Sougou Tovarisch

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I kind of like this and at the same time i feel disappointed by it the more i think of it.

I was thinking it would be about the two MC's relationship. But for about half the chapters we are given interactions between a group of other students.

When we just have the Two MC's spending time together it's actually really adorable and funny. But we spend are time with a group of characters that aren't that interesting except the one smart one of the group. There's also a new character that comes in and she's pretty good.

But if we had the story just ... focused on are two MC's this would've been a much better story in my opinion. They are both smart. One is a shy quite type while the other is a energetic one.

There's also some side stories that just feel like they left them without completing.

The art is pretty good though. I do love that the characters get together in the end. Kind of wish it showed more of them together.

Story (7): There's not much story overall as its a very episodic slice of life which is naturally a mainstay of the genre. But these are very cute shenanigans that the main group get themselves into.

Art (9): The art is very much a highlight of the series as the default style is very well done and eye-catching which lends to its cuteness. Better yet it also very playful and loose when it exaggerates itself for comedic effect with having very over the top and detailed warping of designs such as going super minimalistic (where a character is just an outline) for shock along with very ... stylized rage reactions.

Character (8): The main group of six characters are all very lovable and distinct with strong personalities. Their group dynamics are very flexible with a lot of interchanging interactions that show a strong sense of friendship and love for each other.

Enjoyment (8): It started off very strong and ended strong with its cuteness and humor so there really was no weak points. With such short series however, like usual, it does feel like it needed some more volumes to really bloom into its potential but overall it was good.

Overall: A very cute and hilarious yuri romcom that has very likeable characters and really good art. Would recommend to anyone who's into the genre. Also look out for the extra chapters (6 in Vol.1, 6 in Vol.2, 5 in Vol.5, and 5 post-initial run) as they provide some more cute moments and the last ones give proper closure for the series.

All you need to read is a few chapters and you can distinctly tell that this is an Iri Arata story because Arata sure loves their side characters. Tovarisch is Russian for comrade, friend, companion and so on and so forth; adding “Comprehensive” in front of that certainly makes for an interesting title. The series is pretty comprehensive when it comes to the different types of characters that are around but the relationships themselves are also quite comprehensive. To sum that up, the pairings are 100% legitimate. Yuu Hazaoka and Kanna Kirigami are the stars of the series and with good reason, they’re interesting, lovable ... and steal the show whenever they’re the focus. Unfortunately, the series suffers precisely from lacking that focus. Don’t get me wrong, I can see why Arata wanted to flesh out the rest of their cast of characters but the main issue is the fact that the series has only 13 listed chapters. The other characters receive the focus in the short chapters called “Break Time” and there’s 10 total of those (not including the 4-koma one), so while they technically don’t take away screentime from Yuu and Kanna, they make up just as much of the series as the main story. The characters themselves are colorful and it’s quite easy to see why they’d be polarizing; I could live with the “four stooges” that got most of the “Break Time” spotlight but I didn’t care for most of the student council that was introduced later. So if you find the other characters annoying or unlikable then it’s understandable why this series wouldn’t be very appealing to you.

Full credit to Arata though, this series is most definitely not yuri bait. It feels like the bare minimum to praise something like this but those who’ve been hurt before know the pain of a good pairing that finishes with subtext (at most). The pacing towards an actual defined Yuu x Kanna relationship might not have been as great as it could’ve been but the fact that it gets there is definitely satisfying - and the extras after chapter 13 that feature them directly contribute to that. Not to mention that the other characters get their own cute moments with their respective partners. Overall, these relationships are the main draw of the story.

This is a series I wanted to love because Yuu and Kanna are seriously such a nice pairing but every time I revisit it I can only come to the conclusion that I liked it. It is truly a shame that the end of Tsubomi, the magazine in which this series was serialized in, caused the series to also end as I do think it had the potential to be a very enjoyable story. The artstyle is cute, I’m partial to Yuu as a whole, and I like Kanna’s energy so I ended up giving this a 7.5/10. I’ve completed 2 rereads of this and I’m sure I’ll come back to it again even though I don’t think it’s anything too special.