What a silly read! The story itself is pretty typical for a shojo romance, nothing so different. But the muscle fanatic main character really makes it enjoyable. A cute start to a new series, hopefully it continues to go up and up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.

I loved this! It was such a fun to read. Hibi and Natsume’s relationship is just adorable. It’s a manga set in high school so some parts are cheesy but I did not really care about that. If I wasn’t gushing, I was laughing most of the time!

I’m definitely looking forward to Volume 2!

Getting Closer to You
-ebook already available
Hibi has a muscle fetish and even keeps a journal of individuals skill & muscle balance. While checking out the basketball team she ends up finding the perfect "beefcake". However, he (Natsume) discovers her journal and asks her to be the basketball team's manager. She accepts but was lured in by his muscles.Will she end up liking more than just Natsume's muscles?
Like about it:
-the art and the funny moments
-Hibi's dedication to helping the team, even though she has alternative motives. Plus when she's with Natsume she doesn't even hide how much she loves his muscles
- Natsume points out her fetish and messes with her but still does everything he can to help her

Overall, I really enjoyed reading and hope there will be a physical version released. Volume 1 leaves off on a cliffhanger and seems there will be another perfect "beefcake" showing up. So like most shoujo mangas there is love developing; some comedy and potentially a love rival?

"For Kaho, a man's muscles are all that matters. She's sports-agnostic, type-agnostic—all she cares about are that those abs, pecs, biceps and delts look good." - Honestly point this girl to Wonho's instagram and she'll probably fall in to a coma lol.

This story is definitely a different one from what I usually read. Kaho felt a bit reminiscent to Gou from Free! in terms of her adoration of muscles and she gets the opportunity to use this love (obsession?) of hers for good in helping the schools basketball team train to be great. Overall its pretty cute and the main couple has a good dynamic.

Hibi is a muscle fanatic. She likes to observe the sports clubs just to ogle the team members’ muscles. Hibi literally runs into Natsume, and she falls in love with his muscles.
Natsume is a starter on the basketball team, and a third year. He rescues Hibi from a fall, and he discovers her muscle journal. Natsume persuades Hibi to become the basketball team’s manager.
Hibi’s fascination/obsession reminds me of Gou Matsuoka from Free! Iwatobi swim club. The two girls have the same energy when it comes to muscles. The only difference is that Hibi enjoys their (muscles) creations. However, Hibi’s fascination does border on the unhealthy side.
Natsume won me instantly. I like that thanks to Hibi’s journal, he knows she is the perfect manager for the basketball team. She would not have ulterior motives unlike their past manager candidates. I adore his crusade to getting Hibi to notice him as a person rather than his muscles! That is such a switch.
I would be inclined to check out the next installment to see what hijinks will insue.

Remember Kuroko no Basket? This is it now. Feel old yet? Jokes aside, this feels like the shoujo version of a sports anime. We have a girl obsessed with muscles (relatable) who gets The muscle boy in the basketball team to fall for her (the dream?) and becomes the manager (fun? I guess? She makes friends! And I guess starts to care a little bit about something Besides muscles!).

It's very much focused on the comedy aspect when it comes to the heroine, with the hero doing most of the romantic parts, going after her and trying to get her to fall in love too. Which like still feels way too fast, she even said she needs to know someone better to like them, and we know Nothing of their life besides what they do in school, but I guess with the Mysterious New Guy With Muscles we'll soon get some more info? Can't say development because this feels way too light-hearted and cliché to have anything groundbreaking, but it's not bad.

In general since I enjoy shoujo (and muscles. And sports anime I guess) I liked this enough to give 3 stars, but with little hope of getting more depth in the romance.

She’s a muscle maniac! She’s quirky, funny, ready for a challenge, and he’s there to distract her. But he’s her best support.
Cute story and cute drawings!

