A Lolita boy and a punk girl form a fashion-forward bond without realizing they already know each other from work!
There are two sides to every working one they show when they’re on the job, and one they show when they’re off the clock. Until now, Amata was determined to keep his work and private life separate. But thanks to a neighborhood cat known as Mitsu, he’s deduced that his prickly colleague Hanku is likely the kind and stylish Aki he’s been spending his precious weekends with! Will telling her the truth about his own identity bring them closer or drive them apart?
"Remember what you said to me once? ... 'Please wear whatever you want.' Everyone's allowed to dress as they like."
I love manga and I love sweets. If I were to equate the two, I would say that most manga that I read is like a yummy packaged sweet, like Oreos. Like, they're really yummy and they hit the spot, and they're easily accessible and classic and fun. But this series in particular... it reminds me of going to a fancy local cake shop and getting served a beautifully plated strawberry shortcake with coffee in a porcelain cup. It's delicious in its own way and also gets several points for presentation, as well as just being a cut above in general. Both sweets are delicious in their own time and place, but man... this cake really sticks with you, and it can't really compare to Oreos at all...!
Maybe-slightly-confusing-analogy aside, I adore this series more and more with every volume. I just really, really adore Kanade especially (if you couldn't tell since he has been my icon ever since I started taking doing reviews seriously here). He has such a sweet and mellow personality. I really appreciate that moment of fear when he wondered if Hanku would still want to hang out with him, knowing that he loves Lolita clothes. Even though this series is textually about alternative fashion, I personally see queerness in the subtext of these conversations. Everyone should get to wear what they want -- i.e., everyone should get to be who they want, and love what they want. This message screams from this series to me and I find it to be such a refreshing reminder of that principle.
Also, normally it can bother me a bit when manga uses its page space scarcely, with few panels and fewer dialogue bubbles, but I contemplated it while reading this volume, and actually found it quite clever for this series in particular. This is a series about appearances, so the pages mostly focus strongly on the characters' appearances. Their minute expressions, and especially the clothes that they're wearing. I've described it as being cinematic in my past reviews and I still very much stand by it -- the beats of pacing feel much more akin to watching a movie than reading a book, in my opinion, and I just think it works really well for what Kanazawa-sensei is imparting through these characters. Not to mention, the art is absolutely breathtaking. Such a feast for the eyes!!
In regard to the Kanade/Aki relationship: I honestly don't mind if they become romantic or if they stay platonic. As they are, I think their friendship is way too adorable. I just love them in whatever type of relationship they choose, and I want to see them get closer. Both of them deserve support and friendship both "on" and "off", at work and in life.
As usual, I wish these volumes were longer. These could fill a full 160 or so, but at 132 it just wraps up as it gets going. I feel like scant is about the right word for it.
Especially when this does the decency of getting back to the core relationship between Amata and Hanku. The last volume ended with identities being revealed; the fallout encompasses a large part of this volume.
Plus the sweetest damn cat story I have read in ages. Little Mitsu’s story is just very tender and as adorable as the feline itself. Mitsu had an outsized role last time, but that turned out to be a warmup for their integration into things here.
The art is always very strong, but I loved the way it depicted Mitsu’s journey. It might not be the most revelatory illustration of time, but I still found it very affecting. I’m also a big sucker for cats (this comes just days after I lost my own cat, so that probably plays into my emotions here too).
Amata and Hanku’s story is even better, as they cautiously let their other selves come to the surface and find, well, acceptance. Amata, in particular, has struggled with his joy at dressing in Lolita clothes and having Hanku not even bat an eyelash is very satisfying.
It’s nice to see somebody scared of expressing themselves muster up the courage and not get shut down for it. Amata is a ball of nerves and seeing Hanku reassure him that it’s okay to just be yourself is great.
That’s basically the volume, but it looks great and has a strong message. It’s gotten a lot more interesting narratively by not dragging out this reveal and I’m glad that neither of them was portrayed as being too oblivious about it.
Sometimes I find this series very strong, sometimes it just does okay. I think it puts most all of its feet right this time, although the cliffhanger we get here doesn’t have me especially excited for the next volume.
4 stars - great message, adorable cat, too short. Basically consistent, but not consistently consistent. Which makes sense in my head, sorry.
this series is adorable and wholesome in the best ways—but that story at the end about little mitsu is absolutely DEVASTATING T_T talk about some good, visual storytelling—it had me tearing up
There's this little moment where Amata's so nervous about being rejected because of wearing lolita clothing as a man and asks Aki if she's sure she still wants to spend time with him even if he wears a skirt as a guy and Aki responds "You'd look lovely either way." And guys. I almost fucking melted into a puddle and exploded into the stratosphere.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Spoilers below 3.75 or 4 stars. I’ll round up to 4…for now.
This volume continues the reveal of their double identities. Amata explains why he believes it’s her, but he’s scared, and he’s scared she’s going to be weirded out by him. It is then revealed that she knew it was him longer than he did and had been dropping hints so he found out. She felt it was wrong to be the only one to know and notice the similar circumstances that they keep falling into. They talk, and Amata admits he thought she would be weirded out by him; she assures him she’s not and he’s allowed to express himself the way he wants. They become vulnerable; she admits she was disappointed that they might not see each other again, and he admits that nobody else knows about him dressing in Lolita fashion, and people’s reactions scare him. It was a heartfelt moment.
But since now they know of each other's identities, they are both struggling at work to act “on” and be professional. This is particularly Amatas' problem, and I thought it was cute and also humorous when Hanku dropped a pen and whispered, "You're being obvious essentially." Although all those gossipers in that office truly get on my nerves, especially the way they talk about Hanku, give a woman some respect, you know. Annoying 😊.
They go out again, and we find the icon Amata sends is a boy who wears cute clothes, and that’s what inspired him to try it out himself after eyeing them for a lot of his life.
Then we get a cute moment because Hanku adopts little Mitsu…little Mitsu is cute. And Hanku brings Amata into her house to help. It was sweet and humorous and also a vulnerable scene along with everyone, even little Mitsu. And we learn how Hanku met Little Mitsu. Although in the middle of it there’s a doorbell, and Amata goes to get it, and it’s Tamotsu. And he doesn’t know Amata outside of his off look. I’m sensing…conversations and confrontation, but I have to wait for the next volume to come out. 😭😭.
Something I am really, really enjoying about this series is the acceptance and the empathy our main cast has. I love it very much. It makes me happy. Learning to have the courage to even try and then express yourself in your presentation can be such a large and vulnerable thing. It can change so much in how you view yourself. Despite the fear and social stigma and familial pressures that may exist, our characters are brave to still, in the ways they can, express themselves and be themselves. And the way we’re seeing relationships form that are full of understanding and safety and support really, like…it straight up warms my heart. From a personal perspective, I know what it’s like to feel more like myself by presenting in clothes that aren’t as socially the majority of gender or family dynamics. And I know how exciting and freeing it can feel. But I know also how, depending on who you are, that can also feel very scary, and you might truly keep it to yourself or a small group. And I value the empathy, and the understanding, and the support of it all.
Of course I can’t predict how the author is going to develop and take the characters or the plot and if I’ll like it or not, but I appreciate what the series has done at this point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The artwork is good The plot is kind of OK the characters all right I mean there’s nothing that I found really stand out about this series so far it’s an interesting concept about people who are clearly from two different mindsets we’re now living together this might be interesting going forward though I’m not really sure how much Of a hurry I am going to keep reading it
"i feel like i'm the only one being over the moon." "i wouldn't be so sure about that."
the lovely relationship progression that feels like we are getting to see them love each other on an emotionally dependable way if not necessarily romantic; the grey area is handled so maturely, i'm in love.
ES TAN DULCE. Las relaciones de amistad son preciosas. A cada personaje que aparece es más carismático que le anterior. Y el desarrollo de la historia, de les protas es de encontrar un lugar seguro. Así que es de agradecer.
This series is so cute and sweet and the art is gorgeous, but it's sooo slooow. Amata and Hanku bond over a stray cat, and a new person shows up at Hanku's door, throwing things off balance. That's the level of excitement here, but I still love it.
The cuteness factor was dialed up in this volume! And the secret is out, so seeing Aki and Kanade (Hanku and Amata) start to be their true selves with each other was so nice. I also had to rate this volume 5 stars, as the bonus story in the back almost made me cry.
I need to see how Amata and Roku will react to eachother “off” looks!! Anyways, This volume was as catchy as the others were: We get to see how Amata discovers Aki’s identity and their relationship continues to develop! They both are lovely
Quina moneriaaaa ♥️♥️♥️ és una sèrie tan sana, sense malentesos, pur amor!!! Esperem que l'amic punkie no enterboleixi la relació i que continuï el bon rotllo!!!
The first 2 volumes were very solid! This one felt a bit lacking. I still liked it, though. But I didn't love it like volumes 1 and 2. I hope volume 4 will be better.
Kanade y Hanku son un primor! Les adoro y me encanta la química que tienen, me gusta mucho que Hanku trate en femenino a Kanade, estoy deseando de ver cómo sigue la historia❤️