It's definitely one of the best mangas out there. The main story (yuuki and futaba) was so great that toward the last volume, i couldn't really pay serious attention to the other stories since i just wanted to get to their story. Salad Days is a collection of one-shot mangas which, for some story, continues on for many volumes with other stories in between. However, to my surprise, that fact did not, in anyway, ruin the feeling of continuation of the story. Every story has its own plot. And it's very easy to relate to the characters as well. It's amazing to the extent where it is the second manga, after midori no hibi, that actually keeps me hooked to the point where i couldn't stop reading. I really tried to pause, but for some reason i just couldn't. Especially the last few volumes where yuuki and futaba's story really gets going. I definitely enjoyed this manga more, way more, than i expected.
To think that it was written over 10 years ago... Regardless, the art wasn't bad. Actually, it becomes gorgeous as you keep reading. I don't think the style was changed, but rather, i was so in to the story that the art just miraculously got better. It's a long manga, and i almost lost interest after the 5th volume, because i thought that since i didn't have a lot of time, i'd rather read something with a plot and character development. Well, i'm glad as heck that i didn't drop this. The plot was brilliant. The ending was also brilliantly satisfying, and it didn't feel like it's just the ending of the story, but rather both the ending of the story and the ending of the novel. It concluded everything. My only complain is that after i read this, my expectation toward the manga that i read next became higher so that i didn't enjoy the next manga as much as i should have.
Sometimes, something is much better when experienced it first hand. Give this a try. I seriously recommend this manga.