Let’s face it, who’s never had a hard time trying to confess their love to their crushes at least once? The struggle is real, and Natsuaki-kun can tell you a thing or two—maybe more—about that . . .

In this shōjo manga, there is a nice twist that spices things up by inverting the roles. While it’s usually a shy girl having difficulty to confess her feelings, here’s actually the guy who can’t figure out how to do it. And this is precisely what made me want to read this manga in the first place. The awkwardness of Natsuaki-kun is just too sweet for words, and the embarrassing moments it creates are really funny. Even though readers can only cheer for him, sometimes it can’t be helped but hoping he won’t succeed (yet) because the situations he suddenly finds himself into—and those he thinks ‘might help’—are truly something. I lost count of how many times I laughed during the read, but also all the ‘aww’ that escaped my mouth. I believe it just comes natural for both guys and girls to sympathize with him. At the end of the day, we all have been there!

Quite an adorable and genuinely funny manga. I recommend it, you might end up wanting a Natsuaki-kun trying to confess to you, too.

I knew what the premise was going into this manga— that the teenage boy main character had feelings for a girl and wanted to confess them to her but couldn’t seem to.

I liked all of the characters and the art style but the plot was just so repetitive. I knew it would be to an extent but it went on the entire volume right up until the cliffhanger at the end. I hope volume two has more variety of scenes and we get more character development!

I liked this one, just not as much as I was hoping to! It is a perfect read if you need something soft and wholesome! I also feel like a lot of teens will be able to relate to this— I’m just past that age range now.

3/5⭐️

Actual Rating 4.5

This was so adorable and wholesome!

We really have a guy who is just so enamored with one of his classmates and has no idea how to express himself. But he wants to confess to her anyway.

I really loved all of his thoughts and how he interacted with the other characters. I can't wait to see how this story is going to progress!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-arc of Doing His Best to Confess from Kodansha Comics in exchange for an honest review.

This funny and charming manga follows a high school boy who doesn’t express himself but finds himself with a crush on his classmate. As he makes up his mind to confess his feelings for her, he finds that it’s not quite that simple as he has trouble expressing those feelings and little things occur that prevent his confession. Even so, as the two grow closer as classmates, more opportunities seem to arise. A fun and sweet manga that is sure to charm its readers - I’m looking forward to seeing how this story will progress.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha comics for this advance digital copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Es una introducción entretenida a los personajes, pero todo se sintió muy superficial, me gustaría conocer más al protagonista y lo que piensa.

Aun así, creo que es una historia con potencial. Es divertida de leer, y las ilustraciones están bellas. Muy probablemente lea el segundo volumen si tengo oportunidad, porque el final me dejó con ganas de más.

This was so adorable! We have a guy who has a crush, and really wants to confess to the adorable, quirky girl whom he can't stop thinking about. He sticks up for her, finds ways to be near her, and will do everything he can to show her he cares.
Highly recommend this one!

ARC Copy...I thought it was Rom-Com to see, the handsome yet shy guy attract all female attention but super aloof-shy to talk the one he really likes. Nice the one girl he is interested seems sincerely and he makes honest attempts to get to know her.

Doing His Best to Confess by Satoru is an adorable manga that I honestly could not get enough of, In a normal high school romance manga its usually a shy high school girl that has a crush on the popular boy and doesn't know how to confess her feelings, but in Doing His Best to Confess that troupe is flipped on its head. Popular Natsuaki is known for being hands-on, very aloof, and not showing his feelings but beneath all of that is actually a very shy boy who actually has a HUGE crush on his classmate, Nashida. Nashida is the exact opposite that Natsuaki, she's seen as an oddball tomboy who is always expressing herself... But Natsuaki can't help how he feels about her, but he just can't seem to gather the courage, or find the right words to confess to her. I think I loved this story so much because while you might see some classic manga troupes in it, they aren't how you'd expect them. And since reading this manga I seriously cannot wait to read the next one.

Excuse me while I SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!

This was SO CUTE!!!! I am just getting back into reading manga after a rather long hiatus and WOW am I being amazed by the manga and light novels out there! This one is no exception.

I love how it is reversed, in that the reader gets to see things from the MALE MC's mind, and his POV is SOOOOOO CUTEEEE!!!!

I love the storyline, I love the artwork and THAT ENDING, GUH! I can't wait for the next book. That's the only bad thing about reading serial manga as soon as they come out, you have to wait for the next one!

But don't let that pesky little detail stop you from reading this, it is SOOOOOO GOOD!!!

5, I can't help but SQUEE, stars!

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

Highly recommended if you want a light, easy read about a shy boy and an airhead girl. I really like both the main characters! None of the humor is at anyone's expense. It's very low stakes, low drama. Enjoyable, refreshing addition to Kodansha's shojo lineup!

Doing His Best to Confess is a nice romance manga, one of those heartwarming ones. The main character is a boy named Natsuaki. He's quite stoic and hard to read, even though he loves cute things or finds many things cute to be precise. He's in love with his classmate Nashida, but lacks the courage and opportunities to confess to her. At the same time Nashida is quite an airhead herself and cannot really even take a hint. The plot isn't anything new, but does what is does well. I'm glad that the main character is a guy and the humor chibi faces actually fit this story and don't feel superimposed. I hope the series can add some plot elements along the way, since I'm not so sure this setting can work that long.

The art is OK, your basic shoujo. Nothing too fancy, but it works. Perhaps I'd want more details though, since the backgrounds are quite empty. This is a quick read and works for younger readers too, since the story is pure and simple. There's enough humor and cute moments to last, so let's hope this will go somewhere from here.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this manga was exactly what I needed! Cute and whimsical and unstoppingly hilarious!