thank you so much to the author, publishers, and netgalley for the arc!! this is my honest review:

i loved the art so much. it’s so pretty!
i loved the story overall, it was funny and adorable. i love hibi and natsume!!!
it was a great beginning to the manga series, even though it felt a little fast paced, but the romance was so cute and hopefully some friendships will evolve with the basketball team.
it was such a fun read and i’m so excited for the next volume!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Kaho is a high school girl is who OBSESSED with men's muscles. She is a self-proclaimed "muscle maniac", even going so far to have a personal record of every muscular boy in school. After finding her notebook her senpai Natsume finds out about her obsession with muscles. But instead of mocking her, he asks her to become the basketball team manager! Hijinks ensue. This manga is actually really cute! The main character Kaho, while having her...interesting...obsession is actually a very earnest and hard-working girl. She works together with Natsume to help the basketball team both build their muscles, both for the sake of the team and so Kaho has more eye candy. The romantic scenes between Kaho and Natsume are also really cute. The mangaka loves to play up the comedic aspects and blends them into the romance in a wonderful way. There are also several "fan service" style scenes involving Natsume, but that makes sense since he is the main love interest! (Also seeing as the mangaka herself said she loves muscles, which inspired her to write this story, haha) I also really liked the chemistry that Natsume and Kaho have with each other. While Kaho says she only likes Natsume's muscles and not him, but it's obvious there's more to it than that. Natsume is also very open and blatant with how much he likes Kaho, but she keeps brushing it off thinking he's teasing her. This is played in a comedic way, not in an annoying airhead way, thank god. It's also nice that the romantic dynamic between them has them as equals. The art style is also really nicely drawn and nice to look at as a result! The mangaka really knows how to draw guys in a "heartthrob" style. The way some of the panels are drawn makes your eyes linger so you can pick up all the little details. The way some of the art is drawn to convey the emotions of the scene is wonderfully done and really helps you connect with how the character is feeling in the moment. This novel ends on a cliffhanger, and it made me instantly go to the next volume. I will be excited to read the second novel when it comes out!

Kaho Hibi is a female high-school student that has "Muscle Mania" or an obsession with all things musculature. This leads Otaro Natsume, the most muscular boy on the Basketball team, to enlist her to be the manager for the team. They very quickly form a close relationship, with Natsume vowing to make her look at him, for more than just his muscles. Meanwhile, Hibi's main goal is to help the team grow their muscles and be the best they can be.


Characters: 3/5
The characters only have a couple of character traits in this first volume. Hibi is muscle obsessed and Natsume is Hibi obsessed, and there is the budding romance between the two. That said, they kinda fell flat for me, as they weren't given time to display other interests or emotions. However, they were still very likable and I hope that they will be given more time to develop in the next volume.

The other members of the basketball team are not even given names, but are instead merely devices to show Hibi's passion for helping the team gain muscles.
Near the end a a potential rival is introduced as well, but not too much is given away about their motivations or character.


Story/Plot: 4/5
Since this is a Romance manga, the plot is focused on the two characters and their relationship. Id say this is done really well, and there are plenty of really cute moments between Hibi and Natsume. You can really see the shift as Hibi starts to think about more than just Natsumes muscles, and more about how much she cares for him. This is also marketed as a sports manga, and while the characters are on the basketball team, you are never really given any in depth basketball story. I don't think the team ever even went to a game, so don't look here for the next Kuroko no Basket.


Writing: 5/5
The story and motivation is clear and there also isn't an overwhelming amount of dialogue per page. There are moments of rest where the art is used to convey emotion rather than just words.

The translation is also done very well, and I was never confused about any of the plot or dialogue.


Other:
The Art style of this is gorgeous! With such a strong emphasis on muscles, the muscles are depicted in a very believable way and are nice on the eyes.


Final Verdict: This is a very cute slice of life dedicated to a very particular passion. The characters are likable but a little shallow, however this doesn't stop you from rooting for their romantic relationship. I will defiantly pick up the next volume to find out where this is headed, and how the obstacles they face will work out!

Thank you to Kodansha for allowing me to read and review this title!

4.25 stars (room to grow on me)

So, the MC's hyper focused muscle fetish (complete with technical terms) is a little baffling to me, but she is otherwise cute and sweet and Natsume's attitude towards her is lovely. Plus manga boy eye candy without being immature and tactless. I smell trouble brewing at the end, and can't wait to see how the story progresses with the introduction of a new character.

Recommended.

Big thanks to Kodansha Comics for the e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a super fun shoji and I loved every second of it! Getting closer to you focuses on Hibi, a muscle maniac, and Natsume-sempai a player on the basketball team she manages at school. After their initial encounter Hibi is obsessed with his muscles and Nutsume seems to fall for Hibi the more they get to know each other.

I thought this was a super cute romance and I found myself laughing the whole time. Definitely looking forward to the next volume!