Name: Despite it's quirky premise, this manga manages to be a genuinely heartfelt romance between two lovable characters.
Item: The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
Rating: 100
Author: Urobot

Waifra

Despite it's quirky premise, this manga manages to be a genuinely heartfelt romance between two lovable characters. · Waifora

There's so much romance media these days that it's inevitable every new romance story needs some kind of gimmick to set itself apart. Enter The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses (or Suki na Ko ga Megane wo Wasureta), a story about Kaede Komura who has a crush on his classmate, Ai Mie, a middle-school girl who is as blind as can be without her glasses, yet she constantly forgets them at home.

The premise of the story, which apparently started as a Twitter comic, starts off just as ridiculous as you might think. Mie shows up, can't see anything because she forgot her glasses, and ends up sharing Komura's textbook. Sounds fair enough, except that she keeps forgetting her damn glasses, to the point where you can't help but wonder how this girl survives on a daily basis. Komura finds himself helping Mie more and more when she forgets her glasses and they become closer as a result. All things considered, it's a cute premise, if a bit absurd to begin with.

Cute premise aside, a romance story lives or dies on the characters it portrays, and I'm happy to say I have no complaints here. As if constantly forgetting the one thing that lets her see isn't enough, Mie is revealed to be very quirky. Imagine a middle school girl speaking with the honor and conviction of a samurai. Komura, on the other hand, is more of the reserved type who overthinks things. Despite the trope of "quirky girl and quiet boy" being done to death, this still manages to not only stay interesting, but really make two believable, lovable characters.

Alright, so what do we have so far? Cute premise? Check. Good characters? Check. What about the payoff? The fluffy moments, the confession, the reason why we watch these things to begin with. We've all been there: reading/watching a romance story where the two main characters struggle to realize their feelings, only to finally get together... and then one kiss scene and it's over. Completely anticlimactic. Without spoiling too much, that definitely isn't a problem here. I'd almost say the readers are spoiled by this story, especially those looking for lots of charming moments between the two love interests.

So what's left? Well, the humor is a strong point. Komura's overthinking is often hilarious, with him spacing out to imagine all kinds of things. The art isn't something I would say sets itself apart, but it definitely has its moments. The side characters manage to avoid being completely forgettable, but never get in the way of the story. The pacing of the story is phenomenal, and at no point was I ever thinking "Ugh, can we just get to the good part?" Honestly, I could just go on and on about all the things that make this manga good. Now, you might be thinking, "Surely, Mr. bot, there must be something wrong with this manga?" No, it's perfect. Or at least, I sincerely believe this manga is perfect at what it's trying to be: a story of two kids in middle school discovering their first love.

Overall, The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses is a well-paced romance filled with endearing main characters, giggle-worthy dialogue, and enough sweet moments to melt even the coldest of hearts. From the beginning, the characters are lovable and keep growing on you until you can't help but root for them to end up together.

Spoiler section:

Spoiler, click to view

I really want to praise the small details in this manga. Simple things like the parents kind of knowing what is going on, but letting them discover and progress the relationship on their own. Komura imagining Mie's father as a sort of judgmental, disapproving type who is criticizing his every move only for Komura to find out that Mie's father is a sweetheart who is nothing but supportive. Both of them being shy once they finally get into the relationship and trying to find excuses to do something as small as hug the other. Komura constantly thinking to himself "Is this allowed?" and even completely shutting down when he gets hugged by Mie. There's so many little things that make the story more endearing, and really brings back the feeling of that first relationship where everything is so new.

Also, shout out to the scene where Komura and Mie are at Mie's house and are about to leave for the summer festival so Mie grabs Komura's hand and they leave. Mie's father saying something to the effect of "Oh, so they hold hands, huh?" is so funny to me. Parents gossiping about their kid's relationships is always hilarious in my opinion.