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Sweat and Soap #9
Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9
COME WHAT MAY
Now that Kotaro and Asako have gotten used to living together, they’ve started to think about what their future holds. It’s an exciting—and somewhat terrifying—prospect, one made all the more difficult when the haunting reappearance of a ghost from Asako’s past threatens their happily ever after...
Now that Kotaro and Asako have gotten used to living together, they’ve started to think about what their future holds. It’s an exciting—and somewhat terrifying—prospect, one made all the more difficult when the haunting reappearance of a ghost from Asako’s past threatens their happily ever after...
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
November 17, 2021
“I want to hold you. Can I?”
im crying and screaming and throwing up 🤧 i need the next volume NOW
im crying and screaming and throwing up 🤧 i need the next volume NOW
September 25, 2023
Oh my….
This hurt my feelings terribly. My heart breaks for Asako. People never realize the long lasting impact that bullying can have on people. I’m glad that Kotaro refused to give up on their relationship even though it was tough on him. He continued to fight until she felt comfortable to talk about what was bothering her and he was instantaneously supportive. I really really loved this installment in the series. It’s such a realistic depiction of relationships.
This hurt my feelings terribly. My heart breaks for Asako. People never realize the long lasting impact that bullying can have on people. I’m glad that Kotaro refused to give up on their relationship even though it was tough on him. He continued to fight until she felt comfortable to talk about what was bothering her and he was instantaneously supportive. I really really loved this installment in the series. It’s such a realistic depiction of relationships.
May 16, 2022
Volume 1 ★★★★★
Volume 2 ★★★★★
Volume 3 ★★★★★
Volume 4 ★★★★★
Volume 5 ★★★★★
Volume 6 ★★★★★
Volume 7 ★★★★★
Volume 8 ★★★★★
Volume 9 ★★★★★
Volume 10 ★★★★★
Volume 11 ★★★★★
My dumb ass went ahead and devoured this volume, knowing full well that I have a four week wait time for the next volume from the library... siiiiiiigh
I just love these two so much and want them to be happy. Asako's mental health struggles in this volume broke my heart. 💔
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September 22, 2021
I was so ready to throw hands for Asako!
June 16, 2026
CW// mentions of divorce
Volume nine starts off really sweet with a child-like wonder to the love between Asako and Kotaro, but it ends up hitting really close to home for me with the major conflict toward the end of the volume. I love the way that this series continuously not only portrays common issues in relationships but also portrays how to work through them in healthy ways.
Volume nine starts off really sweet with a child-like wonder to the love between Asako and Kotaro, but it ends up hitting really close to home for me with the major conflict toward the end of the volume. I love the way that this series continuously not only portrays common issues in relationships but also portrays how to work through them in healthy ways.
February 2, 2023
Throughout this manga, our main leads' relationship develops relatively slowly yet steadily. They start going out rather early and occasionally succeed admirably in their "relationship ambitions."
It's almost like love = what they have ❤️
It's almost like love = what they have ❤️
November 23, 2021
Koutarou and Asako continue their cute relationship but when Asako goes on vacation, something major happens.
At first the vacation back home for Asako is nice. She visits a old friend and they get to talking. It's a great scene, some funny bits with Asako's childhood friend kid there who is adorable. They talk about life, separation from their partners, really good mature themes. Then in comes a old school mate of Asako who insults her, maybe not fully on purpose, but the nickname she uses floods Asako's mind with the past and her hatred towards her own body.
And that's the thing. The bullying is bad enough but it's the self hate that hits hard. I won't get too personal but growing up overweight (and still am) my body image is all kinds of screwed up. I hate my own body. Even when I dropped 100+ pounds in my early 20s, or 45 pounds two years ago, I always seem to gain it back eventually. And the images of my past, of being called fat or any other insult always come back to me at the worst times. And so with Asako always sweating and smelling, when someone mentions a old nickname, all those horrible memories flood back into her.
And the way she deals with it is very personal. I felt extremely bad for her but I'm glad this series didn't just brush it off. We need more of this.
A 5 out of 5.
At first the vacation back home for Asako is nice. She visits a old friend and they get to talking. It's a great scene, some funny bits with Asako's childhood friend kid there who is adorable. They talk about life, separation from their partners, really good mature themes. Then in comes a old school mate of Asako who insults her, maybe not fully on purpose, but the nickname she uses floods Asako's mind with the past and her hatred towards her own body.
And that's the thing. The bullying is bad enough but it's the self hate that hits hard. I won't get too personal but growing up overweight (and still am) my body image is all kinds of screwed up. I hate my own body. Even when I dropped 100+ pounds in my early 20s, or 45 pounds two years ago, I always seem to gain it back eventually. And the images of my past, of being called fat or any other insult always come back to me at the worst times. And so with Asako always sweating and smelling, when someone mentions a old nickname, all those horrible memories flood back into her.
And the way she deals with it is very personal. I felt extremely bad for her but I'm glad this series didn't just brush it off. We need more of this.
A 5 out of 5.
August 14, 2023
With every new volume of this series, it continues to surpass any expectations as one of the best-written romance manga series I've read with 3-dimensional characters that continue to make me so happy I started this series.
