Maddies Manga

Yori makes a wild proposition: let’s try just being friends. Will he be able to actually just be friends with Hatsuho, or does he have something up his sleeve?

Author

This series is written by Sumio Hataya. X, Instagram.

Genre & Tropes

High school romance, comedy, reunited first loves, second chances.

Info about this volume

This volume is the newest in the series, Released Jan 2026.

TL;DR rating

I highly recommend this one! If you like comedy and questionable relationships to potential lovers, you should check it out.

You can check out volume two of this series for yourself below!

My thoughts on this volume (Spoilers!)

“My potential is terrifying!!” My goodness, Yori is a refreshingly hilarious character. On paper, his character is one that I generally wouldn’t like: an ex-boyfriend who ghosted the lovely Hatsuho because she scored better than him on their high school entrance exams. It’s only after they reunite in high school that he tries to rekindle their relationship—without apologizing, at that.

When you see him in action though, he’s incredibly charming. While he did indeed do those inexcusable acts, the context of everything makes it easy to forgive him. He was just a middle school boy in his first relationship, so I think he deserves a little bit of slack. It’s funny how some things just work when given enough charm.

Focusing a little more on this volume in particular, we finally see Yori trying to progress their relationship at Hatsuho’s pace. The keyword is try. Sometimes his affection for her blinds him to the heaviness of some of his actions, but again, he’s just so easy to forgive. Once he puts his feelings and worries into words and explains himself to Hatsuho, things actually start going smoothly for them!

It also was so nice to see them hang out with their other friends casually, not everything should be romantic! When he is able to calm down a little and try to just be friends with Hatsuho, she’s also able to finally be comfortable him him—the absence of pressure is invaluable. It’s only after Yori calms down with the relationship talk that Hatsuho is able to actually have a genuine conversation with him. They even talk a little about their relationship in middle school!

While there was a little bit of conflict in this volume—what happened on the couch—I’m glad it wasn’t overly blown out of proportion. Poor Yori did it while half asleep and then seemingly forgot about it when he actually woke up. I felt a little bad watching him try to apologize for every little thing he could have done to upset Hatsuho… He was never going to apologize for the right thing.

And that last scene of him happily buying those flowers for Hatsuho’s birthday! How has she not caved and completely forgiven him yet!?

Things I particularly enjoyed (spoilers)

❤️ Yori happily buying that potted plant when he learnt it means “to reconcile; to mend broken relationships” in flower language.

🧡 Yuari and Shimon’s relationship—I think I actually almost like them as much as Hatsuho and Yori at this point.

💛 When everyone went to secretly spy on Yori at work—seeing Yori get upset at Hatsuho for going to a sauna with a boy was really funny!

💚 Yori going to Hatsuho’s door right at midnight on her birthday so he could be the first to wish her a happy birthday! And the present he got her!! I would have forgiven him right then and there.

💛 Getting a little bit of backstory for Shimon! It was slightly sad, but it gave some much needed context for his character—I also think it suits him perfectly.

🧡 The umbrella chase scene!—Hatsuho and Yori are in a bit of a fight(?) when they both get caught in the rain. Yori has an umbrella, Hatsuho doesn’t. So, Yori puts his umbrella down in front of her and just runs away! He knew she wouldn’t have accepted it had he given it to her any other way…