A story that, both in plot and characters, just didn’t resonate with me the way I hoped. Starting with the positives — the art is gorgeous, and the character designs are really pretty too !! Narratively, it’s fine; it flows well but it just wasn’t engaging enough to keep my attention. Tanaka, a beautiful teacher, has been praised for her looks ever since she was a kid. There’s no traumatic backstory tied to it, yet she absolutely hates being complimented for her beauty (and apparently for her intelligence too ?). It’s valid, some people dislike standing out, but it’s portrayed as such an extreme "trauma" that itfeels exaggerated. Like… "I caused a lot of trouble as a kid for being too pretty" — girl, you didn’t !! They just complimented you and you didn’t like it !! 😭 I couldn’t really relate to her insecurity, especially since the story wraps it up with a simple "it’s okay to be insecure, everyone’s different." Sure, but insecurities are things we can work on, not just accept as is. The message didn’t quite sit right with me.

On the other hand, Yamada was absolutely lovely ! She’s full of energy, loves acting, and unlike Tanaka, she enjoys her beauty in a healthy and confident way. I really liked how she studies people to build her characters and even changes her personality at her part-time job just for practice — she’s so passionate and charming (I wish we’d seen way more of her acting practices !!).

There’s a bit of imbalance between the two — while Yamada glowed in my eyes, Tanaka felt flat and stuck in her "I’m insecure and that’s fine" mindset. Still, I’ll give credit where it’s due: their chemistry is nice, and the "one loves being beautiful / one hates it" dynamic is interesting.

Would I recommend it? Meh. The art is beautiful, so if you’re curious, go for it — but personally, it didn’t leave much of an impression.