Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl: The Complete Manga Collection

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl #1-2

by Mochi au lait, majoccoid (artist)

A case of mistaken identity blossoms into love in this lighthearted yuri/Girls' Love manga!When Okuma Satomi's friend seeks her help wrangling guys for a crossdressing cafe, Satomi winds up with a boyfriend! Sort of. After asking her handsome and aloof classmate, Kanda Mizuki, to help out in the cafe, Mizuki agrees, but on one the two of them must go on a date. Satomi eagerly agrees, delighted to have such a good-looking guy interested in her, but Mizuki realizes that Satomi has completely misunderstood something Mizuki is a girl! Will this case of mistaken identity blossom into something beautiful, or will the truth leave both girls brokenhearted?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yuri, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Slice Of Life

Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[pears ✧ ☽ ☼ ଳ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some cute moments but I feel like it was really underdeveloped and that kanda’s secret about her being a girl dragged on for wayyyyyy too long imo. Also the ending was so abrupt 😭

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Definitely one of the sweetest and fluffiest yuris I've read. These two are so fun together, and their love is so accepting, gentle, and also a little spicy. The art was very pretty too. I'd love a sequel about the brother.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed emotions because while the idea and the artwork were really good, the execution and the more sheltered female lead felt a bit lack luster. I was confused on why the female lead was so sheltered and had parents that seemed to be be borderline controlling (to put nicely) and wanted to see background on her childhood to show that, along with why she seemed to act almost like an airhead at times. That aside, I did like her dedication to the handsome female lead and how her mind didn’t change after the reveal.
As for the female lead, I really liked her calm demeanor despite her seeming confused or flustered at times. Her dynamic with other characters was also very nice to see, as well as her cute dynamic with the sheltered female lead and seeing that progress.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i bought this book the cashier saw the title and went “handsome girl and sheltered girl? haha just like me!” and i stood there like 🧍

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a hard time liking books that revolve around a big lie. (Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You is one of the rare exceptions.) In this case, college student Okuma has her first big crush on Kanda, thinking he's such a handsome guy, but as Kanda often thinks but never says aloud to easily clear up a very critical misunderstanding, "I'm a girl."

Once the lie has been revealed, I like what follows well enough, but it simply takes too long to get there.

Also, I'm wondering if some LGBTQIA+ readers might find the stumbling-into-queer storyline annoying or offensive. I suppose it could be interpreted favorably through some sort of demisexual vs. heteronormativity lens. But I'm too hung up on the big lie trope to dig into this aspect.


FOR REFERENCE:

Collects Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl Vols. 1 and 2.

Contents: [Volume 1] Chapter 1. But I'm a Girl -- Extra 1. Hot Guy Aura -- Chapter 2. Heart-to-Heart -- Chapter 3. Burning to Kiss You -- Extra 2. Artistry -- Chapter 4. Shop till You Drop -- Extra 3. Telephone -- Chapter 5. An Atypical Intruder -- Chapter 6. No Spas! -- Extra 4. A Zombie's Daddy -- [Volume 2] Chapter 7. Kiss Me Quick!! -- Chapter 8. Riverside Rendezvous -- Chapter 9. One Step Forward -- Chapter 10. The Truth -- Chapter 11. Handsome Girl -- Chapter 12. Secret Self -- Chapter 13. An Affair? -- Extra. A Gift in the Foot Spa!

[Alex Nyikos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming! But nothing super special. It had all the great moments I want from a fluffy romance with this kind of setup, but it dragged a little in the middle and didn’t feel the need to expand the main pair or any of the side characters beyond what was strictly necessary for getting from point a to point b, which was a little disappointing.

[marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is meant to be a fluffy romance, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief. First of all, the way Mizuki and Satomi get together is ridiculous. It also annoys me greatly that Satomi is such an idiot. I might have been more forgiving if the story explains why her parents are so protective, but they're probably forced to do so simply because she's incredibly stupid. On top of that, we're supposed to believe Mizuki eventually develop feelings for Satomi as they spend more time together, but I don't buy it. They're barely convincing as friends, let alone girlfriends that are planning to get married. If this wasn't released as an omnibus, I would not have finished it.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

In desperate need of guys for a cross-dressing cafe, Okuma decides to ask for help from her crush, Kanda. Kanda’s attempt to get out of it backfires and they start dating. Oh, and Okuma has misgendered Kanda, so there’s that too.

Let’s not bury the lede here - this concept has been done to death, makes no sense, could easily be cleared up, and there are some really dodgy bits (Okuma’s friend is a real piece of work).

But let’s also not bury the other lede - Okuma and Kanda have some of the best chemistry of any manga I have EVER read. Their interactions have some sort of secret sauce that made it a joy to spend these two volumes with them.

And that somehow overcomes the ridiculously drawn-out revelation, which basically turns into a running gag via Kanda’s internal dialogue, and some really poor judgement in terms of encouraging alcohol consumption.

Okuma is hapless and sheltered in a way that strains credulity, clearly way under the thumb of her parents, although she starts to wriggle out from under that very fast once the prospect of fooling around gets brought up.

Kanda is just catching feels of her own and very flat, physically and emotionally, though at least one of those changes pretty quickly. There is something very satisfying about the arc of their relationship and the purity of their feelings for one another (love-wise; they don’t skimp the physicality).

One thing I really appreciated was Kanda’s guy friends, who cause a lot of trouble and one of them kind of felt like an ass, but he turned out to be a fantastic character and his second encounter with Kanda was a revelation for him and something that she needed to hear.

And partly this works because the desires of our duo are so aligned. Okuma is super clingy, but Kanda wants to be clung to. They’re an incredibly good match and there are layers to them - I loved Okuma’s bottomless appetite for spicy food, that was a fun little aside. And her bad taste in dolls.

This is a fun time with a lot of fluff and a shockingly wholesome love story based on a bit of unintended deception. If that sounds like the sort of cozy read you’re after, you could do so much worse. There is so much heart to this, way more than I was expecting, and that makes up for a lot.

In fact, in the annals of froth, I have enjoyed few reads as much as this. Probably because it is a relationship from the get-go and then all the figuring one another out that comes with that.

This excels so strongly with the little moments that it adds up to something pretty special. It takes a lot to overcome obvious deficiencies, and they definitely exist, but I was so satisfied with watching Okuma and Kanda fall in love that I really didn’t even care. That takes skill.

4.5 stars - honestly, it is a 4-star read based on some of the plot and the situations. But the vibe? There’s nothing quite like it and it rides it all the way to imperfect perfection.

[kimy 𝜗ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooooo cute! Very fluffy and I’m a sucker for the guy she likes is a actually a girl trope. I thought it was very cute how Okuma handled Kanda being a girl because I agree! If you truly love someone’s person and soul gender shouldn’t matter! Overall very cute and would def recommend for a fluffy read!

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this was super adorable!!!

Okuma and Kanda initially start dating under the pretenses that Kanda is a boy. But she’s actually a girl!

I didn’t like that Okuma thought Kanda was a boy for so much of the book. If this is girl’s love, I’m tryna see 2 girls fully acknowledging that they’re girls and falling in love!

Seeing their relationship grow was the cutest thing. Kanda tried her hardest to push Okuma away but all that did was make Okuma fall deeper in love with her. And the way Okuma swooned unabashedly for Kanda? I loved it!!

Really adorable stuff!

