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Adachi and Shimamura Light Novel #4
Adachi and Shimamura (Light Novel) Vol. 4
NEW YEAR, NEW WOES It’s spring, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and Adachi and Shimamura have been assigned to the same second-year class! Hooray! But now Shimamura’s making new friends—so where does that leave Adachi? Can she overcome her shyness to get Shimamura back, or will she lose all the progress she’s made? Perhaps a sleepover is in order!
328 pages, Paperback
First published May 9, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 8, 2021
As is the wont of teenagers, moving classrooms has shifted friendships and priorities. Our titular pair (no, not Nagafuji) are in the same class again, which should mean smooth sailing, except it seems like Shimamura has no problem attracting people to her wherever she goes. For an affirmed loner like Adachi that means more than a little trouble on the horizon...
I’m annoyed by how much this series has grown on me. It’s not especially amazing, yet I tore through it as I enjoyed the latest developments in the glacial romance between our leads (not that anybody’s calling it that, of course) and the other pairings still floating in the background.
Shimamura has always been this story’s biggest problem - she causes a ton of trouble simply by her own attitude towards life and just generally shrugs and accepts whatever comes her way. In fact, the central conflict of this book, her befriending a new peer group, is largely predicated on her not being motivated enough to say no.
It says everything about her character that she never learns their names and most of the time she’s with them she’s just mechanically playing a part while thinking about Adachi because not going with the flow would take actual effort.
I found this generally annoying at first, but then reframed it in the context of Shimamura being the antagonist of her own romance and it makes a lot of sense.
Adachi really is the one who does the heavy lifting, arguably too much at times, so if you see this relationship as the point of the book (and it is), then Shimamura’s attitudinal shrug of whatever as a default response actively works against it through sheer inaction.
That’s probably more analysis than a fluff book about high school girls dating warrants, but here we are. Then again, a secret strength of this series is that it presents very relatable problems (the shifting friend group is something many of us have experienced, I don’t doubt) and anxieties and also happens to have nothing but girls pairing off romantically.
Are these two good together? I wouldn’t necessarily have thought so for most of this book (or its precedents), but they have been shown to positively influence one another and that certainly continues here.
Adachi in particular starts off as the same utter mess she’s been for a while now (fun fact - whenever she talks about not being into Shimamura in a weird or romantic way, she is actually at her most Sapphic). However, another chance encounter with the mystical sets her on her way to being a lot more mature and it feels like a real earned moment.
And although Shimamura protests a lot, it’s also obvious that she thinks about Adachi a ton and, while she might not be doing anything of her own initiative yet (there are broad hints that even this is changing), it’s clear that she lets Adachi get away with things she wouldn’t tolerate from anybody else (presumably - nobody else would ask this stuff either).
Look, fine, three stars, but I’m really enjoying most of these characters and I could go on for another five paragraphs about the things I liked (there is a joke about shogi in here that is genuinely laugh out loud and another quiet section that had me literally grinning to myself).
So, yes, hell with it, I’m going to four stars. Even with the introduction of a no-chance rival, I really devoured this quite happily and I would be reading the fifth book literally this second if it was available.
I’m annoyed by how much this series has grown on me. It’s not especially amazing, yet I tore through it as I enjoyed the latest developments in the glacial romance between our leads (not that anybody’s calling it that, of course) and the other pairings still floating in the background.
Shimamura has always been this story’s biggest problem - she causes a ton of trouble simply by her own attitude towards life and just generally shrugs and accepts whatever comes her way. In fact, the central conflict of this book, her befriending a new peer group, is largely predicated on her not being motivated enough to say no.
It says everything about her character that she never learns their names and most of the time she’s with them she’s just mechanically playing a part while thinking about Adachi because not going with the flow would take actual effort.
I found this generally annoying at first, but then reframed it in the context of Shimamura being the antagonist of her own romance and it makes a lot of sense.
Adachi really is the one who does the heavy lifting, arguably too much at times, so if you see this relationship as the point of the book (and it is), then Shimamura’s attitudinal shrug of whatever as a default response actively works against it through sheer inaction.
That’s probably more analysis than a fluff book about high school girls dating warrants, but here we are. Then again, a secret strength of this series is that it presents very relatable problems (the shifting friend group is something many of us have experienced, I don’t doubt) and anxieties and also happens to have nothing but girls pairing off romantically.
Are these two good together? I wouldn’t necessarily have thought so for most of this book (or its precedents), but they have been shown to positively influence one another and that certainly continues here.
Adachi in particular starts off as the same utter mess she’s been for a while now (fun fact - whenever she talks about not being into Shimamura in a weird or romantic way, she is actually at her most Sapphic). However, another chance encounter with the mystical sets her on her way to being a lot more mature and it feels like a real earned moment.
