So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 1

小林が可愛すぎてツライっ!! [Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai!!] #1

by Gō Ikeyamada, Tomo Kimura (English translation & adaptation), Joanna Estep (Touch-up art & Lettering)

The Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, were named after historical figures, but only Megumu has grown up with a taste for history. So when Mitsuru is in danger of losing his weekends to extra history classes, he convinced his sister to swap clothes with him and ace his tests! After all, how hard can it be fro them to play each other?

But Megumu can't rely on just her book smarts in Mitsuru's all-boys, delinquents' paradise of a high school. And Mitsuru finds life as a high school girl to be much more complicated than he expected!

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

192 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2015

About the author

Gō Ikeyamada (池山田剛, born May 25) is a Japanese manga artist. She made her debut with Get Love!! in 2002, which was serialized in Shōjo Comic. Her manga mostly consists for a more young adult audience, due to some explicit content.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megumu Kobayashi is a huge history buff who has a thing for males with eye patches.
Mitsuru Kobayashi is a ladies man who is a top fighter at the school he attends.
When Mitsuru is about to flunk history he comes up with a plan to swicth places with his twin so that his Sundays won't be filled with extra lessons. This is the story of their love stories.

Definitely a cute story. When the twins are cross-dressed it is mentioned enough so that the reader doesn't have too hard of a time figuring out which twin is which. I will say that I think Megumu playing her brother is a little lack luster, I do know she was forced into it, but she didn't even try to change her girlish tendencies when she was dressed as a male. Mitsuru definitely takes up dressing as his sister like a pro and has a personality that will make him shine no matter what his disguise is.

Definitely a quick fun read that is So Cute It Hurts! :)

[Azet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go Ikeyamada is the Queen of Shojo manga in my opinion and she always creates the most bittersweet and swoony love-stories! This one is so much fun and has so much charm added to it. I am so badly rooting for these twins to find their true loves!

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to feel about this one.

I find the brother, Mitsuru, to be highly entertaining, and I love that he's so dang comfortable in a skirt. Megumu, though, I'm not so sure about. Admittedly, I'm fond of the more outspoken shoujo manga heroines, so Mitsuru in drag is the kind of shoujo girl I can get behind. That doesn't mean I dislike the quieter types, but Megumu's crying at everything was getting a bit much there.

"So Cute It Hurts" definitely falls under one of the stranger shoujo manga I've read lately, and it's definitely one of the sillier I've read too. I'm not sure whether I like it yet or not, but it's good enough that I'll give volume two a chance.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review (and rating) is for the whole series; read at your own risk!

Read 3/15 volumes

'So Cute It Hurts!!' was surprisingly cute and funny! I always thought the name was silly and I found the premise a little weird but it actually was really good. I liked Mitsuru a lot; he wore the girls uniform well and he's a great character. Megumu was a little on the forgettable side but I like her enough to keep going. Looking forward to reading more soon!

[Kelsey Hlavaty (readingwithkelsey) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scene: My dad sneaking into my house while I'm in Italy so he can bring me all the books from my old room so he can turn into an office. In the box, I find an old manga I bought who knows when that I completely forgot existed that is essentially a Twelfth Night retelling. I decide to pick it up just because I have it.
Me finishing it, shocked, BAMBOOZLED for how much I enjoyed it.
This manga was actually as cute as the title suggests! It completely pulled me in with some pretty charming characters and a not believable premise that sounded fun. However, what I absolutely adored about the manga was how Ikeyamada wanted to include some disability rep in the book. The two love interests in the novel are deaf or wear an eye-patch. Mitsuru specifically works hard to learn sign language so that he can communicate with Shino was so precious and definitely my favourite part of the manga. The volume focused mostly on their relationship, so in comparison, the budding relationship between Megumu and Aoi felt lackluster. So, I am keen to pick up the next volume to see both of these relationships develop. What a whirlwind of an hour I just had.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 2 out of 5]

2020 Read #646

This manga has potential to be something special, but it runs a bit too young for me as far as shojo manga go. If I can read the rest somehow, though, I’ll be interested in seeing where these characters go beyond this beginning installment.

