Sep 3, 2024
When the "COM" in romcom is an actual "COM," you get a different feel to the story compared to the abundance of their repetitive and frustrating contemporaries.
The story focuses on the relationship between Ayame, a misunderstood delinquent, and Nagi, the boy Ayame has had a crush on since childhood, and their middle school life as a couple. Yes, they are dating, and no, it's not a spoiler—the manga starts with Ayame "forcefully" confessing to Nagi. So what does the story offer if the end goal isn't for them to take 30 chapters just to say "I love you"? It offers a narrative where Nagi, who
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is initially afraid of Ayame, slowly but surely grows closer to her and begins to appreciate her, in turn helping Ayame become a gentler person. It's like a tiger being tamed by a gentle trainer.
Thanks to this story, the comedy is able to shine through. It does have its moments where it gets too goofy and random, but when the goofiness is just right, it's charming. However, this comes at a cost. Since the focus is more on the comedy part of the romcom, you don't get a lot of fluffy and wholesome moments. There are still some moments, of course, but if you're coming in looking for a fluff train, you're at the wrong station. The romance itself is nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, if you skipped reading the first chapter where Ayame confesses to Nagi, you might not even realize they're dating unless the characters mention it. But let’s be honest—in romcoms, is there really a massive difference between the dating phase and the blooming phase? Mostly, it's just the characters being more touchy with each other, but that’s the charm of "Koisuru Yankee Girl's" romance. They're dating, but it feels grounded and doesn’t feel like the main characters are about to kiss each other the moment they see one another. They still get embarrassed doing certain things, but you can chalk that up to middle school’s maiden heart, which seems quite realistic. The fact that they're not playing a push-and-pull game with each other makes the romance comparatively less frustrating and more enjoyable overall.
The art style is typical for a 4-Koma, which makes the manga look quite basic, but if the story hits, you can overlook the art, and "Koisuru Yankee Girl" does hit most of the time. It's a relatively short manga, so there isn't much space for all the characters to breathe and develop, but for what it is, it does its job well.
Would I recommend this? If you want a break from a romcom where the main characters take 10 million years just to hold hands, then you'd probably enjoy this. It's nothing special, but sometimes being different from dozens of derivative works makes you stand out like a healthy thumb.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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