For as high my review score is, 7-kakan Gentei Kanojo is definitely a more mixed appreciation than anything else. Although it's a short read—the story takes place over the titular seven days as well an extra eighth and plenty more inbetween—the personalities are considerably developed. The reader is able to understand the protagonist, Manatsu Akira, and her motivations quite easily and her personality is likeable, charming, and although she definitely has the tropey vivacity of a typical gyaru, she is by no means vapid or annoying. The love interest, Sumie Nagi, is much more unreadable in comparison. She is rather quiet and stoic, with bare hintsof emotion showing through during key moments. Their chemistry is subtle in some parts and vivid in others, and the ending wraps things up quite nicely.

So why the mixed feelings, and why the high review?

As an American adult who spent years searching for yuri content in my youth to help grasp with my burgeoning sexuality, I personally feel like the repeated trope of discovery, experimentation, and sudden revelations is a bit of a worn down subject. Whilst I am not part of the culture nor have any experience with how taboo homosexuality is in Japan, the repeated story tropes of "I want to experiment because I want to experience love" is tiring to read through.

Whilst 7-kakan Gentei Kanojo is not a slog by any means, the story very much introduces us to Manatsu as a girl who has never had a crush before or realized she's liked girls. So, on a whim, she randomly accepts a proposition from a classmate she has had no prior interactions with to date for seven days. By the second day (assumed Sumie makes a remark that "[Manatsu] I think you must like girls after all".

Would that not immediately end the experiment? Sure, seven days was the promised arrangement but I see an issue with the sudden and blatant admittance that our protagonist is indeed a lesbian. By the sixth day, the story completely derails itself by introducing a—quite frankly—overzealous scene that feels more like fetishization than anything else. Their relationship feels too underdeveloped for sex, and their relationship feels superficial at most considering how innocent their prior interactions have been (disregarding the kiss).

This was a highly personal review, I suppose, with my own opinions jading my view of what I read. Whilst I enjoy the dynamics, the backstory, the character motivations... I overall feel a bit let down by the specific angle of which the story unravels.

TL;DR: A good story with good characters, but the limited chapters do a huge disservice and otherwise leave a bad taste in the mouth. Enjoyable and gorgeous but has it's faults.