It's July 8th when I'm posting this review, but just because Pride Month is over for the year doesn't mean I suddenly have to stop consuming media depicting same-sex relationships. Plus, the last yuri series I reviewed ended up being a bit of a stinker, so I could really use a yuri series that is marginally better (and less problematic). Luckily, the single omnibus volume of the manga "Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl" happened to be available at a Barnes and Noble I was at recently, and it certainly had the potential to be a worthwhile read. Thus, I bought it, and now that I've read it all the way through, I can confidently say that I regret not reading this in June, as despite the romance starting from a misunderstanding, it's so much sweeter and healthier than whatever was going on in Kuttsukiboshi. Just how good is it, though? I'll try to explain in a way that creates no misunderstandings.
Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl, or "Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume" in Japanese, begins when college student Satomi Okuma is asked to find guys to participate in her class's crossdressing cafe. Luckily, she knows just who to ask: Mizuki Kanda, her handsome classmate who she already has a crush on. Mizuki isn't too enthusiastic about the idea, though, especially since, unbeknownst to Satomi (somehow), she's actually a girl and wouldn't be crossdressing as a result; in an attempt to get out of it, she asks Satomi to go on a date with her in exchange for her participation. To Mizuki's surprise, though, Satomi happily agrees, and soon enough, they're "boyfriend" and girlfriend. Not wanting to hurt Satomi's feelings by breaking up with her, Mizuki continues to date her while hiding her true gender, and over time, she ends up falling in love with her, too.
Ordinarily, the whole "misunderstanding that would be cleared up with a simple conversation takes way too long to get cleared up" trope is very irritating to me; that's exactly what has kept me from watching "Gamers!", despite how cute it looks. In this case, it can be frustrating to see Mizuki go to the lengths she does to hide the fact that she's not a guy from Satomi, but I believe that the manga's two-volume length eases the frustration a little bit; you know that Mizuki will tell Satomi the truth before too long, so you can enjoy seeing these two likable characters start to form a bond without too much stress. Satomi is a very entertaining character, with her happy personality just being too precious; meanwhile, Mizuki has a coolness to her that may make even straight girls swoon, as well as a kind and considerate personality. It's easy to see why they love each other, which makes their relationship all the more pleasant to see unfold.
That being said, though, the short length doesn't allow many things to be as fleshed out as they could have been. For example, it's established early on that Satomi comes from a wealthy household with strict parents - most likely where the "sheltered" part of the title comes from - but I don't feel like the whole "strict parents" part was used effectively enough. One of the ways that they are strict is that, despite the fact that Satomi doesn't live with her parents during the manga, they still give her a strict curfew, but there's never a moment where the curfew feels urgent; even in the one instance where she breaks curfew, all they really do is scold her. (Well, I can forgive it, since Satomi is an adult.) I think a chapter or two revolving around Satomi's background and Mizuki dealing with Satomi's parents directly could have done wonders for developing Satomi more as a character. Another problem stemming from the short length is that while the supporting characters are all likable in their own ways - with a special mention going to Kai for just how much of a bro he is - there's not enough time to really develop them. There are two characters who seem like they could be a side couple, but the manga ends as soon as they meet. Yeah, seriously. Want to see a spin-off about them? Write and/or draw your own! The author and artist seem to want to see fanart, anyway.
Speaking of which, although Mochi Au Lait didn't do a perfect job at telling as much of the story as could be told, majoccoid makes up for it with her gorgeous artwork. There aren't a lot of moments where the characters are chibi-fied, yet they are always cutely-drawn nonetheless. They also have very expressive faces, especially their eyes; it's always cute to see hearts in Satomi's eyes at different points. The backgrounds are pretty nice, too, occasionally giving the manga a shoujo feel despite being a shounen manga. Every aspect of the art adds to the sweetness of it all; no further comment is needed.
Overall, Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl turned out to be very good for what it is. Anyone looking for a cute yuri manga to read in a day or two may want to consider giving it a try. It's definitely a better piece of yuri media to consume than Kuttsukiboshi, and I didn't even read it during June!
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