We have hit that moment in Curryuku’s story where the characters are going to have to figure some shit out. In Not So Shoujo Love Story, Volume 4, shit is beginning to be figured out.
Hana has long been saying that she likes Rei, but she’s smart enough to know that “like” and even love or desire are not enough to make a relationship happen, much less work. Rei’s a dumbass, but even she surely has to notice that she’s thinking about Hana all the time.
Even our resident alien, Hansum notices something is going down, although his understanding of it is imperfect.
The main part of the story is the tenuous, unevenly balanced relationship between Hana and Rei. Here all our existential cringe is balled up into one more horrific passage of time in high school, but real life is starting to peek in through the cracks, and other relationship begin to become more fleshed out. Rei thinks about her father as a person for the first time, and with that, the reality of life weighs on her. Hana’s father, likewise starts to see his daughter as a whole person for the first time. She isn’t who he assumed she’d be, but he’s working on understanding who she is.
Of all the relationships in the story, Volume 4 let’s us see the unlikely friendship between Susan and Rei leave the realm of snark and trash talk and actually become something that gives both of them strength. Of all the things I like about this volume, this friendship developing was my favorite.
And, lastly, there is a moment of reckoning for Hana and Rei. As creator Curryuku puts it at the end of this volume, “This not so shoujo love story has begun.”
I very much enjoy this series, even (maybe because of?) with so many extremely goofy gags. But once again…let’s look at that brilliant cover! OMG. The Black and white-manga-style contrasted with the all-color webtoon style panels, still functioning as a paper background. Every one of the covers thus far has been worth the price of the book for me. Viz Media Originals have, thus far, been excellent.
Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – Nope
Yuri – 8
Overall – 8
