I have not read many manga over the years, but I decided to break down and read this one. In middle and high school I watched (and read a little) my fair share of romantic comedies, but not recently. I took a break because I was put off by the settings and ideas that did not really appeal to me anymore. In other words, I am now 22. A few years outside of the target audience for a romance like this, but as I discovered, never outside the target audience for a comedy like this (also some stuff is just plain cute).

I have a different perspective now. Where before I found myself enamored by the slow (often dense) progression a romance in a manga like this has, but now, I find it more of a hassle. The manga develops (primarily) the relationship between a shy bookworm girl and an outgoing nice guy. As one might expect from this kind of manga it takes a great many painstaking chapters before basically anything happens between the two. But this not for lack of content. The various side characters that make up the manga are truly astounding (in more ways than one). The eclectic cast of side characters includes: a masochist (male), an (almost) 30-year-old women who curses anybody with a shred of happiness, a ‘lipsticked’ 22-year-old college student (female) who is described in every sense by that expression, and a nice old lady. Never a dull moment in the Kawai Apartments.

And really this is what the manga did right for me. It managed to tie together the slow pace of the romance with some truly outlandish, atypical comedy aspects. Even as the jokes started to get old I found myself laughing and genuinely enjoying the various characters nonsense. It's good. And I found myself sucked into the slow romance aspects as the two main characters become the reoccurring end of a joke that played into the larger character dynamics.

And then it ended. The bonus chapters after the lackluster resolution still feel lackluster but the story does come together at the end. No spoilers but it’s cute beyond belief. Although I would have liked the ending to be a little more than cute. Overall, I really did enjoy this one and it was a nice change of pace from my typical reading. It was a pleasant surprise to read something that I know I would have enjoyed when I was younger but for different reasons altogether. 8/10 would read again.