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Sweat and Soap #7
Sweat and Soap, Vol. 7
SCENTS OF SELF
After a lot of discussion and planning (and so many Post-It notes), Kotaro and Asako move in together, and a new era of their relationship dawns! But will these meticulously-laid plans stand up to the pressures and annoyances of real life? Pressures like…meeting the family? Kotaro’s managed to smooth things over with Asako’s family so far, but his own relatives haven’t had the chance to meet Asako yet. She’s excited to see how Kotaro grew into the genius scent designer he is today, but she’s also apprehensive. Will she leave the right impression, or will that familiar panic overtake her once again?
After a lot of discussion and planning (and so many Post-It notes), Kotaro and Asako move in together, and a new era of their relationship dawns! But will these meticulously-laid plans stand up to the pressures and annoyances of real life? Pressures like…meeting the family? Kotaro’s managed to smooth things over with Asako’s family so far, but his own relatives haven’t had the chance to meet Asako yet. She’s excited to see how Kotaro grew into the genius scent designer he is today, but she’s also apprehensive. Will she leave the right impression, or will that familiar panic overtake her once again?
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2020
60 people are currently reading
677 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
July 28, 2021
They’re so in love 🥰
Very sweet meet the parents storyline this volume, it was very heartwarming
Very sweet meet the parents storyline this volume, it was very heartwarming
February 23, 2022
Starting to believe that no one except Asako and Kotaro have ever experienced true love.
January 20, 2022
Volume 1 ★★★★★
Volume 2 ★★★★★
Volume 3 ★★★★★
Volume 4 ★★★★★
Volume 5 ★★★★★
Volume 6 ★★★★★
Volume 7 ★★★★★
Volume 8 ★★★★★
Volume 9 ★★★★★
Volume 10 ★★★★★
Volume 11 ★★★★★
Aw, we finally got to meet Natori's family! His mom was so precious and I loved how well Asako hit it off with them all. ♥ (Though the bath scene with Natori's sister gave me some serious secondhand awkwardness, but I'm guessing bathing together may be more common in some other countries, such as Japan, than it is here in the US!)
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September 21, 2023
So very happy to be back in this world after taking a short break. This was such a sweet and charming volume where Asako meets Kotaro’s parents. The family interactions were great and everything that you would expect from this amazing couple. I’m glad that Kotaro realized his deeper feelings for Asako in this volume and what that could mean for their future moving beyond just boyfriend and girlfriend.
July 31, 2021
I've already said enough why this is one of the best romance titles I've ever read. This volume just proves it more with a great family meeting. This time she gets to meet his parents and it works out so well. I also love the fact we have some resolution from the last volume and pickup points that otherwise other books would just have dropped. This is an incredible, sweet, and cute series well worth reading.
October 14, 2023
waiting Waiting WAITING
July 31, 2021
Kotaro and Asako are living together, but close quarters caused the first major hiccup in their relationship. As they recover, an anniversary is looming, but Asako has to meet the parents first and Kotaro is about to learn that sometimes the biggest rival is the one we create for ourselves.
While a particular kink brought these two together, this series has smartly remembered its roots while building on them as well - that kink is not what keeps them together, as every volume quietly illustrates. Kotaro still loves to sniff, Asako still deals with her sweating (perfectly reiterated this volume), but they are together because of what they’ve come to mean to each other.
And good lord this book knows the difference between love and sexy and how to show both as part of a good relationship. The morning balcony scene that opens this volume is absolutely adorable and it feels like a “real”. moment, right down to the cold concrete.
Then, later on, when Kotaro helps Asako with her after-work foot massage, you can practically feel the page steaming (to say nothing of Kotaro likely having a whole other fetish awoken in him). There are more than a few great moments like this. I love that this book can show that sexy doesn’t have to be straight nudity (though it does that really well too).
The biggest action in this book is the trip to Kotaro’s family home and it’s such a fun experience since we’ve never seen these characters before (also the green tea fields look gorgeous). I absolutely love the way that his mom’s blindness was portrayed - her request of Asako at the end makes so much sense and means so much in context.
