Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1

Honey [ハニー] #1

by Amu Meguro

Little did Nao Kogure realize back in middle school that when she left an umbrella and a box of bandages in the rain for injured delinquent Taiga Onise that she would meet him again in high school. Nao wants nothing to do with the gruff and frightening Taiga, but he suddenly presents her with a huge bouquet of flowers and asks her to date him—with marriage in mind! Is Taiga really so scary, or is he a sweetheart in disguise?

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

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2013

About the author

• Associated name: 目黒あむ
• Name in native language: 目黑 亞霧
• Blood Type: A
• Birthday: September 24
• Zodiac: Libra

Reviews

[Kayla Brunson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was still cute, but I did drop a star. I mean the girl is in love with her uncle.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute, fluffy and adorable read! I loved the artwork and the storyline was sweet. Really happy that I decided to purchase this series.

RTC

[ambyreads✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars ｡･:*˚:✧｡ Cute straight boy obsessed with cute things and not being ashamed of it... adorable. This was such a fun read! Maybe one of my favourite mangas, I was never bored while reading this there was already a lot of character development in the first novel and a friendship group introduced so I can’t wait for the rest. Their relationship with each other is honestly the cutest and gives me kdrama vibes. MORE MORE I need to find the next vol (it’s so expensive😓)

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute and adorable!! I’m so excited for this series!! The characters are so cute so far I love them!

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

VIDEO SERIES REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/dl1jsBTCar0

I think my heart is a pile of mush…

WHY DID I TAKE SO LONG TO READ THIS!?!

This has been one of the sweetest manga I have read to date! These two are such cinnamon role characters and absolutely adorable! And don't even get me started on the amazing art style! I LOVE IT! It really reflects the cuteness and wholeness of this story so much! I. Am. Devouring. It!

I love how the story is reflecting to not judge other people by appearances. We learn so much about Onise and how super sweet and kind he is, despite that he has the appearance of a delinquent. He's extremely thoughtful, and again, definitely one the sweetest male characters I have ever read.

I REALLY like Kogure! I think her fear of being alone is valid and relatable. I love how she grows in the gentlest of ways in this volume and hardcore shipping her with Onise because they make the most amazingly cute couple ever.

I am extremely excited to keep reading this series! I couldn't help grinning the whole time I read as well as occasionally giggling. Such an amazing first volume!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a really rough start, with a relationship based on fear and intimidation, but that gets worked out quickly enough. I almost quit reading in that first chapter, but the male love interest becomes much, much better after that.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

In many ways, this does hit several shoujo romance cliches: normal girl and guy with rough appearance who actually has a heart of gold and will win her over in the end. Of course, she'll have a crush on someone else and will have to slowly but surely come around to the guy who really likes her. But that said, it is a sweet title (as the name implies) and certainly worth a look.

Story: Nao has always been a bit timid and a coward. So when she saw a delinquent looking boy sitting in the rain looking beat up, she drops an umbrella and bandages next to him and then runs away. Imagine her surprise a year later when he shows up at her new high school asking to be her boyfriend. Afraid of the bleached red hair and scary looks, she complies. But it turns out Taiga Onise might have been completely misunderstood. And so her heart, broken when her parents died and salvaged by a kind young uncle, will slowly warm to Taiga and his innate good intentions.

Taiga Onise clearly fell in love with out protagonist through an act that she considered cowardice (she ran away without helping further) and he considered kindness (the umbrella and bandaids). The first few chapters were about both establishing new friendships in their first weeks of high school with other misunderstood souls. Enter a school trip, a haunted forest, and her uncle needing help at his restaurant and fortunately finding that Onise is a very good cook at 15 years of age indeed.

Honey So Sweet is best categorized as heartwarming. Sweet but not deep, the characters are likable and this is more romance than slice of life. Taiga is always sweet and considerate - and if a bit too perfect, he is the ideal boyfriend. Nao, meanwhile, also has a good heart and makes a likable main character. This is Amu Meguro's debut series and it will be interesting to see where she takes it from here. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Kadi P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mediocre start to a romance manga.

Kogure was a so-so character. Most of her interesting qualities came from her tragic backstory. When I first heard she was in “love” with her uncle I was majorly grossed out, but then from how it was explained it seemed more like her tragic losses led her to believe she was in love with her uncle when in actuality she was not which really helped to counteract the creepiness of that whole debacle.

The girl friend was so insignificant I can’t even remember her name and the boy friend who I think was called Misaki basically carried this manga for a full chapter or two. Onise was probably the most varied character of them all. Sadly, his perspective wasn’t explored as much as Kogure’s which really was a shame because his “looks like a delinquent but is actually an alright guy” personality trait made him pretty much the only compelling character in this vol.

