[Thanks to Viz and Edelweiss for an ARC of this manga in exchange for an unbiased review.]
This is a little sweeter and more pure than we typically get with a high school manga and I don’t think that that’s a bad thing at all. Oh, it sneaks a little extra in here and there like the maid uniforms, but the series as a whole is remarkably, well, wholesome.
Yet it doesn’t push it so far that it becomes syrupy, which has happened in similar circumstances (looking at you, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity). It’s a fine balance that it gets just right.
The first story is incredibly awkward, but it’s supposed to be. Senga being a charismatic vampire who doesn’t know how to handle his friendship with Yutaka is a good story hook and seeing him sulk through an awkward arcade session is lots of fun.
But the next section, a set of chapters about Valentine’s Day, is probably the volume’s high point. Genuinely, it’s one of the best Valentine’s Day arcs I’ve seen in ages, just because it’s a little different.
First, Hebizono and Kito get a chapter about their slow-burning romance and I’m a big fan of their dynamic, so that’s a great start to the whole thing. Hebizono trying to keep her normally unflappable composure together is never not amusing.
Then Yutaka and Tsumiki get a bit of alone time, as Yutaka is roped into helping her make Valentine’s chocolate for… somebody… This is terribly cute as Yutaka puts himself through the ringer and we get a bonus moment with Matsuki imploding once again at the end.
The bigger theme of this volume is touched on here, as Yutaka is trying to figure out exactly what his feelings towards Tsumiki are. It’s believably tortured as he wrestles with the potential loss of his friend if he guesses wrong.
And neither of these two know what love really is at this point, this is such a coming-of-age story, that it makes a reasonable amount of sense that they are both moving slow but also just getting into situations that cause so much blushing.
Their snow day at the school is emblematic of this and they have a bit of a cozy snuggle as well. It’s a nice touch that Yutaka is overthinking this so much, but Tsumiki is underthinking it. Most of those moments tend to be from her just going with the flow.
As if this wasn’t enough, school council president Raizen gets a lot of page time for his own backstory and it turns out that he’s a lot more than just a starched shirt who tends to try and set the best example possible as a mythfolk representative.
Repression only takes you so far, however, and this story ends up tackling the idea of prejudice and the burden on those who are victims of it to show that they are better than what they’re viewed as.
There’s a little bit of ‘generic manga girl illness’ to the story, which is such a vague trope that it annoys me, but it is put to admittedly very good use. This story winds up using a large chunk of its cast very well.
And that’s really the trick - there’s a sizeable cast of interesting characters here that all have their own thing, yet as a whole they make for a really strong story. It has real heart and a gentle touch that serves it very well.
4.5 stars - last volume was better, but this one is pretty dang stellar. I’m eager to see this animated, but it’s doing just fine as a manga.
Such a great start to this volume! I always love Senga and Hebizono getting more dedicated chapters. I think the Raizen's little aside was very touching, but I'm not entirely sure what to think about it. I guess we'll see as the story continues! I think mostly I'm just a bit let down by the writing. Maybe some of these lines don't translate well, or there's a cultural barrier I'm not understanding, but personally I think what keeps me from fully enjoying this series is a sense of confusion. Again, it could be a lack of build up, characterization, expressiveness in the art style — who knows, but ultimately, a lot of the moments that I think are supposed to hit really hard… fall flat. It's just disappointing, because I find this series really sweet otherwise! Nothing ever feels completely finished or fully fleshed out, which I suppose is fine, and perhaps just part of the genre, but it leaves me feeling markedly more neutral than I think it intends to. Oh well!
Another delightful volume. The first couple of stories were a bit confusing, as I couldn’t remember who is who and they were oddly jumpy, but then the focus and the stories got better. Side character focus was on the student council president, the lighting dragon, who has been hiding a childhood loss and is now trying to improve human-mystical being relations. Yutaka is still trying to search his feelings, but while it makes him notice other people’s feelings, he’s very blind to Tsumiki’s. She’s definitely caught some.
The school year is nearing its end. Will there be changes? I’ll have to read more.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
What an absolute blast of a series. I’ve only made a video on the 1st volume, but this series consistently puts out 5/5 for their volumes. Like oh man when the president gets the flash back and then jumps back to the current time to see the flashlight. I teared up. Also wow the art is ramping up and everyone is so cute in their outfits for the big dinner ahh! So good guys so good 😊
This is a great series, but this is where I stop (at least for now) since I don't really care for the romance genre (in general) or specifically school romances. It's cute with great artwork, I'm just not the target demographic!