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Who wrote this manga?
- Seto Megumu
This is their most notable manga!
Who is the publisher?
- Kodansha
- KC Dessert
How many volumes are there?
- There are currently 3 volumes out in Japanese
- There is no English release as of right now.
What is the genre?
- University romance, drama
What happens in volume 1?
Ichika is a beautiful university student who just wants to fall in love. She’s having a rather difficult time finding a man who will take her seriously though, as the majority of men she talks to end up being rather intimidated by her.
As she’s tall, beautiful, and fashionable, some men see her as someone who would be more interested in sleeping around rather than having a serious relationship. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and when she tells them so, they go their separate ways.
This was until she met someone at a mixer…
Meeting Sanari
As she was about to give up and go home for the night, a man she had never seen before begins talking to Ichika. This man, Sanari, can’t even be compared to the other men at the mixer: he’s handsome, thoughtful, and is actually able to hold a conversation.
After the mixer ends, the two exchange contact information and promise to meet again. As they’re both university students, meeting isn’t exactly a difficult thing, and Ichika is very excited at this newly forming relationship.
She hears a strange rumour that he’s a playboy from one of her friends, but as Ichika actually knows him, she doesn’t pay it any mind. While Sanari does seem to be very comfortable around Ichika even though they just met, and he has no problem casually touching her during their various meetings.
Sanari…the playboy?
Just as Ichika was beginning to question things, she witnesses Sanari talking to a mysterious, beautiful stranger.
She tries to gently question Sanari on his relationship with the girl, and he straight-up admits to sleeping around. He tells Ichika very bluntly: he only hangs around girls who aren’t serious about relationships.
Ichika freaks out internally for a moment, and then lets him know that she is actually seriously looking for a boyfriend.
Sanari has no problems with that, and reminds her that the two of them are just friends! Not really noticing, or perhaps just pretending to not notice, that Ichika has already developed feelings for him.
He tells her that he thinks it’s wonderful that she wants a serious relationship, and that a trashy guy like him doesn’t really deserve someone to be serious about him. Even though he isn’t actually turning her down – there was not confession or anything – it really reads like he’s turning her down here.
From here, Sanari continues to subtly toy with Ichika’s feelings. When she talks to him about her upcoming blind date, he wishes her luck and tells her that were she to find a boyfriend, she would surely enjoy spending her time with him more than Sanari. This hurts Ichika’s feelings, as she wanted to hear something along the lines of “don’t go on a blind date”. When she goes to leave for the date, Sanari does stop her by grabbing her hand…but says nothing, and soon lets go.
A little while later though, he tells her that she would have more fun spending her time with him rather than with some boyfriend.
He is the king of mixed messages, and he’s clearly doing it on purpose at this point.
A date with Sanari
Ichika invites Sanari on a date to a festival, and he happily tags along. While he’s still adamant that he doesn’t want a girlfriend, he has no problem feeding her macaroons, and holding her hand.
We then get a confession from Ichika! To which she gets turned down. Sanari tells her that a guy like him is no good for her, and that she should date someone who actually wants to be in a loving relationship,
Ichika is already in too deep though, and asks him to please try thinking of her like a girlfriend.
They end up at Sanari’s apartment due to rainfall, and Ichika quickly learns that she indeed can’t do a friends-with-benefits type relationship – she needs exclusivity.
Thankfully, Sanari is completely respectful of Ichika’s wishes and stops the second she asks him to. He gives her the bed, he takes the floor, and the two go to bed for the night.
Maddie’s Ratings
The characters
While I didn’t like either of the main characters, I did like how realistic they felt. Almost all of the romance manga I have been reading recently have been rather drama free and filled with fluff, so reading something with flawed characters was fun!
Both characters kind of suck in their own ways, and I know someone who feels exactly like Sanari – like, to a scary degree. So, while they kind of suck, they kind of suck in a realistic way.
Romance
This was rather fresh for me, as while there was some romance, it wasn’t at all romantic. I think that Sanari does indeed like Ichika, and that he is battling his inner demons a little bit.
There is a constant flirty energy between the two of them, and i’m very excited to see where it goes in the following volumes!
While Ichika clearly really wants a committed relationship, with all of the romance that comes with it, I do hope that she doesn’t try and force her ideal relationship on Sanari. Likewise, I hope we don’t see Sanari force his version of romance on Ichika. I want the two to be able to meet in the middle!
Storytelling
I did enjoy this manga’s story! While it was nothing spectacular, I think it did everything very well. I would like to see a bit more of Sanari’s background, friends and friends-with-benefits included.
It was nice following Sanari along on her journey of struggling to find romance, and I really felt her frustration at the men who ogled her for her body.
I think the next volume will really determine whether I really do enjoy the way the story is told or not, but as of volume 1, I am enjoying it!
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