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可愛いだけじゃない式守さん [Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san] #17
Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie Vol. 17
Nekozaki-san and Kamiya-san are hard at work practicing for the last volleyball tournament of the year while Shikimori-san and all their friends cheer them on-but why does Izumi-kun look so down in the dumps?
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 12, 2024
Izumi is fearful of showing up at Nekozaki and Kamiya’s big volleyball match in case his bad luck curses their game. When that seems to be the case, how will the girls rally? Plus there’s a sleepover and the quiet walk towards graduation.
Usual proviso that this is not as good as it used to be aside, I do think that it was smart to go from regular romance into a more slice-of-life series just because it gave more to work with. If we were on volume 17 of just Shikimori and Izumi, that would be a bit much.
On the other hand, this volume has not unwelcome and rather heavy focus on Nekozaki and Kamiya, but it does often feel like our title character is mostly superfluous to her own series. There’s a lot more of everybody else these days, which is both good and bad.
What is a welcome touch is that the story doesn’t bother to pretend that Izumi’s bad luck, which surrounds him like an AT field, honestly, is all in his head. He brings a certain amount of disaster to any situation.
So, when the rest of the crew is late for the match because both the train AND the bus broke down, you can see where this is heading. Except Nekozaki and Kamiya know who they’re friends with, so they’ve planned ahead to work harder to counteract the bad luck.
Do we need any of this? Nah. But it’s still fun. The backstory of how Nekozaki ended up at the high school with everybody is her own little hard luck tale and Kamiya learns that being the ace of a team doesn’t mean you’re responsible for everything.
One nice thing is the sense that this is ending. This time with this group being together every day is quietly coming to a close and they are all aware of that fact. Hence their desire to make the most of every second they have left.
Which leads to a pretty fun sleepover with every female character at Shikimori’s place that leads to some unexpected pairings and heartfelt sentiment. There’s nothing mind-blowing, but it’s really good if you still want to spend a bit more time with these characters (which aligns with the characters’ own impetuses rather neatly).
Then it’s summer vacation, provided you don’t have cram school, which most of them do. Even with Shikimori’s plan to avoid Izumi all summer to study (it remains a little baffling how straight laced Shikimori seems to have gotten as the series wears on), we’ll see how long that all lasts.
We end off with a bonus manga of Nekozaki and Kamiya walking to school now that practice has ended and all the antics they’ve missed out on springing to life. It’s oddly one of the best parts of the book because it has an incredible energy that jolts things to life since it’s not so introspective as the regular story has become.
It really catches that vibe of ‘here’s what you’ve been missing’ and also shows the cast at their zany best - I was dearly hoping we’d see more of Shikimori and Izumi chasing that cat - and the way they sideline the series’ wackiest character is a solid gag.
Still not as good as its heights, but it has stayed very consistent with only minimal hiccups in that rhythm. Very satisfactory, especially for the reader who’s come this far on the ride. You can’t ask for much more than that.
4 stars - reasonably strong outing with a pretty enjoyable cast. I wish this had more of its earlier, amazing moments, but that’s just the broken record in me. It’s a welcome volume of the series.
Usual proviso that this is not as good as it used to be aside, I do think that it was smart to go from regular romance into a more slice-of-life series just because it gave more to work with. If we were on volume 17 of just Shikimori and Izumi, that would be a bit much.
On the other hand, this volume has not unwelcome and rather heavy focus on Nekozaki and Kamiya, but it does often feel like our title character is mostly superfluous to her own series. There’s a lot more of everybody else these days, which is both good and bad.
What is a welcome touch is that the story doesn’t bother to pretend that Izumi’s bad luck, which surrounds him like an AT field, honestly, is all in his head. He brings a certain amount of disaster to any situation.
So, when the rest of the crew is late for the match because both the train AND the bus broke down, you can see where this is heading. Except Nekozaki and Kamiya know who they’re friends with, so they’ve planned ahead to work harder to counteract the bad luck.
Do we need any of this? Nah. But it’s still fun. The backstory of how Nekozaki ended up at the high school with everybody is her own little hard luck tale and Kamiya learns that being the ace of a team doesn’t mean you’re responsible for everything.
One nice thing is the sense that this is ending. This time with this group being together every day is quietly coming to a close and they are all aware of that fact. Hence their desire to make the most of every second they have left.
Which leads to a pretty fun sleepover with every female character at Shikimori’s place that leads to some unexpected pairings and heartfelt sentiment. There’s nothing mind-blowing, but it’s really good if you still want to spend a bit more time with these characters (which aligns with the characters’ own impetuses rather neatly).
Then it’s summer vacation, provided you don’t have cram school, which most of them do. Even with Shikimori’s plan to avoid Izumi all summer to study (it remains a little baffling how straight laced Shikimori seems to have gotten as the series wears on), we’ll see how long that all lasts.
We end off with a bonus manga of Nekozaki and Kamiya walking to school now that practice has ended and all the antics they’ve missed out on springing to life. It’s oddly one of the best parts of the book because it has an incredible energy that jolts things to life since it’s not so introspective as the regular story has become.
It really catches that vibe of ‘here’s what you’ve been missing’ and also shows the cast at their zany best - I was dearly hoping we’d see more of Shikimori and Izumi chasing that cat - and the way they sideline the series’ wackiest character is a solid gag.
Still not as good as its heights, but it has stayed very consistent with only minimal hiccups in that rhythm. Very satisfactory, especially for the reader who’s come this far on the ride. You can’t ask for much more than that.
4 stars - reasonably strong outing with a pretty enjoyable cast. I wish this had more of its earlier, amazing moments, but that’s just the broken record in me. It’s a welcome volume of the series.
September 15, 2024
So much fun!
August 5, 2024
One of the things I love most about this series is how much the protagonists value their relationships with other people outside of their romance with each other. It makes me all fuzzy and warm inside. 🥰
For fans of slower-paced, low-intensity manga (and healthy relationship dynamics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙌)
For fans of slower-paced, low-intensity manga (and healthy relationship dynamics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙌)
July 6, 2025
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, Vol. 17 (My Kindle Review)
We see the gang cheer on Kamiya and Nekozaki at their last volleyball tournament and we get to look at their pasts when they first played. Later Shikimori and the girls have a lively slumber party and as they prepare for study for their vacation, our couple makes a surprising decision. A (100%/Outstanding)
We see the gang cheer on Kamiya and Nekozaki at their last volleyball tournament and we get to look at their pasts when they first played. Later Shikimori and the girls have a lively slumber party and as they prepare for study for their vacation, our couple makes a surprising decision. A (100%/Outstanding)
August 2, 2024
the volleyball match was SO HYPE!!!!!! I felt crushed by the loss but also so damn proud of them, esp kamiya.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews