Shizuku is a shy high schooler who hardly talks to other people. Instead, she loses herself in writing, crafting a novel that she never intends to show anyone. But when her cute, popular classmate Kaori gets her hands on Shizuku's manuscript, everything changes. Kaori suggests that, in order to give Shizuku material for her next book, the two of them should start dating! Can this mismatched pair create their own happily ever after?
[Content warning - bullying and suicide references, depictions of panic attacks]
Shizuku wrote a novel that nobody was supposed to see. But the popular girl in her class, Kaori, found it. And read it. And has suggested that the two of them start pretending to date to give Shizuku ideas for her next book. But Shizuku is ill-equipped for love, it seems, because she’s hellbent on hating herself…
Fake dating is one of those manga tropes that sets my teeth on edge, frankly, because it feels like just an arbitrary gap between actual dating, which the whole enterprise often ends up feeling like anyway. What, precisely, is the point?
Well, I won’t say that this story sells me on the idea, but it certainly shows that you can make it go down a lot smoother if you wrap it up in something interesting. One of the reasons I like manga is that sophomore slump is far less prevalent and this trumps the mangaka’s The Girl I Want Is So Handsome! in a number of ways.
Partly, I love these characters. If the aforementioned first manga series was liable to give you cavities, this one is prepared to just haul off and punch you in the teeth. There is a dark undercurrent to this that I found especially interesting from what seems to be sold as a bit of fluff.
Shizuku’s novel is a measure of atonement and, whatever I was expecting that to be about, it was not what was actually presented in the story. Shizuku is one of those people who has regret for her past, but no ability to let go of it. She’s trapped herself and her happiness and letting those things stop holding her back is currently beyond her.
Kaori turns out to be nearly her equal (if opposite), coming across as a bubbly, popular girl, but there are things going on with her as well. First appearances aren’t at all what they seem and she is much deeper than her personality implies. Plus, there are enough clues that we can guess at even more going on here.
In a very real sense, Shizuku needs Kaori. Now, whether the reverse is true remains to be seen, but there are definitely perks that Kaori is getting from this. She might be a little pushy, but she doesn’t come off too predatory just because she isn’t especially thirsty. She’s just very, very nice. And happens to know where people live.
If you want a change from the usual manga story beats, you’re not going to find it here. They fake date, they even go to the aquarium in the first volume. This is actually up there in terms of aquarium dates, however, as it reveals things about both of our leads and the mangaka is very good at getting across the emotional conflict.
I’m thinking they’ll soften the truth of Shizuku’s situation, but I honestly hope they don’t. She’s much more interesting this way and it’s very intriguing to think of Kaori coming to her rescue from the darkness that she enveloped herself in.
Like I said, it’s a grim book at times. Shizuku is prone to full on panic attacks, very well portrayed, and her actions, at least at present, have a definite unforgivable quality to them that I hope we see addressed. If you want nothing but sunshine and rainbows, I think the mangaka’s original work would be more your speed.
4.5 - I’ll ding it a little because of the lack of originality in places, but I really loved what’s being set up here. Normally I’d leave it at 4 and wait, but I want it to live up to my expectations so badly I’m rounding up. This is not your typical yuri story and it’s all the better for it.
This yuri manga volume is every sapphic bookworm’s and/or sapphic writer’s ultimate wish fulfillment.
Now, the real question is: where is my bookish girlfriend who will read the entire novel I wrote and and go on library dates with me where we don’t talk and just sit down together and read until we lose track of time???
This was just okay. It only took like 15 minutes to read it. I think the author did a good job portraying an introverted character but the art wasn't great. The characters are out of proportion (on one panel, the girl's thigh length is half her entire body height) and there's not a lot of background detail, so it kind of feels like there's nothing to look at, just talking heads on every page. I found the extroverted, optimistic character to be pretty tedious. I was hoping this would be something more like one girl discovering the other's secret fanfiction account, but that's not what this is. It's more like one confesses her sins on paper and when she tries to destroy it, the other takes the confession to read. There's a plot twist at the end that I didn't see coming, but I think it's just because the story has been so vague, and not because the plot is amazing or anything. If you like fake-dating, you might like it.
This is so cute, yet a tad bit dark, and extremely deep. An extrovert with deep regrets becomes friends with an introvert with a secret (I am only assuming here, but I have a feeling). And they start a “fake” relationship. Meanwhile they very obviously have feelings for each other and are so adorable. I will definitely be continuing this series.
4.50 Stars. This school drama will probably have tears in the future, as it is full of angst already. It also seems to be playing around with the Manic Pixi Dream Girl trope, but this time she may be Manic Pixi Sick Girl. Beautiful art, paired with a well thought out story, is a great turn for the author that brought the sweet high school rom com, The Girl I Want is So Handsome! The Complete Manga Collection.
I'm conflicted...I wasn't very invested in their story at first and I felt like the pacing was weird sometimes. The characters were a but too cliche too, but the twist at the end made me more interested ! I don't know if I'll read the following volumes tho.
