Title: My Special One Vol. 11
Author: Momoko Koda
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 211
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Final Thoughts
My Special One has come to an end, and I have to say that I was kind of surprised that they focused on Kanato and Emiko all the way up to the final chapter. At first, I was a bit peeved because this series made it blatantly obvious that it was about Sahoko x Kouta, then halfway through the series, it shifted gears. At first, I thought that this was just a side arc to give the supporting characters time to shine, but it became obvious that My Special One was never about Sahoko and Kouta. This was a tale of two couples, and each one got its equal time to shine.
If you go into this series with this mindset, you’ll enjoy it a lot more, but without knowing that, one could have the same initial reaction I did, which was one of confusion and wondering where Sahoko and Kouta are. It felt really weird seeing the two main characters take a back seat for so long, but when you finally realize that Kanato and Emika are also the main characters of this series, everything makes sense.
With that being said, when I reflect on Kouta x Sahoko, it’s one of those romances that turns the impossible into something completely possible. I am not sure if it has ever happened (it probably has), but you don’t hear too much about an idol falling in love with one of their fans, then ending up getting into a relationship with them. It was pretty far-fetched, but this series made it work, and it was all thanks to the type of character that Kouta is. There was no deception with his personality… he truly wanted to make the entire world smile, and while he did have a bit of a troubled past, he learned to outgrow it and chase after something that he wanted.
When it came to Kanato and Emika, this was more along the lines of a traditional show business romance… all the way down to the end when they became worried about how the pubic would perceive their relationship should they say anything about it. What I did love about this is that it portrayed these famous celebrities like normal, everyday people, because that’s exactly what they are in real life. They have thoughts, feelings, and emotions just like everyone else. While some people go to an office and design graphics for a paycheck, they go in front of a camera and entertain others for theirs. A job is a job is a job, and normal humans fulfill those jobs, and that’s the sense you get here with these two characters… especially Emika.
Each one of their journeys was enjoyable, but if I had to pick a clear winner as to which one was more interesting, I would actually have to go with Kanato and Emika. Kouta and Sahoko were cute together; however, Kouta was a bit over the top for me. He tried really hard to be this perfect person in everyone’s eyes, and that included Sahoko. While he meant well and was genuine with everything that he did, that over-the-top nature made him a bit too unbelievable for me… if you don’t believe me, just read the final chapter and see what he does when it comes to a certain decision.
Emika and Kanato felt way more natural with better character progression. Emika, though, did go a bit overboard with her overthinking sessions. I get that sometimes a million thoughts can race through your mind as you try to sort through whatever life throws your way, but she took it to an extreme. It got to the point where it was more annoying than cute. I get why it was done, because it gave Momoko Koda the excuse to use narrative as a punchline for a quick joke. Having Emika say something like “Kanato must not be taking this seriously!” and then having a narrative box next to that saying “He actually is” was part of the human, but I just felt it was overdone. Using it more sporadically would have had a greater impact, in my opinion.
Overall, this was a pretty decent series. I won’t go so far as to say that it’s going to win any awards, but taking the “tale of the two” approach was a pretty daring move that paid off. This is definitely a series that any fans of romance can sit down and enjoy, and with it only being eleven volumes, it’s not a massive time commitment. Here, you get two stories in one that tie seamlessly into one another, and while things weren’t perfect the entire way, they were good enough to make me smile and enjoy what was given to me.
Overall Score: 3.5 / 5
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
