Impure motivation, pure emotions.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Maki Enjoji
Translation/Adaptation: JN Productions
What They Say
After witnessing a handsome and charming young doctor saving a stranger’s life five years ago, Nanase Sakura trained to become a nurse. But when she meets the doctor again and they start working together, she finds Kairi Tendo to be nothing like the man she imagined him to be!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Nanase became a nurse because of an incident a few years ago where she was helping an elderly person and Dr. Tendo helped her out. He was so charming then, but when she finally gets to meet him after all this time, he’s nothing like she remembered. Since she confessed to Tendo on her first day, she found out her prince is not all princely. He’s harsh and a player. Now, all the nurses snickers at her courage and calls her the Valiant One. When her training lands her in Tendo’s department, not only does she make a big mistake, he advises her to quit and calls her ridiculous for her motives. But, when she meets an unconscious man on the road and starts CPR, her past with Tendo repeats and they save a patient. He admits now that he remembers her, but she has become completely disillusioned. Their days together don’t end at work, because they live right next door to each other.
Nanase rotation in Tendo’s department finally comes to an end. Though times are tough, she has a good friend she goes out with and even meets a pretty girl in her building. The girl, unfortunately, lives in Tendo’s apartment and the awkwardness of this is too much. But, when she faints in front of her apartment and wakes up in Tendo’s apartment, she finds out that Tendo does have a kind side and the woman isn’t his girlfriend, but his older sister, Ryouko, who runs the apartment building. Tendo tells her if she can’t figure what department she wants to go into, he will train her. During Nanase’s last rotation in pediatrics, she encounters a situation where Tendo helps out. She decides then he’s a pretty decent doctor and decides to go to his department.
Working with Tendo in his department isn’t easy, but Tendo still backs her up when a patient continues to grope her at every opportunity he gets. He even has her back when a patient around her ages suddenly passes away. She was close to him and struggles with his loss. Tendo orders her to go home and get a handle on her emotions, but when she ends up drinking with his sister, he comes back and gives her a kiss instead.
In Summary:
I do believe this is the first completely josei I’ve reviewed, and I rather enjoyed it. It was a welcome change of pace from high school romances. It also caught my interest, as my day job is a nurse. I’ve worked in many settings in my multi-decade career, and so I’m a bit critical when it comes to anything with a medical setting or situation in the story. I don’t really know how Japanese nurses begin their career in a hospital, but it’s completely different from the United States. However, I do appreciate that the creator not only put Nanase in a more typical uniform but even noted that the dress and hat are old school. The creator even has a male nurse as one of the characters, which is nice as my spouse is also a nurse.
Besides my initial attraction to the story, I do like how Nanase and Tendo butt heads constantly. I like that she’s spunky and determined. Even though she seems to cry a lot, she doesn’t give up, and I admire that. Nursing is a hard job and is generally underappreciated, so I’ll give her the passing on the excessive crying. Tendo is your typical male protagonist that’s a bit too cocky and way too silent about his true intentions. It’s a good mix so far, so I’m curious to see if this story will continue to be paced the same or what situations will come up. Definitely a good read and a nice change of pace from the typical shojo storylines.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: C
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Shojo Beat (Viz Media)
Release Date: October 1, 2019
MSRP: $9.99
