Something's Wrong With Us, Vol. 2

私たちはどうかしている [Watashitachi wa Dōka Shiteiru] #2

by Natsumi Andō, Sawa Matsueda Savage (Translator)

Even after her mother’s passing, Nao continues to make wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets, to feel less alone. All who have a taste of her confections are floored by the heart she imbues into her work, but being a no-name new talent summons the jealous ire of established family businesses like Kogetsuan. Moreover, Nao has married into Kogetsuan through Tsubaki, the contested heir…to find out why he framed her mother for murder years ago. Now living under the watchful eye of in-laws, Nao must keep her past connections to Kogetsuan a secret, and Tsubaki may be her most formidable ally yet.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Mystery, Josei, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2017

About the author

安藤なつみ, Andō Natsumi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for Zodiac P.I. as well as Kitchen Princess, for which she won the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2006.

Favorites: Donald Duck
Favourite manga: Ossu! Ichijin and Kimagure Orange Road
Favourites: meats and fruits
Hobbies: shopping, reading and watching TV

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew....this story is something serious and is lowkey stressful! I knew that there were some interesting elements to this story based on my experience reading the first volume; however, I feel as though things were taken to the next level in this volume. There isn't much that I can say due to spoilers; however, we're still following Nao as she attempts to make this "fake" marriage work with Tsubaki. There was some shifting in their relationship that I appreciated in this volume, but THAT ENDING. GIRL! I wouldn't know what to do if I was in her position. Readers still don't know who committed the murder of Tsubaki's father, but I'm feeling as though we may get even more explosive revelations in the next volume. I'm definitely invested in the story and the incorporation of the Japanese sweets makes it even better.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mentioned in my added review for v. 1 that I understand Nao's motivations a little better. This time around, there was a character I'd basically ignored--the guy with the mustache--who is pretty obviously the currently absent heir to Kougetsuan. I wonder what their motivation is, and how their scenes connect to the other goings-on in Kougetsuan?

Getting it on with someone you hate is certainly a decision that can be made. Surely there's a long game here, that Nao concocted after Tsubaki first "proposed" to her, but the reader isn't privy to it yet. It's kind of cool that every corner of the MC's mind isn't laid bare to the reader from the first page of the first volume. It is a little frustrating when her actions don't make a lot of evident sense, and that storytelling decision can flatten the effect of some scenes. I don't think my initial assessment was incorrect, that it isn't as striking or involving as your average trashy melodrama. But I can appreciate the attempt to do something a little unusual, or a bit more subtle, even if it doesn't entirely work for me.

The love of wakame, and its use as a symbol of the characters' inner lives, continues to carry this story. Nao's decision to use Kougetsuan's own recipe for red bean paste to serve to the kimono shop rather than her own, shows that she respects that connection to them from years ago, and Kougetsuan's traditions, rather than trying to make an egotistical, flashy debut. I don't entirely believe that that relationship wouldn't have been permanently severed with the presentation of the red-dyed sweets, and that Kougetsuan would have gotten another chance with them. I did appreciate how it solidified some aspects of the story. Sometimes subtle, sometimes crudely blunt, sweets have a language of their own, much like arrangements of flowers do.

After an initial equivocal reaction to this story, I'm much more interested in seeing what it's up to on a second reading. And I'm totally up for seeing more nicely-rendered Japanese sweets, both in their own right, and how they add to the sense of suspense. I'm glad I gave this manga another chance.

***

Hey, we finally get something like a motivation for Nao! Sort of!...

"I wish they were gone. Once Kogetsuan is gone from this world, I'm sure my suffering will be over."

...well, not really. If wishes were horses, and all that. If this is a real aim of hers, she's taking an extremely subtle and circumspect way to get there, including moving forward with her training in making sweets, and building a bond of friendship with one of the lower-tier confectioners in Kogetsuan's kitchen, and getting closer with Tsubaki...

I liked how we get a little bit more into Tsubaki's head, and get more of an idea that he intuitively knows who Nao is, even if he hasn't directly confronted her about it yet. We understand more about what motivates him than Nao, come down to it.

On the bad side, the villain of the piece is way too obvious. There's literally no other suspect for the murder. It isn't even the slightest stretch to imagine they are lying about Tsubaki's parentage, as well. And then there's fucking the head confectioner, sabotaging Nao's sweets for the kimono shop, etc. etc. If the reader was in a position to understand--if not necessarily sympathize--with this character, they'd be a lot less boring. As is, they do something nasty every chapter or two like they're on a punch clock. Yawn.

I'm still on the fence about this one. The confectionary element continues to be fascinating, but I can take or leave the rest, from the story to the characters, to the overall feeling of the manga. Whether it's too subtle for this drama-loving brain to deal with (I'd like to think not), or whether there actually is a feeling of indolence or indifference suffusing the whole thing, or what, I'm just not finding my way into its head space, and that's making me not enjoy it as much as I'd like.

