Cover Image: And Yet, You Are So Sweet

And Yet, You Are So Sweet

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Member Reviews

Our main character, Maaya, confesses her feelings to a boy from a neighboring high school and is cruelly turned down. She finds he’s even vented about the occurrence online calling Maaya unattractive.

Maaya admits her upset to Chigura-kun, a popular but cold boy from her school, when he catches her talking to herself during library duty. She continues to tell him she’s decided not to confess to anyone, to keep her feelings to herself to avoid getting hurt in the future.

Chigura-kun invites Maaya to have, or pretend to have, one-sided feelings for him. She accepts his offer essentially because she enjoys the feeling of having a crush on someone, and promises she won’t grow true feelings for him while pretending.

The two continue to complete library duty together and run into each other. Giving each the opportunity to get to know the other’s character better, and begin to care for the other.

I like the way the artist draws eyes. And Yet You Are So Sweet doesn’t feel too different from it’s predecessors of a similar nature. I would liken this a bit to Lovesick Ellie, though not as laugh-out-loud funny. If you like fluffy high school romances you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with a copy of this volume for my unbiased review!

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The title itself is a great depiction of what this graphic novel (manga style ) is. I am a huge fan of manga and graphic novels and general so being able to dive into this high school romance brought back a lot of memories.

Maaya's first declaration of love ends in an absolute disaster when he rejects her in public and then practically makes fun of her later on social media. This act alone destroys her self-esteem and causes her to question herself. But when the most popular guy in her school overhears her muttering about the whole diabolical during library duty, he tries to help her find a solution. What is that you may ask? He tells her to fall in love with him instead so that they can both heal their broken hearts. He takes the actions to comfort her, instead of making fun of her which is how the story unravels.

Falling in love with Chigira-Kun was difficult as the story progressed. Each turning page brought on more butterflies and Maaya finding out that she only needed to believe in herself. This was such a beautiful story of someone coming out of their shell and being themself. It was so relatable and I found myself smiling as the end to Volume 1 concluded.

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Lovely

I dont read a lot of mangas but this one was pretty good actually. It’s a slow love story and for romance lovers definitely something to read.
Amusing but also so lovely, recommend it for people who like a nice Manga for a day.

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This is a cute romantic story about a girl who confesses her feelings to a guy and gets humiliated, and then another guy who clearly likes this girl and tells her she should try to develop feelings for him in order to get over her last crush. The catch is that she says she will never openly express her feelings ever again, so they are both just holding onto their feelings secretly (although not that secretly) because they are afraid of rejection.

I liked a lot of the tropes used in this and the artwork is super cute. My only concern is that the story seems to be dragging to the point of silliness. At one point I thought they'd actually confessed their feelings to each other (it really seemed like they did when she told him she'd be sad if he got a girlfriend and he basically told her that he likes her), but then later they still seem to be carrying on with the idea that they don't like each other even though they both basically admitted they liked each other. Kind of silly, even for a lighthearted story like this. It's a cute story though.

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After a rejection Kisaragi feels dejected and heart broken. However an encounter with the very popular Chigira somehow could resolve some of her anguish. Chigira notices a change in Kisaragi and offers to help her feel a little better . Kisaragi tries to demonstrate what one sided affection may look like and Chigira offers to be her crush , she can stalk and volunteer to do things for him without a chance of ever being rejected. However things never go as planned .

Spending time together becomes a joy for both of them , this may bloom into something more . Kisaragi starts to notice that her feelings for Chigira may be more real than she cares to reveal. One sided affection may not work well for these two.

I enjoyed the clean panels and Chigira definitely has a one-sided crush of his own.

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This was straight up adorable! I don't care how cliche most of this was because I couldn't stop smiling while reading it. Chigira might be doing this out of the goodness of his heart, but I don't think so. I believe he has feelings for Maaya. Also, Maaya is so cute and relatable. I can't wait for the next volume!

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This was a very romance driven first volume, which I typically don’t gravitate towards but it was really entertaining! Although there were a lot of cliche moments, I did think there were some cute ones as well. Overall, I didn’t see any unique aspects to this series that would make me want to keep reading. I was hoping for something more that would pull me in and get me invested!

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE MANGA:

‘And yet, you are so sweet’ follows Maaya Kisaragi, a sixteen years old girl in high school that is a serial romantic. In the beginning of a manga she confesses to her long-time crush but gets tragically rejected and continues to humiliate her online. Things take a turn when the popular guy in her grade, Chigira, overhears her crying to herself and proposes an odd yet interesting solution for her broken heart.