December 29, 2021
Crying.
November 12, 2021
This may be a very personal opinion, but I like the way that one mean comment from a "former" bully sends Asako into a doom spiral. Not because I enjoy seeing characters tormented, but because for some of us who experienced that sort of torment, a breakdown really is just one hair-trigger away. It felt very real, especially Asako's attempt to keep her problems, which she's now ashamed of because "they" say that you should get over your childhood issues by adulthood, to herself. She's suffering, but she doesn't feel like she has the right to, something that's certainly a real feeling. If she and Kotaro are going to make it work, she has to come to trust him even with what she hates about herself, and I think this volume did a good job of bringing her to that point.
And yeah. Some childhood bullies never change. They get older, they don't grow up.
And yeah. Some childhood bullies never change. They get older, they don't grow up.
September 25, 2021
Asako’s pain… My heart hurts for her. I remember being bullied as a kid. You never forget.
And the audacity of that b*tch calling her Astinko instead of her name…. What kind of grown adult would do that???
And the audacity of that b*tch calling her Astinko instead of her name…. What kind of grown adult would do that???
December 24, 2021
Time to cry ✌🏾😫
March 1, 2022
Asako’s insecurities about her sweating made me tear up. This manga gets so real and vulnerable. 😩😭
June 8, 2022
In case you’re wondering, yes—I accidentally read volume 10 before volume 9. 😭😭😭
March 26, 2023
I wanted to hug Asako-San❤️🩹
October 4, 2023
This got dark fast, but the author has been showing hints of the dark side of Asako’s trauma since the start. It’s a lovely series and I’m happy it’s not afraid to venture into reality. It seems that every character has some baggage, in different degrees, that they’re trying to shake off, much like real life.
June 7, 2022
"It's not really nothing at all"
"I want to hold you. Can I?"
Gah, this series... It's so cute and then it pulls this... I can say it deals with real issues in mature and realistic ways and Kotaro and Asako are just so great together!
"I want to hold you. Can I?"
Gah, this series... It's so cute and then it pulls this... I can say it deals with real issues in mature and realistic ways and Kotaro and Asako are just so great together!
April 27, 2023
I’m sorry, I did not expect peak from the silly sweat fetish manga
April 27, 2023
No but like why’d they go so hard!! Actually I’m tears rn.
June 28, 2023
Wtf was that??? It made me so sad.
November 19, 2021
Vol. 9 ini agak bikin sedih :( perasaan pengen nabok temen masa kecilnya asako san
July 10, 2024
Smutniejszy tom - powrót do przeszłości
Dobrze, że Natori się zainteresował tym co się dzieje z Asako
Dobrze, że Natori się zainteresował tym co się dzieje z Asako
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2025
bro they’re stressing me OUTTTTT
December 4, 2023
➺
4/5 🌟
wow, this got serious so fast! i already had a hunch that asako's insecurity will resurface in the middle of these happy moments
wow, this got serious so fast! i already had a hunch that asako's insecurity will resurface in the middle of these happy moments
September 26, 2021
Asako and Kintaro have been learning to live together and are looking further down the road. Then the past rears its ugly head and it just goes to show that even the best of us can make mistakes. Including writers.
Oh, I wanted this series to not do this to me. I really did. It’s been so good about showing what a real couple who love and support one another might look like and always took surprising, in a good way, resolutions to its problems.
Then this book happens. The festival story is cute enough - implausible, but charming. A nice little date moment. Then a very sweet and somewhat feverish (both ways) cold story. Throughout all of the above we see some seeds of foreshadowing being planted, which then bloom into something rather unwanted when Asako goes to visit her friend.
Her friend is really interesting and the two have a very unique dynamic that I rarely see explored in books like this and that’s a nice change of pace - I had such a hard time reading their vibe and that was a good thing.
And then somebody Asako knew in elementary school sees her and calls her by the name the children used to use to tease her and… this book completely falls apart for me. I have massive issues with how this all gets presented.
I’m not saying there aren’t people who would call you by your old school nickname, but elementary school? And this person seems genuinely mannered so it absolutely does not track with her using a cruel nickname from so long ago. It flies in the face of common sense, though I suppose this person does twist the knife a little (fine, a lot).
Look, bullying is real and I’m not trying to discount Asako’s reaction to it either. I just… we’ve seen literally nine volumes of character growth and it all goes flying out the window as one remark sends Asako into a death spiral.
And I’m not saying this doesn’t happen, but it is a LOT when she lives with her boyfriend, has friends, and a good job that she likes. The whole thing just doesn’t ring true in the least and watching her and Kintaro struggle because she won’t open up to him is emotionally and narratively painful.
From where the character is now I can’t see the path to where she ends up (and how quickly), nor the way Kintaro just waits and waits before deciding to force the issue after being passive-aggressive over a movie.
Maybe it’s just me; no offence intended if you’ve experienced this and can totally relate to it. My own reactions to something like this are far different and it seems like a lot all at once. For me, it’s the flattest this series has ever been.
