好きっていいなよ。9 [Suki tte Ii na yo 9]

好きっていいなよ [Suki tte Ii na yo] #9

by Kanae Hazuki, 葉月かなえ

黒沢大和と橘めいがつきあいはじめ、1年ちょっと。文化祭でのコンテストの結果を受け、大和とめぐみがデートをすることに。平気とはいったものの、心配を隠せないめいは、大和の兄・大地の美容室で、大地が抱えていた想いを初めて知ることに。誰かを強く「好き」になった気持ちの行き先は!?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Contemporary, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Comics

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

かなえ 葉月 is a manga artist and writer.

• Name in native language: 葉月かなえ
• Birthday: September 1980
• Blood Type: B
Twitter username: @kanaehazuki

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to care about the older brother's story so much, but Hazuki really sold it. She also did a nice job paralleling Mei and Yamato's relationship in his brother's love life.

[Rosenblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one josei series I don't hate or find annoying. I can't wait to finish all the volumes. Sometimes I find the side stories draggy especially after all thwt Megumi nonsense,but this one I find interesting.
I find it funny when people think I find it boring or annoying because I only wanted to see Mei and Yamato's story when they are saying things like Mei and Yamato's relationship barely had anything going on just because they hadn't banged yet. I see that someone posted something like that about me so I'm addressing that. Anyway it not a "Japanese dating culture thing", it's a "they are only teenagers thing". It's a manga not real Japanese life. I think it's wonderful than Yamato doesn't force Mei to do things she isn't ready for.
Also my original review is from years ago when I was very new to josei and this kind of manga. I was only sixteen at the time,chil. Anyway I love this series a whole lot and I can't wait to collect the rest of the series.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will weep over Daichi's story in this one. So sad...

I love how this story winds around. The date of Yamato and Magumi goes...well. Surprisingly. Megumi finally understands (wow, she's growing up!) and they can just relax and have fun. What I like is that Mei is not killing herself over this. She's confident enough of Yamato that she doesn't need to feel jealous over him being out with someone else. That's really a beautiful homage to their love story right there. I love who Mei is becoming!

The side stories are definitely taking over the series, but as I said before, I don't mind it in the least. It's wonderful to get to know everyone better. There's so much backstory, and such depth and richness to these other relationships. I just want to step into this world and stay. I really can't wait for the next books.

[Megan Czap · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story on Suzu, the girlfriend of Yamato's brother had me sobbing 😭
I think he sees a lot of her in Mei-chan.

[Warda | وردة · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Whatever happiness you received in the past will remain forever. But, no one knows what will happen in the future, and whatever happens, that happiness will always be that happiness"
Daichi and Suzu uiuiuuuu TT

[gretch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book in the series to make me cry, surprisingly enough lol. Most of the characters I’ve related to and felt for very deeply, but this one involved such a tragic plot about a big fear of mine, so it kind of hit close to home. Very sweet though, it had a really kind ending.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los hermanos Kurosawa son tan lindos.❤

[Danielle's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this to be very cute!

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ummm loved the side story lol

[Saba · Rating 4 out of 5]

now why is this series pulling another Fruits Basket...I don't want to cry again!!!!

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

At this point this series is... not boring, but nothing spectacular. I'm waiting for the next big blow up, basically.

[Demoness Tenebrae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daichi & Suzu !


"Mei: Even tough I didn't manage to win, everyone gave me a huge boost of confidence. I keep thinking... I'm so glad I took part."


This volume starts with the most unpleasant event so far, Megumi / Yamato date. Megumi was overjoyed because of it, Yamato went along because he considered it his duty. The date itself was very plain - lunch, shopping, taking a walk... and talking. Yamato was there but with every gesture and every thought he was with Mei. Mei, on the other hand, had plans with Asami to help her survive the anxiety of that day but unfortunately Asami had to work in the morning so Mei was left on her own. She decided to visit and thank Daichi, Yamato's older (28 year old) brother who looks awfully like Yamato. There she met his assistant, Kyouko-san. Kyouko seemed to like her since, later on, she texted Mei a lot.

Yamato and Megumi soon parted ways when Megumi realized how much Yamato loves Mei (about bloody time too). They took a picture together, made some fun of it and left. Immediately after, Yamato called Mei out and reassured her of his love.