There’s just a ton of good stuff here, including some classic Asako where she worries she’s not being polite enough because she’s so relaxed (and some classic Kotaro before the trip where he uses a request for advice to sneak in some cosplay) and Kotaro’s sister, who is delightfully bubbly.
But my biggest praise is for Kotaro’s incredibly stoic father and I love the tack they take with him. Normally this emotionally withdrawn mountain would be nothing but a disapproving jerk, but this isn’t most books and I loved that the point here is that being emotionally quiet doesn’t mean you have to be a bad person.
Now, Kotaro had a seriously grumpy reaction to Asako getting hit on before, causing a very awkward birthday, and when that guy crosses paths with him again, well, I think we know what most books would be going for here.
Good thing this isn’t most books. Again.
The florist hits it off with Kotaro as they work to correct a flaw with the set-up for an event and he invites Kotaro for a drink and Kotaro, who has been eaten up by this for a while, decides to push the issue.
Well, I don’t think I have ever seen a story ding its protagonist for assuming so much in such elegant fashion. There’s a lot of being forced to realize that you were the source of your own problems and a very non-judgmental point that not all men operate in the same way.
It’s yet another great twist of expectations in a book that is still pure charm and so adult about things that it makes you wish more books were like it. I hope it ends on a high note because this is such an easy recommend right now to people who need a break from school romances in manga or anybody who can see the joy in a functioning relationship.
5 stars - this series is head and shoulders above 95% of the manga I read and while it isn’t hitting its highest highs this time out, that doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything of the sort. I am quite content to finally proclaim this definitively as the best relationship in any manga I’ve ever read.
While a particular kink brought these two together, this series has smartly remembered its roots while building on them as well - that kink is not what keeps them together, as every volume quietly illustrates. Kotaro still loves to sniff, Asako still deals with her sweating (perfectly reiterated this volume), but they are together because of what they’ve come to mean to each other.
And good lord this book knows the difference between love and sexy and how to show both as part of a good relationship. The morning balcony scene that opens this volume is absolutely adorable and it feels like a “real”. moment, right down to the cold concrete.
Then, later on, when Kotaro helps Asako with her after-work foot massage, you can practically feel the page steaming (to say nothing of Kotaro likely having a whole other fetish awoken in him). There are more than a few great moments like this. I love that this book can show that sexy doesn’t have to be straight nudity (though it does that really well too).
The biggest action in this book is the trip to Kotaro’s family home and it’s such a fun experience since we’ve never seen these characters before (also the green tea fields look gorgeous). I absolutely love the way that his mom’s blindness was portrayed - her request of Asako at the end makes so much sense and means so much in context.
There’s just a ton of good stuff here, including some classic Asako where she worries she’s not being polite enough because she’s so relaxed (and some classic Kotaro before the trip where he uses a request for advice to sneak in some cosplay) and Kotaro’s sister, who is delightfully bubbly.
But my biggest praise is for Kotaro’s incredibly stoic father and I love the tack they take with him. Normally this emotionally withdrawn mountain would be nothing but a disapproving jerk, but this isn’t most books and I loved that the point here is that being emotionally quiet doesn’t mean you have to be a bad person.
Now, Kotaro had a seriously grumpy reaction to Asako getting hit on before, causing a very awkward birthday, and when that guy crosses paths with him again, well, I think we know what most books would be going for here.
Good thing this isn’t most books. Again.
The florist hits it off with Kotaro as they work to correct a flaw with the set-up for an event and he invites Kotaro for a drink and Kotaro, who has been eaten up by this for a while, decides to push the issue.
Well, I don’t think I have ever seen a story ding its protagonist for assuming so much in such elegant fashion. There’s a lot of being forced to realize that you were the source of your own problems and a very non-judgmental point that not all men operate in the same way.