The plot was interesting at times, but mostly a flop. The entire final chapter was completely incomprehensible. I had no idea what was going on or who was talking to who. It was a seriously terrible way to end an already shaky volume.

[Kate♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5stars

THIS WAS REALLY CUTE?? OMG?? I DON'T EVEN LIKE SHOJO AND THIS WAS ADORABLE

Somehow this story is very similar to many romcom shojos but also very different? if that makes sense? its got a lot of the same themes/quirks but also has its own twist on how they're being done - its very refreshing.

and omg Onise is my child i must protect him

[Kel · Rating 4 out of 5]

the art is so pretty and they're both so sweet 😭😭😭💔 but like I'm still trying to figure out if this girl means she really cares about her uncle or if she's like .. in love with him 🤮 like I'm scared to read the second volume does anyone know and can save me ahead of time 💀💀

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This looks like a really fun and cute series and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nao once left bandages for an injured Taiga; now, in high school he has the rep of a "delinquent" (translation?). Nevertheless, one day (early on in this first volume) he approaches her with flowers and asks her to be his girlfriend (with an eye to possible marriage, he says??!!). Flustered, she initially had been afraid he might be approaching her to bully her! Still flustered--she doesn't even know him or hang around people with reputations like his!--she sort of agrees to his offer, but she really has to get to know him and be friends with him first (which sounds to her and us like a better starting place). As she begins to do this, she finds he is different than his reputation.

I am reading a few shoji manga (primarily for girls) for possible inclusion in courses I am teaching, and Honey So Sweet is pretty sweet. Maybe 3.7 rounded up. I think not quite as fun as My Love Story by Kawahara but it's still pretty fun.

[Rosenblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read:
May 27-28,2019
Parental advisory:
Nao's love interest is her uncle in the first few chapters but luckily she moved in from her misguided feelings and started to fall in love with Onise,her true love interest.
This is one of the best shojo romance volumes I've read so far.
The main characters,Nao Kogure and Taiga Onise have a healthy,CUTE and normal romantic relationship.
Onise is respectful to Kogure's feelings,he isn't forceful or perverted,but a kind, protective,understanding and gentle guy who doesn't over presue her and treats her like a normal person instead of simply seeing her as romantic interest.
The development of their relationship develops more naturally and because of this,Nao falls in love with him rather at a good pace for a 8 volume manga instead of rushed and unnatural.
Nao is very shy and Onise is a supposed delinquent but as the story progress we realize Onise just looks like one and he's actually a big teddy bear.🩷
I hope to see more stories like this from Viz Media in the future.

[Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very cute story. It shows how you should never judge a person based on there appearance and rumours! The main character Nao Kogure isn't like the weak protagonists seen in most shojo manga,and the boy Taiga Onise in love with her isn't forceful or pushy or like a typical boy in shojo manga. They're really likeable characters. There isn't much drama(yet),which,is very good for me,I get tired of the drama in many shojo manga. The artwork is beautiful and the words are big and easy to focus on(not too much dialogue on one page,which makes it easier to focus) it also has a good amount of content for the price it is. A very calming,cute,easy to follow read. Nothing too complicated!❤ Shojo and none Shojo fans can enjoy this. The story does end on a cliffhanger though so maybe pick up vol 1 & 2 at the same time XD

[eli · Rating 1 out of 5]

god, i’m so disappointed. this was such a cute and funny manga and i really enjoyed myself until i found out that the main character has a crush on her uncle, who literally raised her 😐😐 i understand that there must be conflict and she can’t be happily in love with the main love interest right away but this was so??? unnecessary?????

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really sweet, cute start to this romance series!

I love how both Nao and Taiga are both awkward and get embarrassed really easily rather than just one of them being the shy, embarrassed one while the other is always cool and confident about everything. Yashiro and Misaki seem like really good characters to eventually learn more about even if Misaki has kind of a dirty mouth, haha!

While not a lot happened, this a fun read and I look forward to seeing where things go from here.


Content

Language: what the hell; bastard; frickin; go to hell; ass; crap

Violence: a guy has a false reputation for being mean/beating up people; a girl nearly slaps a guy (she’s stopped)

Sexual: a girl has a crush on her uncle

Other: a bird poops on a character’s head; flashback to grief over parents’ death

[Dani(elle) · Rating 4 out of 5]

He saved a turtle from bullies - marry him.

Also, this maybe the first manga were the incest is actually a fake-out. So, here's to hoping they follow through on that!