[Nore · Rating 1 out of 5]

"We look exactly alike!" (They do not.)

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Gō Ikeyamada as manga artist. She's able to create believable characters and strong female protagonists and she usually adds a touch of fun which is perfect. I've read all of her works translated into English, or German, or Italian.

This manga deals with cross-dressing, which I'm usually not a fan of, deaf girls (probably the first manga I've ever read with a deaf girl as a protagonist), a guys with an eye-patch, which I don't find particularly alluring. So the start of this series wasn't that interesting for me.

Still the two main characters are interesting and I'm pretty curious about the deaf girl portrayed as a love interest of the male twin. The guy with the eye-patch is the love interest of the female twin but we still don't know why it has the eye-patch.

I'll read the second volume as well and then I'll make up my mind about the series. But I guess I'll keep on reading because of Gō Ikeyamada.

[sucker4synth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series works off the ol' shojo premise of gender-swapping, but feels fresh! Mitsuru and Megumi are twins, brother and sister, yet they still look alike. Mitsuru isn't doing so well in school so he decides his sister should totally pretend to be him to get his grades up! What makes this story stand out are the love interests of the siblings. Mitsuru, dressed as his sister, becomes enamoured with a girl who is deaf and Megumi, dressed as her brother, becomes interested in a loner boy with an eyepatch. What's gonna happen, you guys?

[Rebecca Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle school appropriate. A typical boy-and-girl-switch-places story. Nice that there is a deaf character and the inclusion of sign language was nice. A few background comments are a bit risqué in this first volume but the comments require an understanding of more mature fandom to understand, so if younger readers see the comments they won’t understand them unless they’ve already learned about the topic elsewhere. Otherwise, a harmless falling in love drama. Be advised that the series stops being middle school appropriate in volume 8 but a good stopping point between story arcs is volume 5.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty stupid, but not in a bad way. It's fluff and I will continue reading. I really enjoyed the sign language. I did not enjoy the boy twin (I'll learn their names eventually) using crossdressing to oogle (I won't say prey, it wasn't that bad) girls. I'll just try to turn off my brain.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and funny situational comedy. Megu and Mitsu have nice strong personalities. Looks like a funny series.

3 1/2 stars

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this so much more than I thought I would. Light hearted and fun, especially since cross-dressing twins is sort of a trope.

[Jason]

Lighthearted and fun. Works the cross-dressing angle well.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable

I’m a sucker for high school sweethearts. I’m loving the story so far and I love that there’s a deaf character in the story so you learn to sign a little as you read along.

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, have always been close. They look out for each other—especially when one needs help.

When Mitsuru finds himself in danger of failing a history class at his high school, he begs his sister Meguru to switch places with him and pass the class. While Mitsuru has always been a natural athlete, Meguru enjoys nerdier activities—both academic and otaku stuff.

Despite her misgivings, Meguru agrees to switch places. What she wasn’t expecting was all the delinquent boys she has to deal with at school! Quickly, Meguru (disguised as her brother) finds herself at the center of conflict!

Meanwhile, Mitsuru (disguised as his sister) finds himself causing his own problems at school. While trying to stop a deaf student from being bullied, he attracts the most popular girl at school’s ire. Everything escalates from there.

These twins might have bitten off more than they can chew this time around!

So, this is such a silly story.

The whole premise is bananas. It most certainly has several immediate flaws. But, it actually reads quite endearing?

The twins are quite lovable main characters, with their flaws and courage and all. They are definitely ridiculous in so many regards but, also, they strive to be better kids. It’s hard not to appreciate their characters.

The first volume is pretty broad but it does introduce some intrigue and a slew of interesting secondary characters. I’m actually curious to see what happens next, particularly once we get to the point of the story where the twins can no longer hide their identities.

