“Isn’t it no fun eating the same flavour over and over again, just because you’re scared of trying something new?”
You can check out chapter one of this series for yourself below!
Author
Genre & Tropes
Info about this series (ongoing)
There are currently three chapters published in Japanese.
TL;DR
This is a high school romance series about a girl who longs to have a movie-like romantic experience, and a boy who enjoys trying out new things.
What’s it about?
Kai, a high school student who works part-time at an ice cream shop, always suggests vanilla to customers who ask for a recommendation. While vanilla may sound like a basic flavour, it’s a safe choice when compared to some of the more “out there” flavours, like miso soup and hot chocolate. Why take a chance on something you may not enjoy, when you can have something you know you’ll like, right?
One day, a boy with orange hair and more ear piercings than can be counted at a glance comes into the ice cream shop with his girlfriend. When Kai recommends the vanilla flavour, the girlfriend becomes so upset that she breaks up with the orange-haired boy on the spot and storms away. While this would normally sound like an awkward situation, the boy, named Azuma, doesn’t seem to mind at all.
The next day at school, Kai realizes that Azuma is one of her classmates—a potential sign of fate? She also realizes that the two of them have very different ideas about what love is. To Azuma, love is something you need a lot of experience with to understand—you can’t know what you like until you know what you don’t like, right? To Kai…she’s not exactly sure. She knows it’s something special, but that’s about it.
Even though they have very different outlooks on life, they somehow work perfectly together.
My thoughts on this chapter
As a lover of romance manga with toxic MLs, I knew I was going to enjoy this one the second Azuma’s girlfriend abruptly broke up with him at the ice cream shop. At first, I thought that he was meant to be more of a womanizing character, but I quickly realized that there’s a lot more to him than that. Isn’t it nice when characters are fleshed out right from the very start?
He talks about his love for trying out new things—take different flavours of ice cream, for example. You’ll never really know how miso soup-flavoured ice cream tastes until you try it, right? You may end up loving it, or you may end up thinking it tastes like feet. Regardless, you don’t know until you try. This is a big part of his personality: he’s adventurous and enjoys trying new things. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
While he does seem to date a lot of different women and he also seems to get into casual relationships at the drop of a hat, he is never depicted as a cheater. He’s also not given any of the scummy traits commonly found in more “unconventional” male leads—he doesn’t flirt with every pretty girl he sees, he doesn’t inadvertently cause girls to fight over him, and he doesn’t force himself on anyone. He’s just open to trying new things!
Kai on the other hand is very cautious about trying new things. Take the miso soup-flavoured ice cream, for example. What if it ends up being disgusting? Rather than waste her money on something she may not enjoy in the end, she feels safer constantly buying the “safe” choice that she already knows she loves—vanilla. This is also very indicative of her personality. Rather than hurt herself when trying something new an unfamiliar to her, she’d rather stay safe with what she’s familiar with.
While Kai is indeed safe in her little bubble, there isn’t all that much room to grow. It isn’t until Azuma extends an olive branch and invites her into his world that she’s slowly able to realize that maybe she has been playing it too safe.
It’s this dynamic between the two that I really love! While Azuma is indeed very casual and easygoing when it comes to relationships, he is always respectful of Kai. Likewise, even though Azuma clearly comes off as a bit of a womanizer, Kai always gives him the benefit of the doubt. The two of them always treating each other with such kindness and compassion is what gives them a solid base for their relationship.
Maddies Manga 
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