A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Synopsis:

Nobuko and Hiroki have graduated college, and their relationship is now long distance. One an office worker in Ehime, the other a graduate student in Hiroshima, their lives are very different and their schedules no longer match up. The stress of it all leads to one anxiety after another, but if they don't want their relationship to falter, they must learn to face it head on.

Volume 15 of A Side Character’s Love Story is a bit less pure cuteness than some of the others, bringing a serious note. Nobuko is building her adult life in Ehime, making friends and spreading her wings, and back in Hiroshima, Hiroki’s having trouble adjusting to that — to Nobuko hanging out with people he doesn’t know, meeting people, etc.

He’s not even wrong, because Tai is of course trying to flirt with and “steal” Nobuko. That said, she’s having none of it, and it’s really high time for them to have one of their discussions about how they feel and get Hiroki out of his funk.

There’s also a fair amount going on with the new side characters, with both Aoike and Asuka getting “screen” time for their relationship woes, more so than was usual for the side characters from earlier volumes, like Fumi-chan.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Synopsis:

With the arrival of a new season, a new chapter of Nobuko's life begins as well. Now employed at the city hall in her hometown, Nobuko faces all sorts of challenges as a working adult. Even when things are tough or she feels down, staying in touch with Hiroki helps her get through the toughest days. But being in a long-distance relationship comes with its own share of difficulties for them both...

Volume 14 of A Side Character’s Love Story follows Nobuko’s first steps post-graduation, with her new civil service job in Ehime — “long distance” from Hiroki (but it’s not actually that big of a deal, speaking as someone who has been in a long distance relationship that required a full day of travelling — the ability to pop over for the day, as Nobuko does in this volume, would have been amazing to me!).

Speaking of which, Nobuko showing up to see Hiroki’s dad is too cute, and a bold move for her that makes sense with how far she’s got in their relationship. That’s something Hiroki would’ve done for her at first!

It’s also nice to see Nobuko settling in, meeting new people, etc. She’s much more confident than she was at the start of the series, even if she doesn’t see it herself! She’s worked hard.

Rating: 4/5

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Synopsis:

Nobuko and Hiroki venture to Kanazawa to celebrate their graduation, and are enjoying every minute of their trip. But as night draws closer, Nobuko struggles with nerves over the possibility that they may do more than just kiss. On top of that, it seems as though Hiroki has something he wants to tell her...

In volume 13 of Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story, Hiroki and Nobuko finally go on their graduation trip! That’s the bulk of the volume, and it’s a delight: they spend their usual amount of effort on clear communication and sharing their feelings, and they also follow up on the previous volume’s dilemma by finally deciding that they feel comfortable enough to do more than kissing.

(It’s not explicit, by the way — we see them holding hands and kissing, and we’re told that Hiroki was very gentle, but that’s as much as we know.)

Hiroki does also tell Nobuko that he wants to marry her, and that feels surprisingly-for-them undercommunicated: he kind of springs the idea on her, and later affirms he will propose to her properly when he graduates. I guess they do swing back to it, and it’s clear it makes Nobuko happy, but she was so surprised… I don’t think they talk about it again, either.

Strange to think they’re at least two years into their relationship — the volumes have flown by!

Rating: 4/5

A Side Character's Love Story

by Akane Tamura

Synopsis:

"The long summer is finally at an end, and I've just realized that I don't have much time left as a college student."

With her job hunt concluded at last, Nobuko accepts a position in Ehime after graduation. Though she enjoys what little time remains of her college life with Hiroki and Fumi, she is constantly plagued with anxiety for the future. And as her graduation trip with Hiroki draws near, thoughts of doing "more than kissing" are on her mind, as well...

In volume 12 of A Side Character’s Love Story, Hiroki and Nobuko are thinking about “going further” than kissing. It feels surprisingly “immature” from my point of view, given how long they’ve been dating, but it’s a different culture and also, people just develop at different paces — I felt cross at myself for being kind of judgy. Hiroki is lovely about it, of course.

One thing about this volume is that we do hear a bit of detail about Shirosaki-san, which is new: she tried dating, but found that she had no real interest in kissing or going further. The way it’s described in the scene, I wonder if Shirosaki-san is meant to be asexual.

As ever, Hiroki and Nobuko are really cute, all the same.

Rating: 4/5