Definitely recommend for shoujo fans who enjoy a rom-com, cross-dress, meet-cute story~

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded down. Its not for me. I guess I was expecting more of an exploration of gender. Like showing common issues females and males can have in their groups that an outsider perspective (through the cross dressing twins) provide a new perspective on. But it's instead a very played-straight crossdressing romance. That isn't bad but it's not what I was expecting. It's not bad but it's not my thing. That isn't to say the writing is bad. Ikeyamada knows how to plot and place a story. And her character writing is strong (albeit the use of emoticons aren't my favorite and these teens feel like annoying teens instead of likable teens to me). She can create scenarios and write well (although it is quite convenient no-one really notices / pushes on how differently Mitsuru acts when Megumo is disguised as him). But this story just doesn't seem for me.
None of the characters really struck me. None are bad although the male twin does make a terrible first impression. But I do find his romance with the deaf girl more interesting. But I’m also planning on reading Sign of Affection from my local library which will cover that better. And even then the author's note and the final few pages make it seem like there will be some love triangle featuring the alpha bitch girl. She's purposefully unlikable. Maybe they'll do a thing where she betters herself but rn shes unlikable AF.

[Holly Scudero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being twins, Megumu and Mitsuru Kobayashi have strikingly different personalities. Megumu has a taste for history and video games, and she’s quite shy, to the point of awkwardness around boys. Mitsuru, on the other hand, is very out-going, and he is not shy around girls. At all! When Mitsuru finds himself falling behind in his history class, he turns to his sister for help… by stealing her school uniform and making her switch places with him for a week! Mitsuru just knows that Megumu can pass all of his make-up tests for him, and he’s pretty confident that he’ll do just fine pretending to be a girl. But it’s not as easy as he thought it would be; Mitsuru finds himself standing up to one of the school’s mean girls and making a new friend (and perhaps falling in love!), while Megumu discovers that not all boys are scary… especially one boy in particular!

Volume One of “So Cute It Hurts!!” by Go Ikeyamada is, quite literally, super cute. With a playful storyline, awesome artwork, and fun characters that readers will want to get to know better, the first volume in this new manga series will no doubt delight a wide variety of readers.

(Review originally written for San Francisco Book Review.)

[Cecilia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK

Cross-dressing in manga tends to be a really fun and comical concept, so I picked up this book solely for this reason. As a first book, it was really fun! The male twin Mitsuru is a lot more fun than the female twin Megumu as he's a flawed character who's not great at school but knows how to bend the rules to accomplish what needs to be done. Megumu is pretty typical, she's naive and innocent and isn't the most developed character, which is a bummer because she ends up as the series' focus. The two opposing settings (a nice girls school vs. a tough, yakuza-type boys school) make the swap really stand out. I'd read this first book again!

REVIEW OF THE SERIES

While the first book is full of comical situations and hijinks, the series gets bogged down by really slow relationship progressing and soap-opera plot twists (there's entirely too many characters that are revealed to be related). Almost every twist is unrealistic. Additionally, the series only tends to focus on the female characters- Megumu becomes the sole main character and Mitsuru's two love interests get more page time than he does. It's up to you but I would recommend only reading the first volume.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was highly recommended this by one of my dear friends and it really was so cute it hurts!!! 🤣 sorry I just had to!!
• The switching places trope is one that needs to be done right in order for me to enjoy it and this instance, I was surprised on how much I enjoyed both perspectives and that there was such opposition in the main characters that I was able to enjoy.
• The friendships that are present so far are amazing (if you enjoy reading about nerdy friendships you need to pick this up)
• Trigger warnings for physical fighting and bullying. But if you also don't like douche guys (or notorious flirts) don't read this series.
• There is also a Deaf side character in this series that I am eager to find out more about.
Overall, this seems like a cute series I would love to continue. Based on the ending, I am curious to see more backstory on some of the side characters and how it continues but as stated earlier, there are some things that can turn people off. Because of these points, I have to give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly picked up this manage from my local library because of the title and cover. I was curious to what it would be about. It's about twins (one male and one female) who switch places in high school and **gasp** find someone they like! Cute premise right? I guess, I should preface they go to an all girl and all boy school (separately).