[alex w · Rating 3 out of 5]

mozna tutaj przyczepic sie do wielu rzeczy ale kanda i okuma sa takie slodkie ze tego nie zrobie

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing but sugar, but it's frequently good sugar and I am not immune.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Okuma Satomi's friend needs her help getting volunteers for a cross-dressing cafe, Satomi uses this as an opportunity to finally talk to her handsome crush, Kanda Mizuki. Satomi has no idea that Mizuki is actually a girl, and when Mizuki jokingly asks Satomi out, the misunderstanding spirals completely out of control. Mizuki knows she has to tell Satomi the truth soon, but Satomi is clearly over the moon about dating her. Mizuki doesn't want to upset or hurt her...and, she realizes, she also doesn't really want Satomi to break up with her, which she's convinced is what will happen once the truth comes out.

This was really sweet. It focuses on Satomi and Mizuki's interactions. Although we meet a few of their friends and, in Mizuki's case, a family member, we don't otherwise learn too much about their lives. Mizuki seems to have been "one of the guys" for a good chunk of her life - her closest friends are all guys, and she tends to dress in a more masculine way. I don't know that she'd have considered herself into women prior to meeting Satomi, but, aside from a little surprise, no one who knows that Mizuki is actually a girl reacts badly or negatively to her relationship with Satomi. She does, however, get a talking to from one of her friends about telling Satomi the truth, which I liked and which made me wish her friend group got a little more on-page time.

Where Mizuki was a little more aloof, Satomi practically sparkled and was completely open about her emotions. I enjoyed seeing her and Mizuki on dates, even as Mizuki stressed over how to deal with Satomi's misunderstanding.

Overall, this was a fluffy, fun volume that I suspect I'll want to reread when I need a mood booster. I only wish that Naru had had a few more on-page appearances.

Extras:

A few full-color pages, notes from the author and artist, and a couple pages of additional character art.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Ciel Dahlberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty cute and romantic, but I hate long term miscommunication and lies, especially in romantic relationships. There were a couple really great moments, and the art was stunning, but the plot made me uncomfortable.

[Karmelka Uwu · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring I can't even keep reading, she told her she loves her and They're suddenly in a relationship? The action is def going too fast and the Brown haired girl is annoying as helllll💔 AND WHY ISN'T THE WHITE HAIRED IDIOT TELLING HER THAT SHE'S A GIRL? IT'S NOT THAT HARD!!!

[darahaati · Rating 3 out of 5]

fluffy lesbians!!! bardzo przyjemne

[Ele · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Anisa]

DNF

[Chris Gernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Help I have cavities now

[Leeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yhdessä isossa pokkarissa julkaistu kokonainen sarja. Tarina alkaa vähän pöhköllä väärinymmärryksellä, joka jatkuu aika pitkään: päähenkilö luulee luokkakaveriaan pojaksi, ja päätyy seurustelemaan asti tietämättä asian oikeaa laitaa. Toisaalta manga ei ole ylipäätään niin vakava, joten sopii sävyyn. Tässä on upea piirrostyyli, ja tykkäsin parin kummastakin osapuolesta, he ovat omilla tavoillaan tosi söpöjä ja pidettäviä.

[Vero Exposito · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.38 Stars

This was so cute omg 🥺. Kandakun and Okuma melted my heart. This was such a joy to read. I fell in love with the characters and the whole silly plot. Also, Kandakun is my girlfriend. I love her. I definitely recommend this. Is super quick to read and heart warming. Toodles!

[Kayley Colling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute, loved their dynamic and the ending was super cute

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

silly read, a “just for fun” kind of manga!! adored it though!!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my review of Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl: The Complete Manga Collection, written by Mochi-au-lait and drawn by majoccoid.

Let me start with a statement: I absolutely love complete collections. The publisher did an amazing service to fans by compiling the web comic into a single volume.

The basic story is simple: Satomi wrangles Mizuki into helping her with a cross dress cafe thinking Mizuki is a boy, except that is not the case. Mizuki is the titular "handsome girl" and the first 80% of the story is a comedy of errors as Satomi builds up a relationship and Mizuki builds up the courage to tell the "sheltered girl" that she really is a girl.

