Say I Love You, Vol. 8

好きっていいなよ [Suki tte Ii na yo] #8

by Kanae Hazuki

Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either boyfriend or friends. One day, she drop-kicks a popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

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

176 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

[Holly Letson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume, especially Mei in the contest at the festival. Sadly, she didn't win - but, she seemed to be the only girl that earned heartfelt comments on the voting ballots.

[Monserrat Maxfield Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le baje de calificación porque, hay mucha referencia a que te tienes que peinar, maquillar, lucir pierna, para ser más femenina... Y no me gusto, pero lo bueno fue que Mei volvió hacer la misma.

[Sleepy Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three words for this volume- AW HELL NAW!
Like seriously I'm so anxious for the next volume after what's happened in this one! I'm still enjoying this series though has to be one of my favourites.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mei in a popularity contest shows you just how far she's come since the first book. This is something that never would have even crossed her mind back then. But seeing her willing to put herself out there is really amazing. And the kind of support she received with the heartfelt comments shows how much Mei has grown.

This whole series puts a lot of thought into the growth and development of the characters, which is hat makes this story so absolutely wonderful. These are all fast becoming very real people to me, and I'm glad to get to know them, and in a sense, enjoy their friendship as I read these books. I definitely want to own this series!

[Warda | وردة · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume aside. The author's note at the end. It was so touching, and although it's been years now since the author's mother death, but it made me take a whole different look on the manga :(

"It's hard to appreciate life when the person's alive. You will only learn to appreciate it once they're dead. When you grow up, this feeling grows stronger as the years go by."

This volume was light-hearted and fun as always, the fact the author was going through all of that while writing Sukitte ii na yo is hard to imagine.

[Shyla Colt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the way Mei's courage affected others. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be uncomfortable but necessary, and you'll never know who you could inspire.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Saba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love how complex Mei's character is getting <3

[vexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a bit busy, so this one took me a couple days instead of a single sitting (lmao), but agh this one kind of stressed me out lol. Idk how i feel about megumi yet, i really do want to like her, but she’s so conniving 😭 i just cannot trust her. Anyways, i really liked it, Mei stuns once again! And Yamato is such a sweet guy, i love how much his family loves Mei 🤧

[ais · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so nice and refreshing to see Mei feel comfortable enough to not only make a change in her appearance, but also feel good about it?? It made me happy to see she even got heartfelt comments about it from classmates and others my sweet baby angel fr. Megumi and yamato going on a date tho… lord hold me back.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thankfully this was a volume without too much of Megumi, but dear Lord, do I still hate the girl for what she did in this manga. Mei also isn't helping with her weak attitude.

The manga and the story were great, we see Yamato and Mei grow a bit closer, we see how much Mei cares about Yamato, but also her fears. I loved the contest and the results, it is amazing that that happened and I am delighted for Mei, though I can also imagine why she reacted like that at the end. She tried so hard, battled her way through her fears, all for Yamato.

I also liked that she finally took some action with Yamato. Normally he is the one who has to start the hugging or the kissing, but in this one we get a rare Mei-kissing-Yamato action and it was amazing. I just wish they would hug/kiss some more, as it is getting a bit boring and annoying. They make such a cute couple but yet I just miss the romance. I miss the kissing and the hugging. At times I feel like they are just friends, friends in love yes, but nothing more than that.

But the problem is still Mei. I like the girl, she is sweet and she does try so hard to do things, but still, 8 volumes in, at least a year if not more must have passed between volume 1 and 8 and yet she is still so insecure, so annoyingly fearful of everything and anything. I can at times relate to her insecure feelings, but mostly I am just getting annoyed with it. How many times does Yamato have to tell her that he loves her, that she is perfect the way she is. Why can't she just fucking see this? Why is she so blind, what does Yamato have to do to show her that she is good for him, that he doesn't leave her no matter what. I am amazed with Yamato and how he just keeps complimenting her, comforting her and more. I hope for Mei's sake that he will keep doing that. I can imagine that even if you love someone, if they keep being so insecure, if they keep doubting your love or that they are worth of your attention, that one might just drift away and find someone else.
Mei also did some stuff good in this manga, she took action, she kicked ass in a contest and she tried to look pretty (though she already does, as long as she doesn't make scary faces). I can see improvements, but I can also see that the insecurity won't leave.
She should really open her eyes, so many people love her, like her, find her pretty and want to be friends. In this volume enough people show their support for her.