With most manga I'm usually more appreciative of the story. Art isn't what I notice, mostly because I am not really good at describing and properly critiquing it. However, with this manga I can't help but notice the art! This would probably be a good example of the manga that suits me perfectly - both from he story and also the art perspective.

And although I really hope that Natsuaki-kun at some point stops doing his best to confess and actually confesses to Nashida-san, I'm still totally ready to read the next volumes of this story!

It's CUTE! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

The story is about Natsuaki-kun, a popular and handsome guy with an aloof vibe going on. However, he is actually pretty goofy and just doesn’t outwardly express his emotions. We are gonna see Natsuaki lose his cool several times as we see him pine over Nashida, a classmate of his whom he happens to have a crush on.

Natsuaki finds everything Nashida does “cute” and can’t help but bow down at her every movement. He doesn’t even hesitate about getting in trouble in order to help Nashida out. He is set on confessing to her and even looks up tips on how to confess or even places where he could confess online. Which is adorable.

We also see how Nashida reacts to his actions, expressions, and even almost confessions and it is quite funny. It is a soft and light read, but I can’t picture this type of manga going for a lot of chapters before it gets tedious. Even now, by the end of the second chapter, I was already feeling tired of Natsuaki almost having a nosebleed over how cute Nashida was. But I still have hope that the story will get some development considering how this first volume ended.

It reminded me a little of Ganbare Nakamura-kun, in which the main character has a crush on the other person over little interactions and how they start building a friendship while also wanting to get their feelings across somehow. But where Nakamura gave an intimidating aura and couldn’t make friends, Natsuaki is able to talk to Nashida and start a friendship quite quickly.

This was so heartwarming and cute! I loved it too much! So excited, can`t wait to read the next volume!

[Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review]

Natsuaki is beyond cool; he’s the most handsome and aloof boy in his class and also the most cool. And also the most shy, which is why he struggles to confess to the very quirky Nashida. Love is in the air, but there’s a huge space it needs to cross before anybody gets the message.

A very good story about two people growing closer together and the distance they can’t quite seem to close. These two are really cute together, in those brief moments, and Natsuaki’s endless machinations are really fun too.

I love how Natsuaki is constantly beloved by the female populace, but is kind of a goof. We are introduced to him brooding out the window, which is quickly undercut when we find out he is staring at a house that looks like a face.

Naturally, Nashida is the worst possible person for a shy boy to crush on because she couldn’t read a signal if it was on a blimp at a football game. She is such an odd character for a romantic lead, both short-haired and very weird, that she’s actually super refreshing.

So you have a guy who thinks an obvious overture is staring longingly at his crush and said crush, who thinks he must be super interested in the schedule posted by her head. Silliness ensues.

Of course they do start to get closer over the course of the volume, which is really sweet and keeps things from feeling like the same joke with no progress. The quiet, organic moments when they learn about one another contrast nicely with the wackiness.

I also really like how imperfect Natsuaki actually is - he may seem like a dream, but his schemes have as much chance of going awry as they do helping Nashida out. And she doesn’t necessarily need his help every time either.

My biggest fault with this book is that the pace does feel a bit glacial. The story has places it wants to go, but it is in no rush to get there. It is funny, but not riotously so, and I could see people tiring of it if they weren’t invested.

3.5 stars - a recommendation and definitely a second volume for me (I mean, that cliffhanger!). Waiting to see how the next one goes before I round up. It is a novel, if slow, take on the traditional confession story featuring two leads I want to see end up together. It’s a good start.

Oh! My! Gosh!! If you're a fan of oblivious fools, this manga is an utter delight! Natuaki has a blank expression most of the time which makes him hard to get a read on, but in his mind he is frequently flailing over how adorable and cute he finds his classmate, Nashida. His friend Mishima wants to know who Natsuaki's crush is, but every time he asks him, Natsuaki is too busy staring as Nashida to answer. And the way she doesn't realize that he's looking at her, and how oblivious she is to his interest is just adorable. I had such a delight reading this manga and absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a cute, fun obvious people in love type story. Looking forward to seeing what'll happen next after that ending!

A cute introductory manga about a high school boy who has a crush on a girl in his class. But his problem? His face isn't very expressive. His crush keeps getting the wrong idea. He has no clue how to confess.

The art here is good. The main characters aren't too fleshed out yet, which is probably do to the vignette style of the chapters, but I can see people new to manga enjoying this a lot.

This is a shoujo manga from the male lead's point of view, and he has a one-sided crush on his clumsy classmate, which differs greatly from the typical shoujo manga motif. The expressions and funny moments of the male and female lead couple will not let you down. The illustrations are just so adorable. Overall, this was a fluffy, lighthearted read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

This was cute. Funny, since the word used the most in this whole manga is 'cute'. The characters and their designs were actually cute though, and you can't help cheering for Natsuaki on his "journey" to confess

Doing his best to confess

Natsuaki doesn't show his emotions and people can't read him, not even his friend mashima. Even though he is popular he doesn't know how to confess to his crush - Nashida. He did switch his number so he could sit next to her but why she asked why she misunderstood him. Natsuaki learns more about her as he observes her more and has tried helping her out a couple times.

This is a quick read and ends when he accidentally slips he likes her. Natsuaki is always daydreaming so he isn't listening to Mashima when he's talking to him normally. It's a cute simple story so far and will be reading volume 2 to see what Nashida says. Although I feel like she is going to think he means something else.

Something I would like to see to is her thoughts too. I feel we see all Natsuaki's thoughts but it would be interesting to see more of her thoughts too especially when he just stares at her.