What do you think?
Rate this book
それでも歩は寄せてくる [Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru] #2
それでも歩は寄せてくる 2 [Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru 2]
From the author of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san comes another sweet couple's comedy about Tanaka Ayumu, a first year high school student who is secretly in love with his senior, the president of the unofficial Shogi club, Yaotome Urushi. Tanaka vows to confess his feelings to Yaotome after he manages to defeat her in a game of shogi, but he's a beginner at the game and Yaotome always beats him. Meanwhile, she keeps trying to get Tanaka to admit his feelings, but he rarely allows his poker face to slip.
Though the day of his victory is still nowhere to be seen, this is the story in which he may ‘checkmate’ her by other means.
Though the day of his victory is still nowhere to be seen, this is the story in which he may ‘checkmate’ her by other means.
Paperback
First published October 17, 2019
14 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Sōichirō Yamamoto
95 books39 followersSōichirō Yamamoto (山本崇一朗, Yamamoto Sōichirō) is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for writing and illustrating Teasing Master Takagi-san and Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru. Both series have been published in Monthly Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine, respectively.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 6, 2022
In my review of the first volume of this series, I hoped that there would be a greater variety of situations and characters as things went along. Wish granted! We have the sports festival, an event that can always be counted on to add some romantic shenanigans, and three new cast members.
Maki - Yaotome's classmate who plays the standard role of cheerleader as she gets into her romantic scrapes.
Takeru - he is brusque and loud, in contrast to Ayumu's quiet stoicism. He joins the shogi club, sort of...
Sakurako - Takeru's co-member in the library club and his push-me-pull-you romantic interest.
The latter two characters, despite nominally having different personalities from our lead couple, have the exact same dynamic as Yaotome and Ayumu, with an additional weird twist that Sakurako uses hypnotism, via a coin swinging from a string, to get her way with Takeru. I have no reason to believe this is a fantasy, so it must be that Takeru does whatever she wants and lets her believe she's hypnotizing him into it.
Considering what I know about Teasing Master Takagi-san, Yamamoto's other popular series, I wonder if he is capable of writing relationships that work any differently. This is cute and all, but it's going to have to try harder to get a better rating from me.
Maki - Yaotome's classmate who plays the standard role of cheerleader as she gets into her romantic scrapes.
Takeru - he is brusque and loud, in contrast to Ayumu's quiet stoicism. He joins the shogi club, sort of...
Sakurako - Takeru's co-member in the library club and his push-me-pull-you romantic interest.
The latter two characters, despite nominally having different personalities from our lead couple, have the exact same dynamic as Yaotome and Ayumu, with an additional weird twist that Sakurako uses hypnotism, via a coin swinging from a string, to get her way with Takeru. I have no reason to believe this is a fantasy, so it must be that Takeru does whatever she wants and lets her believe she's hypnotizing him into it.
Considering what I know about Teasing Master Takagi-san, Yamamoto's other popular series, I wonder if he is capable of writing relationships that work any differently. This is cute and all, but it's going to have to try harder to get a better rating from me.
November 28, 2021
Ayumu’s shogi game is still lagging behind Yaotome’s, so it hardly seems likely they’ll be dating any time soon. Still, with field day looming, Ayumu gets the chance to really show off, but will the stars align to let him seize the day?
With the exciting new volume shine worn off, we plunge into this latest release and find… it’s still pretty darn good. This tale hinges on a very silly premise and two characters who are one hormone away from jumping one another, but that’s why it’s fun.
It’s not really a question of if here, these goofs are crazy in love, but the when is the obvious problem. This does let them be a little mushier in a different way than the norm and I like the alternate vibe it gives it.
They also cleverly address the premise yet again when Ayumu improves his game just a little bit and he thinks of breaking his rules in what can only be described as a sudden onrush of common sense, only for Yaotome to unintentionally nip things succinctly in the bud.
And so it continues. In the meantime, while we wait for the cauldron to bubble over, sports day! Yaotome has no preconceptions about her sporting ability, but then it turns out that she kind of does. Even some well-intentioned meddling can’t seem to give her a leg (or three) up.
This section lets Ayumu score a solid win, but also establishes his bonafides as a spectacularly good partner. His declaration to Yaotome is enough to give one the vapours. It’s very sweet and I love the balance the mangaka strikes between him being reserved, yet still emotive and caring.