It’s yet another great twist of expectations in a book that is still pure charm and so adult about things that it makes you wish more books were like it. I hope it ends on a high note because this is such an easy recommend right now to people who need a break from school romances in manga or anybody who can see the joy in a functioning relationship.
5 stars - this series is head and shoulders above 95% of the manga I read and while it isn’t hitting its highest highs this time out, that doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything of the sort. I am quite content to finally proclaim this definitively as the best relationship in any manga I’ve ever read.
March 19, 2023
This was sooo cute😭
October 10, 2021
Still a fun, sweet series. I’ll be sad when it’s over.
August 12, 2021
i could die for these two
August 7, 2021
What makes this a better romance series than 99.9% of the others? The characters learn, grow, and talk things out when they're uncertain. If you're feeling cynical, that's the purest sign that it's fiction, but that can't take away from the sheer thoughtfulness of the series as a whole and this volume in particular.
December 2, 2022
It's time to meet the boyfriend's parents, so there are lots of opportunities to sweat with anxiety for our heroine. The closing chapter offers up a forced coincidental meeting with a character from a previous volume.
There's nothing terribly dramatic, just more of the reading equivalent of comfort food. Yum.
There's nothing terribly dramatic, just more of the reading equivalent of comfort food. Yum.
April 26, 2023
Was let down by the visit to his family, expected them to be more unique, having an energetic little sister, a blind mum and a nothing burger dad doesn’t make for an exciting read
Read
July 28, 2021bad comparisons are culturally universal i see, because someone said this is like wotakoi and i'm offended because kotaru has a pulse, unlike hirotaka. anyway i cried again.
October 11, 2022
PopKulturowy Kociołek:
Miłość to wspaniałe uczucie umiejące przełamywać wszystkie możliwe bariery. Z czasem jednak płomienne uczucie troszeczkę słabnie i wtedy trzeba zmierzyć się z pojawiającymi się mniejszymi lub większymi kłopotami. Tego typu treści można właśnie znaleźć w tomie siódmym. Po tym, jak Asako i Kôtarô postanowili wspólnie zamieszkać, zaczynają ich dotykać problemy ciągłego przebywania na tej samej małej powierzchni. Każdy bowiem ma swoje własne (dla innych mogące wydawać się dziwne) przyzwyczajenia, które trzeba albo zaakceptować, albo mozolnie próbować zmienić. Nie to jest jednak najważniejszą częścią tomiku. Asako w końcu otrzyma okazję poznania rodziny swojego partnera. Biorąc pod uwagę jej nieśmiałość i brak pewności siebie, oznaczać to będzie dla niej masę stresu, dla czytelnika zaś serię dramatyczno-humorystycznych zdarzeń.
Autorka kolejny raz bardzo realistycznie podchodzi do zaprezentowanych tutaj treści. Każde nawet najdrobniejsze wydarzenie jest na tyle dobrze opisane, że może się z nim utożsamić każdy, kto doświadczył w swoim życiu jakiegoś poważniejszego związku. Z ogromną satysfakcją śledzi się również powolny rozwój głównej bohaterki. Asako nie jest już tą samą ” szarą myszką” jak na początku serii, chociaż nadal musi ona zwalczać swoje kompleksy.
https://gameplay.pl/news.asp?ID=143446
Miłość to wspaniałe uczucie umiejące przełamywać wszystkie możliwe bariery. Z czasem jednak płomienne uczucie troszeczkę słabnie i wtedy trzeba zmierzyć się z pojawiającymi się mniejszymi lub większymi kłopotami. Tego typu treści można właśnie znaleźć w tomie siódmym. Po tym, jak Asako i Kôtarô postanowili wspólnie zamieszkać, zaczynają ich dotykać problemy ciągłego przebywania na tej samej małej powierzchni. Każdy bowiem ma swoje własne (dla innych mogące wydawać się dziwne) przyzwyczajenia, które trzeba albo zaakceptować, albo mozolnie próbować zmienić. Nie to jest jednak najważniejszą częścią tomiku. Asako w końcu otrzyma okazję poznania rodziny swojego partnera. Biorąc pod uwagę jej nieśmiałość i brak pewności siebie, oznaczać to będzie dla niej masę stresu, dla czytelnika zaś serię dramatyczno-humorystycznych zdarzeń.
