“Extra Chapter”
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Ryoma Kitada
Translation: Jason Sutherland
What They Say
Even in university, Chono is stuck in the past regrets of his high school years. His dull days come to an abrupt end when he comes across a mysterious book… A book that allows him to return and re-do his high school life in his dreams. Follow Chono and the girls of his dreams as they reshape their wasted youths!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of a couple of new projects that got underway in early 2023 in Shonen Jump+, Yumeochi: Dreaming of Falling for You comes from creator Ryoma Kitada. Kitada has a couple of titles under their name but is mostly known for the Super HXHeroes property which saw an anime adaptation. I hadn’t seen any of their original work before or the anime adaptation but the reputation with lewd or fanservice-oriented material certainly is out there. With this series, it has a pretty good look overall though nothing that feels like it’s going to be really radical or anything. There’s certainly appeal in this genre for many and it’s also easy to see why a lot will avoid it. I’ve avoided a lot of it over the years and that just makes this a bit more accessible for me since I’m not as worn down and disillusioned by it. It helps that Kitada has a pleasing art style and the general approach of the book looks to be pretty solid.
The run for this series has been rough for a lot of the summer with a skip week here and there and just illustration installments as well. This week we get a three-page “extra” piece that is at least fairly amusing as a kind of deleted scene, if you will. It has Chono doing a brief recap but also revealing that he discovered that if you put another book inside the main book, it can influence the dreams you have. So he’s trying that anew here but putting another manga inside of it and enters the dreaming world thinking he’s in a hospital at first but then realizes it’s a massage parlor and he’s giving the rubdowns. To make matters more problematic for him, it’s Asakura that’s disrobing in front of him for the massage and she doesn’t seem to recognize him. It doesn’t go very far for obvious reasons but it’s an amusing setup and idea to play with in how far the dreams can be managed.
In Summary:
It’s generally easy to go into the extra chapters with little in the way of expectations but this one at least amused enough in what it’s doing and how it unfolds. It’s a simple three-page gag in the end but it shows some fun creativity in what it’s trying to do and how the whole situation could be messed with even more. Plus it’s just fun to get Chono and Asakura in a situation like this even if it is just for a few panels.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Manga Plus
Release Date: September 2nd, 2023