Of course, the shogi club isn’t a proper club yet and Ayumu wants to grant that wish (pure monkey’s paw fuel, as it turns out). Which leads to the introduction of yet another truly bizarre couple who can’t manage to pair themselves together.
Ayumu’s brash friend spends a lot of time at the library desk with his mutual crush who is so shy she can’t really look at him. Make no mistake, she wears the proverbial pants though - much as my tolerance for five-yen-coin-hypnosis is precariously low, her ability and his susceptibility are a very daft running gag (he’s quite well aware that she’s doing this and doesn’t protest half as hard as he could).
And she ends up using it largely to maintain Ayumu and Yaotome’s privacy in the face of an exuberant junior who knows what’s going on but has a strange code of honour when it comes to clubs. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her amazing hair, which is the strangest I have ever seen in a manga. Ever. It’s quite the style.
Between these two and Yaotome’s supportive/pushy gal pal, well, nothing much happens, but they try, at least. And it helps to have a little extra complication to things. None of them are bad additions to the cast and the whole ‘new club member’ storyline ends in one heck of a sound effect (you earned it, Ayumu).
I mean, if you’ve had your fill of these types of ‘waiting for the coupling’ stories, yeah, this probably won’t change your mind (and you must not read much shojo, phew). But if you have room in your heart for one more that’s not quite the usual, you could do worse than this one.
4 stars - it’s probably not quite to that level, but I rather adore this series so discretionary points and all that. It’s not only a cute romance, but it’s one with a different flavour and I really like that.
With the exciting new volume shine worn off, we plunge into this latest release and find… it’s still pretty darn good. This tale hinges on a very silly premise and two characters who are one hormone away from jumping one another, but that’s why it’s fun.
It’s not really a question of if here, these goofs are crazy in love, but the when is the obvious problem. This does let them be a little mushier in a different way than the norm and I like the alternate vibe it gives it.
They also cleverly address the premise yet again when Ayumu improves his game just a little bit and he thinks of breaking his rules in what can only be described as a sudden onrush of common sense, only for Yaotome to unintentionally nip things succinctly in the bud.
And so it continues. In the meantime, while we wait for the cauldron to bubble over, sports day! Yaotome has no preconceptions about her sporting ability, but then it turns out that she kind of does. Even some well-intentioned meddling can’t seem to give her a leg (or three) up.
This section lets Ayumu score a solid win, but also establishes his bonafides as a spectacularly good partner. His declaration to Yaotome is enough to give one the vapours. It’s very sweet and I love the balance the mangaka strikes between him being reserved, yet still emotive and caring.
Of course, the shogi club isn’t a proper club yet and Ayumu wants to grant that wish (pure monkey’s paw fuel, as it turns out). Which leads to the introduction of yet another truly bizarre couple who can’t manage to pair themselves together.
Ayumu’s brash friend spends a lot of time at the library desk with his mutual crush who is so shy she can’t really look at him. Make no mistake, she wears the proverbial pants though - much as my tolerance for five-yen-coin-hypnosis is precariously low, her ability and his susceptibility are a very daft running gag (he’s quite well aware that she’s doing this and doesn’t protest half as hard as he could).
And she ends up using it largely to maintain Ayumu and Yaotome’s privacy in the face of an exuberant junior who knows what’s going on but has a strange code of honour when it comes to clubs. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her amazing hair, which is the strangest I have ever seen in a manga. Ever. It’s quite the style.
Between these two and Yaotome’s supportive/pushy gal pal, well, nothing much happens, but they try, at least. And it helps to have a little extra complication to things. None of them are bad additions to the cast and the whole ‘new club member’ storyline ends in one heck of a sound effect (you earned it, Ayumu).
I mean, if you’ve had your fill of these types of ‘waiting for the coupling’ stories, yeah, this probably won’t change your mind (and you must not read much shojo, phew). But if you have room in your heart for one more that’s not quite the usual, you could do worse than this one.
4 stars - it’s probably not quite to that level, but I rather adore this series so discretionary points and all that. It’s not only a cute romance, but it’s one with a different flavour and I really like that.
April 15, 2021
La inclusión de los nuevos personajes, me encanto, la verdad sus actitudes son muy chistosas, tal vez se sienten repetitivas (algunas veces, pero es lo que pasa cuando lees esto después de leer Takagi-san) pero cada final de capítulo termino con una sonrisa en el rostro.