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot - 3 ☄
Character - 3 ☄
Writing Style - 3 ☄
World Building - 3 ☄
Art - 5 ☄
Cover - 5 ☄

Overall - 3.6 🌟

[Laura✧˚ · . · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
What am I thinking?. Trying to be friends with someone I've fallen for?
This manga was really cute. We are following nou and she's a quiet, shy kid who is new in HS. When she was younger she had an encounter with a famous delinquent who was wounded and alone in the rain. She didn't help him but she gave him her umbrella and some bandages and years later he still remembers. He's in the same HS and one day he asks her to be his girlfriend with a bouquet of roses. She is really scared because he's infamous in HS and he has his hair dyed(is this a reason to be a delinquent?) and has ear piercings. She believes that if she refuses to date him, he will beat her up, and if she says yes she will be a slave for the next 100 years. In the end she accepts and her classmates start ignoring her for accepting to date him. Later on we see him going to her home to pick her up (there's a reason why he knows it and no, he's not a stalker) and she gets really scared but he has to take the garbage out so he leaves. One of his conditions is to have lunch together and he made her a box. His cooking is delicious and she's really surprised because he smiles a lot and he's actually kind of cute. Nao tells her uncle Sou about the incident and he believes Taiga is not as bad as it seems and maybe she needs to give him a chance. She decides that she will because he will get tired of her and then he'll leave. They start spending a lot of time together and she realizes she's not being fair to him. She's actually in love with someone else and she opens up to him about this. She confesses the real reason why she accepted to date him (it was because of fear) and he was aware of it. He knew she was scared but he acted as if he didn't notice because he wanted to spend time with her. He's okay with her loving someone else and they can be friends. Nao is not sure but in the end she accepts. They text occasionally and Taiga sounds really formal but it's because he's really nervous.
Their HS organized a field trip and they have to form groups. The goal of this tip is to make friends and create friendships with the other fellow classmates. Classes C and D can form groups together so Taiga and Nou pair up. However, they are the outcasts and nobody wants to be with them, except another girl who's not interested in making them and a guy named Misake. Taiga kind of forced him to be with them but Misaki didn't want to be. In the end they form a group and Taiga believes the trip will be good for everyone. Taiga decided to make a guidebook full of info regarding the trip and he spend all the night awake writing it. The other classmates make fun of the guidebook and call them losers and misaki is mad because he didn't do the guidebook so he tears it apart. Nou gets angry because Taiga spend a lot of time making it and she's about to slap Misuki but Taiga stops her. He explains to get why he chose misaki to be part of the group. He's another loner and he seems to be angry all the time. Taiga wants to change that and he wants to help him. Nou realizes Taiga has a heart as warm as the sun.
During the field trip Taiga brought with him a lot of sweets and candies that remind him of his childhood. Misuki refuses to eat them but he seems different. Nou is really scared of the scare dare but Taiga told her he would be with her all the time and he'll protect her. During the field trip Misuki apologizes to Nou for tearing up the guidebook. He glued it back and he's sorry. Nou apologizes as well, but she believes she's not the one he should've been apologizing to. Misuki is scared of Taiga but Nou believes he shouldn't be. The guy is nice and Misuki wonders if they're together and in love. Nou says they are not and he shouldn't say that. They are doing one exercise and a bird poops on Misuki. Taiga gives him his jacket so he can use it and he gets a cold and he can't be part of the scare dare. He has fever but he wants to help Nou because he promised. However Nou doesn't want him to help because he's ill and he needs to take a rest.
Misuki appears and he apologizes for the guidebook and promises Taiga to look for Nou during the scare dare. Taiga is okay with it and they leave. During the scare dare they are all terrified and Nou decides that they should sing this opening theme from one anime. When she was younger her uncle Sou took her to a haunted house and they sang all time time. In the end she fainted but it might work. Misuki thinks they are HS and not kids but he is okay and they do it. Later on they see something and the girl believes it's this animal that will haunt them until they are on their grave. Misuki starts running and they leave Nao behind. She hurst her ankle and she decides to wait for them there. Hours passed and they are not back. She remembers the day her parents passed away. Her dad told her they needed to go to get some ingredients and she had to take care of the house. Later he will make her some omelette rice but they never came back. Taiga wakes up and he thinks he should be there with her. Misuki told him not to do it because he was too weak and now they're friends and he has to pay attention to him. However Misuki tells him that they left Nao behind and he goes to look for her. She's there on the ground crying because she was really scared but now he's with her. He asks her about her crush and she's afraid of him judging her. She's in