At first glance, this manga looks like a typical reverse harem. But actually, it reminds me a bit of the psychological/emotional journey in Fruits Basket. Although we are in a story with a female protagonist and two or more male characters, in this volume at least the crucial drama and plot isn’t romance centered. This is a story about perception and friendship. The title gives us a lot of the thematic focus here. The three boys are viewed to be criminals and less than savory folks. However our protagonist Midori how’s the chance to see them beyond the bad-boy reps they’ve allowed themselves to gain. That alone is enough to keep me hooked for the second volume. Add an adorable corgi and some unresolved plot points, and I absolutely have to get volume two. If you’re looking for a manga that wants to examine friendship, obligation, and society’s expectations , pick up this sweet story.

Ekk I need more asap. I loved love loved this book! I pretty much devoured it when I should've just read slower or something because I was really enjoying it. I loved everything about Midori she was such a cute characters, hard working and does everything she can for those she cares about. Arg I wish I read it slower but then again I have the option of reading this over again because of how cute it was. I think I might just do that going to have to keep my eye out for what's next for these characters and I can't wait.

“If a guy is good-looking, he can’t be that bad”
Thank you Netgalley for giving me a warm slice of life manga with a charming protagonist , Nanami who is charge of three “supposed” delinquents. It’s super cute. I would recommend reading this manga if you want something more casual and sweet even though it discusses broken families, stereotypes, and classism.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

The trope of good girl gets roped into helping "bad" boy is one of my favorites. This manga magnifies that by three "bad" boys. I really enjoyed this first volume. So far I like what I've read and can see a lot of potential in the story as characters are further developed. The art worth was very pretty and the cover design is what originally caught my eye.

As for characters, I think this first volume didn't flesh all the important ones out as much as it probably could. It did a good job if setting up the story, but it left me wishing I knew a bit more about some of the characters because I found myself wondering why they were a big part of the story. I'm sure this will be resolved in future volumes though.

I adored this; I can't wait to see what the rest of the series holds!

I loved the character dynamic and the little romance throughout; I feel like this will be an incredible, heart-fluttering romance, and I need more immediately!!

The artwork is stunning; I loved every page!!

The plot was well written, the kindness and troubles show equally through both parties, and I feel like their bonds and connections will only grow more, which I'm excited to see. I would love to see more of the boys perspective; I think that could be super fun, especially if they all have similar feelings.

This was an incredibly light-hearted, stomach fluttering romance that I would highly recommend!

I was excited to start this manga, as you can see from the blurb the story isn't so unique but I fell in love with the characters nonetheless.

Midori Nanami has financial difficulties since her father left the family without to settle his debts, so she has to go to school and to work, but this is against the school's rules. When the chairman of the school board finds out she works, he makes her an offer she can't refuse, she has to get her three classmates to come back to school and to get a test in exchange of his silence. The task is not easy but she gives it everything she has, will she succeed to keep her scolarship and to befriend those guys?

I liked the main characters, Midori is a sweet girl and the guys are all precious, even if at first sight they look like a group of thugs. Fortunately our heroine doesn't mind their exterior and try to find and to show to the world their true selves. Between Rei, Chihiro and Yukinojo I have my favourite but I'll keep it for me, I really wish they show their hearts more and more and I cheer for their happiness.

The art style is gorgeous, the dialogues are easy to follow and with that ending I can't wait to read next volume.

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys follows Midori, a hardworking high school student who works part time to support her family after her father left leaving them with debts. When the chairman of her school finds out she is working despite the school's rule forbidding students to have a job, he makes her an offer: bring the suspended delinquents back to campus and he'll let her stay. Midori finds herself in charge of a trio of bad boys.

This was a yes from me. As a fan of slice of life and shoujo works, I found the storyline compelling from the start. The art was beautiful, and I can see this being set up as a really successful series. The characters felt genuine, and I liked the relationships I could see forming. The friendships between Midori and the other characters are primed for funny and sweet moments. I would reccomend!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story is short, sweet, and fun! Midori is a sweet high school girl tasted with getting three “infamous” boys back in school. Elements of this story reminded me of my favorite parts of Boys Over Flowers and I enjoyed that a lot. I’m enjoying seeing Midori’s friendship grow with the boys and am interested to see how things will turn out with at least one of the boys being interested in her. I loved her interactions with them trying to win them over so they would come back to school. Though Midori is a sweet person, she is also capable of telling it like it is when the situation calls for it!

I cannot wait for volume two to come out and cannot wait to get my hands on this one!

The typical manga I enjoy. A heart strong girl with optimistics views of the world trying to help three boys that struggles with some family issues. I adored this manga! Nanami was such a strong characters, and I loved her interactions with Ichijo ( I ship them so freaking much urgh) and her sweet conversations with Goshma!!! The only character that I~m still wary is Ieiri...because of what he said at the end of the volume...I'm tense.

I found this manga’s story a bit intriguing. The set-up is interesting as well; the girl wants to thank the boys for saving her but finds it hard to approach them. Until the school provides an opportunity to do so, I can see to budding romance happening between her and one of the boys, but it seems like they don’t realize it is what it is. Lol

Looking forward to the next installment of the series!

I’m not so much into book romance but when it comes to shojo…I’m not very difficult I believe xD
This manga is so sweet. I do hope there are some twists later on in the series, but even if there are none, I don’t mind. It is a traditional romance at school but here, we have a harem of three really handsome boys. The main heroine is very kind and cute but don’t worry, she is not too naïve. She is so sweet though. I loved the drawings; they make the story so sweet and wholesome. I can’t wait to learn more about each character in the next volume and see what happens between them. I have nothing else to say because I just loved it. I definitely recommend it.
5/5

This is a story were a girl is tricked into babysitting three high school boys cuz her family is in debt and she took a job (prohibited by her school) so her counselor is taking advantage of that.
I mean, there's also the beginning of romance, but c'mon there wasn't another way of starting a friendship between this girl and the three boys??

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this! I think it had many strong points in the story and I really liked the main character, she wasn't annoying and actually had some back bone where most characters lack backbone in the usual manga I read. I really enjoyed it and I thought it added spark to the story and its surroundings, I enjoyed the idea of the three guys being in a group together and thought it added to the story in exchange for the MC to get closer to them.

I think this manga has a lot of potential and I'd love to read the next volume, perhaps i might even buy it when it comes out

Okay. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did!

This is a very cute and sweet story and the female protagonist is so lovable. It really felt short because of how enjoyable it was. Would definitely pick up another volume.

Yoko Nogiri once again brings us a heart stopping Shojo Manga!

After a situation with losing her wallet, High Schooler Midori Nanami is suddenly entangled with the lives of three so-called Deliquent boys: Rei Ichijo, Chihiro Goshima, and Yukinojo Ieiri.

Those Not So Sweet Boys is such a cute manga. It's all about appearances and first impressions and how those aren't everything to a person. Midori gets close to these three loner boys and finds that they are more than what they seem. They come from different social situations but very quickly they become her closest friends.

This story was really something different. With their appearances you'd think the three main male protagonists were the popular boys in class, but they are far from it! They keep to themselves and don't have any friends outside of their little group. It was really refreshing to read something that doesn't follow the common tropes of high school shojo manga. Normally it's the girl who is closed off or a loner but here we have the boys in that role. I am really excited to see how Midori helps them break out of their shells. I've really fallen in love with all of the characters from the start!

The art style in this manga is a dream. It's so clear and cute. All the characters are expressive and have their own style. It's really refreshing just to look at.

This manga has me hooked and I really really want to read more!

[I received this manga for free on NetGalley for review]

This is a very fun, slice-of-life style manga that I hope to continue in the future! The characters were super fun and interesting and the art style was amazing. I cannot wait to read more!

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys does an interesting take on rich families connecting with the those not of the same standing.. While Midori is poor, she seems to view people based on her interactions with them and not on their status. Ichijo, Goshima and Ieiri seem to be a tight knit trio but they are not the standard rich guys who can easily win over anyone just by speaking. The author created these four characters from the standard shoujo mold but added a little twist to their personality or background giving the readers something new to explore and discover. Although there were four chapters in this volume, it felt like I read only two chapters an with the cliffhanger at the end, I'm excited to look for the next volume. If you like female protagonists who don't give up easily then this book is for you.

Quite an easy-going, enjoyable slice of life, shoujo manga.

One day Midori loses her wallet and then a couple of punks find it and want to steal the money inside it. That is until Rei claims it as his and since he comes from an important yakuza group, these guys don’t mess with him. Fortunately, he gives Midori the wallet back and from then on, she’ll have to do little tasks in order to keep going to school.

You see, Rei and his friends have been missing school due to a misunderstanding, but the chairman convinces her to deal with these three young guys in order for her to keep her scholarship, since her dad only left his family with a lot of debts.

As you might expect, Midori is the kind of sweet girl that sees every problem as a chance to be happy, to improve herself. She’s kind to others and can’t help but to adore small pets and her little brother. Truth is, she’s a likeable shoujo protagonist, and you instantly want her to be happy despite her naiveté.

On the other hand, we have 3 boys who seem like trouble but in reality they’re kind and cool because they just stand up for what they believe in, even if no one else agrees. Plus, they’re easy on the eyes and might become attached to Midori and her stubbornness to make things right.

I would recommend this if you want a heart-lighted reading. Up until now it’s just a regular slice of life but I wish we could see more depth into it as the story progresses.

Shojo manga has prefect the slice-of-life high school stories and that’s continued with Those Not-So-Sweet Boys from Yoko Nogiri, the mangaka behind That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!, a personal favorite romance of mine. Those Not-So-Sweet Boys Volume 1 is localized in English by Kodansha Comics , translated by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley, and letters by Sara Linsley.

In Those Not-So-Sweet Boys Volume 1, we meet hard-working high school first-year Nanami Midori. On the first day of school, Midori drops her wallet and it’s quickly picked up by an intimidating group of boys. Struggling to get her words out, her new classmate Ichijo swoops in to help. When she gets to school she realizes that he and his two friends are in her class. But instead of getting to thank Ichijo, she realizes that the tight-knit trio never shows up to class. Having been suspended, the three decide to stay home past their suspension and this leads them directly into Midori’s path.

You see, Midori is a high-schooler with a part-time job and unfortunately, her job’s against the rules at her school. When the chairman of the school board finds out, he makes her a deal: Convince three boys who’ve stopped coming to school to return, and her transgression will be overlooked. In typical shojo fashion, Midori becomes the heroine of the boys’ story, befriending them, bringing them back to school, and doing what she can in order to help bring them back to social fold that sees the trio as outcasts.

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys Volume 1 is extremely adorable and wholesome. While there are small hints of a budding romance between Midori and Ichijo, the main focus of this volume is building understanding. The three boys, Rei Ichijo, the heir to the Ichijo Conglomerate, Yujinojo Ieiri, son of the Doctor of the Ieiri Clinic, and Chihiro Goshima, successor to the Goshima Gang. All rich, the three have made a name for themselves as outcasts, mainly due to Goshima’s family being involved in crime. But, their backgrounds don’t matter to Midori. To Midori, they’re just three boys in need of a friend, and someone to help dispel rumors and show the school that they’re not the troublemakers they think them to be.

While Midori initially enters their life out of necessity to save herself, her relationship with the three evolves into a real one. She not only cares about them, but she can see past the assumptions other make. But what makes Midori even more compelling is that these are boys she shouldn’t care for. They, for the most part, have everything because they have money, while Midori struggles to help pay the debt that her “garbage debt” left her family with.

Nogiri does an amazing job writing the characters to showcase the perspective they’re being viewed from. When Ichijo attempts to push Midori away from the trio, we see the wall that he is putting up plainly. He plays the role of a delinquent well but this is balanced through Midori’s idea of him: the guy who saved her wallet. For her, no matter the facade he puts on, Midori knows that someone who doesn’t hesitate to help someone in need can’t be bad. That thread is carried with Midori as she hears rumors and as she’s pushed away.

Additionally, each boy is given a personality that goes beyond “attractive shojo high schooler.” We see their motives and what they add to their group dynamic. But because they are all different from each other, we also see how Midori navigates helping each them.

Overall, Those Not-So-Sweet Boys Volume 1 is a joy to read and I can’t wait to see how their friendship blooms. But, I’m even more excited to see how a messy shojo high school romance also plays out given the bread crumbs dropped in the last chapter of this volume.

I a little love this? It reminds me of Waiting for Spring but without basketball which would normally be a bad thing but they added a corgi name Kota so it all balances out. Kota wins best pony btw.

Despite the title, those boys are so sweet and wholesome it makes me so happy.