December 5, 2021
Adorable!!! We get a school sports day in this volume, which leads to hilarious, awkward, and super cute moments between Ayumu and his senpai. I loved the addition of Maki, Yaotome’s friend, who at first I was worried would be a romantic rival…she quickly realizes that Yaotome and Ayumu have a *thing* and spends the rest of her time teasing Yaotome while helping her have one-on-one time with him. Ayumu’s childhood friends are equally sweet, if a little quirky (that hypnosis thing is so silly!).
Excited to see where this series goes!!
Excited to see where this series goes!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2022
For me the constant back and forth between Yaotome and Ayume is such a delight to read, her efforts to make him confess and his to win a shogi game is just too adorable at times.
This volume sees the introduction of some other characters which so far have been pretty good, from having that teasing friend to what seems like another pair in a somewhat similar predicament as Ayume and Yaotome.
I'm keen to keep on going, seeing where this series will go, will it be the same or maybe something more? ~Excitement~
This volume sees the introduction of some other characters which so far have been pretty good, from having that teasing friend to what seems like another pair in a somewhat similar predicament as Ayume and Yaotome.
I'm keen to keep on going, seeing where this series will go, will it be the same or maybe something more? ~Excitement~
February 13, 2024
I ended up devouring the first 13 of this series over the course of a couple of weeks. I really enjoyed the relationship between the main characters. It's super sweet but adorable they just have this sweet romance. The art is beautiful and I found the whole came of shogi interesting. I will continue this series. I did a blanket review for all the books I've read so for. This is a high school romance that is slow burn so and I highly recommend.
January 27, 2022
This is such a fun series. Great little rom-com.
I will say, that the female MC is a bit too... loli... for my tastes, but it is what it is. It's made clear she's a HS 2nd year, yet she looks like she's 12. If you can get past that, this is a funny story. Cute too. The other couple, the library team, they're hilarious.
I will say, that the female MC is a bit too... loli... for my tastes, but it is what it is. It's made clear she's a HS 2nd year, yet she looks like she's 12. If you can get past that, this is a funny story. Cute too. The other couple, the library team, they're hilarious.
June 3, 2022
This is adorable! I still love how hard this young man works so that he feels he can confess to his senpai, even though she already has feelings for him! I really need to pick up the next volume already. :)
Read
November 15, 2024Poor guy is never going to confess at this rate. The intro of his friends is interesting - I like that they just have the girl casually hypnotizing him for the most trivial things. I’m guessing their back story will be to,d eventually.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2021
เนื่อเรื่องเล่มขยายขอบเขตมีตัวละครเข้ามาเพิ่ม โดยรวม สนุกมากครับ ติดตามเล่มต่อไป
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2022
The main couple is sweet, but it’s all more of the same.
January 31, 2022
I absolutely adore these two. This volume boasts a sports festival, a new club member, and Ayumu getting a hang of shoji!
June 30, 2022
Squee!! Adorbsville!!!
July 3, 2022
*giggling while reading*
July 8, 2022
3.5
Still fun to read. Some new recurring characters have been introduced too.
Still fun to read. Some new recurring characters have been introduced too.
August 30, 2022
2.5 stars.
November 21, 2022
Aww these two are quite cute. Usually I suffer from second lead syndrome, but I feel like I will definitely ship these guys 🤔🥰
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2023
This one was nicer than vol. 1, but it's still not as fun as other highschool manga (ALSO, he still looks 30).
October 18, 2023
Me he reído tanto con las pruebas del día de los deportes. Son mega originales y las situaciones buenísimas. Mega fan de la tipa del club de biblioteca, que hipnotiza para conseguir lo que quiere xD
September 3, 2024
The new characters in this book made it a bit more interesting but still not for me.
February 3, 2025
Lovely little read
September 20, 2025
This was soo cute, fun, adorable and just what I needed 💗 ✨️
November 14, 2022
J’avais adoré le premier tome et j’étais impatiente de découvrir la suite de cette histoire. Ce second tome m’a tout autant plu que le premier. J’avais un peu peur par contre que ça devienne un peu trop redondant à force. Je redoutais le côté répétitif et qu’on finisse par se lasser. Mais je suis ravie de voir que ce n’est pas le cas. Déjà dans ce second tome, on a un vent de nouveauté. Ça donne bon espoir pour la suite. Encore un titre de chez Nobo Nobi dont je suis fan, cette maison d’édition nous sort vraiment des petites merveilles, je suis tellement la bonne cible pour ce genre de titre!
