I'm kind of on the fence with this series at this point. Like, it took me a while to work up to reading this and then I stop started it quite a bit as I struggled a fair bit with the previous volume. I just found my attention wandering etc and was left feeling kind of meh but still curious enough to see what happens next.

With this volume, I don't know. I'm not sure how to feel about it. I liked that conflicts are resolved relatively quickly and we're not left marinating in misunderstandings for stupidly, frustratingly long stretches of time, and this volume did have a couple of conflicts and cute moments but it still feels a little lacklustre.

After the events of volume 2, Sahoko and Kouta are finally dating! A lot of the focus on this volume is will they or won't they kiss as Sahoko is ready, but wants the moment to be just right! A miscommunication leads to a new friendship and our awkward couple is well on their way. Overall, another nice entry into this series.

Moving past the jealousy, having a steamy car scene, and adding in a sweet actress supporting character made this a better volume than the past two. Nice too see this story hitting its stride.

Such a fun continuation to the story. After getting closer to her idol she realizes that he is just like her. Now that they have committed to each other, they must travel the path of keeping their relationship secret except for their absolute closest friends. A little mistaken identity keeps everything interesting and I can't wait to see where things end up in the next volume.

The humor in this one just slew me. (Grammar check on computer says "slayed" is not correct. I looked it up, it's "slew". I just learned something, but it sounds...wrong somehow, lol.)

ANYwho, back to this book. This series is nothing short of adorable. It's sweet, light and a complete work of fantasy re: regular, everyday girl and Uber-hot, famous, rich idol being friends and then dating. It's silly and fun and great palate cleanse/escape from RL for a bit.

I highly recommend if you like light and silly, with a light undercurrent of seriousness.

4, this series just keeps getting better and better, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Thanks NetGalley, VIZ Media, and VIZ Media LLC for this cute arc!

5/5 stars!!

I just love this story, it's so cute and sweet! Watching Sahoko and Kouta fall more in love, and Sahokos personality get softer and less vigilant against love is really sweet! This is just a cute series that gives me all the warm fuzzies :3

This series keeps getting cuter and cuter. I’m seriously obsessed with these two!! I also enjoy the fast pace nature of the story and the inclusion of so many more loveable side characters such as the other celebrities and yuka! I will definitely continue to follow this series!

Sahoko and Kouta keep fumbling their way into a relationship. But when Sahoko gets introduced to the rest of the Like Legends, she falls into the sights of Emika, a superstar who feels that Sahoko is poaching on her territory! A showdown occurs when Emika and Kanato crash the wrap party Sahoko throws for Kouta. After those fireworks are resolved Sahoko and Kouta finally manage to get together. An interesting volume with plenty of emotional twists.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title.

Yet another adorable volume! I love the direction this story is taking. It’s so cute!! I’m also planning on putting this on an endcap for “cozy reads” at work.

This series is really going somewhere and fast (as far as the main romance is concerned)! I'm really wondering where it'll end up going for the rest of the story though! I really like it, but however I feel like I might lose interest if something other than the main romance doesn't arise as a plot or subplot...

I loved the continuation of this cutesy little romcom of a manga. My kids either want punch-fighty or this...and this is an appropriate one to buy for school.

Volume three is all about the first kiss. There is a little confusion in the beginning between the characters. Are they dating? Aren’t they dating? It’s about believing in oneself, and our main characters are not very good at that. Which means it took three books to get to the first kiss. I am quite enjoying this series even though all the miscommunication is a lot of tropes. It can at times get to be too much but overall, you go into this book wanting something happy and sappy and that’s exactly what you get.

My Special One Volume Three focuses on advancing Sahoko and Kouta’s relationship.

My Special One Volume Three
Written by: Momoko Koda
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: August 1, 2023

Volume Three begins exactly where Volume Two ended, with Kouta hugging Sahoko and asking if she’ll always be with him. Sahoko is confused, even after Kouta explains that he’s asking her to go out with him. She gives an affirmative without really thinking about it, and a lot of the first chapter focuses on Sahoko not believing that what happened here had actually happened.

The first chapter also sees the two of them going to a petting zoo, and Sahoko has convinced herself that this isn’t a date. Even though Kouta is in disguise, Sahoko is still worried about someone recognizing him. Between this and still not being convinced that Kouta really asked her out, she keeps her distance and things get a little awkward. But by the end of the chapter, after they finally talk things out, Sahoko and Kouta officially become a couple.

The next chapter sees Sahoko confused about telling her best friend about her relationship with Kouta, especially since he’s asked her not to tell anybody. But after a conversation with Kouta explaining her dilemma, he gives permission for Sahoko to tell Yuko because he’d like to be friends with her, too. Not surprisingly, Yuko is quite shocked to learn about the relationship, but she is supportive. She’s so supportive that she decides to give Sahoko a makeover.

