可愛いだけじゃない式守さん

KAWAII DAKE JA NAI SHIKIMORI-SAN

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
20
RELEASE
February 18, 2023
CHAPTERS
203

DESCRIPTION

Shikimori seems like the perfect girlfriend: cute, fun to be around, sweet when she wants to be… but she has a cool dark side that comes out under the right circumstances. And her boyfriend Izumi loves to be around when that happens!

(Source: Kodansha USA)

Notes:

Chapter count includes 25 extra chapters.
The work was first self-published by the author on their Twitter account.
It began its official publication in Pocket Magazine on February 2, 2019.
Won 5th place in Tsugimanga 2020 Award in the Web Manga Category.

CAST

Miyako Shikimori
Yuuki Izumi
Ai Kamiya
Yui Hachimitsu
Shuu Inuzuka
Kyou Nekozaki
Fuji Shikimori
Motoko Izumi
Akisada Izumi
Miyabi Shikimori
Saruogi
Risa Hayase
Rika Isana
Tannin no Sensei

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO KAWAII DAKE JA NAI SHIKIMORI-SAN

Cover Art for Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san

ANIME ComedyKawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san

REVIEWS

Pandapopulation
78/100
As the title implies, “Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie”
“Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie” is a popular rom-com manga soon to receive its awaited anime adaptation in the following season, spring 2022. So how is this manga? To put it simply, it’s sweet and fun.

The story of this manga follows Izumi and his girlfriend, Shikimori, in their day-to-day high school life. And yes, you read that right, they’re already going out. The main characters already dating separates this manga from most of the other romances where the main characters play this everlasting game where neither confesses for hundreds of chapters. This permits the manga to expand upon the relationship between Shikimori and Izumi differently than other romance manga, as their love strengthens rather than builds.

Going to the title of this manga, “Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie,” what does this say about the manga itself? Well, each chapter would showcase Shikimori’s cutesy personality, but then something happens and she acts extremely cool, causing Izumi to swoon a bit. Something like this tends to swiftly become boring from repetitiveness, but Shikimori handles this blockade excellently. After less than 40 chapters (keep in mind these chapters are around 5-8 pages) it starts expanding. By this point, you have a grasp on the concept, so the manga can introduce and develop characters while showing more of Shikimori than her just being cute and cool. “Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie” doesn’t imply she is only a bit more than being a cute girl, but rather she’s significantly more than just cute. She’s intelligent, diligent, hardworking, but most importantly, human.

The characters of Shikimori are flawed. No one’s perfect and this manga understands that. There are things people can’t do, but that’s why there’s a whole cast of them. They help each other and, as corny as this may sound, they teach each other lessons and encourage one another to achieve their goals. For example, one of the characters can’t cook, but they receive aid from some of the other characters and eventually learn. This doesn’t turn them into an expert overnight, but rather just a better chef. Still, this doesn’t ignore that the person learning has to put the effort in. Friendship doesn’t solve everything, but it helps.

Another thing I like about Shikimori is its pacing. The characters in this manga age. They aren’t in their first year for an eternity like other series, but rather age and try to figure out what they want to do in the future, and strive to achieve what they want to do in life. This aging pace also comes alongside seasons. Seasonal events, clothing, and weather in the manga help aid the reader understand when the current events are taking place and help make the manga feel natural.

This naturalism extends to the characters as well. Though they may seem a little too cheery for high schoolers, they tend to be realistic enough to be believable. The characters don’t rely on tropes or odd quirks very much to attempt to feel unique. While it does use some tropes (for example, the main character has extremely poor luck), these quirks and tropes are not slapped onto every single character in the manga. It’s just normal high school life, with a normal relationship.

So what do we have? An enjoyable manga where characters naturally progress through their high school life with some nice character development and a still cute, yet “more than just cute” main girl. I highly recommend this manga to those that like slice of life manga, and or romances.