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heroine's quest for revenge and the unearthing of the truth beyond the murder mystery of her late morher's boss continues in vol. 2.


In order to gather evidence to prove her late mother's innocence of the murder accusation, the heroine made a deal with the murdered victim's son (the young master of the house) and moved into the enemy territory as the young master's newlywed wife. It isn't a love match and of course her less than welcoming mother-in-law is setting out to drive her from her newlywed husband's side.


I like the main story, I also like how the eerie and seemingly mentally ill grandfather is written and the sence with him suddenly started accusing the heroine for lying out of the blue, no doubt it would be difficult for the heroine if her in-laws ever discovered her true identity.


The love story is doing okay as well!


Plus this mysterious guy who shows up to be the heroine's fairy goddad, just who is he?! I can't wait to read the sequel!

[vin .ᐟ (hiatus)]

ADJDKSKDKDLKSAJADLDJLSDSLSLWK

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite the soap opera here. Defying elders, sleeping with the enemy, illegitimate heirs, secret identities. I am OBSESSED!

[Jordaline Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg I need vol 3 but it hasn't shipped yet 😭😭😭

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cheesiness of the soap opera doesn't quite succeed in overcoming the clunkiness of the storytelling this time around.

I don't think I can wade through eighteen more volumes of this, but I do have one more on hand from the library so I'm obligated by law to read it tomorrow.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 6. The Cost of Lying -- Chapter 7. The Golden Rule -- Chapter 8. Tasty Bean Paste -- Chapter 9. Like a Married Couple -- Chapter 10. In One Room -- Afterword -- Translation Notes

[D.T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The library had volumes 1 – 5, so I’m starting this series.

Making bean paste is serious business.

Where is the characterization? Right now, the characters are pancake-booty flat, and you could replace them with lamp posts and miss nothing; they’re too stale and unremarkable. Also, the evil mama is a cartoon villain. Where’s her Disney song? Every villain needs a catchy monologue. The granddad is way too thorny.

Also, the sex scene didn’t fit in with the flow of the story or the characters as they are now. How do you hate him so much, and not brimming with sexual tension and frustration and annoyance either, but you’re having sex together? I don’t even think it was based off of lust. It just happened.

Overall, this volume was slightly better than the first. But bad pacing may be the death of this story.

[vanessa♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

IS SHE STEWPID?????? gosh.

[Kira Thebookbella · Rating 4 out of 5]

With each one of these books, the relationship between Tsubaki and Nao deepens and the mystery gets a little more thick. It is a great combination.

[marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welp that was fast iykyk

Things are picking up. I like how she is trying to figure out what happened to her mother and who was actually the murder. The romance is giving me whiplash.

Thoughts while reading:

- I knew ittt
- WHAT
- Ouuu he is jealous
- I want her with the other guy lowkey
- OOP not her falling for him
- Bro I thought the grandpa was good
- THEY DID IT?

[✮Octjillery✮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume does a better job of giving us some motivations for several of the characters, but it's still messy plot-wise.

Also, they're bangin' already??

[Jess | jadecanread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, yeah. I'm officially jazzed and with the program. Am I about to try and binge this series before the year ends? In 10 hours, mind you lol.

RECAP: Nao is given another chance to redeem herself to the kimono shop by making another dessert for them. She learns how to make bean paste, the store's way, and struggles. Head confectioner is actually banging the mom so he's out to be difficult. She continues trying, Tsubaki blackmails head guy to get her kitchen time. She comes up with her own version but brings the shop's way to the meeting. Grandpa is discriminatory during the dinner, she ends up sleeping in Tsubaki's room and after some talking, she sleeps with him. Asks him what he'd do if the Sakura from his childhood reappears and he said he'd make her disappear. WHILE THEY'RE BOTH NAKED AND HE'S ON TOP OF HER. Meanwhile, mom finds out who she really is too ohohoh.

Plot thickens!!

[Monica Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nao grew up loving baking, her mother, and her best friend. But then her mother is framed for the murder of her best friend's father. Fifteen years pass and Nao is a skilled confectioner, but she has some skeletons that refuse to stay in the closet. Thrill, romance, mystery, family melodrama. The first volume did a good job setting up the story and this volume dove head first in. This manga reminds me of the Bollywood soaps I grew up on. I can imagine the shocked repetitive and excessive face closeups as each plot point unfurls. 😂Each cliffhanger pulls me into the next manga, but I'm currently on a forced pause from my library. 😭

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Tsubaki's grandfather treats him poorly and doesn't want to pass the business on to him because he believes Tsubaki's mom had an affair and that Tsubaki is the product of said affair and thus isn't his son's child. But that can easily be solved by getting an DNA test. So what is the hold up old man?
I can't imagine it'd be such a scandal if a DNA test was done. The family can't be so prestigious that if it gets out that a DNA was done it'll ruin the family in some way. I wonder if Tsubaki's dad felt the same way his father does? I wonder if something else his driving this behavior.

