Girlfriend, Girlfriend (2021)

[カノジョも彼女]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Kodansha Comics Magazine

Synopsis:
Saki failing to make any progress with Naoya during the summer festival adds to Shino's doubts about their relationship.

Story/Characters:
We start with Shino trying and failing to set aside her feelings for Naoya while clashing with Nagisa. I like how she had her and Naoya recreate all the stuff they did during the summer festival almost like it was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We don't get to dwell on this long as the gang goes on a camping trip, which ends up being a trap set by Milika. I realize this is a comedy. If it wasn't, she'd be only a step or two away from going full yandere. However, the harder she pushes, the more Naoya resists, which I guess if you consider how dogged he was around Saki, it makes something of an interesting role reversal. However, Naoya comes up with a compromise to break the impasse that adds a new layer of competition to the big relationship tangle. Shino of course gets roped into this as well, which is only to further drive her wavering resolve into the dirt. Fun times for one and all.

Art:
We get the usual quality of the art, with reaction shots being the highlight. The night sky in Chapter 60, the big payoff for the camping arc, is quite nice. We get a two-page spread of the intended endgame (all four girls in wedding dresses), which warrants mention.

Other:
We have an afterword comic with Hiroyuki talking about how nervous he gets before the anime adaptation of one of his series first airs (this being written just before the TV show started).

Conclusion:
Just as my bias for Shino ups my regard whenever she gets a lot of screentime, the opposite happens when it's Milika's turn. As I've said before, her primary virtue is stirring up conflict to keep things interesting, but there's very little I like about her as a character and I don't like her being held on the same level as the other three heroines. I realize things are played to the extreme for comedic purposes, but her antics fall flat with me and as a result, I can't recommend this one as strongly. I don't think the average fan will mind as much and it's still worth a read.

Rating:
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