In Volume 1, we met Rei Chan, a doofus in high school with nothing much in her life but her love of shoujo manga, until the most popular girl in school, Hanna Schöller, takes an interest in her. Seeing Hanna only as a rival for the odd and oddly charsmatic school Prince Hansum, Rei does not like Hanna. Wackiness ensues as Rei and Hanna are inexorably drawn together…until Hanna admit she likes Rei. 

In Not So Shoujo Love Story, Volume 2, Rei’s life is no less complicated now that Hanna has come right out and said her feelings…if anything, now life is more complicated. And when track star Susan turns out to be a rival for Hanna’s attention, Rei finds herself dragged into a love triangle she really has no interest in…until she starts thinking about Hanna more.

First of all…*look* at this cover. Really, look at it. This is an outstanding piece of work in which Hanna literally breaks the manga page to explode outwards about to throw a basketball, while Rei watches from within the manga itself and the Four Hams watch from a panel in black and white. Talk about breaking a fourth wall. Outstanding.

Volume 2 tells a serious tale against the backdrop of multiple shoujo manga tropes, and a hefty helping of advanced silliness. Curryuku’s storytelling is pretty deft,  swinging back and forth between heartfelt emotion and an alien who likes corn chips. Despite her brash exterior, we see how lonely Rei is, and how utterly unsocialized she has been. Hanna’s intrusion into her life requires her to deal with people…something she’s always avoided by embedding herself in an otaku life. 

It is lonely at the top for Hanna as well, as we have all learned from manga. High expectations can be just as strangling as not being expected from you at all. This is a classic set up and, in those moments the comedy falls away, it is very touching and real. New character Susan is a perfect example. She is the school track star, a star student,but she is large and not conventionally attractive and is, as a result, also lonely. This is my memory of high school – everyone was struggling. Teens are so half cooked, no on knows who are what they are, and you only have an audience of the same exact people you have gone to school with for a decade to see yourself reflected.  This story is also a rare romantic comedy where at least some of the comedy is actually funny, and not just awkward. Although there is plenty of that, as well. 

Once again, the adaptation from vertical scroll webcomic is extremely well-done. Good work by the folks at Viz Originals on the production. It’s a good-looking book that is fun to read.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – still poop jokes, mostly
Yuri – 7

Overall – 9

Not So Shoujo Love Story is a funny Yuri rom-com that does work a little better if you know enough Shoujo manga to get the tropes that are being mocked, but also works perfectly well on it’s own.

Volume 3 will hit shelves in early 2026 and Curryuku has already debuted the cover with even more breaking panel walls.
 ^_^