love with her uncle Sou (big yikeeeessssss). He probably thinks she's disgusting but he doesn't. He's just confused (as I am ngl). When she lost her parents Sou took care of her. He's on his twenties and he tried to make some rice omelette for her but she didn't eat it. She was really depressed back then and he worked a lot. One day he left her alone and in charge of the house so he could go to work. He promised her he would be back and she was waiting for him to say ''welcome home''. Hours passed and Sou had an incident at work and he was late and she was crying a lot because she thought he had left her like her parents did. The next day Sou quitted his job and opened a restaurante/coffee shop. He needed her help to taste the menu's and he would never leave her. He would always be there waiting for her and he would be the one welcoming her from now on. Taiga thinks he sounds like a really cool guy. After the field trip they are now friends but they are still the outcasts. Taiga explains to Nou why he asked her out. He knew how she was. When he was wounded she gave him her umbrella and some bandages. She thinks she was a bad person for leaving him behind but he doesn't think so. She left him her umbrella and it was raining a lot. The umbrella had a name and a address so he went looking for her but one police caught him. When he met her again at HS he thought it was a sign. Taiga believes he's not a good person because he was selfish and he wanted to impress her during the field trip. Nou notices that there's something going on between them. Her heart skips a beat when he's around and he's kind, nice and he takes care of her. One day she arrives from HS and his uncle has the shop closed. He had an incident while he was trying to help a pregnant woman and his wrist is damaged so he had to close the restaurant for two weeks to rest. However the next morning he has to open because it's misaki's birthday. He booked it and now he can't say no. However he doesn't know hoe he's gonna make it because he busted his right hand and he's right handed. Nou doesn't know how to cook and she's terrible at it. That day during lunch Taiga gave her a box with food and it was amazing and it had veggies. Taiga left to help the social studies teacher who is old and the other girl thinks nou and taiga would make such a cute couple. Misuki says they are friends and she thinks he's an idiot and so is Nou. Nou thinks she's smart however maybe the other girl wasn't referring to that type of intelligence. Misuki said something similar so she wonders what's going on. Nou decides to ask taiga for help and she calls him. He gets nervous however he accepts to help her out. He thinks he needs to change his image and look more formal so he dyed his hair black and parted it in the middle and wears glasses. Nou is confused and Sou thinks he needs to wash his hair and take out the dye because it might fall on the food?. He does and he starts cooking with Sou. Sou thinks he was trying to impress the uncle of the girl he likes but he shouldn't worry. Misuki ends up loving his food and Nou wants to introduce him to Taiga. The kid gets really scared and he starts crying and Taiga is sad because of it. Nao decides to talk with the kid. She explains to him that he cooked a cake for him and all the food. He made a flag with a star and she asks misuki if he likes the sun. He does and she tells him that Taiga's hair looks like the sun and he has a heart as bright as the sun. The kid realizes it's true and he wants to touch Taiga's hair. Then they played together and spend the afternoon and they had so much fun. Misuki was crying because he didn't want to leave. Taiga speaks with Nou about Sou. He was kind of hesitant because he thought her feelings for him were tearing she apart but he saw it's not the case and they look happy together and normal. Nou wonders what he meant with that.
Honestly I loved this manga. It was quick, cute and sweet. Nou was really innocent and naive. I didn't like the I'm in love with my uncle thing because it's weird af and they are related by blood. However i hope she's mixing up her feelings and i think she's falling for Taiga. She really thought he was a delinquent because he has a scary face and dyes his hair and has ear piercings. Everyone is afraid of him for no reason other than he looks scary but he's a really nice and cute kid. I enjoyed the HS aspect because it was realistic. How they made fun of them for being enthusiastic about the field trip and the guide book and how misuki wanted to be cool and he was angry all the time because he was alone. I love how nao gets to know taiga. How she finds out he's a great cooker how smiles and blushes a lot when he's around her and how he's always willing to help the social studies teacher beacause has has that kindness on his heart. I wish we could have seen more of Misuki and the other girl and the friendship. Taiga asked him to be his friend and it was really cute because they are both loners and Taiga was willing to help him. I also loved how Nao stood up for taiga both when misuki rip the guide apart and when that little kid started crying because he was afraid of him. She wants people to see the real Taiga because she judged him based on his appereance as well and it was not okay. She got to met a guy with a heart as warm as the sun and it was really sweet. I can't wait to see what happens in the next volume

[Maria Neutel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute couple, i'm really rooting for them. Onise really is "just as warm as the sun" and i hope Nao can experience his light.

