Home Sweet Home, Vol. 1

柊先輩とおふたりさま [Hīragi-senpai to Ofutari-sama] #1

by Minami Mizuno

女の子とのふたり暮らしを条件に、転勤について行かず実家に残れることになった高校1年生のもえみ。だけど女の子と聞いていた同居相手は男子で、しかも同じ学校の有名なイケメンの先輩で…!?　いきなり始まった年上男子との同居生活はドキドキがいっぱい…!?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2025

About the author

See also: 水野 美波 (Japanese name)

Reviews

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this!

Is there anything groundbreaking about this story? No, as it feels more simple and easygoing, but that's exactly why I DO love it. It reminded me that you don't need some super deep story for a story to be engaging and enjoyable because I truly had a blast reading this!

I deeply deeply loved Moemi! I love how naive she is and that people tell her it's one of her charms because I feel I was told I was naive growing up and it was considered a bad thing. So I loved seeing her just be herself and have her over-the-top reactions to things around her. She's a wonderful shoujo heroine!

And our male lead is wonderful as well! I have really enjoyed seeing things Moemi says about him because it feels so down to Earth when she is talking about why she likes him and it's all things related to what she's seen at their house. I would also say he is extremely respectful and I love how friendly he is! I think it's always nice to have more of a friends-to-lovers kind of romance than a romance starting from physical attraction.

The art was super fun and I enjoyed so much of the humor! I'm definitely getting the next volume with how fun of a time I had reading this first volume!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you jettisoned the stale jokes and unfortunate character choices from Rainbow Days, bumped the art quality up by, hmm, 20% or so, went for the romance a bit harder, but kept the same mangaka… well, you’d end up with this story about a guy and a girl who end up living together. While in high school. Without having met.

Despite manifesting one of the dumbest premises in the cliche bag, this manages to really get past both that and the baggage I’d accumulated from Rainbow Days to be really rather terribly fun.

I do appreciate that this at least acknowledges how preposterous it all is and makes some attempts to throw up some explanation - Moemi has a photo of Hiragi, it just isn’t actually OF him. Maybe. And the parents are well aware of this and told the kids, just not… enough.

Having a photo alone quietly skirts a lot of the implausible nonsense this particular subgenre travels in. Yes, it is just replacing it with different implausible nonsense, but sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

Amidst the usual problems and misunderstandings, both Moemi and Hiragi are really charming on their own and then even more so together. There’s very little you can’t overcome by starting out with two strong leads.

Moemi is the less-put together one of the two, but it’s not that she’s an idiot, she’s just a teenage girl who isn’t used to living with somebody who isn’t family. There’s a running gag of clothing mishaps (not the fanservice you’re expecting, I assure you) that are both humorous and make sense.

Hiragi is the very popular boy and he isn’t especially thrilled with it. He doesn’t much get along with girls either, not by being rude or anything, merely politely disinterested. He’s just clearly being seen for his looks rather than anything else. His reasons for being very forthright with Moemi might not be expressed the best, but he means well.

In fact, most of the communication issues here, which would normally drive me crazy, are basically the result of two people who have never met trying to figure one another out. That’s a great premise for this! It’s not like two childhood friends who suddenly decide to act lobotomized - they do not know one another well enough to be real.

It helps that Hiragi also doesn’t exude any obnoxious machismo - he’s a genuinely nice guy and even when he winds up hauling Moemi in for a hug in his sleep he feels bad. He apologizes for his mistakes and all that actually nice stuff. This manages to be a pretty cozy read.

The supporting cast is also quite good - Ema is a great friend to Moemi and you can tell that they are even before the story says it outright. They’re a great pair. Minami Mizuno’s strength has always been in writing believable friendships and I’m pleased to see that continue.

We’ll see how things develop; we have the threatened ex-girlfriend arriving on the scene next time out and that could be all sorts of lame. This is a pretty strong start, however, and I had a good time with it. It’s definitely on the quieter side, but I am a fan of keeping it sweet and simple now and then.

4 stars - if you need it super dramatic, this is not that story, but it currently has a cozy charm that I hope continues into the next volume. A welcome change of pace to a tired premise.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for compelte series.

Home Sweet Home is at its core a pretty standard shoujo manga; Moemi is used to transferring to new schools due to her father's job. This time she's had enough and and wants to stay - her parents agree as long as she doesn't live by herself. It turns out that her father's boss also has a child in the same position so the parents agree that they can become flatmates and no longer need to move around with them. Moemi was pleased until she realised her new flatmate is actually a boy - Ryouhei.

Unexpected co-living is a pretty common trope but I quite liked that this one is based on more than the usual rather far fetched rental contract stuff up. I really like Moemi - she feels well balanced and I like that she's neither hostile nor head over heels about Ryouhei. She genuinely wants to get along with him as a friend and flatmate and that allows for a nice and steady development between the two. Besides that, she has a best friend who, while not super developed, makes for a nice girl friendship addition. The rest of the supporting cast is also not overly developed but they fulfill their purpose; they're supportive and help the main characters figure out their wants and needs. Even the rivals and apparently less likeable characters were pretty neat additions.

The plot is otherwise pretty basic but it feels pretty wholesome and sweet. The drama is fairly low and I think it's really nice how they do have misunderstandings but they always talk things through and find a way to work. There is no massive jealousies or serious arguments. We also occassionally get Ryouhei's point of view which also helps to see how things developed from his end.