Ich kann jetzt schon erkennen, dass diese Reihe sehr emotional werden wird. Allein dieser erste Band birgt Geheimnisse und Gefühle, die nicht zu unterschätzen sind. Beide Mädchen lernt man langsam kennen, und ihre Dynamik ist anfangs doch recht seltsam. Shizuku fühlt sich von Kaori überrumpelt, was ich gut verstehen kann in der Situation. Kaori ist schon leicht sonderbar in ihrer Art, aber ich glaube, sie versteckt etwas sehr schwerwiegendes. Shizuku hat auch ihre (mentalen) Probleme und öffnet sich zum ersten mal durch Kaori. Ich mag, wie die beiden zusammen sind und bin schon gespannt, wie es weitergeht. Auch wenn ich glaube, dass ich Taschentücher bereit halten muss … Einziges Mini-Manko: Ich mag diese zweite Schriftart, die verwendet wurde, einfach mal so gar nicht; sehr schlecht zu lesen.
Very cute and touching (and too short!) manga about two girls entering a relationship as an act but slowly developing feelings for each other. They both have secrets in their lives though. The art style was nice too. I definitely want to read the second volume!
Je ne suis pas une grande consommatrice de yuri mais je me suis laissée tenter par celui ci. Le résumé me tentait beaucoup alors je me suis lancée. J’ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture. Ce premier tome est vraiment très rapide à lire, je n’ai pas vu les pages défiler. Ce que je retiens surtout c’est qu’on voit bien que l’histoire sera pleine d’émotions diverses. On a posé les bases de l’histoire, la suite s’annonce mouvementée.
Dans ce premier tome, Shizuku Hoshikawa, une jeune lycéenne asociale, termine enfin de rédiger dans le plus grand secret un roman tragique. S’apprêtant à se débarrasser de ses écrits sans avoir laissé quiconque les lire, elle croise Kaori Asaka, une de ses camarades de classe, qui s’empare de son oeuvre et file sans demander son reste. Shizuku s’attend à ne recevoir que du mépris de la part de Kaori, mais à sa grande surprise, celle-ci lui fait un retour des plus inattendus. La rencontre de deux jeunes filles profondément blessées…
Comme je viens de le dire, j’ai beaucoup aimé ce premier tome. Il nous pose les bases de l’histoire, il est très rapide à lire. Et il est surtout passionnant à lire. J’ai beaucoup été touché par Shizuku. Au début je me suis beaucoup posée de questions à son sujet, pourquoi elle ressentait tout ça etc. J’ai eu ma réponse à la fin et pour être honnête je ne m’y attendais absolument pas. Je ne m’attendais pas non plus à la réponse de Kaori d’ailleurs. J’ai hâte de découvrir la suite pour voir comment l’histoire entre ces deux là va avancer. J’ai beaucoup aimé le contraste entre les deux jeunes femmes. Shizuku est asociale, est renfermée sur elle même. Kaori, quant à elle, est une fille pleine de joie de vivre, lumineuse, très souriante et surtout très sociable. J’aime bien justement ce contraste entre les deux, ça fait un sacré couple très différent. Mais au final, j’ai l’impression que pour Kaori, ce n’est qu’une façade. J’ai hâte d’en apprendre plus sur elle en tout cas.
Ce fut un premier tome vraiment très agréable à lire. J’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à découvrir cette histoire. J’ai passé un bon moment à découvrir Shizuku et Kaori. Je suis très curieuse de voir la suite de l’histoire, comment elle va évoluer et tout ça. Je sens que cette histoire va être un tourbillon d’émotions différentes en tout cas!
I can tell this is not gonna go well at all, but I do appreciate how shizuka is ashamed of her bulling past and is trying to change. Cart, wait to see where the story goes from here
J'ai trouvé le début un peu désagréable parce que je n'aime pas le côté forcé de la relation. Je me suis décrispée au fil de la lecture, et la fin est intrigante. Certains passages sont mignons.
writing and characs are a bit juvenile but im intrigued to see how everything goes nonetheless! i like the charac design, esp for kaori. also this cover is cute ^^
This volume is a slow burn, plain and simple. If you're the type of reader who likes overt signals to tell you where things are going, I'm not sure if this will hold your attention enough to continue it. If you are one of these readers, let me tell you...it's worth it (so far).
I wanted to wait until I finished the second volume before I wrote anything about this opening one, and I'm glad I did. From what I can tell, I think I was able to pick up on many of the subtleties in this volume, which is so very often a reason for me to stop reading a series, but for this, I picked up the next book immediately! I'll try my best to avoid spoilers.
1 = not developed | 2 = underdeveloped 3 = developed | 4 = well developed ⭐ = my personal favorite
Plot - 3/4 I've been trying to avoid high school aged characters lately...it's too easy for manga to make their actions too exaggerated or full of shock value. That's not this story (so far), and here, this age is good. With where my suspicions and predictions were going at the end of this volume, and what I know halfway through, this wouldn't work with older characters.