And although Shimamura protests a lot, it’s also obvious that she thinks about Adachi a ton and, while she might not be doing anything of her own initiative yet (there are broad hints that even this is changing), it’s clear that she lets Adachi get away with things she wouldn’t tolerate from anybody else (presumably - nobody else would ask this stuff either).
Look, fine, three stars, but I’m really enjoying most of these characters and I could go on for another five paragraphs about the things I liked (there is a joke about shogi in here that is genuinely laugh out loud and another quiet section that had me literally grinning to myself).
So, yes, hell with it, I’m going to four stars. Even with the introduction of a no-chance rival, I really devoured this quite happily and I would be reading the fifth book literally this second if it was available.
February 10, 2021
Will the advice of a fortune teller and the motivational lyrics of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” get Adachi out of Shimamura’s friendzone and into her love zone?
June 2, 2022
I was beginning to think "this is going TOO slow, taking TOO long to progress" but from the second half on, they fed me enough growth and development to stay hooked on the line.
Kind of hard to "review" something that is part 4 of a single contiguous story. If for some reason you have read this far and have not been turned off by the story, characters, or writing... I imagine you are pretty "pot committed" at this point.
It certainly has not gotten worse!
Kind of hard to "review" something that is part 4 of a single contiguous story. If for some reason you have read this far and have not been turned off by the story, characters, or writing... I imagine you are pretty "pot committed" at this point.
It certainly has not gotten worse!
May 6, 2024
this slowburn is kinda working for me ngl
April 2, 2021
A clumsy romance is an ineffective one. In the fourth volume, readers are pressed, again, to submerge themselves into a counter-courtship by which the two lead characters are only so-so invested in their own happiness. Shimamura has fully crested the hill of maturity but only casually seeks to answer, for herself, what the future holds. Adachi helms responsibility for her emotional turmoil but only takes charge in pathetic fits and starts. ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA #4 is another slow, uneventful slog.
However much this novel series mirrors the silent, penitent travails of young love, it doesn't make for a very interesting, digestible drama. Real teenagers do indeed fret internally over every little change in their social environment. Real teenagers do indeed scold themselves for every success as they do for every failure. And presumed real romance for real teenagers is likewise a mixture of scintillating flashes of arousal and slow-burning prickles of nameless attraction. The problem for ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA #4, however, is that when these facets are abruptly lined up, one after the other, young adult romance is thus shown to be exceedingly accidental, ordinary, and undemanding.
Spring arrives for the girls, and along with spring comes the new school year. The girls are second-year students. Shimamura blends into the hustle and bustle and quickly acquires for herself a nondescript home of sorts. Her blasé personality lends itself to being easily absorbed into teen conversational and group dynamics on a whim. Adachi, on the other hand, is a constant rollercoaster: one day she's flying high, blushing for admitting her given name is Sakura, the next day, she's skipping class because she's too jealous of her classmate's innate sociability.
Adachi's jealousy is the running focus of the novel. It's an interesting choice, because highly introverted characters also tend to be highly covetous. However, as readers likely already know, Adachi has never been a particularly good point-of-view character for this novel series. The girl behaves like a stray child, constantly seeking attention or approval, constantly annoying others with her dithering and indecision, and constantly misdiagnosing her personal failures as the misgivings of others. Adachi is cute. But one can only read so many scenes, chapters, whole books even, about an overly tense and woeful girl who vacillates between paralyzing self-pity and profound bravery at a moment's notice.
Plainly, things would be a whole lot more interesting if these girls were in an actual relationship. This is the largest problem with ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA #4, if not the whole novel series. Because after four novels, the incessant hemming and hawing and dancing and dawdling grows irrefutably boring. The path to romance may not be tidy or swift in the real world, but in chunks of 250 pages of agonizingly weak character dynamics, all of the intersecting humor, drama, and newness of it all fades all too quickly.
However much this novel series mirrors the silent, penitent travails of young love, it doesn't make for a very interesting, digestible drama. Real teenagers do indeed fret internally over every little change in their social environment. Real teenagers do indeed scold themselves for every success as they do for every failure. And presumed real romance for real teenagers is likewise a mixture of scintillating flashes of arousal and slow-burning prickles of nameless attraction. The problem for ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA #4, however, is that when these facets are abruptly lined up, one after the other, young adult romance is thus shown to be exceedingly accidental, ordinary, and undemanding.
