I don’t normally write reviews this early into a series, but this manga provides a good opportunity to discuss a rom-com trope I've come to dislike: the dense male lead. The male lead, Yuito, is incredibly dense. Kano, the female lead, gives him all the cues that she likes him. I’m talking about really obvious stuff: saying she’s his girlfriend to his friends, going out on dates, and even sending risqué photos. Yuito glosses over these clear signs and continues to fret about how his brother is “better than him” at everything. The central conflict of the story is that Yuito likes Kano’s sister, while Kano’s sister,Suzuno, is into his brother. Suzuno’s interest in Yuito’s brother bothers him because he has the “my brother is better than me” complex. Interestingly, his brother likes Kano, which generates some tension between the two brothers. Unfortunately, Kano can’t just admit she likes Yuito because that would cut the story short. Instead, the author makes her the forward gyaru character while keeping Yuito dense.

As a reader, the most frustrating aspect of these stories is that the thing keeping the leads apart feels forced. Sure, there’s some reasonable framing – Yuito is into Suzuno, so he might not pick Kano right away; maybe Kano has to pull his interest away from her sister through various schemes. The problem, though, lies in how dense Yuito is portrayed. Could we not just have a character who acknowledges that someone is into him? The conflict could remain as it is, and he could even admit it to himself secretly while interacting with Kano. But no – instead, he brushes past all the obvious advances, frustrating readers as every interaction goes nowhere. Maybe Yuito realizing that Kano likes him could help boost his confidence: “Someone my brother likes is into me. Doesn’t that show I have some worth?” These are some ways the narrative could build the story rather than leading it into a repetitive cycle.

There are things I do enjoy about this manga, though. I like the art, particularly the way Kano is designed. The exchanges between Kano and Yuito are fun to read when you look past Yuito’s denseness. Also, Kano falls into the yandere archetype, which I enjoy. How much of a yandere she is remains to be seen, but we’ve already been clued into how serious she can get. Lastly, I’m curious about Kano’s backstory. She seems to have a troubled past, and I’m interested to see how that plays into her interest in Yuito.

If you dislike the tropes I’ve mentioned, I recommend skipping this story. If you’re into them – or don’t mind them – you might enjoy this manga.