Autorka kolejny raz bardzo realistycznie podchodzi do zaprezentowanych tutaj treści. Każde nawet najdrobniejsze wydarzenie jest na tyle dobrze opisane, że może się z nim utożsamić każdy, kto doświadczył w swoim życiu jakiegoś poważniejszego związku. Z ogromną satysfakcją śledzi się również powolny rozwój głównej bohaterki. Asako nie jest już tą samą ” szarą myszką” jak na początku serii, chociaż nadal musi ona zwalczać swoje kompleksy.
https://gameplay.pl/news.asp?ID=143446
May 22, 2023
This volume had a lot of cute scenes between the two characters. However, I felt like this volume was lacking drama and discourse between the two main characters. We had a lot of volumes of small issues between them, and I want something bigger
My favourite part of the story was definitely when Asako met Koutarou’s family. The interactions were adorable, and it was nice to see that side of Koutarou and learn more about his past.
This manga still embodies the whole, some cute, adorable romance, that we love. But I’m not gonna lie, I would like something big and dramatic to happen between them in future volumes.
My favourite part of the story was definitely when Asako met Koutarou’s family. The interactions were adorable, and it was nice to see that side of Koutarou and learn more about his past.
This manga still embodies the whole, some cute, adorable romance, that we love. But I’m not gonna lie, I would like something big and dramatic to happen between them in future volumes.
January 4, 2022
This couple is the sweetest couple!
She finally met his parents in this one and that in itself was adorable. I think this one focused a lot on his own growth and how he can learn to manage his need to please others versus his own personal needs.
These two are fantastic together and their vulnerability around each other makes my heart melt.
Onto the next issue!
Happy reading!
She finally met his parents in this one and that in itself was adorable. I think this one focused a lot on his own growth and how he can learn to manage his need to please others versus his own personal needs.
These two are fantastic together and their vulnerability around each other makes my heart melt.
Onto the next issue!
Happy reading!
July 23, 2025
I love spending time with these two. 💞
Subscribe to my channel and check out more videos here: Ginnie Reads
Subscribe to my channel and check out more videos here: Ginnie Reads
December 27, 2022
This volume had such a lovely balance!! It was sweet, sexy, heartfelt, there was even a little bit of tension (from outside sources). I’m glad there there was a bit of everything, it made the story so well-rounded.
December 3, 2023
➺
4/5 🌟
meeting the parents part 2! family scenes in this series are just so nice to see. asaki and kotaro are also slowly getting used to living together. seeing their little daily life moments is just so comforting!
meeting the parents part 2! family scenes in this series are just so nice to see. asaki and kotaro are also slowly getting used to living together. seeing their little daily life moments is just so comforting!
March 7, 2025
Декілька томів тому, він знайомився з її батьками і дуже хвилювався, аж ось настала пора і головній героїні познайомитися з родиною свого коханого. Дуже тепла і домашня частина історії. Мене ця манґа надихає.
November 26, 2021
We get to meet Kotaro's family and see even more examples of love and acceptance and family. This whole series just makes me happy inside!
April 22, 2022
They go to visit his parents now. Still adorbs. Still excellent communicators.
September 12, 2022
I think this was the best one yet.
April 26, 2023
3.5
Family visit was a bit disappointing :( his family kinda dull
Family visit was a bit disappointing :( his family kinda dull
August 8, 2023
i'm obsessed with this couple! they understand each other like no one else
August 12, 2023
This one was so sweet, it was almost toothache-inducing.
December 31, 2023
I’m not sure I will ever rate a book in this series less than 5 stars 😍😍😍
January 21, 2024
I love how they communicate so well like wow have I ever heard anyone in real life be so sincere?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews