Valentine 2011 manga recommendation: XX Me! by Toyama Ema ♥ Bite me!

This shoujo manga review forms part of our Valentine 2011 We recommend... series. You get at least one rec per day until Valentine's Day. Aren't you glad?

Watashi ni XX Shinasai! © Toyama Ema/Kodansha
[Serialized in Nakayoshi]
Published in Indonesia as XX Me! by Elex Media

XX Me! by Toyama Ema ♥ Bite me!
Review/Recommendation by huamulan03 (Some rights reserved)
Rating: 9 of 10 ♥

May contain   [SPOILERS!]

The Lowdown
"Snow-woman" Yukina leads a double life as a lionized cell-phone novelist and a marginalized school girl (her stares get mistaken for glares). But writer Yupina's number 1 spot in the popularity polls is threatened by virgin Yukina's inability to write romance, her fanbase's next level expectation.

Given that Yukina uses her classmates as novel fodder, she ropes in the school's most popular Mr. Nice Guy Shigure to provide her the real-life lurve experience she (and her novel) lacks.

Now why would Shigure agree to Yukina's bothersome proposition? Because by accident, Yukina finds Shigure's student diary, a journal in which he notes down the girls who confess to him (and the circumstances under which those love declarations occur) and the teachers' quirks (and thus how to manipulate them). Possession of the diary allows Yukina to blackmail Shigure into compliance — with the added bonus that since it is Shigure who is her sparring partner, Yukina won't be hurt by their false love game.

Famous last words.

[Debuted in Naka 77/2010]

Thoughts and Impressions
Just because XX Me! (originally Watashi ni XX Shinasai!) serializes in Nakayoshi and it's by Toyama Ema (Mama Colle, I am Here manga-ka), don't be misled into thinking this ongoing school life manga (that premiered in Nakayoshi Gress! 77/2010 on the left) is a treacly, no smut romance. Sure, at this point the Unresolved Sexual Tension between our Love/Hate pair remains unresolved (no one's getting into bed yet), but the wound tight and getting tighter by the panel chemistry teases the reader into hoping that it's only a matter of time before Shigure and Yukina Do It.

Do what? you may coyly ask. The title provides the template and each chapter (Yukina and her creator call them Missions) is a shoujo romance trope. Per how romance progresses, Yukina's orders to her reluctant helot Shigure—Hold my hand! Hug me! Confess your love to me! Carry me in your arms like a princess! Kiss me! (and for the sake of her vampire-troped novel, Bite my neck!)—escalate from the innocent to... (hopefully smutty).

I'll let these pages from Mission 2: Hug me! speak for themselves (click for larger images):

Yukina draws your emotional investment for NOT being your typical, weepy shoujo heroine. For instance, her in-classroom showdown with Shigure—when he wanted to out her as a student diary thief and she I don't know who owns this diary; let me read aloud what's written inside turns the tables on him—is pure win. Peeks into her vulnerability and her stumbles on a steep learning curve (as when she realizes how differently (nicely) Shigure treats other girls) just make her all the more adorable.

In case Shigure's droolicious, desperate Don't kiss her! possessive bishounen leaves you cold (highly unlikely), you might end up shipping Yukina with Akira, Yukina's sweet cousin whom she discarded early on as a novel hero model. But there's more to Akira behind the sheepdoggy bangs. Let me sleep over at your place Akira is not about to let Shigure have Yukina because he's been in love with her since they were kids. Competition in the form of Akira, and meddling in the form of Shigure is mine! friend Mami, turn the romance into a love rectangle.

Only time will tell if we get Shigure x Yukina Happy Even After, but if you're looking for a breath-stealing read this Valentine, bite into the temptation that is XX Me! (By the latest NakaGress! 1/2011, the series had logged 12 Missions and one keeyoot Extra Mission. I've read up to Mission 19 from scanlations.)

Rating: 9 of 10 ♥

Iamque opus exegi,
~niki DBA 30uɐlnɯɐnɥ (花木蘭03)
Mistress of Adoxography

disclaimer

Watashi ni XX Shinasai! images are © Toyama Ema/Kodansha. No infringement intended.

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manga · review · XX Me! (Watashi ni XX Shinasai!) · Toyama Ema · Nakayoshi · Kodansha · Elex Media · Nakayoshi Gress!

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