OPINION:

3.5-4/5 Stars

The pace of the manga is relatively fast, and certain key points in the story came faster than I was expecting. Even though the story has been told many times before (guy and girl pretend to be dating but ultimately fall in love), it was still enjoyable to read and I found myself wanting to see about their story and how their relationship will unfold. Many ‘romance manga’ tropes were embedded throughout the story, with some of my favourite making an appearance: saving the girl from the potential second lead (that is admittedly kind of creepy), squished together on a train, please only be in love with me, and many more...

The main character, Kisaragi-san is a little naïve and yet it is easy to relate to her aloofness and infatuation with teenage boys with black hair and glasses. In the beginning the Kisaragi’s character was a little repetitive and blunt, however, the more I read I quickly got attached to her.

“Hurry up and overwrite your memories of heartbreak with me.”

Chigira was very likable, and nice from the very start; he truly is a guy you can’t help but fall in love with in an instance. It was really exciting to watch them get closer as he becomes the object of her affection, and also watching him accept parts of her that others may not have liked.

The art style and structure of the panels was easy to follow making it enjoyable to read. It had the classic Shōjo art style you expect to see in the romance manga, but that didn’t make it any less entertaining to read.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It was a very cute and heart-warming start to this sweet love story and I am looking forward to reading more of their story as well as Kujira Anan’s other work in the future.

“I’m begging you, please don’t be any kinder to me than you already are.”

This was ultimately one of my favourite phrases from the whole volume, as it perfectly summarises both the characters’ feelings for each other… I’ll leave it up to you to figure out the why and how while you read this amazing story….

PERSONAL RATING:
★★★★☆ Overall
★★★★☆ Characters
★★★☆☆ Cuteness Level
★★★★★ Art Style
★★★★☆ How Likely to Recommend

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This manga followed a girl who has struggled with one sided feelings towards guys before, and after a popular boy at her school overhears her talking to herself about it, he suggests that she pretend to have one sided feelings for him.

It took me a bit to get to into this manga and I felt like there were some instances of stalker-like behavior and possessiveness that felt somewhat romanticized and I wish that behavior had been discussed more, However, I did find the obvious feelings that both of them had cute. I think I would have liked to see a bit more character development from both of the characters, but hopefully that will be focused on more in a second volume. Overall, I had some mixed feelings but I did enjoy parts of the romance,

rating: 3/5 stars

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I was a bit iffy about this manga at first, the main character seemed very insecure and unsure especially after she got embarrassed by the boy she confessed her feelings to but very quickly, I grew to love this manga!

We’re introduced to Chigira after he overhears Kisaragi talking to herself about what happened and he offers for her to pretend to have one sided feelings for him, so that she didn’t have to develop them for someone else and get embarrassed again.

Their relationship IS SO CUTE!! It’s so obvious that they have developed feelings for each other but both won’t admit it and the yearning!! I literally teared up at one scene because they both kept staring at their hands after the first time they held hands. This story just got so soft and so lovely!

I am eagerly anticipating volume 2!!! Definitely check out this manga if you love soft stories full of friendship and mutual pining!

4.5/5 ⭐️

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This was an adorable read. Sent my romance story love heart a flutter.

Maaya is unlucky in love. Largely due to not realizing her intentions of secretly being affection over her love interest(s), are more on the stalker side of "tracking" then. Eeek.

That is until one of them writes something nasty online about rejecting her love confession. Making Maaya realizing why she keeps things secret.
While yelling about her love frustration in what she thought was an empty library, only to find out Chigira-kun, one of the most popular guys in school was napping and overheard everything... awkward.

Maaya swears to never confess her love again. Chigira-kun offers to be a test subject, for her plans of a one-sided love future.
Although, how long can one or even both of them take pretend to be in a one-side love?

Even more, two unexpected people becoming friends over a share understanding, of not understanding love. Super cute.

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Since this is book website, I tend not to discuss my other reading habits. I love mangas especially shoujo mangas. I have dabbled in anime but my first love has always been manga. The art, the story and the atmosphere come together to make a unique experience. While my reading tastes have moved to traditional stories, every now and then I’d return to reading mangas.
As I have grown older, I tend to enjoy josei more but a slice of life shoujo still holds my interest. And Yet, you are so Sweet hit the spot for me. Although not ground breaking, I loved the clean lines of the art. The story was also simple had enough sweetness and ‘moments for me to keep read on. The galley had only 4 chapters and it was too earlier to understand Chigara-Kun’s agency and interest in Maaya but it is turning out to be rather interesting to watch these characters get to know each other.
I’d love to know what happens next in the story as I feel there is more to Chigara kun’s interest than what meet’s the eye.

