Thank you to NetGalley!! A seemingly standard shojo romance with a unique and funny concept. What made this volume so good was the male lead falling for the female protagonist first (always a plus) and the teasing relationship between the two leads. Excited for vol 2!!

Thank you to Kodansha and Goodreads with providing me with an ARC of this manga to review!

Getting Closer to You is a shojo comedy manga about a girl named Hibi who has always had an obsession with muscles. She decides to go to a co-ed school in high school in order to see and be exposed to more people who are muscular. Hibi carries around a little journal where she records muscle details and this is accidentally found by a muscular upperclassmen, Natsume, who is impressed by all the information and asks if she could be the team manager for the school basketball team. Shenanigans ensue from then on.

I'm going to be completely honest, this manga was just not my cup of tea. I thought Hibi's muscle fetish was really strange and unhealthy. She actually calls the muscular boys "beefcakes" and actively looks for them to write about in her journal. I felt like the pacing for the romance in the story was way too fast and didn't feel very genuine. I will say that the art in this manga was quite cute and well done.

If you're looking for a silly high school comedy series with a bit of romance, this may be a good read for you. If you like muscles a lot, then definitely check this title out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing an eARC of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Kaho has been obsessed with muscles for as long as she can remember. Her devotion is near idol-worship level, but it doesn't matter who the muscles are attached to, she appreciates them all. This is why the so-called Muscle Prince, Natsume has taken notice of her and her proclivities. Kaho's expertise in finding peoples strengths is exactly what his basketball team needs and it allows Kaho to take in as many muscles as she can.

But Natsume quickly realizes that he'd rather her attention to be solely focused on him, not his muscles or any other's for that matter. How long will it take for Kaho to catch up?

I thought it was ADORABLE. Kaho's obsession borderlines on a fetish but it's also insanely innocent at the same time. She just is interested in muscles. The way they look and the way they are developed and how much work goes into gaining and maintaining them. The friendship that blossoms between Natsume and Kaho that quickly turns into a crush on Natsume's side is refreshing. Usually in shoujo manga the girl fawns over the guy while he flirts with her and they're caught in compromising positions or declarations are thrown.

This feels different. Natsume isn't naive or oblivious, she's just dedicated to her love of muscles. (I feel like I've written that word so many times that I can't recognize it.) I think this was a pretty strong first volume and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Charming. This was a really cute, quick read. Hibi has been obsessed with muscles since she was little. A boy at her school, Natsume, takes notice and offers her to be the manager of their basketball team to help them get into shape.

I really enjoyed this manga and am looking forward to read the rest of the story.

This book is perfection! It has just the right amount of fluff and smut with the perfect main two cast. I love when the boy falls first and the girl is a bit naive about her feelings. The art is stunning and I loved every second of reading this volume!

I also really liked the translation for this one too. Everything was understandable and it made me giggle.

Definitely a series to watch out for! I’ll be recommending this one to others!

This story is about Hibi who is obsessed with muscles, getting suckered into becoming the manager of the school’s basketball team but the team’s muscle prince. Natsume, the muscle prince, becomes protective of Hibi and starts to like her. Now does Hibi like Natsume or just his muscles?

This manga was cute and exactly what I was expecting. I really can not wait to see how this story plays out. I already love Natsume, and how he is not weirded out by Hibi and her amazing notes about his own muscles and other people. Love how he validated her likes and didn’t make her feel like she was crazy.

If you’re looking for something feel good, then this is the perfect manga.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kodansha comics for this eArc.

A girl obsessed with muscles gets to work as a team manager for the basketball team after being caught stalking them.

As she works with them, she notices what the team lacks, so she builds a training plan for them. Slowly, the team opens up to her while Natsume expresses his feelings towards Hibi.

I love this story; this story had me smiling all the time I was reading it. Natsume is so cute protecting and caring for Hibi. The drawings are so detailed, I love it!

Thanks NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC

This was adorable! I really enjoyed how much Hibi was into muscles, it was funny seeing how she was even spying on the guys. The romance between Natsume and Hibi is cute and I look forward to seeing how their relationship progresses. With the new guy at the end, I'm sure someone is going to get jealous.

I love the art style, and how the characters are drawn. You can really see the emotions in the characters.

Really enjoyed this manga, in particular, the heroine, Hibi. She knows what she likes and follows her passion, albeit her passion is a little unconventional. But at least the roots to her obsession are provided, not just 'out there' for the sake of the unusual.

The characters are fun, the situations funny and the drawings are lovely. A fun first book to a new series.

This manga is so silly!!! It reminds me a little of "Magic Touch," which was about massage, however this manga is how this girls obsession with muscles earned her a spot as the basketball team's manager. The art is very pretty, which is a plus too.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Getting Closer to You, Volume 1 by Ruri Kamino is a lovely shojo manga with an unusual premise. The story revolves around Kaho, who looks like a typical shojo heroine, but is actually quite different. Instead of going after the "flower boys" and slender guys that are popular in shojo manga, she actually has another type: she loves sporty guys with muscles. Other girls think that her type is weird. Then, her crush Natsumi-sempai suggests that she become the new manager of the boy's basketball team. Is it a dream come true?

Overall, Getting Closer to You, Volume 1 is a lovely shojo manga that will appeal to fans of Tokyo Tarareba Girls or Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight. One highlight of this book is how atypical the two main leads are. It's refreshing to have two main leads that don't look / act like the ones in typical shojo manga. Another highlight of this book is how funny it is. There are gags on almost every page, which was nice to read and laugh at. If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of shojo manga in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

This manga is okay... I did get really tired of reading the word "muscles" after a while. I can definitely see where an audience may exist, and I'll probably get a copy for our Sora collection.

