Ririsa Suzunomiya is enrolled in one of the most prestigious girls only high schools in Japan, the main objective of this school is to teach their students how to be ladylike. Ririsa aims to be the most ladylike of all because unlike her pairs - and unbeknown to them - she doesn’t have a rich upbringing, her mother remarried some rich family and that’s how she got her last name. In school, Ririsa meets Otoha Kurogane, she seems to be even more ladylike than her. However, both of them hide a secret they don’t want the school to know: their passion for Rock. Otoha isa skilled drummer and Ririsa is impressed by her raw drumming skills, Otoha convinces Ririsa to play along and after their explosive musical interaction, Otoha is enamoured by Ririsa’s guitar skills.

People that came from the anime might naturally want to compare this story to “Bocchi the Rock!”, since both stories deal with the Music theme, but let me stretch a bit the Music theme and compare “Rock wa Lady no Tashinami deshite” with an Idols manga, but just as underground: “Damedol to Sekai ni Hitori dake no Fan.” I feel like both “Rock wa Lady” and “Damedol” succeed where the other story fails, the former has a good narrative progression, but it lacks on characters development. One could argue that, being an Idols manga, it is obvious “Damedol” focuses primarily on character development, which I agree, yet “Bocchi the Rock!” also shared this characteristic (albeit the narrative progression is moderately good).

Please, don’t assume by what I am saying that the character development in this story is either non-existent or horrible, it is a sidetracked element and sometimes contradictory? Let me give you an example: Ririsa from the get go catches Otoha’s eyes as a diamond in the rough, so she still has to polish her guitar skills, however when a new arc comes she goes through the same issues again, her past progress was for nothing. It is not like she is struggling when she is playing because she has stage fright or she didn’t practise, most of the time we are told Ririsa just “lacked emotion,” so in an arc she will overcome this “lack of emotion” barrier, only for the next arc she has the same issue again. Otoha is an even more static person as a character, barely any progress, she is a fun character, but it feels like she is a "done" character with no room for improvement.

On the other hand, not all is lost, the progression in the narrative is done with a good pace, you actually feel their band progressing in this underground Rock bands’ world, in a realistic manner. Nonetheless, the same can’t be said about the school story, which I particularly feel like was an afterthought by the mangaka. My hunch is that the author wanted to tell a story about these girls in a band, but had to put the school in the story to make it different (?). Ririsa even has a side plot related to the school, as in each year the most lady like student of the school – we actually don’t know the parameters, but we all know how those things usually end, right? – gets granted the title of Noble Maiden and that’s how she plans to turn around her mother’s life, because both of them are mistreated (for being commoners) in their new rich family and, by being a Noble Maiden, Ririsa believes her mother won’t have to suffer any more. Unfortunately, the plot around the school is pushed aside so just reinforces my hunch that this was an afterthought.

52 chapters in, I feel like the story arcs are well developed and the pacing is quite good, at least we have a sense of where we are going with this Rock band part of the story. For the characters, Ririsa got an okay improvement, we had a little of her past disclosed to us, but not much can be said about the other characters‘ development.

Overall, it is a fun experience, I can’t shake this feeling that both Ririsa and Otoha remind me so much of Mary Saotome and Jabami Yumeko from “Kakegurui”, I know this brave, short-tempered blonde hair (usually twin-tails) and two-faced, carefree black hair (usually hime cut) duo is somewhat common in anime, but it is always interesting seeing them.

I have to mention this somewhere, the author has some sort of leather, BDSM fetish, those instances are quite rare – usually to show when one is being in control over the other when playing –, it is a weird add, they remind me of “Shokugeki no Souma”'s foodgasm, but don’t serve the same purpose as that aspect, it is probably just the author wanting to flaunt their fetishes to the reader.