Girlfriend, Girlfriend (2023)

[カノジョも彼女]

Volume 14

Author/Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Kodansha Comics Magazine

Synopsis:
Despite having fallen off a cliff and injured her ankle, Milika is determined to make her date with Naoya a success.

Story/Characters:
We open with Milika feeling sorry for herself being alone and injured with all her plans ruined, but if she has no other virtues, she at least isn't the sort to give up easily. Her loudly vowing to not give up happens to draw Naoya to her. Fearing he'll call off the date if he finds out that she's injured, she bluffs that she's actually planned more of a hardcore survival-style evening, which Naoya goes along with. She's in quite a bit of pain, but she powers through until Naoya finally confronts her about pushing herself. She tells him she doesn't want the date to end and while Naoya says that depends on how badly she's hurt, he also says that he doesn't want the date to end either, that he's been having a lot of fun. Milika is pretty happy about this, but Naoya also tells her that he still can't imagine himself choosing her over Saki and Nagisa and that he feels bad about that. This makes her happy as well, because before now Naoya would never have felt any guilt about turning her down. More than ever, she feels she has a shot, so she's on cloud nine, but she also still has that busted ankle, so we see a post-chapter image of her happily clinging to Naoya at the hospital.

Next is Saki's turn at having a date. Milika boasts of how well her date went and Saki dang near tears off those G cups of hers before throwing her out of the house. She's also still harboring some lingering annoyance at Nagisa and Shino for their dates ending up in a love hotel, so with all these frustrations swirling about, it's gametime. She's surprisingly reserved for the date, dressed fairly conservatively and all, but Naoya is digging it. However, the subject of the love hotel comes up and out of a sense of competitiveness with the other girls, Saki ends up taking Naoya there as well. Then the question of what they actually intend to do comes up and there's some tension that builds up until Naoya decides that he just wants to take in how cute she is, but as his libido starts to kick in, he goes off for a jog to redirect that energy. The subsequent alone time lets Saki really think about how she feels and her doubts about the current relationship start to mount. When Naoya returns after tuckering himself out, Saki starts to ask him about the dates he's been on and Naoya digs himself a nice, deep hole saying the date with Milika was the most fun, Nagisa was the cutest, Shino was the sexiest, and Saki has made him the happiest. He's come to love all of them more, but he denies wanting to start four-timing, which Saki doesn't buy. She's happy that Naoya cares about her as much as she does, but she can't stand the thought of anyone else getting the same attention and ultimately tells him that she can't accept his two-timing anymore.

Back at the house, Nagisa and Shino are chatting and Nagisa hopes that Shino will be allowed into the circle. She's come to like Shino and realizes that their positions are just a matter of timing. She appreciates how Shino tried to suppress her feelings for Saki's sake and wants her to be happy, too. Then Naoya gets home with the wind taken out of his sails. Saki has gone back home while she sorts things out. Milika exults in the opportunity, but Nagisa and Shino gang up on her to get her out and pledge to go back to their respective homes until Saki comes back. Naoya vows to work things out, but it's not that easy. Saki refuses to speak with him and isn't going to school. When Naoya is discussing things with Nagisa and Shino at school, Milika busts in to harshly tell them all off. While Nagisa and Shino are willing to play second fiddle, Milika would never accept being anything less than number one and she figures Saki feels the same way. This gives Naoya some serious pause and though Nagisa and Shino try to encourage him, he's developed a healthy appreciation for what Saki's had to go through and his own arrogance to think he could just make that go away. He's realized what he wants to say to Saki, but at the same time, Nagisa and Shino have their own piece they want to say to her.

Naoya calls on Saki again and she refuses to see him, but her mother has decided that if she can't figure things out after being holed up for an entire week, the answer's not going to come to her on its own, so she throws Saki out to face Naoya. They start to discuss matters, but Saki's stomach starts growling, so Naoya makes her some food. She then asks to spend the night. They try taking a bath together (back-to-back with Naoya blindfolded), then sleeping together, all under the premise that it'd be normal for a couple to do these things together. At first, they're back-to-back in bed just like they were in the bath, but then they face each other, the mood starts to rise, and just as they're about to kiss, Saki thinks of Nagisa and Shino and she stops herself. As much as she wants Naoya to herself, she can't help but feel guilt about their consideration for her. And so Naoya prepares to tell her what he's been meaning to say.

Art:
We don't have too much that's remarkable art-wise, except for Saki's brutal attack on Milika. (You may have heard of the trope "Share the Male Pain". Well, this is the female version.) I mean, the quality hasn't dropped any. It's just that there aren't many scenes with enough impact that's worth commenting on.

Other:
There's an afterword comic from Hiroyuki celebrating 20 years as a professional mangaka and thanking the audience.

Conclusion:
I think Milika fans will appreciate her determination to make the date work and her dressing down of Naoya and there is some interesting things going on with Saki dealing with her doubts about the relationship, but this isn't an amazing volume. I still thought it was worth a read, but I think most fans will be left wanting more.

Rating:
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