Shortcake Cake, Vol. 12

ショートケーキケーキ [Short Cake Cake] #12

by Suu Morishita

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Riku moves back into his childhood home, but he invites everyone from the boardinghouse to a hot springs resort. Is there a future together for Riku and Ten?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Contemporary, Slice Of Life

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2019

About the author

MORISHITA Suu
Name (in native language): 森下ｓｕｕ

Blood type: A
Zodiac: Taurus

Mangaka duo: Story: Makiro (マキロ）, Illustration: Nachiyan (なちやん）

Favourite food: chicken nanban

Assistant: Aizawa Yuki-mei

Reviews

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOUTUBE VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/BVD99nvqgvs

Updated Review 5/23/25: I am so glad I reread this series! It was powerful and heart moving, reminding me why I loved it so deeply the first time! The joy of seeing everyone together, smiling, was one of the most beautiful and heartfelt ways to wrap up this series!

I still highly recommending this one if you haven't checked it out yet!

Original Review 6/2o/22: This was an amazing conclusion to this series!!

I felt so happy when I finished and really appreciated the happy ending! Not because of the romance and how happy that made me feel, but how in multiple relationships/feelings there was a love and care that might have not been there in the beginning or of how strong it is now. The friendships these housemates have made along the way and how their friendships have deepened was so wonderful and really touched by heart.

I will say I appreciated the extra focus on Riku and Ten though! So glad Morishita gave us those happy and moving moments because goodness my heart needed them after these past few volumes! LOL! Seeing Riku REALLY smile made my heart feel lighter and just really really loved the ending!

The bonus stories of course just made this ending all the more sweeter! LOL! I felt all of them were absolutely amazing and really enjoyed them! (Plus Riku and Ten! <3 <3 <3)

Overall, this was such a wonderful series! Thankful for the manga community encouraging me to read/try it because it's one I will read again! <3

[Kesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shortcake Cake is one of my least liked mangas I've read and definitely the worst read of the year.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

All good things must come to an end. So too must Shortcake Cake. We are well and truly done with this series, which is fine by me because I finished with it about five volumes ago. Now it can fade to nothing in my memory.

Clearly objectivity is not the watchword for this review. The series proper ends with Riku and Ten together and Ten saying how much more scared and recognizant of the fragility of people she’s become. Which apparently is a good thing? I’ve rarely seen a book so eager to beat its lead down to a placid pile of pubescence.

They literally have a huge panel of ‘everybody loves you, Riku’ which is so emblematic of what a total tire fire this series turned into for me by the end. I mean, it’s not the first manga that couldn’t stick a landing, but the zeal with which it clearly believed it was right was... a thing.

Riku remains an absolute nothing of a character who, despite the book’s tell-not-show insistence, never rose above being a useless flirt who was infinitely less interesting than anybody else in the book. I cannot offer you a single compelling reason why I should be invested in his story.

Obviously if you were okay with this pairing you can just chow down on this book like it was pure endorphins because you will, I admit, be very well served. I am not the type to grumble about authorial intent with relationships, but there was no saving this one. I have never read a shojo where I so utterly disagreed with the outcome such that I found the book very wanting.

Anyway, you get half this volume as bonus chapters about what happens next and outside of one incredibly out of left field pairing it all goes pretty much as expected, including the fact that Agatha basically got thrown into a ditch as the story went on. Every other happy ending you can imagine is thrown in just in case.

The very last chapter focuses in on Chiaki and gives him his own happy ending and it turns out to be exactly the ending that I assumed was being seeded many, many chapters ago. It’s a nice ending and reminder that this book was really well written once upon a time, but too little, too late.

2 stars, up to 2.5 for the Chiaki finale. But no chance I would ever give this anything above that. Absolutely none. This series has nothing left to offer me and I have zero intention of revisiting it in the future.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art for this series is so pretty. I love the way the characters are drawn so much. I especially love their adult appearances. They all look so good!! This was a perfectly wrapped conclusion in which everyone got coupled up and lived happily ever after. I think it ended nicely and while it wasn't my favorite shoujo, I did enjoy it overall.

[Ambur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating somewhere around 4.5 stars.

This has been a bit of a mid-list manga for me for quite a while since I was never a big fan of Riku, and I hated how Ten’s story evolved into being all about Riku all the time, but I really loved how much of the other characters we got in this final volume. I went into it expecting to like it, but not love it, so this was a super pleasant surprise!

Ran and Shingen’s part was wonderful. So happy for them! I loved seeing more of Rei...who has surprisingly become one of my fave characters and had such a glow-up here...like wow! I wouldn’t mind a short spin-off with him...just saying. Haha I also really loved that Chiaki finally got some attention...I’ve hated seeing him get pushed so much to the side of the story and how Riku’s been so rude to him throughout the series despite how much Chiaki wanted to be his friend, but Chiaki’s persistence paid off and I’m so happy to see him happy. Also felt like his little side story was so sweet and perfect here.

Overall, I loved this final volume. I do wish the series as whole spent much less time revolving around Riku though—Ten became such a shadow of herself the further the series went on, so I really do wish her part of the story had been better developed, but at this point, I didn’t expect much on that front, especially in the final volume. It was great that the majority of this final volume gave us some of the other characters though!

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this volume was my favorite of the series, no conflicts just a charming wrap up of the crew’s high school lives, and a peek at their futures.

Riku and Ten are so sweet and honest with each other, and I was so happy we were gifted a look into their adult relationship – navigating college in different areas and then post-wedding.

I loved Chiaki’s decision to open a bookstore, and I was pleasantly surprised with the bonus story giving Chiaki his own happy ending. Hotaru and Chiaki are such a fitting pair and the glimpse into their relationship start to finish was 👌

I’d be interested in a follow up josei story following Rei. I love how oblivious and brash he is with people. It’d be great to see more of him navigating romantic relationships.

And FINALLY! Shiraoka gets real with Ran and I was HERE FOR IT. Actually, they better appear in this mythical Rei follow up I’ve devised. They’d make a great counterpart in Rei’s story.

[MargReadsManga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this final volume. It was full of love and sweetness. I still think volume 11 was the best in the series. I’m not sure how I feel about Chiaki’s ending tho…

[saf · Rating 5 out of 5]

HUGE BLOODY SLAY

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ran and Shiraoka get together and it’s SQUEEEEEEE JUST TOO CUTE, the romance ahhhhhh（≧∇≦）

Riku has finally opened up to Ten, and their adult relationship is even better. Riku ages like a fine wine…!! hate to say it but I didn’t care for Chiaki’s hairstyle when he gets older, Riku definitely had the better glow-up.

Rei is finally a more mature character. loved how he takes care of Ran and Shiraoka’s baby girl, and his budding relationship with Sara is promising (〃ω〃)

I knew Chiaki would end up with Hotaru after the hint in volume 10 (or was it 9?). surprisingly cute pairing, and I was happy to see Chiaki get his happily ever after too.

overall I’d give the series 4.5★ - cute, sweet, overly dramatic, gorgeously drawn, and perfectly ended. I definitely understand the valid criticisms others have had here…but even if it wasn’t my absolute favorite series, I loved it and couldn’t put it down once the story got going. also, definitely the best male lead friendships I’ve seen so far in a manga!! Riku + Chiaki forever. too adorable.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was inoffensive but very average and a little bland. None of the characters were particularly interesting or had much personality. The story switched from following Ten to being all about Riku, I didn't mind the switch but I didn't care about it either though I didn't care much about Ten as she was pretty dense over such simple and obvious things. The ending with the timeskip was quite abrupt and it fell into the trope of everything is solved so let's skip years ahead. There wasn't much plot for the first have of the series and the plot when the series was all about Riku was so obvious and I knew what was going to happen volumes before it happened as it was all very generic and unoriginal (just like Chiaki's ending was too) and not much more enjoyable than the first half.

Overall I'd give this series a 5.5/6 out of 10 stars.

[Liza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished for the sake of finishing it. With how it became the Riku story at the end, I didn't care too much about this volume and where everyone ended up but I got this far right?

The art is pretty at least.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid final volume

[Tânia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing

[Lyrica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very satisfying conclusion. What a cute series!

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

“but chiaki likes you a whole lot more than he likes me” nothing as true has been said.

shingen is such a flirt, he is my type of male lead 🫣 and it’s so cute how much he cares about rei too.

rei being awkward with pictures is kinda adorable.

little hina being so in love with rei… i adore her hajdhdksk and she even says is not because of the money and that chiaki is also handsome… she has amazing taste.

chiaki confessing his feelings wow 😳 and she’s a librarian, living the dream for real. “you can deceive me. i don’t mind” okay chiaki you’re smooth.

all in all, i’m really satisfied with the ending of this series and even if i lost interest at times it was a good read. as the authors said, i will indeed keep this series in my mind for a long time.

[wluvyuu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book. I went in expecting a cute, fluffy romance, but boy was I wrong. As I read, I experienced love, loss, grief, abandonment, friendship, found family, and reconciliation. I adored all the characters, and the bond they share is so precious. I liked the story from the very beginning, but it was in the later volumes that I truly fell in love with it. Even now, years later, I often find myself remembering this book and feeling an intense wave of emotions all over again. Shortcake Cake will forever hold a special place in my heart.