Thank you to Kodansha for the opportunity to review this ARC.

It took me the longest time to get past page 1 of Getting Closer To You Vol 1 by Ruri Kamino.

Not because the story is bad already from the get-go but because the very first panel is a close-up of the chest of a prime example of a male body. I had to take my time appreciating that panel. It very fast became clear to me that I would get along with the heroine and understand her joy for muscles.

Hibi, female MC, is a muscle maniac and spends a lot of time spying on her school's sports teams. That's how she meets the muscle prince of the basketball team, who then finds her notebook and finds out about her obsession. He's part amused, freaked out, and fascinated about her passion and knowledge of muscles, and asks her (blackmail her) to become the manager of his sports team – the basketball team. You could think she was the luckiest girl getting a front-row to good-looking and fit muscles, but the basketball team is not well-trained guys nor are they doing well in competitions. They lack dedication. At first, she's dragging her feet about the manager job, but when she realizes that she has the chance to build her dream muscles (on the guys) she jumps at the task and works to become the best manager aka muscle builder.

Fans of sports manga will enjoy the underdogs' journey to reach the top. We begin with muscle training, but all that hard work and dedication is what will bring them success.

This story was so fun! There were lots of nice muscles to look at, a comedic vibe and the romance had its own charm. It wasn't sweet love per se, Hibi loves muscles, not guys, but Natsume-sempai's dedication to making Hibi see past his pecs will for sure be sweet to see.

I am looking forward to volume two.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha, and Ruri Kamino for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

Hibi is a muscle maniac. She knows all the names of every muscle in the human body (at least I assume she does based on the knowledge she displays) and she knows the best way to train and tone those muscles. When she show interest in Natsume's muscles, he recruits her to coach manage his basketball team, knowing her knowledge of muscles will benefit their playing...in the long run.

Hibi is in love with Natsume's muscles, but Natsume begins to like Hibi. Will she be able to see past his muscles and care about him?

At first I wasn't really into the premise of this manga, but about halfway through I started to get into the characters and the story. Ultimately, I think this will bloom to potentially be a decent shoujo romance series. I especially like the end. A muscley love triangle might make a front in volume two!

Sucker for a sports romance so I’m loving it so far! She’s such a weird character and I love her obsession with muscles. Can relate to the notebook (mine just had boys) though thank god no one saw mine! Looking forward to reading more. Ended on such a nice cliffhanger so I will indeed be awaiting volume 2

So this isn't the weirdest romance manga I've ever read. Though it's still refreshing to see a woman be the perv as opposed to a pervy guy, but still.

Hibi is a "muscle maniac" and her love of muscles has landed her the position of manager of the basketball team because that's how stuff like that works.

This is a basic romance that straddles the line between cute and weird.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kodansha comics for this eArc.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely loved this!!!

It is such an excellent blend of sports and shojo with a lot of "quirky" fun that I laughed through this whole thing!! I could not get enough of it and will definitely have to try and get my hands on a physical print of this! It is just so so so funny!!

I really liked our "couple" and the unfolding of their romance! It's a perfect slow burn for our heroine and LOVED how respectful our hero is. (That one scene where he "protected" her was gold!) I especially liked the scene near the end and just what that means for them both! <3

The sports aspect was absolutely perfect for me! And the muscle thing was such delicious bonus! (LOL!!) This manga definitely had that blend that I desperately want more of in shojo manga!

Overall, I VERY much enjoyed this and definitely want to get my hands on a personal copy (and a very much needed volume two!)! So good!!

*(I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

Kaho is a muscles addict. Every time she sees muscles, her day is made. She is excited, in love, deeply in love even with those muscles that once saved her life. Caught red-handed being a pervert when stalking boys with muscles by the Muscle Prince Nastume, Kaho is obliged to become the manager of the basketball team and help some boys gain muscles and win the tournament. Meanwhile, Natsume strongly shows his interest in Kaho and she isn't indifferent to his affection.

*sigh* Okay, let's begin with this one. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much about this shojo at first. I knew the mangaka and some of her previous titles, and that's what drew me to this manga. The drawing style, too, was very pretty and enjoyable to read. However, with shojos, there comes a point when you think 'Okay, that's it, I'll never find originality again.' Then new shojos come out and you read their plots and you're wondering what on Earth happened in this mangaka's head. This one felt like that. At first, I was just stunned by the plot—not in a positive way, unfortunately. Personally, I didn't particularly enjoy it. Sure, it IS original, but maybe to the point that it becomes too ridiculous to be appreciated?

Some scenes were too cringe for my tastes; the romance was too forced, and the development of the story felt too quick in my opinion. I couldn't really relate to the characters, nor did I see the value of the side characters, which seemed useless in this first manga. All these reasons contributed to me not liking it that much and not wanting to continue the story. I did finish this first manga, but that will be it for me with this series.

Still, many thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for always letting me the opportunity to read their titles.

What a silly read! The story itself is pretty typical for a shojo romance, nothing so different. But the muscle fanatic main character really makes it enjoyable. A cute start to a new series, hopefully it continues to go up and up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.

I loved this! It was such a fun to read. Hibi and Natsume’s relationship is just adorable. It’s a manga set in high school so some parts are cheesy but I did not really care about that. If I wasn’t gushing, I was laughing most of the time!

I’m definitely looking forward to Volume 2!