The rest of the volume is about Daichi. He was once engaged to be married to a woman named Suzu. Suzu was a little overweight and extremely unsure of herself and that was always holding her back. She never fully gave herself to Daichi because she was ashamed.


"Suzu: Why does it have to be me? There's no way that a guy like you would even consider a girl like me.
Daichi: ...Hey...
Suzu: You have the nerve to trample on other people's feelings!
Daichi: I'm trying to tell you that I love you, okay? "


Daichi loved everything about her though. Her beautiful sparkly hair, her chubbiness, her smile and enjoyment in life. He proved it to her over and over again how crazy he was about her. And then he proposed.


"Hey... Suzu... Let's get married.
I've barely started my career and I know that I don't have much to offer. I know that there's still a long way to go before I can say I'll be able to give you everything you need.
I'm sorry but... I need to be with you.
(I've spent three summers with you. But... Each time it felt like I was seeing you for the first time. I wanted you to see me change as much as I love seeing you change. So... If there was a way I'd be able to erase your doubt... I 'd like for us to find it together.)"


Just as things were about to go in the right direction, she was killed in a drunk driver car accident. He never forgave himself for it. He was cutting her hair just before she left and he always thought what if he didn't, is she got on a different train or didn't rush home to him, she would still be here. Then he made a promise to himself never to cut the hair of a woman most precious to him in the future.

That brings us to Kyouko, his assistant. Kyouko had a crush on Daichi for a while now. She always begs him to cut her hair but he never does. He always refuses her without explanation. After yet another refusal, Kyouko contacted Mei to see how she got him to cut her hair. Mei exchanges a couple of messages with Kyouko and then decides to speak with Daichi in person. She visits him in the salon and asks him about Kyouko and Suzu. She is very straightforward and Daichi opens up to her. He tells her all about Suzu and his guilt of conscience. Mei tells him about Kyouko's messages and how he should reconsider his role in Kyouko's life.

Mei's visit did the trick as did a man interested in Kyouko. Daichi came to realize that he was so stubborn so far because he couldn't let go of the memory of Suzu and accept his new feelings towards Kyouko.


The final dream he had of Suzu was one of goodbye...
"Suzu: Your heart belongs to someone else now.
Daichi: That's not true. No way!
Suzu: Daichi, the years I've spent with you have been so very special to me. I'm forever grateful to you. That's never going to change. Ever. But you see, we can no longer make new memories together. You've always been thinking about me and avoided your reality. You can't keep holding on to this dream forever.
This isn't fair for you, or for me. It's time to let go..."


It is a really touching story that made me sad.... Suzu was such a likeable woman and the way she ended up and the grief Daichi experienced was so palpable. I understand his feelings. Despite everything she did he loved her completely. He did her hair, said goodbye and the next time he saw her was in the morgue. Just as they were about to embark on a new journey together. :'(

But now he got a new chance to start over. With a different kind of girl. Noisy, sweet girl with short hair and straightforward attitude. Good for him and best of luck.

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've tried and tried to get into this series, but the more I read of it, the less I care about it. It's such a taxing chore to get through, and I think it's finally time I put an end to my torture, and just DNF this series. That being said, I did enjoy (somewhat) the side story with Yamato's brother and his girlfriend. It was really sweet, heartwarming, and sad all at once. But that's just not enough to make me want to read the other 9 volumes.

[zah · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnfed it.

i think i just can't handle the romance. it started off not really well for me, i really detest the male lead and the female lead herself really didn't help me sticking to reading this series, so well, i just gave up.

[Lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daichi's story... makes me... T.T OMG. Crying Daichi! :(

[Alya Atiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Suki-Tte Ii Na Yo a.k.a Say I Love You

❝A light read filled with positive messages.❞

(The rating and review are conclusion for all of the volumes excluding the synopsis. Beware of spoiler.)

《 Plot 》
The pace of the story is good. Although there are 18 volumes all over, it doesn’t make you lose interest in it. The story starts by introducing Mei who's a bully victim. She doesn’t have any friends because she always distances herself from people. This is because she has been betrayed by her friends back in the middle school. Ever since then, she never trusts people anymore. However, she begins to change when she gets to know Yamato. Yamato is a popular guy that has many friends and is wayyy too friendly with girls. He starts to approach Mei when she kicked him because of some misunderstanding that happened. Yamato pursues Mei every day which eventually leads them being together. The story starts to develop from there and it’s being told from Mei’s POV.