Dans ce second tome, on retrouve Urushi qui aimerait recruter de nouveaux membres pour son club de shôgi. En effet, l’appellation officielle de « club » n’est accordé qu’à ceux qui comptent au moins quatre membres. L’énigmatique Ayumu est partagé entre son souhait de rester seul à seul avec Urushi et l’envie de faire plaisir à celle qu’il aime en recrutant de nouveaux adhérents. Pendant ce temps, il progresse dans sa technique de jeu mais il est encore loin, très loin de pouvoir battre la jeune fille.
Ce second tome est dans la lignée du premier. C’est toujours aussi drôle, j’adore le personnage d’Ayumu parce qu’il ne montre rien sur son visage. Il reste stoïque tout le temps si bien qu’on ne sait pas du tout ce qu’il pense vraiment. La tête qu’il fait lorsqu’il dit qu’il est heureux et qu’il déborde de joie, ça m’a fait mourir de rire clairement. On sent qu’Urushi change un peu au contact d’Ayumu, elle commence à ressentir certaines choses.. J’ai hâte de voir comment leur relation va évoluer par la suite. Ici on de couvre de nouveaux personnages, on fait la connaissance de Takeu, un ami d’enfance d’Ayumu. Il me fait beaucoup rire aussi lui d’ailleurs. Il semble être dans le même cas que son ami en quelque sorte. Il est au CDI avec une fille et il est fou amoureux d’elle. D’ailleurs elle me fait tellement rire avec son hypnose elle, le moins que l’on puisse dire c’est qu’elle le mène à la baguette!
Une série qui fait du bien à lire, on passe un très bon moment, c’est une histoire légère, sans prise de tête avec beaucoup d’humour. Un second tome dans la lignée du premier, toujours aussi plaisant à suivre. J’attends la suite avec grande impatience maintenant. J’ai hâte de voir si Ayumu va progresser au point de savoir battre Urushi et lui faire sa déclaration ou alors qu’il va finir par la faire sans la battre ou que sais je encore! Bref, j’ai très hâte de découvrir le troisième tome que j’attend avec grande grande impatience!
Dans ce second tome, on retrouve Urushi qui aimerait recruter de nouveaux membres pour son club de shôgi. En effet, l’appellation officielle de « club » n’est accordé qu’à ceux qui comptent au moins quatre membres. L’énigmatique Ayumu est partagé entre son souhait de rester seul à seul avec Urushi et l’envie de faire plaisir à celle qu’il aime en recrutant de nouveaux adhérents. Pendant ce temps, il progresse dans sa technique de jeu mais il est encore loin, très loin de pouvoir battre la jeune fille.
Ce second tome est dans la lignée du premier. C’est toujours aussi drôle, j’adore le personnage d’Ayumu parce qu’il ne montre rien sur son visage. Il reste stoïque tout le temps si bien qu’on ne sait pas du tout ce qu’il pense vraiment. La tête qu’il fait lorsqu’il dit qu’il est heureux et qu’il déborde de joie, ça m’a fait mourir de rire clairement. On sent qu’Urushi change un peu au contact d’Ayumu, elle commence à ressentir certaines choses.. J’ai hâte de voir comment leur relation va évoluer par la suite. Ici on de couvre de nouveaux personnages, on fait la connaissance de Takeu, un ami d’enfance d’Ayumu. Il me fait beaucoup rire aussi lui d’ailleurs. Il semble être dans le même cas que son ami en quelque sorte. Il est au CDI avec une fille et il est fou amoureux d’elle. D’ailleurs elle me fait tellement rire avec son hypnose elle, le moins que l’on puisse dire c’est qu’elle le mène à la baguette!
Une série qui fait du bien à lire, on passe un très bon moment, c’est une histoire légère, sans prise de tête avec beaucoup d’humour. Un second tome dans la lignée du premier, toujours aussi plaisant à suivre. J’attends la suite avec grande impatience maintenant. J’ai hâte de voir si Ayumu va progresser au point de savoir battre Urushi et lui faire sa déclaration ou alors qu’il va finir par la faire sans la battre ou que sais je encore! Bref, j’ai très hâte de découvrir le troisième tome que j’attend avec grande grande impatience!
