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Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible #8
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, Vol. 8
Junta Shiraishi blends into the background so much that even his classmates fail to spot him.
His goal is to make the most of his high school years, but that pesky invisibility gets in the way…until Nagisa Kubo notices him!Kubo’s playful teasing kicks Shiraishi out of his comfort zone and begins a friendship—or maybe something more?
Summer vacation is looking up for Shiraishi when he and his friends make plans to hang out. Of course, they all have to pass their end-of-term exams first… Then, Shiraishi gets an invitation from Kubo’s sister to work at a Kubo family beach shack. Sand, sea, and swimsuits, oh my!
His goal is to make the most of his high school years, but that pesky invisibility gets in the way…until Nagisa Kubo notices him!Kubo’s playful teasing kicks Shiraishi out of his comfort zone and begins a friendship—or maybe something more?
Summer vacation is looking up for Shiraishi when he and his friends make plans to hang out. Of course, they all have to pass their end-of-term exams first… Then, Shiraishi gets an invitation from Kubo’s sister to work at a Kubo family beach shack. Sand, sea, and swimsuits, oh my!
168 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2022
29 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 25, 2023
There are still plenty of nice character interactions, but this series is floundering trying to keep the main relationship in a will they/won't they status quo without much else going on to distract.
Wikipedia says it wraps up with volume 12 though, so I'm going to stick it out.
Wikipedia says it wraps up with volume 12 though, so I'm going to stick it out.
July 5, 2023
Kubo won’t let Shiraishi be invisible, or original, apparently. This time, the gang is doing finals, then our leads head to the beach to run a beach shack, which means swimsuits and awkwardness. Then the infamous Japanese chocolate liqueurs shows up and also bubbles.
This feels like the story being a little more ‘tick the boxes’ than even its usual trope harvesting. Based on manga as a whole, it’s clear that teenagers run the majority of beach shacks in Japan, of which there must be dozens. Also, only your aunt can own one.
But it’s cute enough - as I’ve said, adding an actual cast has given this a bit more of a lease on life. It’s always living under the shadow of Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie!, the superior series in this genre, but this is fine for a bit of fluff.
It doesn’t hurt that, having added The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses to my reading pile, this is clearly quite a bit better than some of the ‘dull boy and a cute girl’ series that are out there. So, there’s something going for it amidst all my niceties.
And it’s nice to see Shiraishi come around to realizing that he does have friends and maybe he can think of Kuro in that way. I mean, we’re not there yet, but it’s a start and it’s a good balance between the series’ central gag and moving on from it before it gets too threadbare.
The stuff before the beach in particular, showcasing two childhood friends in the group and their burgeoning relationship amidst the peril of final exams, is a simple bit of friend power, but in a very satisfying way. It’s not amazing characterization, but it adds some extra colour.
The beach goes exactly as you’d expect, Kubo’s cousin continues her amusing low-key war on Shiraishi, although it also works in Shiraishi using Kubo’s first name in a pretty clever way that’s probably the smartest part of the book. Plus, Kubo’s reaction is priceless.
Afterwards comes the mandated beach antics. This volume definitely shows off Kubo a bit, but it is a lot less horned up than you might expect, minus an odd fixation on Kubo’s sister’s chest. The entire bikini section gets awkward for other reasons, but that’s at least a cliche that isn’t trotted out as often.
Even I have to begrudgingly admit, as much as the liquor chocolates trope is the lamest excuse for boozy behaviour in an underage girl, what happens here is not half as thirsty as usual and more an excuse for Kubo to be a little more obvious (and her sister to get annoyed at the aftermath, or lack thereof).
Otherwise you get the typical fooling around and Kubo being super obvious and Shiraishi being super dense. I say super obvious, but Kubo isn’t exactly great at spelling it out unless she’s sloshed on chocolates, so there’ll be a few more misadventures before we reach the finish line.
I don’t think this is a great series, but I do think it’s a ‘good enough’ one. I don’t mind a story that’s going to give me an enjoyable, breezy read and not ask too much of me in terms of brain power sometimes and this one fits the bill. I was pretty hard on it last time, but I think I’ve come to terms with what it’s likely to offer me in a given volume or even over the series.
3 stars - it’s inoffensive, but not offensively inoffensive, which is half a recommend on its own. Enjoyable, laid-back, but, if you aren’t concentrating on it, it easily fades into nothing, much like Shiraishi himself.
This feels like the story being a little more ‘tick the boxes’ than even its usual trope harvesting. Based on manga as a whole, it’s clear that teenagers run the majority of beach shacks in Japan, of which there must be dozens. Also, only your aunt can own one.
