Rating (Out of 5): ~4
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: February 2020
Volumes: 8+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf.
Volume: 2.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In an office romance,
there's a fine line between sexy and awkward... and that line is where
Asako -- a woman who sweats copiously -- met Koutarou -- a perfume
developer who can't get enough of Asako's, er, scent. Don't miss a
romcom manga like no other!
Yae's living her dream, working at
the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason
she loves the company so much is that she's ashamed of her body odor,
and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the
company's lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in
the lobby and wonders what "that smell" is, she's terrified... but could
it be... that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Yae... does she
like him?
The hilarious ups and downs of an office romance at a
personal care products company are the subject of this sexy, strange
romp. Sweat and Soap combines the odd-couple chemistry of Wotakoi, the
"too real!" workplace comedy of Aggretsuko, and a heavy dollop of office
steaminess!
Review:
Asako works at a toiletry maker, which makes her favorite soaps. Coincidentally, she has a bit of a sweating problem, which embarrasses her a lot. When all of a sudden Natori, with a super sensitive nose and who happens to make the scents, sniffs her out and is instantly entranced.
This sounds like a crazy start of a series, given how the love interest starts smelling Asako all the time and she kind of goes along with it, even though it embarrasses her. But really, they basically just start dating. He takes her out to eat, they have what looks like moments of fooling around, when really he's just sniffing her neck and taking notes of the scents. She's basically his muse.
I admit that this sounds very weird. When I first heard about this, I didn't particularly think to pick it up. It seemed like it would probably be an ecchi seinen series, especially when I heard it was adult. I think the subject matter is what gives that impression.
When instead, this very much feels like a josei series. Asako is the protagonist, and while clearly Natori has an odd fetish, she goes along with it, and even gets used to it. She's not being forced here. And very quickly, a romance starts to form.
I like a dirty josei romance, and one with an odd fetish is not at all a problem to me. Plus, I really liked the characters, and the pace and writing.
I'm basically hooked, which even surprises me. But that means I'll be reading more.
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