One To Watch: Plus-sized Misadventures in Love
Never thought I'd be here, but here I am.
Let me start this by saying three things. First of all, yes this is a manga title from my employer. But this is in no way a paid promotion or a promotion of any kind, cause I don’t do that here at MangaCraft.
Second of all, as I prefaced with when I wrote a similar piece for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All—I’m not a rom-com reader. There’s just too much to read, and as omnivorous as I try to be, I don’t get to rom-coms often.
Third of all—thirdly?—when I saw this title and cover, my brain started an itemize list of all the things that could go wrong. I never want to see a book go cringe. Or go offensive. Or go negative in any way. My “this could go terribly wrong” radar sounded like a metal detector in a junkyard.
Yet here I am, about to sing the praises of this series, that opens with such deftness and precision, that within pages, I knew that this mangaka was to be trusted. That fear of “this could go horribly wrong” radar shut off entirely. Because not only is this deftly done, but it’s hilarious and heartfelt, the perfect blend.
But more than that, more than the rom-com elements, the workplace feelings floating this way and that, there’s an actual attempted murder mystery at the heart of the series that adds another layer of intrigue that no one could have seen coming.
I’m getting ahead of myself in all this excitement.
The series stars Yumeko, just back from the brink of death and with no memory of anything that happened before. Initially, the assumption is that she attempted suicide, but that assumption is put to doubt when the police begin investigating what they believe was an attempted murder.
Not compelled to read yet? I got you.
The characters are all so distinct and well-crafted. Yumeko herself is a straight-up delight. She’s so self-assured and literally a beacon of light amidst a pretty dreary workplace with coworkers who gradually reveal nuances to make them interesting. Chief among them, the VP of her company, who may or may not be her love interest, who also may or may not be the subject of her stalking before her near-death. Mysteries!
Then there’s the police officers investigating her near-death, and these police officers are complete assholes. Which I was not expecting. Which is just one of numerous aspects of the story I simply was not expecting. Every time I thought I’d gotten a beat on things, a new twist—sometimes big (someone tried to kill her?!), sometimes small (the police office being a total twat)—kept me on my toes.
It creates this wonderful dichotomy of trusting the mangaka, but also being keenly aware that I cannot anticipate what’s coming.
If you’re a rom-com reader, do not miss this. If you enjoyed Green Yuri, this is for you. If you are just a fan of being compelled, oftentimes unexpectedly, here you go. This is a fun and engaging read that I can only hope will take off.
And it’s on sale literally today, so… what are you waiting for?