Recommended: yep!
for cute character interactions, for a lot of wholesomeness, for silly moments that felt instantly familiar from high school

Thoughts:
I worried this might be a story where the main character is too stupid and oblivious, and it would frustrate the heck out of me. THANKFULLY, that is not the case! Kusunoki is unbelievably sincere, and I really love that angle. She's not great at socializing because she doesn't have context for things (like innuendoes and implications of certain phrases 😅) but she means it all very genuinely, and I loved that.

She's awkward, but she's not an idiot. She is passionate about what matters to her, and honest about what she does and doesn't want without shame. She can see when someone is pushing her away or doesn't actually want to be around her, so she does get those general social cues.

There were enough misunderstandings and double meanings that this made me laugh a lot. They were definitely not always sexual or suggestive, but sometimes they were just enough that it being said in a high school setting was perfect to let it escalate in a natural and believable way. The way others react to their friendship is a delight, even as it's inevitably a bit of a pain because "boys and girls can't just be friends" and all that.

The art did a great job at having lots of dynamic expressions. A lot of the humor came from those alone, as their faces would often tell a whole story of their own!

Overall this was really cute and I loved both of the main characters immediately. I can't wait to read more in the series!

Thanks to Kodansha and NetGalley for a free advanced copy! This is my honest review.

This manga touches with a certain rawness and also a little lightly what it is like to be bullied and how important appearances are in society.

It is interesting what it shows us on that side, and how two companions who were previously the marginalized manage to change their destiny, by changing their appearance. But just by changing their appearance they cannot fit into the school environment.

There were certain moments where I wanted to stop reading so that what I fear is going to happen in future volumes would not happen. These are things that give me a little anxiety.

Thank you Kodansha Comics for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

This was a cute book to read in places but also dealt with a teenager who was so affected by how he was treated in his past school that he believed every cute-looking girl was the same, but the female main character shows him slowly that she is different but with her trying comes fighting walls his put up and also him fighting himself.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
☆Review is live on Goodreads as of 07/27/2024.☆

4.5⭐️

This was such a cute first volume of a new YA manga series! I'm excited to see where the story goes and how the characters overcome their various challenges.
If you're looking to start a series about awkward first loves, learning self-confidence, and making new friends, this might be the one for you!

A rather cute read, 2 'loner/unpopular kids' from junior high going through 'glow ups' to change their highschool life. Its a sweet and quick read and im looking forward to the next volume of this in fall

I think this was a strong first volume and it got me interested enough in the plot and developing relationships to actively want to read the next volume. Our main character is a bit unlikable, but it makes him a bit more interesting and complex. I love Kusunoki's character, and I'm intrigued by their other former classmate and what's actually going on in her head. Right now we see her as very villainous, but I'm wondering if there was some misunderstanding or growth in her which contributes to my interest in the overall story. I also like how they're showing that even though Kusunoki had a "glow up" it doesn't necessarily make her life easier or help her have a better social circle. I enjoyed how we're getting time with Keisuke's friends too, and learning about their unique personalities from the start. Overall, really good series start.

The description says it all honestly. I hope there's going to be something more into this that was not mentioned in the description.

It's your typical boy meets girl in a same circumstance kind of thing. They have this somehow the same situation and that's what makes the characters relate to each other so much.

I think it's understandable that misunderstandings could lead to something else but in this case it just adds substance to the characters. The character building is good, and hopefully it gets even better in the upcoming volumes. With the hopes of all misunderstandings resolved soon. Especially with some side characters that screams annoying.

The story so far is cute and the art is pretty good too. Hopefully it doesn't change midway.

Although this read felt familiar like Komi Can't Communicate, I can't wait for the next volumes. Thank you to the author, artist and NetGalley!

This book is a cute story about two kids going into high school, after being bullied in junior high they worked on themselves so that when they got into high school they were like a whole different person. They become friends, and they have a cute relationship, and we get to see how they saw each other in junior high. The art in this book is very pretty and made the story very enjoyable.

[Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for an ARC of this manga in exchange for an unbiased review.]

Shizuki felt like a loser in middle school, so he gave himself a massive course correction for high school. Having changed schools, he’s now thrown together with the hot girl in his class, Kusunoki, who not only knows him from his last school, but has undergone a very similar change herself

Hmm. This is aiming for cute, but your tolerance is likely to be tested by how insufferable all the male characters are, including the male lead. It starts to spread its wings a little at the end, but it’s a turbulent flight to get there.

Shizuki had one bad experience with an attractive girl and suddenly he’s physically ill whenever he locks eyes with one. Besides being an overreaction worthy of a teenager’s mindset, it means that he doesn’t much care for Kusunoki when she asks for his help.

That nausea angle is one of those things that somebody probably thought was a funny quirk, but is just annoying in practice. Between that and literally leading with him “discovering the evil that lurks behind beauty”? It makes me miss the boring self-insert protagonist archetype.

