Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 7, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2020

Volumes: 12.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 6. 8.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ten, do you like me?

When Riku and Ten visit a shrine together, Riku asks her what her feelings for him are. Ten gathers her courage and finally confesses to him, but what she says next is unexpected.

Review:

Ten and Riku take that first step to being honest and being together in this volume. Since they live together, it complicates things a bit, and they have to decide how honest to be with all of their roommates. Riku has to talk with Chiaki.

This series feels very underwhelming to me. There's definitely moments of cuteness. But then there's Riku being a jerk to Chiaki. And sometimes there are just off moments with Riku and with Ten. I also keep waiting for the drama, for something more serious to happen. We're getting hints of Riku's past, but nothing has happened yet.

You know, Riku and Ten are actually a pretty good match. I think that I like them together. Only, I think that I prefer Chiaki over their whole romance stuff, honestly. Chiaki is the only thing that stands out in this series to me. I love him, he's precious, and Riku needs to stop being so rude to my boy. At least Ten was kind to him while she rejected him.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 6, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2019

Volumes: 12.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Ten is taken aback by Chiaki’s unexpected kiss. He confesses his feelings for her, well aware of how she feels about Riku. How will Ten respond?

Review:

As Ten starts putting herself out there more and expressing herself, she's starting to grow on me. She hasn't had much personality, to me, but she's starting to seem more now.

With Chiaki's confession, Ten has to confront that possibility, and also her feelings for Riku. I appreciate that she's straightforward about how she feels here, at least with Chiaki. She's honest and kind about it, and even Chiaki takes it well, as he pretty much knew what was coming. Mostly there's Riku, who's been rejected and so doesn't think anything is going to change with that, as Ten has started trying to get closer to him.

The cliffhanger could very easily be going in a good direction from here. I'm wondering if some kind of curve ball is going to be thrown in at some point, but so far it's been honest and straightforward without too much unnecessary drama. A sweet series, which falls a little under the radar, I think.

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 5, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2019

Volumes: 12.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Ten comes to a realization. Chiaki and Riku both have feelings for Ten, but Riku doesn’t feel that he can pursue her.

Review:

Chiaki is watching as Ten tries to get closer to Riku, trying to stay out of it and yet still ending up next to her all the time. It's no surprise that he does what he does at the end of the volume.

Honestly, I think I like the boys in this series more than Ten. She's okay, and there are definite moments that I relate to her. But also she's not all that memorable or particularly stand-out. And yet, I relate the most to Chiaki and I love him. And Riku is super sweet, too. I like that we get to see inside each of their heads, too, since the boys stand out so much and even their friendship is as important to me as everything else.

I'm a little iffy on this series, but also there's scenes that stand out and that I love so much, all at the same time.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 4, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2019

Volumes: 12.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Riku’s kiss sends Ten into a panic. While she tries to understand why he kissed her, Riku is surprised by his own actions. Meanwhile, Chiaki’s feelings for Ten grow.

Review:

I don't think I have ever met a more relate-able character than Chiaki. His struggle with his feelings in this volume in particular—I get him so much.

The boys argue and confront and fight in this volume, as Chiaki's feelings start to be as realized as Riku's. And because of their confrontations, Ten is starting to develop and realize her own feelings in regards to them. As she gets to know both of them better, she has to rethink her own thoughts about them.

This series has already gone back and forth between each character so much that even I don't know which one I prefer for Ten. I don't know which one should get the happy ending with the girl. I just want all of them to have a happy ending, I think. Though particularly Chiaki. I just love Chiaki the most, honestly.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 3, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: February 2019

Volumes: 11+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Chiaki and Ten pretend they’re dating to dissuade Rei, Riku’s younger brother, from continuing to bother her. But Chiaki believes that Riku still has feelings for Ten and tries to bring them together.

Review:

I feel like I should be enjoying this series a lot more than I am. It definitely feels like my type of shojo, cute and a little understated, with a lot of thoughtful panels, and switching points of view. But for some reason, it's just not quite hitting me. I'm not sure if its the emotions, the characters, or even the plot. I don't get it.

Most of this volume focused on the forming love triangle. Now that things have calmed down for the moment, the boys get to deal with their conflicting bromance, and Ten gets to reflect on her feelings for both of them. She hasn't really considered Chiaki, but she's starting to feel more for Riku.

The friendship between Chiaki and Riku is probably my favorite thing so far. They're friends who think a lot of each other. Chiaki is probably my most relate-able character, but I'm rooting for Riku for the romance. And I don't mind Ten, but I don't really think too much of her at this point.

I don't know, I just really want to feel more for this series than I do at this point.

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 2, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2018

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Ten has moved into a boardinghouse with other high school students to avoid a long commute home through the mountains. Ten accidentally overhears Riku talking to Chiaki about his feelings for her. Ten and Riku try to act as if nothing has changed between them, as Chiaki watches them with mixed feelings.

Review:

I am enjoying this series, and I'm quite liking the odd dynamics. But I'm also so very unsure of where it's going.

This is not a typical love triangle, or even reverse harem. Chiaki seemed like the obvious pick at the beginning, and then Riko seemed like the surprise, better pick for her. But then how the cliffhanger from the last volume concludes throws all of that out. And then we see Rei again, and he starts trying to cause trouble.

I appreciate that Ten doesn't really go along with any of it. She's just honest about her interest, and doesn't really let it get to her. Riko is sweet, and I like him a lot; I'm curious about what his part in this impending drama is going to be, what his history is. Then there's Chiaki. Chiaki is straight-faced and book-minded, and I have never related to a character more. He's honestly my favorite, though I don't know if I'm rooting for him or Riko more at this point. I also really appreciate the friendship between Riko and Chiaki; they're close, and mostly honest with each other, and I like that.

This doesn't feel like a typical shojo to me, and that makes me a little unsure of what direction it's taking, but I also really like that. I'm enjoying the characters the more I read of it.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Shortcake Cake, Volume 1, by suu Morishita

Rating (Out of 5): ~3-3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2018

Volumes: 10+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflappable girl and a cast of lovable male roommates at a boardinghouse create bonds of friendship and romance.

When Ten moves out of her parents’ home in the mountains to live in a boardinghouse, she finds herself becoming fast friends with her male roommates. But can love and romance be far behind?

Ten Serizawa has a two-hour commute through the mountains to high school every day, so she can’t spend much time hanging out with her friends in the afternoon. She decides to move into the local boardinghouse, where one of her friends and three other boys are living. Ten’s friends consider her to be as oblivious as a rock when it comes to noticing boys and falling in love, but will she be able to keep her calm and steady heart in her new living situation?

Review:

This volume was not quite what I expected. We meet Ten, and her and her classmates now have to go further from their small town for high school. She has a commute, whereas her friend lives in a dorm, and is trying to convince her to join. She's hesitant, but is later convinced.

Thus starts her new living situation, with a group of roommates. Ten is rather straight-faced, and she doesn't react much. She takes things rather easy, for the most part, as well. While it looks like one boy is going to be the main love interest, it quickly changes to the playboy, Riku, who starts to develop feelings for her. I will admit that I do quite like both of them, though; I'll admit that a quiet, watchful boy who prefers to read over anything else, is really my kind of character, though.

Given that cliffhanger, we'll get to see whether this series moves fast or not, though. That could be another nice change.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!