Worldbuilding - 1/4 It's modern day Japan. Not adding anything out of the ordinary was a good move for the creator to dedicate more time elsewhere.
Main Characters - 3/4⭐ This series will live and die on its main duo. Thankfully, the mangaka says at the end they have been thinking about how to write this story for a while, and it's also limited to four volumes, and both of these details give me hope. If you don't like them or learning about their stories, you should probably grab your coat.
All cast - 1/4 There aren't really that many other characters, but the few who do appear make use of their time. Shizuku's and Kaori's sisters are both positioned well against the main girls' respective personalities, just don't expect them to get a whole lot of development or focus.
Execution - 3/4 Hmm...I like it. Yeah, I like it. This volume might have dragged things on a tiny bit in the middle, especially in regards to Shizuku, but I like how Kaori made an in with Shizuku to enable a relationship to start between them.
Overall - 3/4 I am still inclined to give the overall score less than full marks mostly because the thought did cross my mind to not continue after this volume. It's easy to get burned with manga, especially yuri, and the slow burn here might just be its biggest weakness and strength depending on who's reading.
I started this a few days ago but did not finish it until today.
Shizuku is a shy high school girl. In her downtime, she resolves to write a novel. She hope that it gets picked to get published but it doesn't. She decide to destroy it. The manuscript that she worked on for over a year. When the manuscript falls into the hands of her popular classmate, Kaori she is not sure what to think. She worries on how her classmate will react.
She is surprised when Kaori returns the next day and tells her how great the novel is and wants her to write another. She is even more surprised when she gives the idea that the two of them should date for the summer to give her ideas for her next volume. Shizuku is questioning the idea and not sure why her classmates wants to do this, but agrees nonetheless.
Throughout the volume, Shizuku mentions how she can't get close to people and doesn't want to hurt people again. She feels it is best if she is alone. Close to the end, she confesses that she bullied a friend. She doesn't want Kaori to think she is a kind person, when to herself she isn't.
I hope we see more of the siblings in the next volume. I saw the second volume at the bookstore but didn't have time to read it. I don't know how many volumes this will be, but so far I have seen the cover for volume four so I am optimistic that this may be a long series. I also read the author's other series called 'The Girl I Want Is So Handsome'. I thought it was cute.
SPOILER FOR THE NEXT VOLUME.
I wonder if Kaori is the friend that Shizuku bullied.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
THIS manga. Ugh. Bravo. It hooks you right from the start, keeps you on a tight leash while you devour page after page, and then knocks you down into a little crying heap in the second half. This was beautiful. Its relatively short as even though its 6 volumes, each one is only a few chapters. I liked the length and pace; there is no padding or fluff or pointless sections to this story as the author definitely had a clear vision and kept things concise. This was incredibly heartwarming and delightful, but also one of those devastating manga’s where the author probably wanted you to hurt a little.
In volume one things just get started, but I was hooked immediately. Both protagonists seem to have some secrets that I needed to be revealed. The surface-level plot started up right away and wasn’t overly compelling, but you could tell there was going to me more coming along later (fairly standard manga structure). I’m never sure how to rate manga; the series is a 5, though first volumes are usually the weakest in my experience.
I do not like Kaori. I don't like how she forced her presence on Shizuku and forced Shizuku into a relationship with her. There is nothing cute or appealing about that type of behavior.
What is Kaori after? Is she really simply after another book outta Shizuku? Or something more sinister? Because Shizuku makes a confession about her past behavior towards a friend and Kaori's like yeah I knew all that already. BITCH! How and when did you find this out!?! Is this chick about to go all Misery on Shizuku? If so then this has the potential to become a lot more interesting story/series. Because as far as I know this is just a yuri romance and isn't also thriller or horror.
Now I'm going down the rabbit hole of how the series would be if it was Misery with Japanese schoolgirls and how great that story could be. PLEASE GREAT BOOK GODS LET THIS TURN INTO MISERY WITH JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRLS.
A lot of writers talk about their characters and stories having a life of their own. (And trust me, I know, I’m one of them.) Sometimes characters take the reigns themselves and insist on the author just getting to work. It can be bad, leading to sleepless nights and stressful days, distracting someone from everything else in life. Shizuku may not call herself a writer, but she definitely knows that urge and has committed herself to writing a whole story…only to throw it away the next day. In truth Shizuku never had any intention of sharing it or writing another, she just wanted - no, needed - to get this one out...
I bought this manga only a few months ago on a whim because I thought it looked and sounded cute especially when I am a writer as well. The first volume was a little rushed but I’m sure it will slow down a bit in the other volumes and flow better as a story like most manga do. Right away I can tell there’s definitely more than a cute little lesbian love story. There’s definitely sad undertones and I’m very curious on what’s going to happen.
This story is going to be much more than I expected and I’m excited. The characters are also cute and interesting. The art style is beautiful as well. I loved the read and can’t wait to find the other volumes.