《 Characters 》
❐ Mei Tachibana, the heroine
When Mei starts falling in love with Yamato, she feels scared of showing everything to him. I can relate to that a lot because you don't know how things will be so it's scary. There are other moments that I can relate to but I won't tell you to avoid spoiler.

At one point, Mei begins to change herself by engaging more with people around her. That's what makes her strong and kind girl. She is very observant of people around her and tries to help them the best she can. I love her character development.

❐ Yamato Kurosawa, the hero
Yamato is a typical cool who is popular for his kindness. Despite being a cool popular guy, he still has his own flaws. There are some issues that he struggles with but didn't let people see him in that way. I wouldn't really picture him as a really good guy. He has his flaw but he learns to change little by little.

《 Pros & Cons 》
☑ Realistic & healthy relationship
↳ There are several couples born in this comic and each of them shows what relationship is likely to be in real life especially Mei’s relationship. If you have been in a relationship, several situations that happened will make you go “Omg, I went through that too!”. On top of that, most of them are in a healthy relationship making it enjoyable to read.

☑ Positive messages
↳ It touches the issue of bully and friendship. Although Mei has been bullied, she doesn’t retaliate at those who had betrayed her back then. It also shows that life is more wonderful with loyal companions being by your side.

☒ The art drawn
↳ It’s not that the art are bad or anything. It’s just not really my cup of tea. I noticed that the art was changing slightly as the volume continues on. It got better in my opinion.

《 Extras 》
My favourite manga! I keep going back to this whenever I feel like reading something light and fun. This is my first manga that I read when I first started to read comic. I was so happy when I found out this comic had completed in English version. These are several quotes that I love from this story.

“Nothing makes a girlfriend more insecure than a boyfriend who's kind to everyone.”

“No matter how beautiful you are, when you're dating someone, all of your flaws come out.”

“If you want to move forward, sometimes, you can't keep doing things the way you've always done them. That peace of mind ruins you and hurts people.”

“You can get stronger by loving others and letting them love you.”

⚝ Who should read? ⚝
❥ Enjoy high school story.
❥ Love friendship theme story.
❥ Can tolerate typical “famous guy” falls for “unpopular girl”.

✎ Synopsis Volume 9
The result of the competition is finally out! Will Yamato and Mei be able to face the result?

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume starts with the aftermath of the school festival and showcases the amazing growth Megumi has gone through to become such a mature person and seemingly getting over / accepting the state of her crush on Yamato. It also shows some growth on Mei as she's resilient and unfazed with the date compared to her issues during the photoshoot a few volumes back.
After that we get into the real meat of the volume with a focus on Daichi, Yamato's older brother, and his past with his deceased girlfriend Suzu which has made it hard for him with Kyoko, his coworker he hired for the salon, that he's caught feelings for. I really enjoyed the focus on him as it harked back to the character/problem of the volume deal from the first few volumes. Suzu's personality also seemed like it would he hard to capture with her defensive hot-and-cold nature from lack of self-confidence. But Hazuki writes and portrays her masterfully and even more impressively so with the low amount of pages she accomplishes it in. The touch of fantasy realism really sold it with Daichi talking to Suzu in his dreams and it being unclear if it was fantasy realism (or more likely) a sorta metaphor / internal dialogue of him holding onto Suzu and accepting it as now firmly his past. Daichi x Suzu x Kyoko all The way!

[Laura Martinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

It should really be telling how out of the loop I’ve been for the past few months that I’ve kept insisting that there were only ten volumes of Say “I Love You” and that I’m nearly done with this series, and wait what do you mean it’s still ongoing in Japan and there’s actually 14 volumes in Japan? Which explains a lot about why this is pretty much a filler volume, even when I’m thinking we ought to be getting closer to the end.

(Actually, even more telling about how much my brain has just been working on the bare minimum, I accidentally bought this volume twice. Because, you know, going home and making sure that I didn’t already have volume 9 in the stack of manga never once occurred to me while I was thinking “I’m pretty sure that I don’t have this yet! *buys*”

In my defense, I had an incredibly busy August and a very emotionally wrought beginning of September.)