The twins are called Megumu and Misuru. Megumu is the girl who is well behaved and very adorable. Misuru is the boy who loves to date and is up to antics. Personally I liked Megumu's story better, her meet-cute with the boy she crushes on is adorable, she falls kiss him! That's my favorite scene in any drama I watch. The boy she like has an eye patch and it's a mystery to why he wears it.

Misuru likes a girl who is deaf and it's interesting to read Japanese Sign Language, in their culture, they bow to say thank-you, very different from American Sign Language, so that was fun to read.

Overall, I will continue the series.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somebody turned in a bunch of these at work today and Chanel asked if I'd read this series. I looked at the title and said, "No, but it sounds like something I would read!" I was then given the assignment to read the first volume and tell Chanel if it's good. Challenge accepted! I was needing something dumb to read anyway, booyah!

Soooooooo, this goes about like you'd expect a manga about boy and girl twins who have never been in love switching places at school for a week to go. They both fall in love on the first day! Comic mayhem ensues! Blushing and tears and that gesture where someone sticks out their tongue and pulls the bottom of their eye down with one finger...you know that gesture? That happens a lot. It's so cute it hurts! Ha! Hahahaha!

Um. Anyway, Chanel, I am totally putting volumes 2-5 on hold right now.

[Sherry Derry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because one if my 11 year olds read it and i wanted to know what was in it. There is mild swearing, and the use of a few words that I'm not completely comfortable with, namely mymphomaniac and perv. All in all it was silly and harmless romance though we did discuss the use of the word cross dressing, and how it really shouldnt be used any more. We talkes about how hurtful it is to use that word due to the way it has been used to define and minimize trans people, and I couched it in a gender neutral statement as in there arent boy or girl clothes...you wear what you want. As far as manga goes, its cute and harmless.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twins (identical girl and boy) cross-dress as each other and switch places at school. Magically, they meet someone with whom they fall in love. The girl falls for the eyepatch clad bad boy while the boy falls for the deaf damsel in distress.

The love strings (not exactly triangles yet) extend and connect characters to characters. Partially adorable, partially awkward. 100% delightful.

This series has 15 volumes.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do have a soft spot for cross dressing MCs. Volume 1 is the setup for the most crazy lovelines for these teenagers. I love the diverse love interests (Female is deaf and the male is a fighting machine with an eye patch.). Also, I have a thing for the eye patch!! every anime watcher of a certain age probably does.
I'm not loving the drawing style since it makes everyone chibi looking. But I think I can live with it.

[Brianna Marte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was very wholesome and cute! The romantic scenes are extremely overwhelming that it makes you want to just squeal in excitement! The scene where Megu stood up to Aoi's bullies and took a beating for him was a rollercoaster of emotions. And this series is just full of nonstop heart-speeding moments where characters fall in love with each other and find ways to be with each other even if the circumstances are odd.

[Beckiezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute enough story and art, I’m interested in where things go, but find it more painful from second-hand embarrassment than from cuteness. I imagine that feeling will only get worse as the cross-dressing continues (or ends depending on the situations that leads to) and the relationships get stronger. I’m sure they’ll drag out the secret longer than necessary just to make things more awkward...

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I like Megumu, and her brother Mitsuru. I'm curious about Sanada and the deaf girl's connection. Also what direction the romance will take. I like the fighting storyline at Mitsuru's school, and am interested in the bullying one at Megumu's. I appreciate that they're different, and look forward to seeing where both of them go. 4 stars.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a typical romance with the main twist being the sibling relationships involved. The central plot involves fraternal twins cross-dressing to attend each other's single-sex school. by volume 3 that plot arc is settled and it's clear who the pairs are. The other 12 volumes are slice-of-life and drama.