Suzuki has enough energy for six people, but the object of her affection is the quiet and taciturn Tani. With surprising ease, the two end up attached, but establishing the relationship and maintaining it are two different things.
Between this, Blue Box, and Akane-banashi I might have to retire my position that Shonen Jump is the bane of my manga existence. I won’t be jumping for joy at whatever action stuff is coming, but this sort of thing is a hoot.
Suzuki continually includes Tani in her inane conversations because she’s showing (or attempting to) that she cares. And he actually recognizes that. And then they start going out in the first chapter. Now that’s progress!
Except, as the title suggests, they are very different people who happen to have an attraction. Now they get the joy of finding out how to navigate coupledom and the prying eyes of classmates. Mistakes are made, but fun is had and love shines through. What more do you want? The central premise of finding that balance between what you both like is really welcome.
Both our leads are pretty solid, though as the firecracker of the two, Suzuki leaves the biggest impact. She’s torn from the exact same cloth as Clara from Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!, except with a dollop more common sense and boy problems.
Tani is quiet, but observant, and appears blunt but is really quite well aware of his own nature. Both of them are getting used to the idea of their mutual attraction, but even if Suzuki is front and centre, there’s lots of room for Tani.
Even with him being so quiet, the story wisely doesn’t limit this to Suzuki’s viewpoint. There is definitely a tendency in stories like this to leave the more stoic character behind while the manic one gets the focus. The split here isn’t even, but it’s better than other manga I’ve seen.
There’s an especially cute part at the end where Tani and one of Suzuki’s best friends start to get to know one another better and it pretty much nails that great feeling of two people sharing a joke and growing closer because of it.
Not that close, mind, as our leads are absolutely goofy for one another. Relationship-forward stories are always a bit of a treat and, while it remains to be seen how much gas is in this tank, there’s a lot left to be done here that makes me hopeful for a few solid volumes.
And the whole thing is remarkably wholesome; there’s a nice all-ages quality to it. Plus, it has a very noodle-y, cartoony art style that suits it just fine - Suzuki gets some ridiculous poses and actions - but also knows when to go in for the kill too.
Also, Tani has a cat called Tempura, so that’s an automatic win.
4 stars - I wouldn’t reach for this if I wanted something weighty, but it would definitely be on my list if I wanted something light that was also pretty darn good. Definitely coming back for more.