Yamato, ah, I still love him. He is so dedicated and sweet to Mei and I hope that he and Mei can be together for a long time, and I also hope that what will happen with Megumi in the next volume won't ruin things.

Megumi, I hate her, and I will never like her. What she did in this volume was just bleh. I mean, seriously? Anyone can see what would happen at the contest. She knows Yamato has a girlfriend, yet she did that. I hate it when girls just don't seem to understand the word no, and that they just keep pursuing someone even if they have ZERO interest in them. Give up girl, and get back to modelling and leave it at that. Go away. Shoo. We don't want you.

The art is also a problem. Don't get me wrong, it is gorgeous, beautiful and I love it. But it just feels weird when characters talk about being fat and having fat legs/butt, but in the art having sticks as legs, small rounds for butt and no belly fat. Sorry, but how I am supposed to take this, for me it just feels like they are being pathetic, they look great and pretty, I would even see them as way too thin, yet they complain about that kind of stuff and try to diet. It is silly, and instead of feeling sorry for the girls, or nodding along, I am just shaking my head at the silly teenagers worrying about non-existent fat.

I am kind of looking forward to the next volume, but I am also worried about what will happen in there. I hope it won't be a breaking point, and I hope that Megumi will just fuck off after that volume.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Anaee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mei, she's not really confident but she's being honest with herself and that's the best kind of adorable there is. And Yamato is such an amazing guy and boyfriend, I want one!

Totally thought Mei would at least get to the second place but yeah, after reading the comments of the poll, it was better.
I totally liked the first draft of Mei's outfit though, but Yamato's chosen outfit was perfect, this style really suits him.


PS: It's always nice to read the afterwords.

[✿ K.B ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume we saw a little less of Megumi, but she has not changed and she still is going for it. Also, the competition was amazing, felt bad for Mei but she did a great job at it. Megumi is still irritates me. Yamato and Mei get a lot closer but Mei didn't want to cross the line just yet. I like that about her, she won't just have sex or do anything in vain or to just feel better.

[Luna Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short review will be repeated on every single volume. Previously, it sat at four stars; I was young and into dumb shit.

Because it was trendy to like books where the popular guy gets with the nerdy girl, I liked this back then. Now, I’m so over these tropes. He’s not even that great. Hell, just about everyone sucks here.

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mei's look for this Festival! :) Yay! She's so cute. :)

Hah. I'm reading my mangas right now so I could catch up with my Reading Challenge. :D

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Yamato so much it makes me want to cry.

WHY CAN'T HE BE REAL? I WANT HIM.

[Heather Petty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book of the series so far. The brother's story is heartbreaking and beautiful. I could read a whole series of just them.

[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 8
School culture festival had a competition where girls and boys will be voted by gender as who is the most famous (if not mistaken) one. The winner for both girl and boy will need to date each other. Mei decides to join the contest for Yamoto. Will she be able to win the contest and prevent Yamato from dating other girls?

[isrhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently thinking about how I told myself I was going to read a few chapters and maybe catch up on other shows I want to watch or something like that...

Here I am two days later with 8 volumes finished. It’s not something that’s truly :0 worthy but it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and truly just tore through a manga series! Or maybe the chapters for these volumes are shorter? Whatever it is, I’m tearing through them lol.