Thank you for reading!
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Smitch
80/100
Shikimori the Girlfriend we all want
Review of Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie
__═══════════ ㅤ ◄ Story ► ㅤ ═══════════__ Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie is a __romcom__ (romantic comedy) manga by __Keigo Maki__. Originally, the manga started on Twitter but after gaining a lot of recognition from many people it was serialized in マガポケ (Magazine Pocket).The manga is about __Shikimori and Izumi__, a __lovey-dovey couple__ enjoying the high school life together. Usually Shikimori is very __cute__, but whenever Izumi gets into trouble, she becomes very __handsome__ and helps Izumi out. The __focus__ of this manga is on the cool and __handsome side__ of Shikimori. Apart from that, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie is a __normal romantic comedy__. There is not much depth to the story, but the various arcs, such as the school festival and class trips, provide a bit of (Japanese) __typical bittersweet youth__. __═══════════ ㅤ ◄ Art Style ► ㅤ ═══════════__ The author is doing a great job when it comes to the art. It is __fantastic__ ! Shikimori's __fashion coordination__ changes frequently, so you never get bored with her character design. Also, her __facial expressions__ are the best. Cute, beautiful and always well drawn. It is the reason why I fell in love with Shikimori and therefore the art is the __best part of this manga__ (at least for me). __═══════════ ㅤ ◄ Characters ► ㅤ ═══════════__ There is not much to say about the characters. Shikimori is just a perfect girl and all her and Izumi’s friends are good people. They are all supportive and sometimes funny but not really special (not meant badly). One character that actually bothers me is __Izumi__. He is a caring good boy but has a so-called __不幸体質__ (someone who is unlucky from the nature) and gets involved in many misfortunes. While Shikimori's charms are brought out by Izumi, who gets himself into trouble, he is __pathetic__ exactly because he gets into so many troubles. Well since Izumi's misfortune is necessary for this manga I don't know how the author could have done it better... __═══════════ ㅤ ◄ Adaptation ► ㅤ ═══════════__ The anime adaptation is __horrible__. Not only is Shikimori's __charms not fully brought out__, but the __voice acting__ makes Izumi seem even more __pathetic__. That is why I only recommend the manga. __═══════════ ㅤ ◄ Conclusion ► ㅤ ═══════════__ Romcom enjoyers should __definitely read it__. Each chapter is short therefore __easy to read__ and it is __fun__ to see Shikimori acting mostly adorable but sometimes manly and handsome. I will agree when people say that the story gets __repetitive__ but I still find it __enjoyable__. But PLEASE do not watch the anime !!!
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Unwelcome
85/100
It's feels more like slice of life manga than romcom.
※ : THINGS TO CONSIDER:
・ English is my second language, there may be errors in my grammar..
・I try to make a spoiler-free review, however, in the section opinion if something important happens I mention it.
・General experience ≠ Final score. My personal score is based in 5 star system, so I tried to put an accurate number here, but isn't always the case.
・Locate (Brief) Conclusion + Recommendation section where the main points are summarized.
━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━
Experience with Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san
━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Iɴᴛʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ**
In this story we see the afterwards of confession, this premise put a new concept in action where they couple don’t fall into misunderstandings and confusions for not knowing how to convey their feelings, in the same way, no unnecessary tropes to put some weight to the story.

They recognizing their flaws and rely on the other to overcoming the situations to come. Although, the relevance focuses on them, at the same time the story opens the path to explore friendship, giving the realism of a healthy and realistic interactions, not falling into the monotony of closing the world of its characters.
━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Oᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ**
In the first instance you can perceive this story as a simple romcom due to the moe-gap of Shikimori-san has as the lead protagonist, without trying she is "cool" saving her boyfriend from the dangers and extraordinary situations that happen between them. On the other hand, Izumi as usual express how amazing and “handsome” is his girlfriend, keeping inside the fact that above all she is "cute”.

Mostly that’s the dynamic of the couple, however, in the long run that aspects decrease, allowing to us the appreciate her relationship with Izumi. Probably, this title fits more like a Slice of Life, because we see the progress in their relationship, where it’s not necessary to reach an imaginary point to consider themselves "a valid couple", they go at their own pace.

As the same way, the relevance regarding their friends grows, giving variety of point of view that makes us feel closer to all the characters that are in a important stage of their youth. Nevertheless, sometimes there are a static point, where you expect go deeper into the characters.

Certainly, the fact that the author doesn’t use forced tropes for the sake of drama, made this story memorable in the way of developing the events, adding its touch of realism.

The drawing on the early stage of the manga was strong, detailed and convey so much in the expressions of the characters, using well the space on each page. Albeit, over time some external changes sacrificed the quality to deliver an enjoyable weekly reading, focusing the forces on the most relevant panels.
━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **(ʙʀɪᴇғ) Cᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ + Rᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ**
Being a Slice of Life manga than romcom, don't get confused and be disappointed after.

We witness the development of the main characters, even though, the couple and their conflicts are not always relatable and in certain context, out of place, such Shikimori’s dreams and Izumi’s bad luck. Instead, in the progress these points become something more understandable allowing to connect with them, along the side characters, who expressed memorable moments to appreciate.

For the most part, it was a reading of discovering and growth, where two different persons connect and enjoy their youth, going through coming of age together, within a light comedy and a sincere atmosphere. I recommended this manga if you enjoy these themes!
━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━
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