Ikemen Onna to Hakoiri Musume, Volume 1 (イケメン女と箱入り娘) is written by Mochi_Au_Lait, and drawn by majoccoid for REX Comics, one of Ichijinsha’s other imprints. Honestly, I think both art and story are not bad. I kind of like this story and also it kind of bugs me, so I talked it over with my wife and I know why it kind of bugs me and why I kind of like it, but I still don’t know whether I like it more or don’t like it more. ^_^ Get settled and we’ll see if we can’t work it out, together.
Satomi is a college student who has fallen for Kanda-kun, a classmate. She asks Kanda-kun to go out and is thrilled when she says yes. Kanda Misaki is an extremely handsome and cool woman. Satomi is fine with that, she’s actually just happy to have a partner.
Satomi is very sweet and she really likes Kanda-kun. Kanda-kun is likewise quite nice, showing a lot of consideration for Satomi. Satomi is, yes, naive, but so is Kanda-kun and they are missing each other’s cues, which is about half the humor. Ultimately, they really do like one another, that’s obvious.
There’s just…something wrong with the joke. Update: I could have sworn that Kangda-kun actually mentions that she’s a girl, but I am apparently mistaken, which makes the joke even less funny.
Kanda-kun is perfectly fine going out with another woman, and doesn’t mind being treated like a boyfriend, but always thinks, “but I am a girl” when Satomi does that. Which gets tired.
In the final chapter, the what-might-be-a-gender-mindfuck-in-some-other-story sort of comes to a head when, at an arcade, Kanda-kun wins Satomi an ugly zombie doll and they are hit on by some guys, who turn out to be friends with Kanda-kun. She grabs Satomi’s arm and tells them that Satomi is her girlfriend. Satomi squeals happily and she and Kanda-kun have a private side conversation about Kanda-kun being the zombie doll’s “papa,” and Kanda-kun gently reminds the zombie to keep it’s eyeball attached and they laugh and head off, while the guys all act confused. “Does she know Kanda-kun’s a woman?”
So, it was a sweet story and I certainly want them to be happy….but it was often very annoying as well. Not because the character or situation is problematic. Kanda-kun is not hiding that she’s a woman, but she’s also wearing a corset (like an industrial one, not a Victorian one) to ostensibly “protect” her chest, because she’s so ticklish, and she wants Satomi to be able to hold her arm, which is the thinnest excuse I have ever heard for wanting to be bound in my entire life. And she’s not just telling Satomi.
I really want to like this manga. The art being by majoccoid helps so much, I won’t lie. Kanda-kun looks cool when she’s supposed to. Satomis is cute. Mochi_Au_Lait just does not have the style for this. The characters are likable, the situation is not problematic, but it is, nonetheless, a problem.
Ratings:
Art – 9 majoccoid’s work is definitely right in my wheelhouse
Story – 7 *So* close to being good
Characters – 9
Service – 2 Light, nothing horribly creepy, more situational
Yuri – 9
Overall – 8
I especially enjoyed the fashion checks for the filler pages. There were no judgements about who was wearing what, just contrasting styles on display.
It was just so >close< to being really good. CW says that “as well as being serialized in Comic Rex, chapters go up on majoccoid’s pixiv and twitter. Chapter 11 is the most recent.” Thank you very much!
The thing you missed that’s making it confusing is that Satomi never finds out that Kanda is a girl. Most of the plot is Kanda trying to hide that she’s a woman (like the corset), at first because it will be awkward, and later because she’s afraid if she’s discovered Satomi will leave her. Or she’s trying to work up the courage to tell her but never is able to. It’s still a one-joke idiot plot that depends on people not saying the things they need to say and behaving very stupidly, but there’s manga for you. :p
Mochi au Lait is kind of a love/hate thing for me. They are often blatantly queerer than most yuri creators in what their characters say and how they identify, but so many of their works have very little plot and are mostly just dumb humor. Fortunately their series tend to be short so the joke usually doesn’t have a chance to wear *too* thin.
She’s told Satomi she’s a girl, though…
She didn’t; you may be thinking of the end of chapter 2, where Kanda asks Satomi a hypothetical – “what if I were a girl?” Satomi of course doesn’t pick up on the hint (because she’s SO SHELTERED HAR HAR HAR) and shrugs it off as a joke. Then chapter 3 opens with a dream sequence where (in the dream) Kanda tells Satomi because she doesn’t want to kiss her without Satomi knowing, which is the beginning of Kanda realizing she has more feelings than she thought for Satomi. After that it’s all “the lie is too deep!” type stuff where she has hijinks hiding it for the rest of the book.
My mistake, but I did think that early on she mentions it. If I missed that, then it’s much less good.
As far as I understand, this is one of the most popular ways of writing teen romantic comedies in modern Japanese media. For example, LN Gamers literally builds the whole story on endlessly developing misunderstandings between 4-5 pairings. However, I think there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it is not too over-the-top to remain funny.
“Despite the cover reading Volume 1, I don’t see any new chapters for it anywhere, which is a shame.”
As well as being serialized in Comic Rex, chapters go up on majoccoid’s pixiv and twitter. Chapter 11 is the most recent.
Thank you, I’ll correct.