But it’s cute enough - as I’ve said, adding an actual cast has given this a bit more of a lease on life. It’s always living under the shadow of Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie!, the superior series in this genre, but this is fine for a bit of fluff.
It doesn’t hurt that, having added The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses to my reading pile, this is clearly quite a bit better than some of the ‘dull boy and a cute girl’ series that are out there. So, there’s something going for it amidst all my niceties.
And it’s nice to see Shiraishi come around to realizing that he does have friends and maybe he can think of Kuro in that way. I mean, we’re not there yet, but it’s a start and it’s a good balance between the series’ central gag and moving on from it before it gets too threadbare.
The stuff before the beach in particular, showcasing two childhood friends in the group and their burgeoning relationship amidst the peril of final exams, is a simple bit of friend power, but in a very satisfying way. It’s not amazing characterization, but it adds some extra colour.
The beach goes exactly as you’d expect, Kubo’s cousin continues her amusing low-key war on Shiraishi, although it also works in Shiraishi using Kubo’s first name in a pretty clever way that’s probably the smartest part of the book. Plus, Kubo’s reaction is priceless.
Afterwards comes the mandated beach antics. This volume definitely shows off Kubo a bit, but it is a lot less horned up than you might expect, minus an odd fixation on Kubo’s sister’s chest. The entire bikini section gets awkward for other reasons, but that’s at least a cliche that isn’t trotted out as often.
Even I have to begrudgingly admit, as much as the liquor chocolates trope is the lamest excuse for boozy behaviour in an underage girl, what happens here is not half as thirsty as usual and more an excuse for Kubo to be a little more obvious (and her sister to get annoyed at the aftermath, or lack thereof).
Otherwise you get the typical fooling around and Kubo being super obvious and Shiraishi being super dense. I say super obvious, but Kubo isn’t exactly great at spelling it out unless she’s sloshed on chocolates, so there’ll be a few more misadventures before we reach the finish line.
I don’t think this is a great series, but I do think it’s a ‘good enough’ one. I don’t mind a story that’s going to give me an enjoyable, breezy read and not ask too much of me in terms of brain power sometimes and this one fits the bill. I was pretty hard on it last time, but I think I’ve come to terms with what it’s likely to offer me in a given volume or even over the series.
3 stars - it’s inoffensive, but not offensively inoffensive, which is half a recommend on its own. Enjoyable, laid-back, but, if you aren’t concentrating on it, it easily fades into nothing, much like Shiraishi himself.
April 1, 2024
This was my least favorite volume so far. I know there has been quite a bit of fan service throughout the series but this was the fan service volume between Kubo all but completely losing her swimsuit top to her eating an entire box of boozy chocolate and climbing all over Shiraishi in the middle of the night.
November 28, 2023
ok idk what exactly was better about this one but it was really good. like ik the beach episode is normally kinda cliche but man this one got some actual story going. i really liked everything that happened in this one. no chapters felt like i was reading the same interaction over and over again.
December 5, 2023
This was a cute volume. The series seems to be slowing down and isn't moving things forward much but I still find myself enjoying the sweetness contained within. It ends in a way that makes it seem like Shiraishi and Kubo will have a little more focus in the next volume.
August 5, 2023
A good volume. I can't wait to see what happens next! Such a precious series.
August 7, 2023
I'm really loving How cute this series is. My second time reading it and I m liking it just as much as the first time!
April 15, 2024
3.5 stars.
April 28, 2024
I rate this 3.5 stars.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
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Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
September 2, 2025
Good development but just a lot of fan service here. I prefer the cuter stuff ya know
October 21, 2023
The struggle of exams (the absurdity of that 0), swimsuits, summer jobs, first names, multiple accidents,
BUBBLES!
and birthday gifts.
Alright, this time I'm calling the author out on being a bit too ham-fisted with the plot. I can overlook them dragging Shiraishi along to the family Beach Shack, but having Nagisa's swimsuit malfunction (twice) really showed the hand of the author. Add on top of that Nagisa "accidentally" eats an ENTIRE BOX of liquor chocolate and gets drunk... I'm pointing out the hand of the author because here it's blatantly obvious.
But good advice on giving a letter with the birthday gift. Can speak from experience, it means a lot when it comes from your favorite people.
This series has 12 volumes.
Alright, this time I'm calling the author out on being a bit too ham-fisted with the plot. I can overlook them dragging Shiraishi along to the family Beach Shack, but having Nagisa's swimsuit malfunction (twice) really showed the hand of the author. Add on top of that Nagisa "accidentally" eats an ENTIRE BOX of liquor chocolate and gets drunk... I'm pointing out the hand of the author because here it's blatantly obvious.
But good advice on giving a letter with the birthday gift. Can speak from experience, it means a lot when it comes from your favorite people.
This series has 12 volumes.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews