This will be the hottest summer yet! After overcoming the love triangle with Hagiwara through the sports festival, Koeda obtains even more of Masamune's affection for herself. When the seasons change and summer arrives, the two of them go to the beach with Hagiwara and Take. While at the beach, Koeda's feelings for Masamune grow, and she tells him that she wouldn't mind continuing "intimate relations," which have been on hold since their hot springs trip!
I know this is probably just a typical shojo manga to some readers, but it’s saying something that I rush to buy this manga whenever there is a new volume available. (Digital manga aren’t cheap!) When reading this series, I honestly feel some vibes similar to what I felt when I was reading Kimi ni Todoke for the first time. The only downfall of this manga, I think, comes when it tries to adhere to shojo tropes and story checklists (all the high school events like cultural fests, sports days, summer festivals, the going-to-the-beach outings, etc.). Even so, this manga shines when it focuses on character moments, and I love how we are slowly transitioning to what the cast may end up deciding to do as they enter the latter half of their high school careers. I hope volume 11 comes out soon!!
Summer’s incoming and that means Koeda and Masamume are off to the beach! When Masamune’s prayers are answered, swimsuit-wise, the temperature isn’t the only thing on the rise (I meant their libidos, you degenerates!). Enter Koeda’s dad and add a side of drama for En-chan and you’ve got a full volume of My Sweet Girl!
There’s something to be said for consistency. This series strides along confidently and happily through its plots and characters and delivers a solid, if unexceptional, story. It’s nice to have a book that delivers on a regular basis.
The beach segment is easily the strongest part of the book - a real cut above the series’ norm. It’s pretty funny how incredibly teenage boy Masamune is, but I appreciate that this goes a bit further by showing Koeda’s incredible anxiety over being exposed (relatable to many).
Top that off with how freaking supportive of her Masamune is and how into each other they are and it’s quite believable how they end up getting so drunk on one another that they ignore all common sense and end up where they do.
Curfew foils any attempts at impropriety and leads to the introduction of Koeda’s dad. He’s fairly over the top and, while I appreciate his reasons for being so overprotective, I found this part of the book a bit of a snore. Winning over the parents is kind of a done deal and it doesn’t feel like much of anything.
Speaking of relatable, the story gets back into the groove with En-chan’s attempts to break into manga. Her struggles at trying to write a romance with no actual experience and her difficulty relating to people when she makes overtures are very believable all help to sell the ending.
Downside, besides the perfunctory dad stuff, has to be how much of a nothing Masamune is. Trust me, I would rather he just occupy space as a nice guy than be like some of the protagonists in shojo I’ve read lately, but outside of his endless support of Koeda he is basically a potted plant.
3.5 stars - high start, saggy middle, and a nice tick up at the end. I think I would round up if the parent section had been shorter, but this was still a solid performance from a good series.
This volume focused on two things: Masamune getting Koeda's dad to approve their relationship and En-chan.
In regards to Koeda's dad, it's honestly something that has been seen countless times in shojo mangas, nonetheless, I thought it was a good and pure interaction and I was ok with it.
Next is En-chan. Honestly, En-chan has been treated as nothing more than a side-character/friend all this time so I'm pretty okay to that she's getting a mini-arc of her own. With that being said, I hope Ichinohe-sensei is able to write her story/arc in a pretty and concise manner and also doesn't take away time for us to get doki doki from the leads.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The illustration in these mangas makes me all soft and warm inside. I love the artist's renditions of their faces whenever they move a little close to each other: It does such an excellent job portraying the characters' gratitude and adoration towards each other.
Sex gets mentioned again… but.. interrupted once again LOL The dad drama was hilarious. We see where Koeda gets her love of contracts from!!!! Well, that and her height lol. Now this situation with En? Why did it take so long to get a storyline about Koeda’s best friend?!
Omg this one was so freaking cute. They are so cute together. I loved their relationship. They are both kind of insecure but not about their feelings or trust in each other. Her bestie story line was very cute. But I don’t like the over protective parent stereotype so…