Posted December 12, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 158
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #3 Rating: Synopsis: It's summer, and through sheer determination, Nobuko's achieved a small miracle: she can finally have a normal conversation with her crush. She hopes things can continue on like this forever, but her junior coworker Abe-san imparts a warning about trying to "keep things the same" when it comes to love. Could this fellow side character's love story be a glimpse into Nobuko's future?
In volume three of Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story, the slow burn continues, but both Hiroki and Nobuko are starting to admit their feelings and take a few brave steps closer together. There’s some really cute moments between them, and like in book two, we get some glimpses into what Hiroki is thinking as well. Abe and Kaneko also give them some very good advice and a little push — I love that their relationships with the people around them, like their coworkers, get as much “screen time” as their relationship with one another.
They both remain really shy, and unsure of what they’d even like to do together, but they end up going for a trip to the zoo and having a good time.
The special chapter at the end kind of spoils the flow into the next volume, but it’s also cute.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted December 6, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 158
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #2 Rating: Synopsis: This side character's love story is rapidly unfolding... Emotions are running higher in volume 2, as we finally see things from the perspective of Irie-kun, who's fallen for Nobuko. Little by little they grow closer, and each gesture is leading up to something special. Everyone's cheering this couple on in the eagerly-awaited second installment!
Volume two of Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story continues to be very cute but a slow burn, following the main character (the “side character” of the title!) as she navigates her growing feelings for a co-worker, and hesitant steps toward a relationship. Her anxieties and hesitancies about speaking up are maybe a little too real, as in the first book.
What’s nice in volume two is that we do get more of a view of what Hiroki’s thinking and feeling, where the first volume just followed Nobuko. Like her, he’s never really been interested in someone before, and he clearly overthinks things somewhat as well, but he’s a bit steadier.
There are some really sweet moments during their not-quite-date, particularly Hiroki noticing that her shoes hurt and giving her a blister plaster — he comes across as so sweet and earnest.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted November 28, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 160
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #1 Rating: Synopsis: Growing up, Nobuko Tanaka was always a "side character" standing off in the corner. Now in her 20s, she's fallen in love for the first time. While she isn't any good at being assertive, she will muster her courage bit by bit as she tries her best to close the distance between herself and her crush -- because even side characters fall in love. If you're tired of the same old romantic protagonists, this modest, refreshing love story is for you.
Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story is a really cute series with a hecking slow burn. The main character feels herself to be nothing but a side character — but as the manga opens, she starts on the very first steps of a romance of her own, a story that’s just hers. This is a reread for me; now that I’m following the series as each new volume comes out (after bingeing the first ~14 volumes originally), I was starting to get hazy about some characters’ stories, so it felt like a good time to revisit.
As the volume starts, Nobuko is working part-time in a convenience store while finishing up her studies. She has a massive crush on a co-worker Irie Hiroki, who realises slowly that he’s interested in her too. And that’s about as far as we get in this volume!
One thing I’d forgotten somewhat was how painfully awkward Nobuko (and Hiroki!) can be. Such self-doubt and agonising! Some of it is just being young and having a crush for the first time, because it’s new to both of them; sometimes it’s a really accurate portrayal of Nobuko having anxiety (though this is never explicitly discussed as such, it’s all too recognisable). That smooths out later in the story, because the manga also follows Nobuko and Hiroki maturing and navigating various milestones, buuuut it’s very prominent here.
And for those less gifted at reading visuals: the art is simple and easy to follow, and the important characters have distinct enough designs to be able to follow who’s who.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted October 17, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 160
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #19 Rating: Synopsis: As spring arrives, Hiroki's job hunt is in full swing. Nobuko, meanwhile, is thinking about the future - and in the process, must confront the truth of how she feels. When the choice is between the man she loves and the job she's grown attached to, there is no easy answer. The lives and loves of many now approach a crossroads...
The 19th volume of A Side Character’s Love Story by Akane Tamura doesn’t feature Hiroki very much, and even Nobuko really does feel like a side character at times. There’s so much focus in this volume on her new friends, and Hiroki and Nobuko don’t even see each other… which isn’t necessarily bad, but they also don’t interact very much, and I do miss that.
Hopefully the next volume will remember to spend a little time with the two of them, even if it means they have to have one of their discussions…
In the meantime, Nobuko’s new friends/coworkers have their own love stories going on, with different problems and different needs, and they’re fun to read about too.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted October 4, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Bloom into You
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 188
Series: Bloom into You #1 Rating: Synopsis: Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and hearts, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her…she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself, has her shoujo romance finally begun?
I picked up the first volume of Nakatani Nio’s Bloom Into You because my sister had asked me to try to find copies for her, and I was curious. It’s an f/f manga, in which a 2nd year student (Nanami) falls in love (almost instantly) with a 1st year student (Yuu), and tries to get her involved in her election campaign to be school president.
The art is cute enough, fairly typical really. I thought that Yuu’s initial interest in talking to Nanami and understanding her all made sense, but Nanami’s quick response of falling in love with her just felt too fast, and I feel like Nanami was a bit manipulative trying to get her way and keep Yuu close by. The kiss is completely out of the blue as well.
I can see how they could form rather a cute relationship, as Yuu tries to be supportive of Nanami, and doesn’t mind when she’s not the perfect girl others seem to see. It’ll need some serious development right now, though, as Yuu seems to be completely uninterested in anyone (asexual and/or aromantic). I’m not sure if I’ll read more.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, manga, Nakatani Nio, queer fiction, romance
Posted August 16, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss!
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 326
Series: Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! #1 Rating: Synopsis: Hashimoto is your average office worker—young, and prone to being pushed around by his demon boss, Shirase. His only escape is his favorite online game, and the friends he’s made within. But when he plans an offline meetup for his party, he gets the surprise of his life…!
Nmura’s Turns Out My Online Friend is my Real-Life Boss! is really cute. The reason I’m giving it such a low rating is more to do with me than with the manga itself, which I know other people can enjoy, and it’s because I have a very low threshold for embarrassment squick and the story frequently triggered it. My wife had to listen to me whimpering “oh no, oh no” so often, and suggested more than once that maybe this wasn’t the book for me…
Thing is, it is cute. And as an avid player of Final Fantasy XIV, who has met up with a friend from it, the scenario is perfectly familiar. The problem (for me) is that I cringed so hard at the misunderstandings and the sheer obliviousness of one of the characters. Few people are truly that oblivious…! And the highschooler’s crush was just — well, a highschooler’s crush, those are often pretty excruciating by definition.
So it just wasn’t really for me, but if you have a higher tolerance for characters getting into weird and embarrassing situations, making silly assumptions, etc, etc, then you might well enjoy it very much.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, manga, Nmura, romance
Posted July 4, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 160
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #18 Rating: Synopsis: "My worries may be different, but I'm happier with her than I've ever been."
After their trip to Kamakura, Hiroki begins thinking of his future once again, his summer internship helping him realize what's most important for his future with Nobuko. Meanwhile, Nobuko and her coworkers each take their own steps forward, determined to do what they must to stay with the ones they love.
Volume 18 of A Side Character’s Love Story doesn’t really take any big steps forward for the characters — at least, not for Nobuko and Hiroki, though there are some developments for their friends, finding their own way through negotiating relationships.
It’s a sweet volume, though, with Hiroki spending more time with Nobuko’s family. There’s a cute bit where Nobuko is actually comfortable enough with him to sulk a bit about something, which her family correctly recognise as showing how much she trusts him with her inner self. (And Hiroki, as usual, tries to communicate about it, which is something I really love about them as a couple.)
So nothing startling, just a continuation of watching the two of them grow up and develop as a couple.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted June 28, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 164
Series: Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon #4 Rating: Synopsis: Asahi has never been big on romantic love—her top priority has always been family. But now that Hinako is in her life, her feelings about romance seem to be changing. Asahi still doesn’t know exactly what that means, but one thing is for sure: her feelings for Hinako are growing more intense by the day. Are Asahi and Hinako destined for more than friendship? Find out in the final volume of Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon!
Wow, there’s a lot to love about the final volume of Shio Usui’s Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon. I was sure it’d take longer to get here, since it’s been a pretty slow burn so far, and it seems like neither Asahi nor Hinako were very comfortable with their feelings.
I really loved the scenes with Hinako’s mother, adding a bit of depth to that relationship; I feel like a bit more time was needed on that, because she was introduced in person so suddenly, and it didn’t feel like she matched up with the version of her we’ve been seeing overshadowing Hinako. In a way, that’s how people are, though — the shadows something casts don’t always look exactly like the thing that cast them. The scenes were really sweet and necessary.
And I loved the fact that both Asahi and Hinako seem to be explicitly romantically interested in each other, but asexual. There’s no skirting around their love for each other, but also no skirting around the fact that Hinako’s made it pretty plain she’s not interested in kissing, and doesn’t understand that kind of love.
The whole series came as a bit of a surprise to me, and I’m really glad I gave it a shot.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, manga, romance, Shio Usui
Posted June 7, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
A Side Character's Love Story
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 162
Series: A Side Character's Love Story #17 Rating: Synopsis: Growing up, Nobuko Tanaka was always a "side character" standing off in the corner. Now in her 20s, she's fallen in love for the first time. While she isn't any good at being assertive, she will muster her courage bit by bit as she tries her best to close the distance between herself and her crush -- because even side characters fall in love. If you're tired of the same old romantic protagonists, this modest, refreshing love story is for you.
Volume 17 of Akane Tamura’s A Side Character’s Love Story pretty much typifies everything I’ve come to love about this series. Irie and Nobuko continue to be really sweet and supportive of one another, finding ways to stay in touch and communicate their importance to each other even now they’re not living in the same area.
Their relationship is always really cute, even when Nobuko gets insecure, and even when the two of them are shy with each other, because the whole time they’ve been trying their best to communicate with each other and talk openly. I love that Irie specifically pictures that happening throughout their lives.
When I picked up volume one of this manga, I didn’t expect it to be so cute, for the love story to be so mature and lovely (though when I say mature, I don’t mean there’s any explicit sexual content, because there isn’t). I always smile so much when a new translated volume is out.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Akane Tamura, book reviews, books, manga, romance
Posted May 24, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon
Genres: Manga,
Romance Pages: 174
Series: Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon #3 Rating: Synopsis: Hinako wants to get closer to Asahi, but there is still a lot she needs to work out. What will happen when she turns to Fuuka in her time of need? And how will Fuuka handle her own feelings for Asahi?
Volume three of Shio Usui’s Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon digs a bit into Asahi’s feelings, through the character of her childhood best friend, Fuuka, and through her argument with her sister (and the sleepover afterwards).
The sudden love triangle did feel a bit frustrating, because just as it seemed like Asahi and Hinako were getting somewhere, Fuuka stepped in and asked Asahi out. It felt a bit jarring pacing-wise, like it should’ve come before — but it does help Asahi and Hinako start to work out their feelings and where they stand as well, so it’s obvious in retrospect what purpose it serves narratively. Otherwise, there’s very little push for them to actually do something about the connection between them.
And of course, I laughed a little about the totally unnecessary “only one bed” trope.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, manga, romance, Shio Usui