Back in the day, Takebe Ayako was the toughest girl in her school. But that was years ago, and she’s not been in a fight recently as Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete! Volume 1, (私の拳をうけとめて!) opens.
When Takebe receives an invitation to her friend’s wedding, she decides she’d better upgrade her clothes from the gang style satin jacket and sweats she still wears. As she buys something to wear to the wedding she’s amazed and annoyed to find that the woman at the shop who is helping her was her number one school rival, Soramori Kirara! Just as Takebe’s leaving, Soramori asks her quite suddenly if she is Takebe. Takabe – who wears a perpetual scowl – is sure that a fight is about to break out.
Instead, Soramori asks if Takebe would go out with her, confessing that she’s liked he since school.
In this goofball comedy, the joke is always on Takebe. She’s puzzled and annoyed and discombobulated by Soramori’s confession and request, but also can’t see any reason to say no to her either, despite being half convinced that the universe is screwing with her.
The former gang rivals go fishing, head to an amusement park to take pictures for social media and generally find that they honestly enjoy each other’s company, although Takebe can’t figure out why. After one of Soramori’s friends successfully makes Takebe jealous, they come closeish to kissing, until Soramori punches Takebe’s lights out. She apologizes, though, (and admits to the aforementioned friend her heart was pounding hard there for a moment.)
The art is simple and tends towards goofy faces. The plot is gag comedy where the gag is the plot. Takebe is a slightly-more-realistic-than-usual butch, with a heavy dose of clueless, forcing femme Soramori to be the aggressor. Even in a series like this, where the relationship roles don’t apply, they kind of do. ^_^
I don’t know that we’ll ever see the scowl leave Takebe’s face or the two of them get any less awkward with each other, nonetheless, this series tickled my funny bone. I particularly enjoyed Soramori (who, you remember, works in a clothes store) playing dress up doll with Takebe.
Ratings:
Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0 Although I agree with Soramori, and do think Takebe looks good in that leather jacket.
Yuri – Yes? I mean they are going out. So, yes.
If you want to take a look before committing, you can read the first 8 issues for free (in Japanese) on Pixiv. It’s goofy fun gag romance.
I would suggest Web-Ace instead of Pixiv Comics, as it tends to be more up-to-date.
https://web-ace.jp/youngaceup/contents/1000075/
It had 9-1 released like a week ago, while Pixiv only just got 8-2 (which is another thing to point out- the series has two parts for each chapter).
Thanks for the link!
I read the first two parts (through Soramori’s initial confession) from the web-ace link; I enjoyed it more than I expected. I’m not usually a fan of the ‘girl gang’ style of character (though there are few exceptions out there); but this isn’t so much about the girl gang lifestyle, as about how that kind of character handles life after the gang, which is more interesting to me. One thing that probably increased my enjoyment was that I was _able_ to read a majority of it; my Japanese is pretty marginal, but the vocabulary level was pretty basic (though it helps to have watched lots of anime with characters speaking rudely. :-) Also, at least at the web-ace link, _all_ the kanji had furigana, making it that much more accessible. I think I’m likely to order the volumes and see how the full story works in print…
Just wanted to confirm for Japanese learners that the print version also has furigana on all the kanji (not including on the cover) for all four volumes, which is nice. Though, it shouldn’t be seen as a panacea, the author still employs the not-uncommon technique of sometimes using a different reading on the furigana than would normally be associated with the kanji, to augment, modify, or add flavor to the meaning.