Title: You and I Are Polar Opposites Vol. 1
Author: Kocha Agasawa
Publisher: VIZ Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 189
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
The Story
You and I Are Polar Opposites is about a boy and a girl who are… polar opposites. I know… thank you Captain Obvious; however, after reading the first volume, that’s almost all there is to it. Suzuki is very loud, a little obnoxious, and isn’t afraid to chow down on a massive burger but seems quite popular while Tani is quiet, keeps to himself, and is usually blunt and direct whenever he speaks. Somehow, Suzuki just admires him and has a huge crush… as does Tani.
One day, she worked up the nerve to ask him to walk home after school. She’s surprised when he says yes and they end up holding hands. Her head practically explodes over the situation to where she has trouble falling asleep that night and ends up late for school. After school was over, she’s confronted by her classmates where she is informed that they saw the two of them walking home and wanted to know if they were going out. She loudly proclaims they aren’t; however, Tani overhears it. She chases after him and confesses her feelings and… just like that, they’re going out.
The rest of the volume deals with them becoming a couple, going on their first date, and getting used to each other being boyfriend and girlfriend. There really isn’t a cliffhanger as the gang just goes out to eat and grabs some bibimbap.
Characters
I have quite a mixed reaction when it comes to Suzuki. There’s being extroverted and then there is being Suzuki. It’s probably due to the way that Kocha Asagawa drew her; however, she comes out as super loud, and super annoying, and she overreacts to everything. As I’m reading this, I can just imagine this being an anime and how she’s portrayed and it is exactly the type of character that gets me to drop the show not even halfway through the first episode. I guess I can be thankful that the words are muted in black and white print; however, if I can feel that energy through the page, that’s typically a problem for me.
Plus, I just can’t take her seriously as a character. She is all over the place and the volume doesn’t give us much of a reason as to WHY she likes Tani. Sure, it states that she’s attracted to his type but what about their pasts, some background information, is there something specific about Tani that she likes versus just the overall package? Her reasons felt about as shallow as she was as a character and for the main lead in this series, I can’t say that I’m enjoying her at all.
Tani, on the other hand, I feel is more unique. He is definitely blunt and short with his answers but he has a caring side, too. He is known to chuckle from time to time which shows that he’s not super serious one hundred percent of the time which is a good thing. A bit of variety is needed when you have a character, especially in an archetype such as this, and I’m happy that Tani has that. Outside of that nice variance in his persona, there still isn’t much to go on to truly sell me on him.
Come to think of it, the manga barely, if at all, touched on things like what the two of them are into. All we have are their personalities and their coming together. I mean, I know that Suzuki likes to eat burgers and Tani is kind of a thinker but… what else is there to them aside from that?
Final Thoughts
If I’m being honest here, this first volume didn’t follow the typical setup as an introduction to a series. In most cases, you get introduced to the main characters, and the world that they live in, then you establish the main goal of the series, possibly set up an obstacle or two, and then leave it on a high note that hooks you into wanting to read the next volume.
Here, we got introduced to our main characters, they barely had any world-building, no character development, or information to get to know the characters more (i.e. reasons to care about them), and they rushed right into the end goal of shipping the two of them, and then the volume just floated after that as if it were stuck in mid-series limbo.
Why are these two polar opposites? What about exploring their lives just a bit to show us how they differ from each other? Just leaving it to their personalities isn’t enough to get me invested in their characters. How long as Suzuki liked Tani and vice versa? Where is the setup for that? Needless to say, I was quite frustrated to the point where I began skimming the volume to see if anything interesting would happen that would get me hooked; however, I’m sad to report that this did nothing for me. In fact, I’d have to say that this is among some of the worst starts to a romance series I’ve read. Coupled with the fact that the main character is highly obnoxious and has the one personality type I loathe more than anything, for the first time in a while, I cannot recommend this series and I’m not looking forward to anything further from it.
I guess you could say that my tastes in romance and this style of story are polar opposites; however, it’s the kind that I wouldn’t get along with.
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media