The review also available on Goodreads on https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3990427359

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"And Yet, You Are So Sweet" by Kujira Anan is a volume 1 of a Shojo romance manga with absolutely lovely artwork epitomised by the cover art but seen throughout. It is well-paneled and easy and quick to read.

Maaya Kisaragi, cruelly shotdown by her crush, befriends the aloof cool boy at school, Chigira-kun, and vows to maintain an unrequited love for him from afar to keep herself occupied. Chigira-kun might not want it to stay unrequited though...

This title is absolutely hilarious, in both visual comedy and dialogue, with several cackle-out-loud moments in this first volume. The character design of the two main characters is as you would expect from a shojo and are instantly likable and endearing, especially Chigira-kun, who is a cinnamon roll who I will protect with my life!
Maaya, as many a shojo protagonist in the past, has some qualities I would question if I met in real life. But, I cannot deny her organisation skills certainly aid her in her stalking endeavours. All done for comedic effect.

This shojo manga treads a fine line between hyper self awareness of the overly love obsessed main female character and actually showing a fully realised love focused story. It does this with the inclusion of Chigira-kun and his down-to-earth likableness.

I cannot wait for volume 2.

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I'm not a shojo (romance manga) buff, but I was into it many moon ago and got back into it due to this really awful year we've been having, because I need HEA and light and just HAPPY and this book delivered and now I'm kinda obsessed.

I DECLARE MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.

The depressing part of it is I asked my Boss at the store to order this for the store and me, and was told this is only available in electronic format. NANI?!?!?! NOOOOOOO!!!!

There is seriously a scene in here that is SO BEAUTIFUL I keep going back to stare at it. I bought this one and pre-ordered the second and have re-read the first one three times since I bought it. I can barely wait until the second one is delivered to my eReader.

BUT. I NEED the physical book. I NEED to get this into as many hands as possible, so we can share the love of this amazing book.

The characters are great, the artwork is STUNNING, the story is a TAD different, but the artwork and characters completely stole the show and I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!! Romance, YA and shojo readers will enjoy I think. 5, why can't the next book be out yet, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

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OMG OMG OMG

I absolutely loved this manga! It made me laugh, squeal and be completely filled with joy!
As a lover of romance manga I would like to say this was so much fun to read! I devoured it all in one sitting and I can't wait for more! The art was so cute! I loved that the story seemed fast paced, loved seeing the characters slowly grow and get to know each other!

Thank you so much for providing me with this arc. I absolutely can't wait to get more!

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I have a great affinity for shoujo anime and manga since they're usually cute, fluffy, and really sweet. I truly enjoyed reading And Yet, You Are So Sweet, especially because I love tsundere characters. Although, I would say Chigira wasn't really that cold to Kirasagi since he was the one who proposed to direct her feelings to him. Still, the subtle things really made my heart sing!

I also find it adorable how dense and clueless Kirasagi was when it came to Chigira's actions. Sure, it was cliche and very typical for shoujo heroines, but it was really cute. I'm excited to see more of their story and how their relationship will pan out in the next issues.

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Mi corazón no puede con tanta ternura. Estoy enamorada de la historia, de los personajes, todo me parece tan dulce y tierno... Me encanta la química que hay entre los protagonistas y Chigira... Ufff, se ha vuelto mi tipo idea, estoy enamorada de él y su lindura.

¡Necesito leer el segundo tomo, urgente!

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While not a revolutionary story, I found myself holding back squeals of adoration at certain points during this book. The characters are very typical for shoujo manga, which means it’s just as good as most romance stories. It made me want to keep reading to see how this “fake relationship” will play out.

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Idk if it is because I've read a bunch of shojo with supposedly plain or ugly main characters, but I'm a little over it as a trope. They are never really plain or ugly and, as a gender nonconforming femme, it bugs me a little. That aside, I really like this book and am super looking forward to the rest of the series. I like the idea that she is done with rejection and just wants to pine for a while and I like that our romantic lead is so clearly head over heels for her before the story even begins. This is the kind of wishfulfilment I can get behind. I will definitely be buying a copy for my personal library.

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4/5 stars

I received an ARC, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Maaya Kisaragi has finally worked up the courage to confess to her crush...only to be rejected and then humiliated on the internet. As she's complaining to herself, Chigira, the most popular boy in school, overhears her. To her surprise, he offers a strange solution to heal her broken heart.

This was so cute! This volume is pretty short and sweet, but I really enjoyed it! I felt as though it was a little predictable at times, though it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. Overall, this is a cute shoujo manga and a quick-read! I'm looking forward to seeing more of how the story plays out in future volumes!

Content: maybe a few uses of language?? It was pretty much clean from start to finish.

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