DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

• 

  SoulBlade17

  82/100
  A Yuri that presents a relationship that all starts on a misunderstanding, but soon blossoms into something more.

  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](https://anilist.co/user/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) 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. 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. 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.

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• 

  bloominlotus

  99/100
  unbelievably good: so dreamy, so perfect. deserves more chapter.

  oh the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all! peak, PEAK! we need more and MORE this kind of genre in yuri. always love this kind of plot of yuri. always have a good time reading this theme. such a gem.

  taking 1 point for not having longer chapter. i think it's such a crime for a good manga to only have two volumes and lesser chapters. i expected it to have like 10 volumes perhaps.. with 70+ chapters.. the manga is so good i want to read more of them! but it doesn't make the manga less any interesting though. it makes you feel so good by reading it until the end.. bet you won't realize when it's already in the last chapter.

  it's starting off with so good need i tell you something, THE ART. i have such a weak spot for beautiful art.. i love how the author draw kanda. kanda-kun ♡___♡ SO HANDSOME. but at the same time they made kanda's girl feature soft and beautiful. she's a total heartthrob, yes. the genes run so insane in kanda family i guess.. who would have thought she will have a brother so pretty i thought it was her sister rather than her brother (my moment of the girl she was interested in wasn't a girl at all, anyway)

  i think ookawa natsumi is one adorable girl. it's probably because of how strict her parents are, her innocence was loud. but she's the sweetest and the purest. she's such a positive character. it feels like she always look at people's good intention. it's so fun reading her so head over heels over kanda-kun. she's also so pretty and such a cheerful girl.

  the moment when kanda told natsumi the truth, in my opinion it was wholesome. natsumi really didn't mind kanda being a girl because regardless what kanda is, she still loves her lots. it didn't have too emotional scene but for me it's still sweet. their love is precious.

  i love how this manga is so dreamyㅡ constantly talking about how much one loves the other, TALKING ABOUT MARRIAGE SAY YESSSS TO GIRLS MARRIAGE, and the ending.. oh the ending is perfect with the proposal!!!! them talking about the future and there's wedding pics on the extra LOVE ITT SO MUCHHH it's was sooo pretty!!!! both kanda and ookawa in dresses and suits looking pretty for their wedding. it would be nice if they have longer chapters.. but it doesn't make the readers feel disappointed by the short chapters because even though it was short, it's still a good read. from the storyline alone they didn't drag any conflict or misunderstanding too long, quickly solving it, and giving them lovey dovey the moment after <3 i think that's what i love from this manga.

  i had a good time reading this. it's such a fun and light read. reading this in one siting. definitely a must read and a recommendation for those who crave for some cute yuri with beautiful art and handsome girl. both characters blended so well you wish to see them more. love this.

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• 

  HidamariSeashore

  80/100
  Not as developed as I'd like, but still really good.

  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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