January 28, 2022
A fine enough second volume. It had a sports festival in it, which I am trash for, and I did enjoy that. Not a huge fan of the two new characters, especially the hypnosis girl, but hopefully they'll get some good characterization later on. This series continues to be simply average, but that's fine. It's still cute and fairly enjoyable.
March 12, 2022
This series catches its stride with this volume.
Art: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Yamamoto is an amazing mangaka. His command of facial expressions and the human form is masterful. His comedic timing was on fire as well. I have to admit that the first volume was a slow start for me. I enjoyed the art and premise, but the characters didn't feel unique to me. It felt like Teasing-Master Takagi-san's romantic leads melded into one character in Yaotome with this stern boy, Tanaka, crashing the party.
In this volume Yamamoto broke from the shogi club setting template and introduced some new characters. I felt that the new characters helped define and expand the main leads. Yaotome's disastrous sports festival performance helped her character gel for me. Tanaka's stoic chivalry as he tried to save her from herself was entertaining to watch. Yet watching their friends observe their antics heightened the romantic comedy.
Three new characters in total were introduced, and they all felt distinct and entertaining in their own way. Yaotome's friend's personality was defined the moment she rested her chin on Yaotome's shoulder. Maki had the sadistic charm of a predatory cat as she poked fun of her friend's crush while egging her on. Tanaka's friends, a blossoming couple as well, lent support while standing on their own. (The hypnosis gag may get tiring after a while, but is still hilarious at this point.) Yet none of these new characters detracted from the main leads, even when given pages to develop as characters on their own. This is the skill of a good storyteller on display. I loved it.
Art: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Yamamoto is an amazing mangaka. His command of facial expressions and the human form is masterful. His comedic timing was on fire as well. I have to admit that the first volume was a slow start for me. I enjoyed the art and premise, but the characters didn't feel unique to me. It felt like Teasing-Master Takagi-san's romantic leads melded into one character in Yaotome with this stern boy, Tanaka, crashing the party.
In this volume Yamamoto broke from the shogi club setting template and introduced some new characters. I felt that the new characters helped define and expand the main leads. Yaotome's disastrous sports festival performance helped her character gel for me. Tanaka's stoic chivalry as he tried to save her from herself was entertaining to watch. Yet watching their friends observe their antics heightened the romantic comedy.
Three new characters in total were introduced, and they all felt distinct and entertaining in their own way. Yaotome's friend's personality was defined the moment she rested her chin on Yaotome's shoulder. Maki had the sadistic charm of a predatory cat as she poked fun of her friend's crush while egging her on. Tanaka's friends, a blossoming couple as well, lent support while standing on their own. (The hypnosis gag may get tiring after a while, but is still hilarious at this point.) Yet none of these new characters detracted from the main leads, even when given pages to develop as characters on their own. This is the skill of a good storyteller on display. I loved it.
April 8, 2024
This series doesn't have a right to be this cute. The dynamic between Ayumu and Yaotome is equal parts flirty and super innocent, but Ayumu's insistance on delaying his confession means this romance keeps teetering on the edge of "will he?/won't he?"
Then we're introduced to a character (Yaotome's friend) who can clearly see that Ayumu and Yaotome like each other and two more (Ayumu's friends) who know that Ayumu likes Yaotome. And then we get a secondary romantic subplot because this rom-com wasn't cute enough.
This series has 17 volumes.
Then we're introduced to a character (Yaotome's friend) who can clearly see that Ayumu and Yaotome like each other and two more (Ayumu's friends) who know that Ayumu likes Yaotome. And then we get a secondary romantic subplot because this rom-com wasn't cute enough.
This series has 17 volumes.
June 25, 2024
More of a 3.5 star rating;
I like that with this volume, we got to see a bit more of Ayumu and Urushi doing school activities outside of the Shogi Club. It was adorable seeing moments where Ayumu’s stoicness cracked or even nearly broke as a result of his senpai’s cuteness. It was also really cute to meet Ayumu’s childhood friends and see that they have their own little slow-burn romance dynamic.
I like that with this volume, we got to see a bit more of Ayumu and Urushi doing school activities outside of the Shogi Club. It was adorable seeing moments where Ayumu’s stoicness cracked or even nearly broke as a result of his senpai’s cuteness. It was also really cute to meet Ayumu’s childhood friends and see that they have their own little slow-burn romance dynamic.
July 31, 2025
like the first one this volume was also very cute.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews