Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! Volume 3

Title: So Cute It Hurts!! Volume 3

Go Ikeyamada’s So Cute It Hurts!! has been an interesting ride thus far.  At the end of volume two, we were left with a cliffhanger when Megumu and Mitsuru’s secrets were revealed.  We begin the third volume with how the twins are going to cope now that their cats were let out of their respective bags.  This volume also focuses on the reactions from those who discovered their secrets… namely Aoi Sanda and Azsuka Tokugawa. In this segment, we watch the agony Aoi endures when he discovers that the target of his sexual attraction is a girl, instead of a boy as he previously thought. Together, Aoi and Megumu must come up with a plan to remain close.

On the other hand, Mitsuru has been discovered by Shino’s bully, Azusa. The bully does her best not to spill the beans because she has her own plans for Mitsuru. Everything seems quiet until Azusa approaches Mitsuru and demands he meet her. He interprets this as a challenge while she thinks she just asked him for something else.

Final Word:

Josh’s Thoughts:

On one side of the fence we have Megumu’s secret revealed to Aoi Sanada, her love interest.  We know that Sanada faints whenever he interacts with a girl, but it was quite a humorous moment when Sanada realized that he wasn’t gay after all.  I like the direction they are taking this part of the story in because it reminds me a lot of ef – A Tale of Memories when Renji tried to be Chihiru’s “medicine” and help her overcome her handicap.  Love stories that blossom out of genuine empathy are always touching, We didn’t really get much in the way of character development here, but this volume felt kind of like a bridge from the events that happened in Volume 2 and what is to come in Volume 4.  Call it a cool down period if you will, but it still had a lot of interesting elements that pushed their story forward.  We still don’t know what the dead is with Aoi’s eye patch, but they did toss some more tidbits our way to keep us baited.

On the other side of the fence, it’s just as I predicted.  Mitsuru’s secret was revealed to Azusa and she would love nothing more than to hold that secret over Mitsuru’s head like the Sword of Damocles where she can attempt to blackmail him at every chance she gets. While the temptation is there, Azusa just can’t pull the trigger.  This was the only part that annoyed me a bit about the volume.  Azusa is a cookie cutter tsundere and her actions and reactions through the third volume could have been seen from a mile away.  I don’t really like this character because it just doesn’t do anything to be different than something we’ve seen a thousand times before. I truly hope Ikeyamada doesn’t go in the direction I’m thinking of, but I suppose we will have to wait for that time to come to see whether or not my fears are realized.

Liz’s Thoughts:

I definitely agree with Josh. Azusa is an annoying character and she’s not particularly a huge benefit to the plot thus far. I think I understand why she is there – without her the story of Mitsuru and Shino would be pretty bland. Shino lacks the elements of humor and surprise that her brother has. Aside from being deaf, I just don’t think she’s an interesting character. She hasn’t developed at all, unlike the other characters who are coming along and becoming more multi-faceted. At the moment she’s just a wallflower, who is unintentionally involved in a love triangle. I like to think there is enough room in the story that Ikeyamada can develop Shino more and slowly pull Azusa out of the picture but there is a part of me that is fearful of this. If Azusa is gone, we may just realize just how boring Shino and Mitsuru are.

Megumu and Aoi, on the other hand, are a hilarious duo as a homosexual couple and as a heterosexual couple. Aoi is intrigued to discover he’s not gay and Megumu is perfectly happy with pretending there is a glass sheet between them. I am curious as to how long this can go on so I am hoping Ikeyamada has some surprises waiting for us in the forthcoming volumes. I truly hope this series doesn’t go into the direction Josh is predicting. 

You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks:

Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhaven
Subscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHaven
Subscribe to us on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet

**This item was provided for review.