There’s this beauty contest that happens every year and of course no one is surprised that Yamato would be nominated. Normally, this is not something to bring to concern but this time the prize is different! A date between the top boy and top girl in the contest! This is when the warning bells start ringing in Mei’s head and she decides she needs to join the contest so that no one else goes on a date with Yamato.

She explores the world of beauty and skin care and hair care and promptly gets a raging fever in the middle of her turn on stage. Talk about timing lol.

I really liked this mini arc but I went through this phase in high school where I just wanted to look and feel better so I was just like Mei, fumbling with products and skin routines and changing my diet and I just felt such nostalgia! Ahh!

*lil spoiler*

Mei doesn’t win the competition but in the end it doesn’t matter because she realized being apart of something like that was an experience itself. And that her very pretty boyfriend is going nowhere ;)

[Aurelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed this volume. For some reasons, the art really came through with this volume and the themes, continuing a bit on the theme of jealousy but also self confidence and overall, the struggle of coming out of your own shell, figuring out what femininity means to a girl, especially as you become "a woman" whatever that means. Trying to look good for someone but also feeling like yourself can be tricky, and I remember struggling with self-image and who I wanted to be when I was much younger. This was a touching volume. Mei is growing up.

[Sabrina Newlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mei going on the contest was brave of her...to fight for Yamato. Even though she was very nervous, she had alot of support from Asami, Yamato, and Ako. After the contest, we see that she is getting more confidence to show her love. She has so much love for him, that she will try new things, and go out of her comfort zone to have fun, make memories, and to fight for who she loves.
Mei has grown so much since volume 1. I cannot wait to see what will happen to Mei and Yamato the further I read.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was hard to read. A lot of fatphobia and mentions of what does and does not make you "feminine" felt quite outdated and honestly disturbing. There is an actual scene where this incredibly thin character weighs herself, freaks out, and goes for a run. The next day everyone comments that she looks like she is "taking care of herself" and that "she is starting to transform" eeeww. I dunno. I can't do too many of these, if the story is going to keep going down this road.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, this series puts too much emphasis on looks. I didn’t really like the idea of a popularity contest. Mei is beautiful whether she wears “feminine” clothing or not. I do however, think that Yamato’s love has made her more beautiful. She’s slowly becoming more secure with herself.

Also, yes I do not like the idea of Megumi winning that date with Yamato… but she did it “fairly” this time. She didn’t manipulate anyone or even use her fame to get votes. She’s growing up!!!!

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so cute! I love seeing Mei come out of her shell & try new things, and it’s so lovely to see all her friends rooting for her!

When she was on stage for the concert and broke down about wanting to win, that really made me tear up. She was trying so hard for Yamato, which I found so sweet. Their relationship is so cute & I love seeing them explore a first love together.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally I don't read the afterwords section of the book and I am glad I have been for this series as it gave some insight of how the characters were developed as well as it contains some real life lessons.

On top of that the stories and the drawings have been great too. Glad that I found this in my local library!

[Anastasia ⋆｡☽˚｡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume, especially Mei in the contest at the festival. While I do like some of the things that happen in this volume (most markedly Mei dealing with her fear of crowds - and how she serves as an inspiration for other girls who are also afraid to step up and face their own fears), there doesn't seem to be much going on around the story.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still hands-down my favorite shojo manga series. Again and again it tackles tough subjects about growing up, body image, relationships, self-esteem, etc. Seriously worth reading even if you have never read a manga series before.

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5*

I liked this one a bit more than the last, especially with the school festival, and the beauty contest. But I'm still feeling very meh on this series as a whole. At least the upcoming date in volume 9 should be at least somewhat interesting.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 stars.

I haven't brought this up, but I thoroughly enjoy the author's afterwords at the end of each volume. They are always so heart felt and warm. It makes me appreciate the manga and the characters a lot more.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moral of this story is to always keep trying, never give up on yourself. No matter what challenges may come your way, or what makes you uncomfortable, face your fears, and you'll come out stronger for it.