And to me, bringing in the makeover begins the weakening of Sahoko’s character. After this point, we see Sahoko with this new “cuter” look more than we do her regular look, which includes replacing her glasses with contacts. We also see Sahoko gushing over Kouta in her thoughts quite a bit after this point. Later, a point is made about how Sahoko may have changed on the outside, but she’s still the same person inside, but all the gushing we start seeing out of her just feels out of place for her character.

Kouta calls after the makeover, asking Sahoko to deliver lunch from her family’s restaurant to a studio, because he wants to introduce her to everyone in the idol group he’s part of, since they’re all together for once. When she gets to the studio, Kanato encounters her and teases her a little bit. We see Sahoko meet the rest of the group, and then Sahoko sees Kouta with a famous actress named Emika Nanase. Sahoko sees that they’re close, assumes the worst, and finds herself feeling unsure about her relationship with Kouta. It turns out Emika and Kouta are high school classmates, but that doesn’t entirely ease Sahoko’s anxieties.

When Emika catches Kouta and Sahoko together alone backstage, Sahoko comes up with a cover story of asking Kouta for love advice and she describes a boy she likes that’s completely opposite of Kouta. Unfortunately, her description makes it sound like she’s talking about Kanato, who Emika has a crush on. And with what Emika says to Sahoko, she thinks Emika is talking about Kouta. This misunderstanding culminates during a “wrap party” Sahoko holds for Kouta, and Emika and Kanato invite themselves to it. Kanato brings some champagne, and Emika gets a little drunk. The two girls talk alone, and a drunk Emika finally reveals that she’s interested in Kanato and that she thought Sahoko was talking about him. Once this misunderstanding is resolved, the two girls become friends.

OK, just how old are Kouta, Kanato, and Emika, anyway? I know Sahoko is still in high school, but the ages of the other three aren’t entirely clear. Kouta and Emika are high school classmates, but it’s not explained if they’re still high school students or if they’ve graduated. I was surprised that Sahoko didn’t react to the champagne that Kanato brings to the party, since she’s a minor. At least we never see Sahoko drink it, though. But are the other three old enough, or did Emika participate in underage drinking?

The final chapter of My Special One Volume Three focuses on Sahoko wanting Kouta to kiss her, but not being sure how to communicate this to him. She ultimately gets advice from both Yuko and Emika, and when she tries to follow their advice, things don’t go as she expects. But, with the way the rest of the volume progressed, I knew that there would be a “happy ending” after all of the awkwardness that takes place.

My Special One Volume Three introduces conflicts, with the most serious one being Emika and Sahoko’s misunderstanding, but they’re all resolved relatively quickly. I understand that this is a shojo manga, but even for a shojo story, it felt like the conflicts resolved a little too quickly. I feel this is especially true for the misunderstanding between Sahoko and Emika. I think a little more could have been done with this aspect, and it just felt like the mangaka missed an opportunity to make the story a little more interesting.

The only other nitpick I have is the fact that the way Sahoko looks after she’s given the makeover, it makes her look a little too similar to Emika. Up to this point, the characters had very distinct looks to them and you could easily tell them apart.

But if you’ve read and enjoyed the previous two volumes of My Special One and are also a fan of shojo stories in general, then you’ll probably appreciate how the story continues in Volume Three.

In volume three Kouta and Sahako make the big step of revealing their true feelings. Kouta gathered the courage to tell Sahako that he wants to be her boyfriend and that he loves her. Sahako is very worried that she won’t be enough for the J-Pop idol though. She already deals with anxiety and being his girlfriend is sure to evoke feeling of insecurity.

When Kouta invites her to deliver food to a set so she can meet the rest of Live Legend, Sahako also meets the actress Emika. After a misunderstanding the two become friends and allies.

My Special One is a sweet love story of two people who have insecurities but who are there for each other and support each other. Themes of mental health and how to support and communicate with people you care about make this a great series.

Vol 3 of My Special One picks up right where we left off. So far my favourite volume of the series!!! Finally some pay off for FMC and readers!!

I don’t have much to add from previous reviews. Art is still great, characters still great. I loved how fast one of this volume’s conflicts was solved.

Anyhoo, I can’t wait for Vol 4!!

Adorable as always. This volume of My Special One tackles the insecurities of early dating and self doubt.

I'm liking this trend of romance manga where the leads obviously like each other. This volume is full of cute moments, from trying to ask out your best girl with more gusto so it'll sink in with her this time, to a potential romantic rival realizing they both misread the other and wanting to start fresh. It does a lot of little things that keep me interested.