Romance is a genre of storytelling that is special to people. A unique genre that tackles the connection between characters starting from the day they meet, the bonds and interests they share, and the distance between them slowly getting closer until they're capable and recognizing that they're romantically compatible. The romance genre relies on the relatability and the progression of the characters getting closer and their chemistry with each other which can be easily achieved by recent romance manga behemoths such as Kaguya-Sama: Love is War. However, the romance mangas have mostly focused on the high school aspects. This is not a negative aspect of the romance genre as a whole, but it does restrict the scope and opportunity of the stories that can be told. The adults in the romance manga are underrepresented despite that they make the majority of the population. But there are quite a few adult oriented romance mangas that stand out from the rest, and one of those is Sweat and Soap ***

__Part 1 Your Insecurities can be Precious__

Let's get one thing out of the way first and that is the premise of the manga. We follow the main girl Asako Yaeshima who works at a finance department of a corporate company. She mainly has an insecurity of the smell of her sweat that she constantly wipes it away, put up some fragrant to cover it, and safeguarding herself from the judgement of others. The main boy Koutarou Natori is a member at the product development department of the same company and has a particulate characteristic when it comes to scents. Both of their fates clashed as Natori smelled Yaeshima’s scent where he finds satisfying. Both Natori and Yaeshima grows closer and closer the more they interacted with each other all because of a random chance encounter and a unique quirk Yaeshima has that catches Natori’s intrigue.

From the societal norms, smelling people is considered frowned upon and a degenerate behaviour that could give you a disgusting look at society. The first few chapters of this series definitely highlighted the taboo behaviour. But when it comes to romance, falling in love with someone and getting addicted to their smell is a normal thing shared by both couples. The level of unrestraintness the manga portrays with couples sharing their ways of conveying their love for someone is realistic and intimate.

This also goes the other way for Yaeshima. A girl who is super insecure with her smell that she goes various lengths to keep herself as clean as possible. The level of anxiety she has hinders her social life and connections with other people, until Natori comes into her life and manages to slowly shed her layers and be comfortable with herself with the help of her partner. We all have our insecurities that we do our best to conceal and it can get exhausting to the point we undervalue ourselves and shutting ourselves away from opportunities and possible connections, but this manga shows that there will be someone out there who will look at your insecurities and shrug it off. Suddenly that one thing you spent years safeguarding, suddenly shattered by the radiance of loving given from your partner in lavish yet sometimes devious ways all to be showered by unconditional loving. Sweat and Soap presents this realistic premise not just from adolescents perspective but on the adults as well. ***

__Part 2 Adulting__

One huge aspect of Sweat and Soap that stands out more than the rest of the romance mangas and that is tackling with fully adult characters doing adult things. Characters act in the series like adults and view romance in a more mature light than the romance mangas we see. Even with the adult perspective, it doesn't lose its “blossoming of love” aspects where people who love romance manga often chase for. In addition to that, there are freaky adult activities such as underwear teases and sex that is used in the series not just for the sake of adult things, but progresses the characters further from where they once were.

On another aspect, having adult characters gives the story the opportunity to tell romantic stories that revolve around being an adult. Another aspect is being late coming home from work and family interactions that are often not seen in adolescent romance mangas, but fits right home in an adult romance manga. These shared moments and stressful activities can be seen as boring, but the manga series romanticise these moments which can create a powerful scene where you just feel at awe reading through it. ***

__Part 3 Radiance of Sweetness__

The series mainly revolves around adult characters in adult series, but this can be a caution for most readers coming in because people would often assume that the story would mainly revolve on the more depressive aspects of adulting like many mangas that revolve around adults. However, Sweat and Soap managed to absorb the topics of adulting and its associations around it while also getting that charm and vibes of blooming adolescent romance mangas and mixes them together to create this adorably sweet progression of a series. From meeting each other’s family and siblings, to the interactions to the co-workers, and the intimacy between our main characters through the mundane, the comedic moments that hit, the sweet moments that you just couldn't read without getting blushed, and the overall vibes of the manga.

The manga is not all Radiance of Sweetness, like from the things that are mentioned above that there are inner turmoils and melancholic moments that our main and supporting characters deal through, but the resolution provided for moments that do are In a way wholesome and sweet without ruining the mood of the moment. ***

Conclusion

Overall, Sweat and Soap is your lighthearted slice of life romance manga that tackles adult themes and experiences while keeping its sweet vibes and romantically cute moments. A strong recommendation for people who are romance junkies or people who love to read a simple yet impactful romance story. ***