ANYWAY. Despite the opening of this volume and the overall filler nature, I did like the majority of this volume, mainly with the side story about Yamato’s brother, Daichi and his assistant, Kyoko. Especially once we learn about Daichi’s backstory and why he really doesn’t like working on stylish girls like Asami. (Also, with said backstory oh god someone please hold me I have a case of the feels.)

But before that, we have to finish up the dying horse of “prettier outgoing girl thinks she should be with Yamato instead of that upstart Tachibana Mei.” As I’ve said in previous volumes, I really do like Meg-tan, just because I think she’s a really fascinating character, I just hate this subplot. And again, because it’s come up in much of the shojo high school romance series that I’ve read. It just feels like an unnecessary obstacle for the characters to overcome, because we know that Yamato is going to turn Meg down because he really does love Mei. I do like the fact that Meg even approaches the forced date with “Yes, I know you have a girlfriend, but let’s try to have some fun,” and accepting Yamato’s refusing her with grace. But as I said, I’ve read this before, and I’ve gotten bored with it in both High School Debut and Kimi ni Todoke. I think that Hazuki Kanae is an intelligent and smarter writer when it comes to these plot points, which is why I like that this doesn’t get driven into the ground as repeatedly, but it’s come up enough as a plot point (see also Aiko’s introduction to the story) that I’d say it’s in danger of becoming tired and over-used.

So that said, Daichi. We haven’t seen a lot of Yamato’s family, but I did like his older brother more than their sister Nagisa. And what I liked is that we got an explanation for why he’s very choosy with his customers—no, it’s not a good business practice, but it’s not the point for Daichi. And I like how that’s the reason why Kyoko’s initially drawn to him.

And Daichi’s backstory. Oh god the backstory. First of all let’s talk Suzu—as someone who’s been really into anime and manga for almost twenty years and is overweight, it is impossible to find sympathetic female characters—not even lead female characters, just female characters in general—who are fat, and enjoy food, and aren’t mocked relentlessly for it. Because on the one end, we have the Sailor Moon 90s anime Tsukino Usagi, who gets mocked about gaining weight constantly but never gains any significant weight or we have a character like Emi from Tenjou Tenge who ends up being mocked for being fat and needing to hide it. (I didn’t really like Tenjou Tenge for a lot of reasons, that being one of them.) There are more recent popular sympathetic portrayals of fat main female characters, such as Princess Jellyfish, but there’s still a major stigma for having fat characters. (I should also note that I read this after finishing Let’s Dance a Waltz, which really fed into the “Well, we have a fat character but GOD NO MAGIC MAKEOVER there she’s cute, carry on.”)

Which is why I really appreciated Suzu. I loved that we got to see a fat character who’s adored by someone who everyone thinks is “out of her league” and doesn’t pressure her to lose weight and loves food and shows it. And while Suzu is incredibly insecure about her looks and how people treat her when she’s out with Daichi, I like that it’s not constant angst, because it is something that happens…but Suzu doesn’t go on a diet to improve herself. And I love that Daichi falls in love with her because of the way he sees how happy and bright she is when she’s eating at first. I like that Hazuki has taken something that has been used as a very negative marker for fat girls and turned it into something attractive and desirable.

(I do need to point out the slight hypocrisy here too, because the “I love you because I love you, and you don’t need to lose weight” is also Aiko’s backstory, to the point where her stretch marks are a huge part of her character conflict and that the main cast is very conventionally attractive. I don’t know if Hazuki realized that Aiko’s weight struggles were negative and looked to offer a different perspective on it, or how far ahead she planned Daichi’s backstory, but while I think that having a character like Suzu is great, it’s also hard to ignore the fact that she’s killed off and Daichi moves onto Kyoko, who’s the same body type as nearly every other female character in this series. Not a slight against Kyoko, because I think she’s adorable and cute and I did want her and Daichi to end up together, but it’s still a glaring issue.)