This volume would probably fall even flatter if Kusunoki wasn’t pretty charming as a character. Once she finds a friend in Shizuku, to his dismay, she really turns out to be kind of great to him. Which makes his complaining all the more ridiculous. Also, why did he put all that effort in just to be mid-tier?

There’s a reasonable message in there about being yourself - Shizuki and Kusunoki are never closer than when they’re bonding over manga - but it’s cluttered with some borderline misogyny and the way Kusunoki is essentially a good looking fantasy for the nerdy male. You could be reading <i>My Dress-Up Darling</i> and getting the same thing, but better written.

As the story goes on, it does pick up some. Kusunoki gets a very welcome bit of fleshing out that makes her more interesting and Shizuki decides to backpedal on his more awful qualities and try being a decent human being. The trip there is a long one though.

I’m also incredibly glad they didn’t wait to bring back the girl who traumatized Shizuki to begin with. That was an obviously incoming plot development and by not dragging it out it lets her return cause problems early on.

The art’s solid, but these types of glow-up stories are a dime a dozen and something like <i>I Want to End This Love Game</i> is only marginally less mean but is written way better and is more engaging.

That said, yeah, I’ll check out a second volume of this because it does start to right a lot of its awful personalities and aims to be less edgy and more interesting. Little more depth to Kusunoki, little more actual romance, it could work.

2.5 stars - it’s not utterly awful, so no two stars, but it’s not a ringing endorsement here either. There are a lot of problems that take a little too long to solve and it only gets one more volume from me to fix them.

This manga is so cute! I love the artwork and the two main characters are lovable so far. I cannot wait to read more of this series!

I enjoyed the fact that both main characters experienced a "glow-up" at the same time, so they sort of understand eachother's feelings, while also experiencing their own personal internal struggles. I felt that the pacing was a little odd in the beginning, but it seemed to sort itself out by the end of the volume. The duo's dynamic is adorable, but I hope it continues to improve compared to how it starts off!


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I will post my review to Amazon and GoodReads once they are added!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc

Ooooo these two characters are adorable!!! This is a cute high school manga. Shizuki’s reactions to Kusunoki were hilarious and the inside thoughts were so realistic as they both battle the ins and outs of boy/girl Friendship’s

I really enjoyed this manga and I look forward to continuing on in the next volumes.

This was sweet and charming. Nice artwork. Likable characters.

Definitely recommended if you like sweet high school romance manga.

This book is almost an exact copy of Komi Can't Communicate, another manga from a few years ago. They both follow a high schooler who has recently rehabilitated his image from middle school. They both have the main girl character as super pretty and shy, and they ask the boy if he'll help them with social cues and talking to people. It's genuinely almost the exact same story.

This manga was definitely cute but it lacked that oomph that I look for in a series. For a bit the MMC read like a jerk. I think it has potential for the right audience but I don't think that's me.

"Outstanding High School Debut" is a Japanese trope striking again in "Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up (Vol. 1)."

This manga had a unique take for me where both the MC and the heroine had their own "glow up" from previously "average looks/no popularity" pasts. Usually, these stories only have the MC with that background.

The struggles between "pessimistic trauma" and "not being social enough, despite the popularity" are interesting, more realistic struggles the two MCs go through despite their dedicated efforts to improve their appearances, "glow-up" per say. It's one thing (still commendable) to improve your outer appearance, but it's still another to be more extroverted, confident, etc., that stereotypical "successes" are. It's usually, a long, uphill battle, especially for introverts, so it was nice to see this being approached. Even so, it's nice to see the male MC was confident enough that he was satisfied with his "success" even though he's not popular like Kusunoki.

Right now, it's a little more one-sided where the male MC is vouching for and helping to improve the heroine. Of course, there are definitely moments of vice versa. However, with the male MC's past coming back to haunt him, the ending pages already seem to set up more of the heroine likely going to be able to vouch and help improve the male MC. I'm looking forward to volume 2.

Thank you again, NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advanced copy to read.
*Note: I intend to include this as an Amazon and/or GoodReads review once the book is released.

This manga reminds me a lot of the anime One Week Friends. It's very wholesome and light-hearted. We get two characters who tried their best to change themselves when entering high school but knew each other in junior high when they were both nerds.

While I do think this is adorable, I'm worried for the continuation - we see the girl who made fun of the MMC come back and honestly, I'm not sure how I'd like that development. I'll keep this series on my radar but it might not be one I pursue farther.

I don’t like that this story depends so heavily on turning girls against each other. Kusunoki’s earnest and a good character worth rooting for; if she was the heroine, she’d have a wholesome and supportive group of friends. However with Shizuki as the MC, she’s a weight tipping the scales of Shizuki’s popularity in one way or another depending on their apparent closeness while the only other female characters are betrayed as bullies or scheming villainesses.

I suppose since it’s only one volume so far I can be proven wrong, but I don’t hold a lot of hope. Obviously they’re going to end up dating and I’m okay with that, but I hope she also gets some genuine friends along the way (regardless of their genders)