Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha for the chance to review this manga (currently watching the anime now, super cute).

Shikimori and Izumi are high school sweethearts and are seen as a typical couple, except Shikimori, while an athletic beauty has a fierce cool persona that Izumi absolutely adores. These two and their relationship is over the moon cute to see, especially since Izumi faces more accidents in a day than one would in a lifetime; but with her quick reflexes and determination to keep her boyfriend from harm, Shikimori turns from beauty to cool in seconds.

I love the twist that its the girl protecting the guy and how Izumi doesn't get himself down when odd things happen. Although this manga has been out for awhile, I did enjoy reading the first installment of the series and ow watching the actually anime, bringing the characters to life in such vibrant colors.

I can't wait to see what secret Shikimori is hiding and how she obtain such a cool athletic persona. I'm definitely adding this to my TBR list!

5/5 stars!

This was my first time reading a manga from Netgalley and I absolutely love that we have the chance to request them. I thought this was such a cute read, this is actually my first manga and I definitely can't wait to read more from this series.

It felt a little redundant without a whole lot happening at the same time. However, this won't be my last manga.

i was sadly not able to read this due to the system, no matter how much i tried to download it. but i am still thankful for the opportunity i will be sure to try to buy this to support the author and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this. it definitely looks interesting

This started off cute but quickly ended up getting annoying and repetitive. I think it would've been better as a one-shot instead of a series. I won’t be continuing this one.

I've found that I don't really like manga. I don't like the artwork style or the translated text, it's hard to understand and doesn't flow as well.

Im Prinzip geht es darum, dass Izumi hoffnungslos ist seine Freundin Shikimori verliebt ist. Es ist ein wenig sehr Teen Love Story. Und ein bisschen sehr Klischee. Ich fand es trotzdem toll. Izumi bewundert seine Freundin und selbst wenn sie sich mal ein bisschen weird verhält, findet er das cool. Der Zeichenstil ist liebevoll und unterstreicht oft wie süß sie ist. An den Stellen wo sie cool ist wird auch anders gezeichnet. Jedes Kapitel startet mit dem Satz „My Girlfriend is a real Cutie“ und die Seiten zwischen den Kapiteln sind soo schön gestaltet, immer mit passenden Situationen zum kommenden Kapitel.
Nicht nur Izumi möchte Shikimori unbedingt gefallen und ihr alles recht machen, sondern auch andersrum.
Eine Sachen habe ich nicht ganz verstanden, nämlich warum der arme Kerl so viel Pech haben muss und sich ständig weh tut.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

This manga is basically a series of very short stories where Izumi says Shikimori is not just a cutie and then proceed to show something that she has done that is quite cool. In my opinion, this feels like a manga of all the moments Izumi loved his girlfriend, like all these moments just had him in utter awe and it was quite sweet.

The art is very nice and if you just want to read small bits at a time and not necessarily commit, then this is a good read.

Rating: 3⭐

Would I Read It Again? I think so

Would I Recommend it? Yes, if you like short segments of the characters rather than a plot that covers the entire manga

This is more like a comic strip than an actual graphic novel. Like reading 150 pages of Garfield all at once. The characters are cute and nice, but I would have liked a bit more plot.

This was not what I expected at first I expect it to be some kinda love sorry but that quickly took a turn. And I’ll be honest I didn’t really enjoy this manga so I got about half way through than I just spotted reading. This isn’t normal for me with a manga so there is that.

Sadly I am unable to review this title as by the time I was able to find a system that would like me install a programm that allows acsm. files to be read the file had expired I could no longer access it. I have rated it 3 stars based on the details I have of the title.

“Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie” follows a high school couple, Shikimori and Izumi through their everyday lives. Izumi is very unlucky and often gets himself into harmful situations. Fortunately, Shikimori is there to save him every time. Each chapter is short and sweet so it goes by very quickly. It always starts with the line, “My girlfriend is so cute” and then inevitably ends with her doing something cool like saving Izumi from a newspaper or skiing into a tree. So the title is actually referring to how Shikimori is not just cute, but also very cool.

I don’t know what I expected going into this manga, but I really didn’t think it was going to be so funny! I laughed so hard at some points. There really was something so charming and fun about the manga. At least after the first volume, each chapter felt fresh. I also loved the role reversal here with the “cool” girlfriend that was always saving the boyfriend as usually it’s the other way around. I would love to continue and see what happens in future volumes.

Shonen romantic comedy manga has a special place in my heart, even if some of the tropes aren’t exactly the best. That being said, every now and then a shonen romance comes along that uses the tropes we know and love and sometimes hate in such a clever way that makes it a must-read. This month, that’s Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie. Written and illustrated by mangaka Keigo Maki and localized in English by manga publisher Kodansha Comics, this series is cute, clever, and genuinely hilarious.

In Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie Volume 1, Shikimori and Izumi are high school sweethearts. They hold hands walking home from school, they flirt in the halls, and they lovingly tease each other. But Shikimori knows what she wants, and how to get it, and she can turn from cutie to cool in an instant, especially when Izumi finds his clumsy self in a bind. Told through a series of chapters that aren’t all directly connected, this series is all about Shikimori’s talent for getting what she wants and protecting Izumi from the world. It’s an adorable dynamic that works well in the format.

Truthfully, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie feels like a monster of the week if that monster was just Izumi’s clumsiness and bad decisions. Each chapter showcases different elements of “cool” and with the focus of the storytelling being Shikimori’s switch from cutie to cool – Maki’s illustration does a lot of heavy lifting. While the dialogue itself notes some changes in her personality, it’s the sharp changes in her character design that notes that the switch has been flipped. Well, that and Izumi’s very real thirsting over his girlfriend while she’s in this mode.

Now, it has to be noted, that my biggest worry about this series from the description was that we would end up in the problematic land of yandere and the fetishistic tropes that come with them. If you’re unfamiliar, yandere is a portmanteau of the Japanese words yanderu and deredere. The former meaning insane or sick, and the latter meaning affectionate or loving. Now, the easiest way to explain what a yandere character is to essentially describe them as someone who has been driven to insanity by extreme obsession or love which results in personality shifts, abnormal behavior, and sometimes violence. The worst of this trope in recent memory is Future Diary’s Yuno. Now there are varying levels to yandere character but in the description of the series, I was worried that Shikimori would fall somewhere on that spectrum.

Thankfully, the series and is clearly aware of the trope but manages to subvert into a wholesome story about two normal teens in young love. In Maki’s illustration, the change in Shikimori’s eyes and eyebrows is the most noticeable difference, and a tool used to showcase mood swings in characters, especially yandere types. Maki’s ability to use the visual cues for yandere without pushing Shikimori into that category and instead, making her a strong protagonist is to be applauded. Additionally, Maki also avoids oversexualizing Shikimori even when alluding to Izumi’s own fantasies and how he’s attracted to her. There is a perfect balance between wholesome, cool, and even action that makes this manga stand out from others.

Overall, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie is a fun read and can bring some pure joy to your life, which let’s be honest, we all need right now. Izumi is in love with Shikimori and it’s about time that you fall in love with her too.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Keigo Maki for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review!
Truthfully, I was sold on the synopsis and this book was was adorable! Furthermore, the art is pleasing to the eyes (at least to my eyes). It was a nice slice of life manga written through short chapters that are easy to follow and understand. All in all, it was a fun read that let me escape 2020 for a while and I'm anxiously waiting for the sequel.

I really enjoyed this. I have read that a lot of people find this repetitive and it may be in some way but it’s also great! It’s got a rhythm to the story, and Its repetitive in the fact that our MC Shikimori always seems to be saving her adorable boyfriend, Izumi, from his incessant string of bad luck. I love the reversal of the troupe where the girl is clumsy and the boy is the strong one always coming to her rescue. For that alone I loved this but I also loved the characters in general. The art is also fantastic which leads me to my four star rating. Not too much was developed in this first volume but I would love to check out the next volume to see how the story progresses with these two!

I think this is perfect for people who loved Teasing Master Takagi San and Tomo Chan is A girl.

This is a wholesome story with many mini scenarios in the book describing the synopsis. The title speaks for itself, Shikimori's not just a cutie. There is more to her, and that's for her current boyfriend to find out more. And that is, Shikimori can also be cool! The boyfriend keeps getting this heart throbbing moments whenever Shikimori suprises him by being so cool. This manga reminds of me Teasing Master Takagi-san. There is not much of a bigger plot except that the author takes you to this slice of life events about Shikimori and her boyfriend. If you like that kind of manga, then this is definitely for you.

I'm always up for a good romance and this one seemed like one! And I must say I was not disappointed! I was quite surprised by lenght of this manga because I am used to reading longer titles. But that might be a reason why it's perfect for beginners who'd like to try medium but are scared to commit to longer series.

The whole plot is based on our protagonist, Izumi, and his girlfriend Shikimori, who might be one of the biggest cuties around, but she also has other sides Izumi explores with us, readers. Chapters are really short and quick to read so you'll fly through the whole manga in one sitting. Art itself is also very charming and nice to look at. There's also comedy aspect - Izumi is very clumsy and often gets to dangerous situations - and his gf is there to save him. Every. Single. Time.

I am more than happy to recommend Shikimori to anyone looking for a fast and cute romcom. You'll love it, just like I did!

**eARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

These delightful manga vignettes are about a high school couple with role reversals (the girlfriend acts like a boyfriend and the boyfriend acts like a girlfriend), akin to the Crunchyroll manga, Lofty Flower, Fall for Me. The characters act differently enough from this other manga that it's still definitely enjoyable to read and the art is great, very dramatic which lends itself to the story well! ;-) Hopefully, more volumes will be put out in English to enjoy as well.

Good art, quick episodic chapter format, and I love seeing other types of couple dynamics represented in romance manga!! :)

This manga is essentially a series of vignettes portraying the relationship between Shikimori and her boyfriend, Izumi. I like how the author portrays Shikimori as a strong heroine - very different from the typical cute but helpless female characters in shoujo storylines. I also enjoyed the art. I thought the artwork and characters were very well drawn. My only complaint is that this book lacks a plot and therefore direction. Without a plot, it’s hard to keep the reader enthralled.

2 Stars ( I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

This manga was easy to read but there was not much substance to the plot other than the guy being so blown away by how cool his girlfriend is. For the girl it’s constantly being worried about her very unlucky and clumsy boyfriend and protecting him from the reoccurring accidents/harm. Then in-between that either person getting flustered at close contact. I swear that girl is some sort of secret agent.