Love confessions during the culture festival after-party!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Monika Kaname
Translation/Adaptation: Julie Goniwich
What They Say
Someone at the culture festival has figured out Himari and Mio’s switcheroo―but Mio’s only got Asaka on her mind! There’s a popular legend that if two people hold hands during the culture festival after-party, they’ll become a loving couple…so things might just work out if she plays her cards right on their date! Inspired by her friend’s resolve, Shizuku decides to confess her feelings to Tsukiyono―who seems to be hiding a secret of his own. As the sisters’ double lives get more and more tangled, can they continue to keep up the facade?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Volume 1 ended with a boy recognizing Himari through her Mio disguise at the school festival. I thought he might be trouble – perhaps a classmate from Himari’s old school. As it turns out, he is the most harmless character possible. Aki Himekawa is a longtime friend of the twins. He knows about the attack on Himari and has been crushing on Mio for ten years. Apparently, he attends Mio’s school and was even in a basketball scene in Volume 1, but despite being an ideal person to help with Mio’s switcheroo scheme, he didn’t get an introduction till now. It almost feels as if the creator belatedly realized she needed another character privy to Himari’s trauma and tossed him in.
Anyway, he enters the story just in time for the culture festival after-party where (according to rumor) if you hold hands with the person you like and confess your feelings, you’ll become a couple. And what we wind up with is… a bunch of broken hearts. But in the midst of that disappointment, the twins and Shizuka are left wondering whether Asaka and Tsukiyono can actually tell the difference between Mio and Himari and the possible implications of that.
Whereas Volume 1 was more about Himari, Volume 2 is more about Mio. With Aki and Shizuka acting as confidants, we learn more about her guilt over the attack on her sister and what she hoped to accomplish by having Himari go to school in her place. Insecurity also arises as Mio wonders whether her classmates and teachers prefer the Himari version of her. Her ponderings are not nearly as tortured as Himari’s, but they’re certainly deeper than what we’ve seen so far of the more carefree twin.
The conclusion of this volume is more convoluted than it needs to be. Himari states that she wants to thank Asaka and Tsukiyono as herself, so it’s strange when she doesn’t simply do that. At any rate, the truth eventually comes out, and this twin switcheroo story appears to be heading toward love polygon territory next.
Extras include first page in color, artwork on the inside covers, and character profiles.
In Summary:
Volume 1 was primarily about Himari, but for Volume 2, the focus shifts to Mio. We get her perspectives about her sister, her switcheroo plan, and her crush Asaka. On top of that, we get new character Aki, who’s been crushing on Mio the last ten years. The story started off about Himari’s trauma, but it’s becoming more about which character has feelings for whom.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: August 22nd, 2023
MSRP: $13.00