Spring arrives for the girls, and along with spring comes the new school year. The girls are second-year students. Shimamura blends into the hustle and bustle and quickly acquires for herself a nondescript home of sorts. Her blasé personality lends itself to being easily absorbed into teen conversational and group dynamics on a whim. Adachi, on the other hand, is a constant rollercoaster: one day she's flying high, blushing for admitting her given name is Sakura, the next day, she's skipping class because she's too jealous of her classmate's innate sociability.
Adachi's jealousy is the running focus of the novel. It's an interesting choice, because highly introverted characters also tend to be highly covetous. However, as readers likely already know, Adachi has never been a particularly good point-of-view character for this novel series. The girl behaves like a stray child, constantly seeking attention or approval, constantly annoying others with her dithering and indecision, and constantly misdiagnosing her personal failures as the misgivings of others. Adachi is cute. But one can only read so many scenes, chapters, whole books even, about an overly tense and woeful girl who vacillates between paralyzing self-pity and profound bravery at a moment's notice.
Plainly, things would be a whole lot more interesting if these girls were in an actual relationship. This is the largest problem with ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA #4, if not the whole novel series. Because after four novels, the incessant hemming and hawing and dancing and dawdling grows irrefutably boring. The path to romance may not be tidy or swift in the real world, but in chunks of 250 pages of agonizingly weak character dynamics, all of the intersecting humor, drama, and newness of it all fades all too quickly.
September 7, 2023
I love this series it is very relatable. It keeps getting better and better. I love adachi and shimamura. I relate to both of them in different ways. For adachi I relate to her awkwardness and antisocial ways. I feel she's a little autistic coded. I love Shimamura because I feel her in the sense of sometimes I want to do something, but it just involves too much effort so I just won't. I also love the side characters especially Nagafuji Taeko. As an honest big boobed girl myself I relate to her. I feel she's sort of autistic coded, I just love her.
September 9, 2023
4,25
Another great addition to this series! Story is as lovely as ever, and the interludes are always a treat.
Ever since I started reading this series, I noticed that I see a lot of myself in Adachi's character.
(Now that I think about it, I suppose that means I should try actually having a social life, but that sounds like a lot of work...)
Another great addition to this series! Story is as lovely as ever, and the interludes are always a treat.
Ever since I started reading this series, I noticed that I see a lot of myself in Adachi's character.
(Now that I think about it, I suppose that means I should try actually having a social life, but that sounds like a lot of work...)
May 21, 2022
I'm only on Vol 4 but I wish I could read from the start til now for the first time again, it's perfect. More iyashikei. MORE.
October 19, 2023
4.5
also, adachi is very relatable for me
also, adachi is very relatable for me
December 16, 2025
ADACHI, YOU ARE GAY. SHIMAMURA, YOUR FRIEND IS GAY FOR YOU.
Reading teen lit as an adult is funny because I can understand the uncertainty and angst even though it's completely irrational, but they're teens and that's what they ruminate on lol
I was a little annoyed how much of a slow burn this series is, and each book doesn't quite feel like an encapsulated story with a definite revelation. Instead, each book flows into the next like it's all part of One Big Story.
As I read the series, Shimamura is incredibly dense not to realize that Adachi's physical affection is more than friendly, but I do like how Adachi is finally starting to get bolder.
I like how Yashiro is no longer on the forefront but a background character, but I'm not sure how I feel about reading about her developing relationship with Shimamura's little sister. While it's cute, it feels kind of weird to be spectating grade schooler's relationships. The little sister comments in an earlier novel about Yashiro's body which I found really odd and not something kids would consider.
I like how Nagafuji and Hino's relationship is developing as a foil, but I always feel bad how they treat Nagafuji like a bimbo, but it's getting better.
I still like this series and think it's super cute, and this latest volume has been very touching and cute, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Reading teen lit as an adult is funny because I can understand the uncertainty and angst even though it's completely irrational, but they're teens and that's what they ruminate on lol
I was a little annoyed how much of a slow burn this series is, and each book doesn't quite feel like an encapsulated story with a definite revelation. Instead, each book flows into the next like it's all part of One Big Story.
As I read the series, Shimamura is incredibly dense not to realize that Adachi's physical affection is more than friendly, but I do like how Adachi is finally starting to get bolder.
I like how Yashiro is no longer on the forefront but a background character, but I'm not sure how I feel about reading about her developing relationship with Shimamura's little sister. While it's cute, it feels kind of weird to be spectating grade schooler's relationships. The little sister comments in an earlier novel about Yashiro's body which I found really odd and not something kids would consider.
I like how Nagafuji and Hino's relationship is developing as a foil, but I always feel bad how they treat Nagafuji like a bimbo, but it's getting better.