In reviewing this one, I actually used my "novel review" method of read twice/review once. This is largely because I so enjoyed this story. Far be it from me to attribute an undercurrent to the story, but the fact that Mizuki could be mistaken for a guy by voice and appearance gave a trans allegory to the narrative as well as a sort of "gay awakening" for both young women. This alone makes this a very solid work. The deception by Mizuki's friends might seem a little weak but it is a small component, and is far overshadowed by the absolutely sweet romance that develops. I especially loved the way our "sheltered" Satomi is actually more courageous than she first seems and, by the end, both young women are on the same level.

The Rubric:
Spice Rating: 8 out of 10, given the T rating. There are sexual references, fade-to-grey nudity, and themes of maturity that make this, for it's rating, a very fun story. The "taking a bath" plotline made me giggle a little.

Relatability Score: 10 out of 10, with the only subtraction (not even a point) for cultural differences that don't necessarily translate well. Mizuki is such a complex character. She appears to be hard, strong, and determined. Yet when confronted with Satomi's accidental misgendering and the feelings they are developing for each other, she comes off as vulnerable and doubts her own ability to be loved. Conversely, Satomi may seem to want her "knight" and relishes in Mizuki's coming to her aid. But underneath, she loves fiercely and, when the birth comes out, Satomi is the one who does the reassuring. Put another way, the relatability of these characters comes from the complexity they show.

Emma Recommends: solid 10 out of 10. Unlike so many novels and manga, I could not find any issues or difficulties in this story. A very well-conceived story, well drawn, with amazingly well constructed characters. This is probably one of the most trans-coded (possibly unintentionally) manga I have read and so of course I strongly recommend it.

[ru · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and cute yuri, but unfortunately fell a little short on my expectations.

The characters were fun enough but Kanda (the handsome) was definitely the highlight and pretty much saved the whole thing for me. Not that I dislike Satomi, but I really underestimated just how "sheltered" she would be, and a lot of that put me off, in a way.

Not that it's unrealistic for some adults to be that sheltered and have such overprotective parents, but the fact that all of that was brought up and played a somewhat important part of the plot, only for us to never get proper closure on what exactly was going on with her and her parents felt rather upsetting. I understand it's a short series so it's a given that some things will be left unsaid, but a brief explanation from Satomi would've sufficed.

On a similar note, the ending felt so incomplete and abrupt. I found myself rolling over to the last extra and only then realizing "wait this is the end?" because prior to that it genuinely didn't feel like a proper conclusion, in large because of the sudden introduction of Kanda's brother and his interaction with Kanda's friend. It just felt like there'd be more about the brother after that, even if he's not the focus, yes, so it felt quite weird of an ending.

I did resonate with Kanda's struggles, anxieties and worries such as the ones related to her body and how it would be perceived by Satomi, being in a relationship and in love with a girl for the first time, etc. It was also quite endearing that despite dressing more androgynous/male leaning, Kanda expressed her wish to still be a "bride" (as opposed to the "groom" of the relationship) and wanting to wear a dress for their wedding.

[Scarlette Josie (scarlettereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five stars!

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl is the kind of manga that I could read over and over again, and I'd still never get sick of it. It's so cute and funny, and it has a really fresh feeling to it even though it isn't the first love-interest-gets-mistaken-for-a-man manga I've read—even just in the last few months. If that trope speaks to you or you're a fan of the 'green yuri' (A.K.A. The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All), you'll love this!

Majoccoid's art style is stunning and it's the perfect accompaniment to Mocchi-au-lait's story. Kanda-kun and Okuma-san (who is so very, very Nana Komatsu coded) are so sweet together, and the way their relationship evolves as the plot progresses is really something special. I was really impressed with the side characters too. I've found that some side characters in sequential art can be a bit wishy washy, but even though Kai and Setchan were only small parts of the story they were really strong characters and they had well planned roles in the story.

I can see myself coming back to this time and again, and I'll be trying my darnedest to get my friends to read it too. It's a really beautiful little story about sapphic love, and it had me laughing out loud throughout the whole book. Highly recommend!

