Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama, School Life, Slice of Life

Sub-Tags: Cute, Introverts, Misunderstandings, Teasing

The Lovebirds’ First Date!

New review for a new week, and I’m glad to see Tentai Books are finally releasing new volumes again starting with their teasing rom-com special!

You Like Me, Don’t You? once again brings bags of wholesome romance joy with plenty of teasing as Kasumi and Kuroya continue to develop their relationship. With Kuroya being told to act like a wingman and the prospect of their first date on the horizon, Kasumi and Kuroya will be in for another volume full of fun and games!

The teasings are on top form this volume as Kasumi and Kuroya continue the fun and games in their clubroom. One of the best scenes between them involves Kasmui discovering Kuroya’s dirty secrets leaving them both embarrassed, and awkward and bringing their attitudes down a peg or two.

Furthermore, this volume sees the inaugural date between the two. Filled with a fluffy atmosphere, it’s derailed alongside the feel of the entire volume as Kasumi’s half-sister (with a different father) makes a surprise appearance.

I’m in two minds towards this sudden turn to more serious drama, most of them positive. Whilst it feels pretty detached from the atmosphere of the rest of the series and is certainly an odd thing to add knowing the series was cancelled, it does give some crucial development to Kasumi’s character.

The divorce has shaped Kasumi’s life to no end and most of her present behaviours including her more mature nature stem from not wanting to over-stress her newly-single father.

This attitude also feeds into her strange affection toward Kuroya’s book and the deep feelings she has about him.

Overall, whilst I found the volume enjoyable and by extension the series, I would find it really difficult to recommend to other readers. It is a cancelled/on-hiatus series, as a result, the conclusion is less than satisfying and some might even say non-existent. Most of the developing plotlines are unfinished or have barely begun to gain traction, and that’s on top of Kasumi and Kuroya’s relationship that was likely meant to develop slowly over the course of 5-6 volumes as from the afterword the author didn’t plan on making this the last volume. It’s a real shame that it was cut short as given another volume it probably would’ve found its legs.