The art is simple but super cute, I really like it. The one downside is actually its length; I love a nice high school romance on the shorter side but this one could really have had another volume or two. Don't get me wrong, it's neither axed nor underdeveloped as such, but I did feel like the final volume didn't quite hit any climax. It's a romance but due to how well the leads manage their relationship, it has a bit of a slice of life feeling and technically one could have finished the series at almost any point. As a result, the final volume didn't leave anything open as such, but it doesn't didn't feel like you've reached the end of a journey. It's a shame, but I'd argue that it doesn't take away from the series overall; it's simple but really cute and I think a good read for anyone who just wants an easy time with a cute high school romance.

[Jinghay (these.blank.pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like such a nostalgic blast to the past! Aka the days when I'd binge read shoujo mangas featuring high schoolers in a forced cohabitation situation because "oh both of our parents are working overseas and don't want us to be lonely". Your text-book high school romance, but refreshing all the same!

Update: WAIT you're telling me this was made by the same author who wrote Rainbow Days?! 😭 That was such a CORE series for teen-me.. what are the odds

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rate 4.5

Awwww they are so cute and funny cart wait for next volume.

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The MFC was too much of a placeholder to me. She keeps blushing and getting overly excited and being like there is no way I have a crush! The art is cute, I really like it. 2.5 overall. I don’t think I will continue this series

[Dreamcatcher (HIATUS)]

Review for the entire manga

It was a short rom com so short rom com I got. Would've rated this a 2 star based on my personal ratings but it does not deserve the sink in average rating so unrated it is.

There was a lot of misunderstanding and miscommunication in small but frequent doses, but because of the length, it was over before the annoyance could properly settle in.

So...conclusion - Stereotypical shoujo manga. Do with that what you will.

[dora♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️ moemi is overreacting too often and it kinda pisses me off but i can't wait to see how the story will continue lol
the story is a bit too predictable too
not the best but also not the worst series so yeah

[dovesnook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ngl it might be my fault cause I went into this blind but I thought the main characters were gonna be lgbtq cause of the cover and her nails but no… at least not yet??? It was cute but I was under a diff impression and that’s my fault tbh so 3 stars for not bad but not great.

[Jessica ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so cute. Is it original? No.
Cohabitation among strangers. Check
Boy flirts with girl a lot. Check
Girls are always all over boy. Check
Boy doesn’t like talking to other girls. Check
Girl falls fast and hard. Check
Ex gf arrives on the scene. Check

All of the common denominators for a shoujo atp. But it is still cute. Moemi is absolutely adorable. And the story is cute. I will definitely be continuing the series.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a refreshing take on the surprisingly common unexpected roommates trope. These two have an ease to their relationship that's so nice to see. Sure, there are the usual flustered moments, but they come after they start getting to know each other. And both characters are distinct and likeable, making them an easy couple to root for.

[Say · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 not a full 4. Because tho it was cute the story is not something new.

[miranda nikole 🧮 · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 Goodreads Challenge - Manga #14/50

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

High 4 stars. This surprised me a lot. I really enjoyed the heroine in this. She is pretty straightforward while being ignorant and endearing. Guy is aloof. So far, it is cute.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh! I love Moemi!!!! She’s too cute!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

hmm. I'm not sure why this one didn't work for me, but I ended up skimming the last few chapters just to get it over with. the beginning was entertaining and I liked the hilarity of moemi realizing her new roommate is actually a guy, but as it goes through I think the ultra-quick pacing of the romance (she thinks she's in love with him by the end of just one volume) and a lot of things about ryouhei (idc what his excuse was, pretending he didn't even know her was a huge dick move) ended up bumping this down a couple of stars. don't think I'll continue with this. the art style is pretty nice and I really enjoyed some panels, especially the basketball rescuing one.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moemi wants to stay in the city she lives in and not be transferred with her parents, so she needs a roommate for her parents to let her stay, what she doesn’t know is that the roommate that her dad arranged was his dad’s boss’s son. Even if it was a mistake, she started living with him without telling her parents. I really like their relationship and I think Moemi is starting to like him

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/25 Pleasant library discovery! Nothing particularly new yet to the typical opposite gender teens live together and fall in love premise, but it has promise and I really like the characters. Definitely in for more.

[genrejourneys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up)

A very cute (if rather silly) opening volume! It’s all very basic right now and the art style is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for me. It’s not a long series so it’ll be interesting to see if it comes around.

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and fluffy

[Sal · Rating 4 out of 5]

My girl is falling way too easily lol but I do like the refreshing take on these typical tropes featured. Can't tell quite yet if Hiragi is a red or green flag yet...

[Dxdnelion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical. Bland.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, definitely for teens

[Daisyfreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Manon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so very cute!

[Katelyn Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming manga that gave all the romance feels!

[Amanda mcguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[eka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art is really pretty, but sadly I wasn’t invested with the story much. The FMC overreacts a bit too much for me..

[scarlettraces · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly inoffensive, but again, I've read too many of these. Not continuing.

[natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

so this is adorable !!!!! such a wholesome, cutie love story that gives you the perfect first love/crush vibes EEEEK IT’S JUST SO CUTESY AND FUN