[Ａｎｔｈｏｐｈｉｌｅ 🪴 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I cant. I cannot fall for him". Yes you can't!! He's the reason your mom died. But is it true? I can't believe it, it gradually gotten steamy 😏👍🏻🌶️ Tsubaki is so hot and i always love men in yukata hehe. But the plot is quite fast isn't it? His mom already knew about Sakura, so what now..

[givememycheetos · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

[Tory · Rating 3 out of 5]

No one does manga with unexpected hyper-dramatic twists like Natsumi Ando.

[Cristina Patón · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remain intrigued

[Reibekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to eat sweets.

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

DUDE ITS BARELY VOLUME 2

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. The story is developing. I like the sweet confectionary pieces and the family drama as a dichotomy, but there also seems to be a lot of other characters and pieces at play, leaving an unfocused feeling for me. Perhaps when it's concluded, I can see the bigger picture/fuller world.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tf everyone got beef with this girl for? She was literally 5 years old and y'all still got beef with her? Homegirl just wants to make wagashi

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’re finally getting into the meat of the story. Nao is proving her worth and devotion to the confectionary and Tsubaki is slowly warming up to her.

I don’t love the translation, however, I imagine this being a more richly worded story makes translating Something’s Wrong With Us complicated. The wording often feels clumsy and requires mental rewrites to understand the underlying message.

The art while well done, doesn’t impress me as much as the story. I’m itching to know where this ends. The murder mystery is still tightly wound. But it feels as though things will start to unravel in the next volume.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something about this manga keeps me interested despite wanting to smack the main character in the head for falling for the guy who's family pretty much MURDERED her mother.

Anyway, this volume dives deeper into who is scheming who. The guy who runs the kitchen, verses how the young lord has control over certain areas, how the old master grandfather is a fucking prick most of the time, to the truth about our main girl after the mother finds out. All big reveals, mixed with some cooking lessons.

This isn't like the best written storyline. Characters to absurd things and everything is heighten to the tenth degree to make it "SHOCKING" for everything someone does. Saying that, I can't help but be intrigued to find out what really happened in the past, watching this family drama is like a little view into any family that they fight over money and fame, and of course our main lead just wanting to cook while also being under this insane house.

I can't stop reading despite having flaws with this one. A 3.5 out of 5.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The contradictions in character actions vs their supposed motivations are confusing. Does the evil mom want her son to be successful or not? It's doesn't seem like it. The grandfather's actions can be jarring but it's too be expected. And then the main two. I think I know the why and what of what's going on. To me, the lack of a cohesive feel adds to the uncertainties and dangers in Nao's life. Nao is the typical "good fenale" central character that occupies so many manga and that makes her familiar to the reader. The mother is cliched in the opposite direction, so that leaves the males, and what little is known about them, to drive the mystery and suspense. We're essentially presented with one obvious danger, but the others are questionable, which should prompt a protective feeling in the reader toward Nao. I like the story but I'm not sure I like the formula.

[Jennifer]

The story doesn’t make a lot of sense so far, and most of the characters suck. The scenes skip in a way that makes me feel like I’ve missed something. I don’t understand who the grandfather thinks will be heir if he doesn’t accept outsiders and also doesn’t believe Tsubaki is related. And...has he never heard of a DNA test? It’s bizarre. I also find it weird that Nao needs so much training in making wagashi when she’s supposedly been doing it all this time and seems to have an instinctive grasp of the art. I know each store has its own recipes, but it’s like she’s a complete newbie sometimes. It’s so rushed and odd. Her fake mom just conveniently appeared at exactly the right moment, and her mother-in-law seems to half believe that’s the truth, despite having the investigation report in her hands.

[georgiaotaku · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. I’m done. I have volumes 1-3 but this isn’t good. I’ve been on a romance kick and there is much better material out there. I love enemies to lovers and food related stories but this is a mess. The story jumps around and is rushed. You don’t give a crap about any of the characters because they have no characterization. Their personality is azuki beans. No joke. Like that’s fine that they are passionate about that but it can’t be their whole story. Also the plot is lacking greatly. I’m really unsure how this got published in the US. They talk about all these Japanese sweets like you know what they are talking about and unless you have prior knowledge it is boring and lacking any form of emotion. Done.

[Kye · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are slowly but surely getting more of the story. I'm not a huge fan of how quickly the romance is developing especially since this is supposed to be an enemies to lovers situation, but I can tell a bump in the road was coming through. This volume was heavily focused on Sakura learning to make red bean paste so it kind of dragged but the ending has me hooked and ready for the next volume.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is definitely in the level of hot mess, but I seriously want to keep going. I am so curious about how this is all going to go down. There is revenge and family judgement within the series, and I can't wait to see how it all pans out!