Please note

This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the manga I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment. This review may contain some spoilers, but all of them will be hidden using the spoiler tag. A big thank you to Nikz for proofreading my previous reviews and giving me feedback. TL;DR will be at the bottom.

Introduction

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl is a manga written by Mochi Au Lait and illustrated by majoccoid which depicts the story of Ooguma Satomi, a university student who never has been in a romantic relationship. This all changes when she falls head over heels for another boy in her class... not realising that 'he' is a girl.

Plot

Straight from the get-go, the plot jumps off and gets right into it, not afraid to establish the two characters and Ooguma's infatuation of Kanda. This manga does not have many chapters to work with, and thus it works to build the foundations quickly and efficiently. I personally think it did well to make sure things started off quick enough to get the reader into the story and everything else, letting them ease into the reading experience. The plot is simple enough to follow, most of it follows the development of Ooguma's and Kanda's relationship, and of course, the build up to (sort of a spoiler but kind of obvious)

Spoiler, click to view

Ooguma eventually finding out that Kanda is a girl.

Us, the readers, know from the very beginning that Kanda is girl but Ooguma is completely oblivious, which draws us in, leading ourselves to ponder when it will come out. A basic technique to draw readers in, but it was effective enough to keep me reading for the duration of the manga. But as it went on, and their relationship began to develop, I started to continue reading for more reasons. Their relationship becomes the most engrossing part of the manga (granted, there is not much else going on in the plot), and I simply just wanted to see more of their relationship. Seeing what events were in store for both Ooguma and Kanda and their relationships was merely an enjoyable experience. Even though the manga is only 15 chapters, everything was paced fairly well. Nothing was rushed, things played out at a gradual pace. Something many manga (and anime) of the Yuri genre and the like have to tackle is the theme of societal acceptance of a same sex relationship. Whilst this manga does go into that, it does not much, only expanding on it in a chapter or two with some dialogue, and quite frankly, I personally do not think it needed it. Whilst it is an important topic for manga of this genre to tackle, it was not needed and more of it could have taken up more of the plot than it needed to. The plot presents a relationship between two people, and it does not need to do much more. It simply presents a wholesome story of love blossoming between two individuals that is easy to enjoy. I will talk about the ending broadly here, but I will put it under a spoiler tag for those who do not wish to be spoiled at all.

Spoiler, click to view

The ending was satisfying enough, bringing the story to a close, but leaving a potential follow up. There was another thing that hinted at a possible sequel, but I somewhat doubt that it will come. The ending does leave me wanting more, but for what it was, the ending did adequately to close the story.

Characters

Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl has a small cast of characters, with really only two characters in it. There are some side characters, but they take the backseat and do not appear in majority of the chapters, not appearing in the whole chapter if they are in it. This is a positive point of the manga, as it only emphasises the two characters and everything they go through. Luckily, the two main characters are great and having them as the main focus of the story did not hinder the experience at all. Ooguma is a little air headed, cheerful and energetic. Her personality makes it easy to light up any situation and she easily makes simple scenes comedic. It is hard not to like her. Ooguma could be loosely considered the comedic relief, as she can bring a smile to the reader. Kanda on the other hand could simply be described as a tomboy. Despite being physically female, she looks and acts masculine, which is what draws Ooguma to her in the first place. At the beginning Kanda is portrayed as a little cold and all in all not very likable, but that soon changes throughout the course of the story. She develops over time, and slowly but surely comes a character that is easy to love. I was drawn to her personality and was easily captivated by her whenever she was on.

Spoiler, click to view

Also keep a note of her smoking habits. I am fairly certain they change over the course of the story. A neat way to showcase her development.

It can easily said that Ooguma and Kanda, as well as the relationship between the two are the shining stars of the manga, although to be fair there is not too much else in the manga. I soon find myself cheering on for the two, eager to find out what next was going to unfold for their relationship. As for the few side characters, I felt that they well done well. Like I stated earlier, they do not appear much in the story, but added enough to the story to be worthwhile additions. I do not even remember their names, but I can still easily remember what they did, so they are not that forgettable. Two of the side characters helped both Ooguma and Kanda in their relationship, assisting them to progress their relationship. Having these characters allows for the reader to have something a little fresh, without detracting too far from the main characters. Overall, Mochi Au Lait wrote all of the characters well, they felt realistic, and they drew me in.

Art

The art in Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl was something else I really liked. The characters were all drawn well and it was cute when it needed to be. majoccoid drew art that easily conveyed the emotions the characters were feeling and made it all more immersive. Furthermore, the settings were drawn nicely, complementing the characters. The following image is the first page of the manga.

Conclusion and TL;DR

I did not expect this to become one of my favourite manga's, but it did. It was simple, heart warming and wholesome. For only being 15 chapters, it presented an enjoyable story with great characters. This is an easy recommendation to those who enjoy the Yuri or romance genre. To summarise this review:

• The plot is quick to get things going, presenting a simple story of the relationship between two individuals that all starts on a misunderstanding.
• The plot is engaging, and both the characters and relationships draw you in.
• Lovable main characters with great character development.
• The art compliments the characters, conveying the emotions they carry easily to the readership.

Thank you to those who took the time to read this review. Hopefully you were able to get something out of it. If you did not like this review, then I apologise for wasting your time.