3 stars. I can’t give it more than that because this was deeply, deeply dissatisfying to me. It’s one thing to try to do something different with the story, but quite another to whiff it so hard. There’s very little of what I love of these two characters in this volume.
Oh, I wanted this series to not do this to me. I really did. It’s been so good about showing what a real couple who love and support one another might look like and always took surprising, in a good way, resolutions to its problems.
Then this book happens. The festival story is cute enough - implausible, but charming. A nice little date moment. Then a very sweet and somewhat feverish (both ways) cold story. Throughout all of the above we see some seeds of foreshadowing being planted, which then bloom into something rather unwanted when Asako goes to visit her friend.
Her friend is really interesting and the two have a very unique dynamic that I rarely see explored in books like this and that’s a nice change of pace - I had such a hard time reading their vibe and that was a good thing.
And then somebody Asako knew in elementary school sees her and calls her by the name the children used to use to tease her and… this book completely falls apart for me. I have massive issues with how this all gets presented.
I’m not saying there aren’t people who would call you by your old school nickname, but elementary school? And this person seems genuinely mannered so it absolutely does not track with her using a cruel nickname from so long ago. It flies in the face of common sense, though I suppose this person does twist the knife a little (fine, a lot).
Look, bullying is real and I’m not trying to discount Asako’s reaction to it either. I just… we’ve seen literally nine volumes of character growth and it all goes flying out the window as one remark sends Asako into a death spiral.
And I’m not saying this doesn’t happen, but it is a LOT when she lives with her boyfriend, has friends, and a good job that she likes. The whole thing just doesn’t ring true in the least and watching her and Kintaro struggle because she won’t open up to him is emotionally and narratively painful.
From where the character is now I can’t see the path to where she ends up (and how quickly), nor the way Kintaro just waits and waits before deciding to force the issue after being passive-aggressive over a movie.
Maybe it’s just me; no offence intended if you’ve experienced this and can totally relate to it. My own reactions to something like this are far different and it seems like a lot all at once. For me, it’s the flattest this series has ever been.
3 stars. I can’t give it more than that because this was deeply, deeply dissatisfying to me. It’s one thing to try to do something different with the story, but quite another to whiff it so hard. There’s very little of what I love of these two characters in this volume.
February 8, 2022
Aaaahhhh 😥 This was a sad episode for our love birds. . .
Asako visits with a school friend and bumps into a bully from her past. It brings up a lot of painful memories and feelings she's bottled up and when she returns home, she doesn't know how to deal with it in front of Natori.
I know these two have had their first official fight but to me, this episode seemed so much more emotionally traumatic. The emotional turmoil that both MCs go through - Asako shutting down and distancing herself from Natori and Natori standing by, feeling helpless -it was all a little heartbreaking. I definitely felt for them both and was glad Natori's persistence pays off!
(I know how this all ends (thank you spoilers/11th Vol cover!) but this was still a hard one to read.)
Asako visits with a school friend and bumps into a bully from her past. It brings up a lot of painful memories and feelings she's bottled up and when she returns home, she doesn't know how to deal with it in front of Natori.
I know these two have had their first official fight but to me, this episode seemed so much more emotionally traumatic. The emotional turmoil that both MCs go through - Asako shutting down and distancing herself from Natori and Natori standing by, feeling helpless -it was all a little heartbreaking. I definitely felt for them both and was glad Natori's persistence pays off!
(I know how this all ends (thank you spoilers/11th Vol cover!) but this was still a hard one to read.)
December 4, 2022
After a cute and trope-filled start with yukatas worn at a festival and a person with a bad cold getting TLC, the story takes a dark turn. During a visit to her hometown, Asako meets one of the childhood bullies who helped create her self-consciousness and anxiety about her sweating so long ago, kicking off a new spiral that heads toward depression. What will Kotaro do when he sniffs out the trouble?
It's heartbreaking to see such suffering in a person who has grown so much and so lovely over the course of the series.
It's heartbreaking to see such suffering in a person who has grown so much and so lovely over the course of the series.
August 31, 2025
3.5/5 rounding up
The conflict in this felt very forced. I feel like something like this should have either occurred earlier in the story or not at all. It's a year+ into dating and in almost every volume they demonstrate how well they communicate, then wham! We're hit with this, I could understand it and see why Asoka reacted the way she did, but it still felt unnatural to their relationship and growth.
Glad it worked out but kinda felt like a filler volume for drama 🤷♀️
The conflict in this felt very forced. I feel like something like this should have either occurred earlier in the story or not at all. It's a year+ into dating and in almost every volume they demonstrate how well they communicate, then wham! We're hit with this, I could understand it and see why Asoka reacted the way she did, but it still felt unnatural to their relationship and growth.
Glad it worked out but kinda felt like a filler volume for drama 🤷♀️
April 14, 2023
That absolute COW! How dare she repeat that vile bully nickname to our girl. Oh man I’d have smacked her just to knock her off her high horse.
Ohkk but outside of my strong emotions here this installment is full of heavy topic and discussions that real relationships have especially in regards to emotions and handling things.
Ohkk but outside of my strong emotions here this installment is full of heavy topic and discussions that real relationships have especially in regards to emotions and handling things.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews