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!

I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC for a fair and honest review.

This manga actually surprised me with it's sweetness. It has the quiet pleasantries of a slice of life manga, the school setting and gentle burgeoning romance but also gives slight reverse haram vibes since you know which boy she really likes but it's frequently repeated that they are all "so hot".

It would probably take a few volumes to get really attached to the characters but the main character Midori is easy to like.

I would definitely read the next volume since this one left us on a bit of a "cliffhanger".

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.

I loved this book and I’m so excited to have a new manga series to keep up with! The relationships were fun to see evolve and I can’t wait to see where the story goes. I will definitely be purchasing it for my library. I would highly recommend it to readers to enjoy shojo manga, especially titles like Waiting For Spring.

Sometimes you just want to dive into a fun shoujo manga. And that was why I was so excited to read this manga. It wasn’t one I’d heard of before. I hadn’t even heard of the manga-ka before, but the art looked nice, and the plot sounded fun.

Midori is a teenage girl whose family situation means that she has to take on a part-time job in a café bar. But working part-time is against the school rules, and she could lose her scholarship. The school chairman gives her an out though, if she can get three boys to come back to school, then she’ll keep her scholarship and be given a new school-approved job. What she doesn’t know is that even if she manages that? She still has a lot more work to do to keep them in line.

I won’t lie, I was a little worried that this could be a little bit off. That these not-so-sweet boys would be assholes, and I wouldn’t be able to get behind them. But from the first few pages, you see that they are not actually bad guys. They’re just a little misunderstood, and their reputation is worse then they are. They’re lazy and a bit awkward, but honestly, apart from one of them, I actually really liked them. I’m excited to see them grow together with Midori and see how she gets them to open up and helps them out.

As I said, I liked all but one of them. And one of the boys really does act a little off. I don’t think that’s supposed to be him just being an ass though, nor is it romanticised. It does seem kind of obvious that maybe he’ll be a love interest, later on, the dick guy who can play with the girl’s feelings but there’s some tension there. I think, and I don’t obviously know yet, that he’s probably just being defensive and trying to protect his friends. So even he’ll probably grow on me. But for now, meh.

I’m really enjoying the art. There’s nothing special about it, it’s pretty typical shoujo. But it was cute and I liked looking at it. The boys and Midori are both adorable. I will say the adult guys are all kind of similar looking at the moment. There’s a scene where you see a picture of one of the boy’s dads, and I thought it was the chairman for a moment. It wasn’t, but it did take me a second.

I’m not shipping Midori with anyone in particular yet. It’s so early on. And, honestly, I really am eager to carry on with the series. It seems like it’s going to be an easy read, a light manga to pick up every now and then if I want a break from my heavier novel tastes.

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys is something you'd expect from Nogiri! It's cute, heartwarming and there's drama in it too. Midori drops her wallet and this boy Ichijo helps her. Turns out the boy and his two friends are seen as delinquents and the chairman of the school board wants Midori to help them come back to school. All this is because she was caught working and the school doesn't permit that. Midori is poor and her father's dept makes her say yes and now she babysits the boys basically. Of course there's romance in the air too. The story line is a bit cliched, but Nogiri is good at this. The characters have their own personas and we get bits and pieces of their backgrounds along the way, which makes this interesting. It quite obvious that Midori will end up with Ichijo and the other boys will fall in love with her too, but Nogiri's way of depicting this ins't annoying at all.

The art looks cute and nice, even if it's not something out of this world. The manga is funny and delightful and thus makes this an awesome shoujo series. Reverse harem can be great at times and Nogiri nails it. I'm intrigued to read more, even though I'm not a fan of shoujo.

Perfect for fans of Boys Over Flowers and Cinderella With Four Knights.

In this first volume of Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, we are introduced to a budding friendship, along with the promises of young romance. From the beginning, the plot is established through the wallet incident and from there, readers are thrown into Midori's desperate attempt to get the suspended boys back to school. Whilst at first seemingly naive, Midori is a protagonist you want to root for—someone who shoulders the burden all on their own, not knowing their limits, whilst also not hesitating to stand up for what is right. Midori is the kind of character you just can't help but adore and want to protect. In contrast, there is an air of mystery surrounding the boys—and like all shoujo mangas, each one without a doubt has a tragic back story. Whilst we did not get much of the past in this volume, I am looking forward to going deeper into the boys' characters, particularly Ieri who happens to be my favourite character so far.

The illustrations of this manga was very simple yet beautiful—the classic sweet artstyle found in many shoujo manga. Whilst each character design is unique and establishes their personalities through realistic expressions, what stood out to me the most was the amount of detail in certain backgrounds. Whilst minimal backgrounds serve to bring characters at full attention, backgrounds give the readers a greater sense of the story—almost as if it transports them within the pages themselves. This illustrative element adds depth to the story, as well as it goes to show the promising talent of Yoko Nogiri.

Overall, I enjoyed this manga and will definitely be picking up a physical copy sooner rather than later, and will surely pick up any other volumes that come my way, as I yearn to see how Midori's high school adventure unravels.

I absolutely loved this manga. It’s so adorable, cute and funny and the art style is absolutely gorgeous. This has the feel of a classic shojo manga and is full of really great scenes. Midori is exactly the type of character I enjoy reading about. I love how persistent she is in her task of bringing the boys back to school; her preparing notes for them and sending treats for the dog really endeared her to me. And also, she is such a sweetheart and I love the efforts she makes for her family. Even Midori’s little brother, Kon, is such a nice boy and someone I would love to have as my little brother.

And I have to add. Rei is such an interesting character. At first, he just seemed like a rather ‘cold’ guy, but the more I read through the manga, the more I started to love him. And as for the other two, Ieiri and Goshima; I’m excited to learn more about them. Especially after that ending scene. I wanna know what happens.

This is a really cute shoujo manga that will appeal to the preteen and teen readers. I definitely liked the start of the series and will look forward to the continuation.

Thanks to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review,

This story follows Midori and three so-called delinquent boys. Midori's family is left deep in debt by her unknown father, so they all are struggling for money and Midori has to get a job. One day she loses her wallet and is helped by Rei Ichijou. She learns that he and his friends have stopped going to school, although she desperately wants to see him again to thank him. When her teacher catches her working (which isn't allowed), he offers her a choice: either take her punishment, or find a way to get the boys back in school. We spend the rest of the story with Midori trying to get these three back to school and get accepted by their classmates. There's even a cute corgi!
Such a promising start to a series!

What a cute new series! Midori is just so adorable and persistent. I like the dynamic between her and the boys, and I can't wait to find out what comes next in the story.

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys is a manga about Midori and this three group's boys. One day, she drops her wallet and it gets stolen. Rei Ichijou find it and give it back to Midori. This is such a sweet read. Midori reminds me so much of Tohru from Fruits Baskets one of my favourite characters.

As this is the first volume we are been introduced to the characters.

I really like the softness of the drawing style of these people.

The volume ends in a cliffhanger making you want more

I was looking forward to reading this because of the author and am glad I was given the opportunity to read this. This is your standard, classical shoujo manga. There are three classmates that have no interest in school and one student, Midori, who is hard working and offered a chance to work part-time if she decides to help these boys. The character and setting is staged well. I love the art - always been a fan of the classical manga artform. Looking forward to the next volume and how Midori's relationship with these boys develop.

** Received a free digital copy of this manga from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review **

I discovered this manga today and when I received the permission for reading it I was so happy!
Those Not-So-Sweet Boys is a manga about Midori and this three group's boys. One day, she drops her wallet and it gets stolen. Rei Ichijou find it and give it back to Midori. Afert this event, she discover that they're classmates, but the boys seems don't come to school. They're suspended and by chance Midori must be able to get the three back to school (or she could loose her scholarship).

In this first volume we can getting to know the characters. All of them are depicted in a kinda soft way. Since the first pages I can actually liked all the characters. We can discover their story little by little. In this first volume the ones who have the main focus are Midori and Rei. I like the feelings of "like" (it's early to call it love?) that they feel for eachothers.

This volume ends with a cliffhanger! A beautiful one that made me think about the next volume and how the "romance" can evolve.

The drawing style is one of my favourite in shojo manga. Clear and simple. I'd like to read how the events will go on... I really recommend it!

Rating: 3.5 stars

+Received a free digital copy of this manga from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a sweet read! I originally picked this one up because I had heard good things about the author, Yoko Nogiri, and this manga did not disappoint!

The story follows Midori, who closely resembles traditional shoujo manga heroines such as Tohru from Fruits Baskets. She is upbeat, friendly, and works hard to support her family who has been left in debt due to their father. One day, she drops her wallet and it gets stolen - but Rei Ichijo and his friends manage to get it back to her. This kicks off an unlikely series of events (the unrealistic plot is hilariously called out by both Midori and her brother within the story) which force Midori and the 'Not-So-Sweet' boys to get closer to each other.

This starts off a fairly typical shoujo story - this story is definitely not reinventing the wheel. However, the characters are likeable, the art style is nice and overall it's also pretty funny. So if you're looking for a pick-me-up because lockdown and Covid are getting are getting you down, this manga is a good choice!

Also - Kotaro the corgi is the cutest!