Despite the issues I have with Daichi’s backstory and the ending of the school popularity contest from the previous volume, I did like this one in the end. Again, I’m a little hesitant to where the story’s going to go, because I do think that there is a lot of potential for large amounts of character filler, but as I said, given how Hazuki Kanae’s approached the story to this point, I think she has the skill to pull off some wonderfully poignant character development in between major plot points.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really gave us Daichi-san's story, Yamato's brother, and we come to know him and understand his past. Love is hard and even harder, when the one you love is no longer by your side. I was okay with the tangent the author took away from the two main characters of this series to give a different perspective on relationships.

When one has suffered loss, it's hard to pull oneself back together to even move on, let alone letting someone else into your life. This is the lesson in this book. With time, you can heal. You don't have to forget, but you can give yourself permission to love again.

[Tiffany ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think Yamato's older brother is cool but I didn't care much about his backstory (sorrynotsorry). I hate the way the female characters are written in this story. It seems like no girl in this series has any confidence unless a boy notices them or if they change their look. I don't like the message that sends. I also don't like how most of the girls in the series claims to be "fat" but are as skinny as a stick...

At least Megumi finally realized that Yamato doesn't like her. I'm not even that excited because another girl is probably going to be introduced to the series with a crush on Yamato.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if we'll ever get to meet a strong, self-confident woman in this manga. Would enjoy that.
It's great to hear the background of every character but why is literally everyone so self-conscious. Literally. Every. Single. One. And why does every character that seems to hate mei with a passion I've nowhere seen before crie like a little baby about how hard their life is? Try being nice maybe?

[isrhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daichi’s story was magnificent. I didn’t expect how moved I would be by it. I even wrote a poem about it lol.

I just really wanted some fluff from a couple that I knew were very very cute but I managed to get some life lessons and important advice that makes it an absolute delight to read.

It might be a little cheesy but the masses love it and it’s shows as to why <3.

Also I would have loved to see Daichi and Suzu on the cover! Or Kyouko! But I do love these two as well :)

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

The date with Megumi went better than I thought it would. She’s truly growing as a person. I love it. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for her!!! I ship her and Kai sooooo badly!!!! They have great chemistry. She doesn’t hide her bitchiness from him like she does with Yamato!! Lol

And I wasn’t expecting to cry like a baby reading about Tencho’s, (Yamato’s older brother)past with Suzu… It’s funny how similar that relationship was to Yamato and Mei’s. They must have similar tastes lol

[Celinda Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daichi's story seriously made me cry, but simultaneously fall more in love with this manga. Although his backstory was predictable, it was still so beautifully told. I honestly hope this manga never ends because it truly shows the highs & lows of love, and why we humans keep putting ourselves through this rollercoaster of emotions.

[Ariz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning more about Daichi. I also like how Meg handled the date, I assumed the worst from her, but she can be a decent person. In the last book I assumed Daichi was going to get with some random dude and I was completely wrong. Instead he likes Kyoko who works for him, but he is still hurting from the death of his girlfriend. I really like Daichi so I'm glad he's getting through this tough time.

[Rebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It bothers me that in the last volume the message shifted from “you can be loved for who you are” to “girls must be pretty and use a lot of beauty products to please/keep their man.” While I liked this volume, the whole Suzu/Daisuke thing was like Mei/K all over again. Character depth and breadth is def not this author’s strong suit.

[Carys B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so happy mei is finding her confidence! and seeing the way daichi has parallels in his previous relationship to yamoto’s relationship with mei. i’m so happy we got to see into his heart and i’m rooting for you kyōko! i found it so sweet when yamato just only thought about mei on his date with megumi! he’s such a good guy

[Anastasia ⋆｡☽˚｡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to care about the older brother's story so much, but Hazuki really sold it. She also did a nice job paralleling Mei and Yamato's relationship in his brother's love life.
Sometimes I find the side stories draggy especially after all thwt Megumi nonsense,but this one I find interesting.

[Tammy Ikram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m still chugging away at my two-book system, (日本語 on top, English version below). Slow and steady. ^ - ^

This book was so cute, I originally went into it thinking it would only highlight the Mei/Yamato/Megumi storyline, but it delved into Daichi’s story, which I thought was handled so brilliantly. What a beautiful story.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

So as a story about his brother 5 stars, I literally cried. Heartbreaking, but this volume took us so far away from the main couple. I think right now, we aren’t getting enough of them. I was thinking do I really care if they are end game and I don’t! Eeekkk. I don’t. I hope in our next volume we get more of them.