I still like this series and think it's super cute, and this latest volume has been very touching and cute, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
January 11, 2026
They’re both problematic in their own ways. Reminded me of that song: I got issues, but you got ’em too 😂
Shimamura is such a jerk in this. I felt bad for Adachi whenever she got ignored, but then again, Adachi becomes so lovesick and such a pushover in the later chapters that my sympathy quickly turns into pure cringe—especially because I know Shimamura won’t say no at any requests coming her way.
Shimamura's personality is interesting to me; she’s the type who just goes with the flow, choosing what’s most convenient for her rather than what she actually wants. I wonder when—or whether—she’s ever going to follow her own heart eventually. An observation made by Adachi really summarises her character well:
“Every now and then I’d catch her staring into space, her eyes drooping lethargically. Then she’d notice me looking at her, and a smile would slowly creep up onto her face. Her delayed reactions made some part of me seize up internally, and until I figured out what part it was, I got the feeling it would haunt me.”
Not gonna lie, I’ve grown attached to this series even though I found and read the first book randomly.
Shimamura is such a jerk in this. I felt bad for Adachi whenever she got ignored, but then again, Adachi becomes so lovesick and such a pushover in the later chapters that my sympathy quickly turns into pure cringe—especially because I know Shimamura won’t say no at any requests coming her way.
Shimamura's personality is interesting to me; she’s the type who just goes with the flow, choosing what’s most convenient for her rather than what she actually wants. I wonder when—or whether—she’s ever going to follow her own heart eventually. An observation made by Adachi really summarises her character well:
“Every now and then I’d catch her staring into space, her eyes drooping lethargically. Then she’d notice me looking at her, and a smile would slowly creep up onto her face. Her delayed reactions made some part of me seize up internally, and until I figured out what part it was, I got the feeling it would haunt me.”
Not gonna lie, I’ve grown attached to this series even though I found and read the first book randomly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2021
the wifi went out just as I tried to mark this as read I think it's a sign. Anyway last night I was trying to think of any books that I'd missed marking as read and I remembered these things that I read in january last year *cheering and clapping*
ummmm I liked the anime well enough mostly because the art was cute so I was like well let me read the rest of the light novels and they were nice enough although I did not particularly like the characters until like the second to last book
ummmm I liked the anime well enough mostly because the art was cute so I was like well let me read the rest of the light novels and they were nice enough although I did not particularly like the characters until like the second to last book
April 30, 2021
Este volumen nos mostró lo mucho que Adachi se está esforzando para seguir con su objetivo a pesar de no tenerlo totalmente claro lo cual fue un avance muy agradable de ver, y con respecto a Hougetsu justo en el tramo final del tomo se nota el avance de sus sentimientos hacia Adachi y como poco a poco ese desinterés que tenía como murallas va cayendo.
March 14, 2024
4 stars. This is the last volume that follows the manga series so I’m so excited for all new original stories for these two. This was good because I do really like the sleepover scene towards the end. It’s super cute and Shimamura has some great self reflection. I hope from here that we get some actual romance going though.
January 3, 2025
A light read. I enjoyed this volume for its simplicity and the moment-by-moment gentleness. At times, its pace felt a little tedious, probably due to over-description of facial expressions and voices, but in the end, I enjoyed volume four and will continue to read through to volume 5. I whole-heartedly believe that these light novels achieve so much more than the anime.
June 12, 2022
Your stalker is getting weirder and weirder, they're even jealous of your little sister. Instead of being worried for the well being of your friends and family you think, "Eh, whatever happens, happens."
December 10, 2024
I can't wait for the 5th book to come in! I swear I relate to adachi so much it actually scares me lol. She's made amazing progression and the story is just so good, I'm hooked. I really hope things between them start working more soon.
February 7, 2022
Review to come.
February 16, 2022
Muy bonito
Read
May 20, 2025I read it all today, so yeah, I liked it. Excited to finally get into non-anime content.
April 3, 2020
這集的島村好討厭喔
明明知道安達很想親近他又不敢靠近一大群新同學
還是假裝沒看到安達渴望的眼神
雖然最後安達還是得逞獨佔島村了(?
但那三個連名字都沒有的雜魚沒表示意見就此無消無息退場
這段處理的很凸兀，不喜歡
另一方面樽見也挺積極的
下一集就要出手了吧
安達大危機!!
明明知道安達很想親近他又不敢靠近一大群新同學
還是假裝沒看到安達渴望的眼神
雖然最後安達還是得逞獨佔島村了(?
但那三個連名字都沒有的雜魚沒表示意見就此無消無息退場
這段處理的很凸兀，不喜歡
另一方面樽見也挺積極的
下一集就要出手了吧
安達大危機!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2020
More of the usual fluff.
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