[Émilie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series was saved by its art :/ it was just so disappointing to watch Ten go from a decently interesting protagonist to literally only existing to aid Riku's story. She lost all of her character and ended up so bland. :((((

[Judyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m pretty okay with that ending. I think it wrapped up nicely.

I never really felt too much for Ten or Riku, I thought they were an okay couple. I’m actually really happy that we got a whole epilogue for Chiaki, because I did like him the most.

[CrazyBug456 · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️4,8

[Dominique Gartsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute and lovely series, I will definitely read it again❤️❤️

[Katie❄️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute series.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet ending that wraps up the story. This volume is mostly "bonus stories" (three of them) that are flash forwards to see where everyone ended up.

[AddisonA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t believe the series is over 🥲 I loved every bit of it, this series definitely holds a special place in my heart 🫶

[allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

chiaki couldn't have riku so he settled for his sister 😭😭

[Pleiades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I put on Fourth of july by Sufjan Stevens when Riku confronted his mom, and now I can't stop crying

[Chaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entire series is so sweet and enjoyable. I love this author's manga sm. I can't wait to read more from them.

[Melima · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Chiaki finale and the abrupt end of the others characters was bad, except Ten adn Riku that had a pretty end. Anyway, it’s a nice ending and reminder that this series was really well written once upon a time, but the end was too little, too late.

[zah · Rating 4 out of 5]

another goldmine from the works of Morishita-sensei!!!!

a year ago, I found out about this series after I have re-read Hibi Chouchou after so many years now, and wow, this was great. It was unfortunate that I had to put this series on hold last year due to me not having enough copies of the series as of yet, but NOW, I have finally finished it. Very fast-paced, the way that some characters change in terms of appearance and the symbolism of the growth of their story and themselves were so great to see. This story is a lot more heavy compared to Hibi Chouchou, and while I was pretty appalled that it took a turn to be this dark (for a shoujo, too, that is) the writing is just so beautiful and enchanting that I could not stop reading this manga whatsoever.

Every character is well fleshed out, even if it is very much fast paced, but all 54 chapters were really really well written, albeit just some problems here and there (*cough* consent when it comes to hugging or kissing, aka touching in general but i think that's a ME problem) but every relationship was so great to see!!!! Ten has got to be one of my favorite shoujo manga heroines at this point, her character is superb. Riku and Chiaki are both so precious please, and their growth *chef's kiss* the way that Morishita-sensei fed us with their character design changes throughout childhood, middle school, high school, and even adulthood (aka college and so on) ?! IT WAS AMAZING!!! seeing them in their different forms can really tell you how much they have matured in the story. Rei is also a very interesting character, and the gap moe....... yes....... yes. And the fact that when he gradually feels happier his eyes and expression softens ....... yes. His earnest feelings was so well drawn too. I do really get surprised how GOOD this manga is in terms of the ART. same goes to Sensei's other works, the art, expressions, body language, is just so GOOD.

I wish we had gotten more than just 54 chapters... sigh. it was real good, however, and the way the story wrapped up itself was soooo fulfilling. It's really sad when I had to let this story go when it ended.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this final volume. It gave me everything I needed and more. It didn’t leave me guessing on the characters’ futures.

Shortcake Cake is truly one of my favorite new shojo series. It made me feel so much. I laughed. I smiled. I cried sad tears and then happy ones. It’s a story about friendship, first love, family and forgiveness. I adore the story and the characters.
Ten and Riku’s love was so sweet and gentle. I loved how he knew instantly that he liked her but she wasn’t for it. Haha. It took time to get to know him and then she fell for him too. The temporary love triangle with Chiaki was a bit strange and wasn’t really necessary but when he confessed, Ten let him know right away that it wasn’t mutual. She didn’t let it drag on.
Now onto Chiaki... he was a great character. He was so weird but I loved it. He was an awesome friend to Ten and Riku (even when competing for Ten’s affection). His bro crush on Riku was the icing on the cake and a great use of comic relief.
And I can’t forget Rei. He was an angry little demon but I enjoyed his character. His anger and name calling always made me crack up.

Anyway, I’m rambling too much. I just really love this series. It does take a while to get serious but it’s worth the read. Volumes 8-12 really shined for me.
I give this series a 5/5. I absolutely adore suu Morishita and hope to see lots more of their work!!! (Currently Sign of Affection is their newest title out in english and I’m loving that one was well! Check it out!)