あせとせっけん, Ase to Sekken
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Slice-of-Life
Written By: Kintetsu Yamada
Publisher: Kodansha
Magazine: D Morning, Morning
Volumes: 11
Happy Manga Monday once again! This week we dive into the second volume of Sweat and Soap. I couldn’t wait to read more of this series. Just the premise is unique to me. There are some moments that seem creepy and when I tried explaining to my sister about it, she definitely thought it was creepy. But hey, it’s actually really sweet.
Summary
This volume of Sweat and Soap was mainly about jealousy. Continuing on from the previous chapter, Asako had come to realize that Natori’s co-worker Ichise might possibly have a crush on him. This causes her to harbor some jealous feelings. She’s already feeling inferior due to Natori’s bright personality and popularity, so of course this would be another blow to her. Luckily, I remembered these two are adults so they actually TALK about things and clear up any misunderstandings before too long. This resulted in a company retreat where the two decided to go their own ways. We got to discover that while Natori seems perfect, the many is a disaster when it comes to sports. His coordination level might be worse than a toddeler learning to walk.
Ichise was really suspicious to me during this chapter because why are you so intent on see them interact? For now, she doesn’t seem to be overly aggressive. She just bugs me, I don’t know. Ignoring her, the two of them pretended to meet each other for the first time. It was awkward and Ichise didn’t buy it. Later, the two of them reconvened while Natori had drank and while Asako was trying to help, in came her boss, Jin Okura. Taking a hint, he swiftly helped Natori and agreed to keep their secret.
The next few chapters centered on Asako visiting her family. While her mother was delighted at the news of her having a boyfriend, her younger brother was a different story. The two decided to keep it a secret from Keita, her brother. Not gonna lie, this made me fearful. Too many times have anime and manga gone down the dark route of “crazy obsessed brother” and it never turned out good for me. Or at least it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. However, I didn’t get that sense from Keita and thank you god!
After he discovers her beau, he becomes protective. Luckily, we find out that it’s because he’s witnessed her get taken advantage of and he was genuinely worried for her. Finally, an actual normal family dynamic. So of course he puts him through the wire by attempting to intimidate him but Natori (partly because he’s dumb) doesn’t realize it and just stays true to himself. And dang it if Keita wasn’t won over by that.
This volume was just adding on to the fluffiness of this couple. I enjoy their wholesomeness. Believe me, I can’t tell you the numerous amounts of romance titles I read that are so toxic and give me a headache. I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to see a couple have normal issues and communicate.
Characters
We got to see a little more side characters this volume.
Jin Okura
Jin is Asako’s boss and my future husband. He seems to be able to read the room and once he discovers Asako’s secret, he does what he can to protect it. The sideburns won me over.
Korisu Ichise
Ichise works with Natori in the product development department. She seems harmless enough. For now. Highly suspected that she too has feelings for Natori.
Keita Yaeshima
Keita is Asako’s younger brother by 2 years. He’s a chef and very protective of his sister. He doesn’t speak much but doesn’t hesitate to say what he thinks.
Highlights
- Keita’s genuine protectiveness of his big sister
- Marosuke >>>>>>>>>>>
- Natori failing at ping pong
Conclusion
Another entertaining volume! I’m loving the development between Natori and Asako and all their exchanges. It’s really wonderful to see them be patient with one another and like I said before communicate with each other before things get out of hand. Also feel like it’s just borderline cute/creepy that he’s able to tell the difference in her scent when she’s sad or happy. I’m praying they get the best happy ending because my heart won’t be able to take it if they aren’t endgame. The jury is still out on Ichise. She doesn’t seem bad but just nosy. Hopefully we get more Jin and Keita in the next volumes, love them both.
This volume gets a 5/5 onigiri!
🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙
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