Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi

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Every time I pick up another romcom, I find myself wondering; what is the purpose of these cute little books? Is it blatant escapism, hopeless romanticism, or even just waifu bait? Any seasoned rom-com reader, as I would consider myself, would realize these are just flagrant accusations cast by those who don't understand the genre, there is far more to a good rom-com than just these elements. But, in recent memory, most romcoms have fallen into the same, sullen tropes. It's not like this is anything new, tropes have been a standard in the rom-com genre for decades, and when handled correctly can lead to ... a perfect blend of comedic timing and romance (An example being Jin Kobayashi's "School Rumble.")

But, a severe lack of nuance in concepts has caused a bit of a rough patch in manga within recent memory, at least for largely published manga. That's why when I saw another long titled cutesy tsundere manga, I was initially disinterested. However, noticing the artist of Onani Master Kurosawa was fronting the project, I gained a bit more interest and decided that, due to its relatively short length (Like her skirt... haha...) I would give it a read. Honestly, it was quite a sufficient little manga. To be clear, this manga is not a gamechanger, and it's not a revolutionary piece of literature to be talked about for ages, rather its a culmination of what I love about romcoms as a whole, and how well even a simple one like this can work when these elements are linked together.
Now, when covering a rom-com there is a core element to every story to make it work; the characters. The essence of the "rom" elements are the characters, along with the essence of the "com". Fundamentally, a rom-com cannot feasibly work unless the characters are entertaining or interesting enough to maintain reader interest. The manga most certainly does not fail here. Criticisms first, it is extremely tropey. Aside from Sakuradaimon, every character mainly falls into a pre-established little role. Yuu is the ragged Yankee, Poemu is the Tsundere, Nadeshiko is the wacky school pres, etc. However, as stated before, if these characters work well in their dynamic, there is no issue. And for the most part, they fit perfectly! There's an engaging dynamic of stupidity between the stuck-up vice president Kaoru and Nadeshiko, and their antics are a fun little side plot. Other characters, however, are a little obnoxious in their trope-riddled development, though not to an extent that I'd say they are a detriment. Overall, the cast outside of our main two is solid and doesn't hurt or distract from the main dynamic whatsoever.

The plot is simple, and really works to support the most enjoyable part of the manga, that being Sakuradaimon and Poemu's dynamics. Basically, Poemu wears short skirts as the rambunctious tsun that she is, and the straight-laced Sakuradaimon doesn't like it and tries to get her to stop. Their exchanges aren't necessarily negative, and they tend to understand where each other comes from mutually. It's this wholesome little charade that carries along with the plot at your typical romcom pace for the first 20 or so chapters. The plot does surprise here though, as, forbidden by romcom law, the two actually... get together??? Initially, I was a bit skeptical at how fast the story was moving, though maybe that was in part due to whiplash thanks to many other romcoms I've read in which it takes upwards of 300 chapters to get anywhere (Looking at you Komi-san), but the change didn't hinder the story at all, rather bringing it to a higher level than before. Some minor drama ensues, including the ever loveably dense Sakuradaimon figuring out the nuances of relationships, all the while Poemu bashfully makes gradual steps towards taking their relationship further. It's not only a lovely setup but also feels unique, as few romcoms explore this sort of dynamic whilst the two are actually in a relationship. It also helped that, while he is extremely dense, Sakuradaimon isn't doing that just to prolong the plot, but rather because after having withstood proper moral boundaries for so long, he has to learn how to open up. While not groundbreaking writing, it's this small amount of development and progression that allows the reader to stay interested in both his character and the typical rom-com shenanigans. It works, and as is commonly said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

The artwork is, to put it bluntly, outstanding. Anything Yokota draws I will read, as this style is just so appealing! Every character feels so vibrant and expressive, the paneling is gorgeous, the sleek lines add emphasis, and almost a Sunrise style aesthetic that I absolutely adore. It's definitely personal preference in this department, but I feel like the manga would not be nearly as good as it is without Yokota's outstanding artwork. It really is impressive to see the progression he has made from the subpar and often confusing paneling and artwork in Kurosawa/Chikan Otoko to this manga and the Magic The Gathering one he's currently working on. Not much else to say, if you're going to read this manga read it for the art if anything!

In conclusion, is this manga a groundbreaking piece of literature? No. Because that's not what it needs to be. It is an entertaining, wholesome rom-com with some simple development, believable character progression, and vibrant, fun character designs/interactions. If you ever feel like "Hey, I just wanna read a simple short rom-com!" I would highly recommend this title. Thank you for reading!

If you're wondering if you should read this or not, I have to say of course you should, this might just be one of the best-damned mangas I've ever read. Between the rap battles, a crazy trio of male MCs, actually good romances, hilarious stunts, perfect comedic timing, and just overall good comedy/romance writing I just haven't enjoyed a manga this much in a while. I'm not going to get too much into the story here, as there are only 43 chapters as of writing this it's a relatively short read, and honestly, you probably won't regret it. Also, I really dig the art style ... in this manga so much

I really like the main pair as well as the pacing, but the writing of some of the side characters is just so flimsy and inconsistent and kinda bad, but if you don't mind them the main pair are very fun to read about, and have a really fun dynamic, i just wish the mangaka put more thought in fleshing out the people around them, specifically the student council members. I know world building shouldnt be the priority of a rom com, but there should at least be some consistency with the side characters, cause sometimes something happens that just does not make sense in ... the context of the character, or just stuff that shouldnt really work out working out for the sake of the plot, which is just something that rubs me the wrong way to be frank