Girlfriend, Girlfriend (2020)

[カノジョも彼女]

Volume 2

Author/Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Kodansha Comics Magazine

Synopsis:
After Saki returns home, Naoya racks his brain to find a way to win her back.

Story/Characters:
The surface element is Naoya's silly efforts to get Saki back, but the more interesting side is Nagisa being tempted by the prospect of having Naoya to herself. It might have been even more interesting if it was dragged out a little longer, but I'm sure Hiroyuki thought Nagisa might gain an advantage if she had more time to get ahead in the race. Now, even thought Saki and Nagisa are supposed to be rivals, they get along fairly well (and, honestly, sometimes it really seems Saki is more attracted to Nagisa than Naoya). Chapter 12 focusing on the two of them playing video games together is nice. However, we get a new complication in the form of the MeTuber Milika, a classmate of the gang who stumbles on their covert lunch dates. With both sides having leverage on the other, Milika tries to break the impasse by offering to date Naoya. Now our love triangle has become a love diamond.

I'll be honest with you. I'm not a fan of Milika. I mean, she serves as a useful source of conflict and it's not that she has no redeeming qualities that come out as she gets character development, but I don't root for her in the slightest. She reminds me a bit of Shampoo from Ranma 1/2 as a character who pretty much forces herself into the role of love interest and then becomes the mask. Having her pride getting undercut by Naoya of all people and the crazy lengths she goes to are amusing at least.

Art:
Even though I'm not a fan of Milika as a character, I have to admit the visuals are putting in the work to sell her to the readers. There are a lot of good full-page panels to deliver the punch.

Conclusion:
I honestly would've preferred it if we spent a little more time developing the relationship with our core trio before introducing the third love interest, but this is the hand we've been dealt. As I don't enjoy Milika's screentime all that much, this volume goes down a peg for me. I still think it's well worth reading, but it doesn't grab me as much as the first volume.

Rating:
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