maybe not all of the characters met their full potential, but there's a lot going on underneath the surface." Manga Life's Brigid Alverson comments on the first volume that "the mood is a bit uneven, alternating between cartoony [chibi] violence and pensive moments, but the story never bogs down." Nicolas Demay of Planete BD comments the manga for its tone "while sometimes moving stay light without giving into the excess of pathos". He also comment that "the author wanted to dedicated herself in her vision of the heroine." Planete BD's Faustine Lillaz review of the second volume commends the manga for its "minimalist" art, saying "the arts are of good quality: the cutting and the directing are well done, the trait is fine & precise and the screentone is abundant. (even if often a bit crude)." A review of the third volume by Lillaz commends the manga for the rendering of Kajitsu's feelings. Lillaz's review of the fourth volume criticises the manga for its slow pacing but commends the manga for its "expressive" characters and its "cutting is rather dynamic and the trait is rather precise." A review of the fifth volume by Lillaz commends the regular comedy to "alleviate the atmosphere". Lillaz comments on the use of fan service in volume six. Lillaz's review of volume seven commends "the narration [which] is perfectly mastered and thus the story conveys the feelings with sensibility and pudor.