[Vy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"So you've been together for three months and she never noticed anything ?" [that you're a guy].
Well, you've been together for three months and you never told her you're a guy. Can't really blame the girl if you never cleared the misunderstanding :')

If you don't think to much about that, it's pretty sweet, but I feel like that's a pretty big misunderstanding, so that should have been cleared earlier. I could understand a trans person not wanting to make a coming out on first dates for safety reasons, this is not what this is about.

Ah, and the fact Ookuma wasn't able to believe Kanda before seeing her naked is a bit much. This could have been solved with ID papers, or just, you know... trust ? Even worse when she doubled down once she saw her naked because she has a small breast ??? And you don't need to take a closer look at the crotch of your partner to check their gender, please. Even if you're really sheltered, this is too much.

Ah, and dubious consent because of drunken sex.

It's a shame I wasn't able to look past all that because, as I said, aside from that it was sweet.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene aspectos que me gustaron, pero definitivamente es una serie que no destacaría particularmente entre otras del género. En general, creo que la presentación en un tomo único que recopila los dos volúmenes originales beneficia a la historia, ya que la segunda mitad es mucho más sólida que la primera (correspondiente al primer volumen) y este formato permite leerla de corrido. A mi parecer, su principal debilidad recae en la construcción de los personajes, ya que en más de 400 páginas poco y nada sabemos de sus vidas como un item separado; vemos la evolución que tienen como pareja y cómo esto repercute en un pseudo arco de crecimiento personal, pero es poco lo que llegamos a conocer de cada una por separado y eso es algo un poquito decepcionante para mí. Esto no significa que la premisa principal se ve afectada realmente por este detalle, al contrario, funciona bastante bien para lo que propone en general y hay varios momentos divertidos que devienen de aquel enredo, por lo que alguien interesado meramente en ese aspecto seguramente halle este manga más de su agrado. Finalmente, el estilo de dibujo es servicial a la historia, con ciertos paneles bastante bellos.

En general, me entretuve.

[пташатко · Rating 1 out of 5]

(1.75)

я щиро не розумію, чого всі так пруться з цих сапфічних історій, де гг1 твердо переконана, що гг2 — хлопець. чому це настільки популярний троп? чим він такий enticing? що він такого афігєнного додає історії? at what point це взагалі можна вважати юрі? ну та менше з тим... ладно вже сам цей елемент, але для чого це робити таким, сука, затягнутим? протягом 270 сторінок з 400 тут тривав цей каламбур зі всіма недолугими ситуаціями та бісячими thought processes. нащо? ну от н а щ о?

останні декілька глав, якщо примружитись, були в цілому наче норм, а враховуючи, що мальовка теж доволі непогана, ця манґа, здавалось би, заслуговує хоча б на дві зірочки в цілому. втім, сорі нот сорі, понад три чверті історії я тут дратувалась зі всього, а останні сторінки гортала з абсолютною байдужістю, тож... да. ну надто вже тут дурацький сюжет, а про неорганічність оповіді й нічого казати... також мені обидві персонажки були страшенно антипатичні.

не склалося :(

[Cas · Rating 2 out of 5]

In het algemeen vond ik deze manga oké, maar het is niet echt iets dat ik zou aanraden. Ik had er meer van verwacht.
Een dag nadat ze beginnen te daten houden ze zogezegd al van elkaar, en zeker Satomi voelt heel onvolwassen aan. Kanda's beweegredenen om te verbergen dat ze een meisje is voor 3 maanden vind ik ook heel vreemd, en dat Satomi dat dan meteen accepteert en ze sex hebben terwijl ze nog niet eens hadden gekust 5 minuten nadat ze de waarheid leert, vind ik ook heel moeilijk om te geloven.
Buiten deze negatieve dingen vond ik de tekenstijl wel heel mooi en schattig, en de pagina's met outfitchecks vond ik ook heel leuk.