[Yanet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was super cute & adourable. I loved how dedicated Taiga & Nao were to each other. The side character found their happiness too!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this at https://www.viz.com/vizmanga

This was a very cute little romance. I was literally giggly while reading this, and the cart wait to read more.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

(this is a review of volumes 1 AND 2)

I don’t really remember how I stumbled across the Honey So Sweet manga series, but when I did I was like “hey this sounds cute, let me see if my library has it! *checks* hey they do, let me go get it!”. Thus I did. Viz is currently in the process of publishing all six volumes, with a new one coming out every three months. The third volume was released at the start of July, which I am currently awaiting for my library to get a copy of for me.

So far, with two of the six volumes read, I’m really enjoying it. It’s fun watching (well, reading…) Kogure and Onsie go from not knowing anything about the other person aside from rumors to being in love with each other. Just like the story itself, the artwork is great too.

If you’re wondering what Honey So Sweet is about, it’s about a girl, Nao Kogure, who had given a boy, Taiga Onsie, an umbrella and box of bandaids back in middle school. (they’re in high school now) She didn’t know him at all, all she knew about him were the rumors – that’s he’s a troublemaker, a delinquent, and that he even harms little animals. In high school they run into each other and Onsie says to Kogure that he’d like to date her. Since she’s scared of him and believes the rumours that he is nothing but trouble, she’s scared and says yes. However, as she soon finds out, none of that is true, and Onsie is one of the sweetest and most caring people on Earth. There are plenty of funny moments in the manga, plus I love how Amu Meguro would randomly go on tangents in the pencil sketch corner of the second volume. Through those pencil sketches I discovered that we both share a love of butts. No, really! It says that in volume 2!

So yep, I’m definitely liking Honey So Sweet so far!

Like what you see? Check out the rest of my book reviews at Devin's Book Hub.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really adorable, fluffy, cute manga with fantastic characters (well except that one guy that got dragged into the party).

Nao, a sweet, kind and caring girl, who is finding out that while people look frightening that doesn't mean they are like that inside as well. Taiga, our sweet and handsome guy with the scary face is indeed not that scary as he looks. Actually he is also looking for friends, for happiness, for joy.

I really had quite a laugh in the beginning parts of this manga. Nao's reactions to Taiga, they made me laugh so hard, though of course I also felt sorry for Taiga.
But after that bumpy and hilarious start in their relationship they quickly become friends, and I can see (just like everyone around her) that it is way more for Nao (we already know how Taiga is thinking after all). Of course, typical of a manga like this, she keeps denying it, or is she really that dense? I guess we will find out as the manga goes on. I do hope for a lot of romance though, these 2 are really cute together, and I would love to have some romance between them.

I didn't like all the characters, as I said, I didn't like that guy that got dragged into stuff by Taiga. I know, it is wrong of Taiga to do that, but I also don't think that the guy should do all the stuff he did. Taiga just doesn't know any better ways of communicating it seems.

The field trip, and what happened there? Poor Nao.

The art is absolutely gorgeous, at times I had to pause to drool over the gorgeous full-paged art. Wow!

Would I recommend this manga? Yes, are you looking for something cute? Something funny? Then be sure to check this one out!

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

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume. It was pretty predictable, but still fun. It's obvious to everyone around Kogure Nao that she has fallen for Onise Taiga. But, she refuses to admit it, because she is so obsessed with her uncle, Sou(suke). Unluckily for her about that, he seems to only feel a familial bond towards her and nothing personal or romantic. So, yay!, Onise has a chance.

Kogure and Onise will likely become a couple in V2 or V3. I'm rooting for that.

Also, Misaki is alot of fun as well. Right now, he acts gruff and cusses alot. But, I think he'll soften up in future volumes.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 update: sweet to re-read but I won't continue with the series

This is a sweet start to a series which I feel I will easily become addicted to. I liked the art style which was used, especially the cute pictures at the start of the new chapters. It was easy and quick to read (I finished it over a couple of hours). Looking forward to the next volume!

[Dayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this was adorable! I’m into the quirky art and there are some moments that are absolutely beautifully drawn.

I can see that this is going to be a great love story—especially because of the glimpses we’ve already gotten. Also, Onise is so adorable and sweet! Poor misunderstood bean.

Happy reading!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fluffy, cutesy, romantic manga and also has a really positive message about not judging a person by how they look and I loved it 😍 (especially the illustrations like this is the cutest thing ever.)

[abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first manga I’ve ever read and I didn’t really like it. I really liked the art, but the fact the main character was in love with her uncle just took me out of the story lmao. I’ll definitely be reading more manga because I really love the art, but I won’t be continuing with this series