The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend

*Special thanks to the publisher VIZ Media and NetGallery for an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

I'm so glad the bio manga, one of my favourite genres, is becoming more common nowadays! Many others I've seen have compared this manga to "My Lesbian Experience with Romance" and they're not wrong! However this one is definitely more humour based and I don't think I've laughed this hard audibly reading a book since before pandemic times. Mieri has incredible self-deprecating humour, both with her jokes and illustrative portrayal of herself. However she never does it in a malicious way - portraying how well we all really do tend to like ourselves but know we're just goblins cosplaying as functioning adults.

This is a book I can see people all people relating too. And full of awesome advice and red flags for those starting on their relationship journey. Mierie has opened up a very intimate part of her life and put herself out there - I've already seen people in some reviews saying she overreacted to being dumped by her first girlfriend. Yes her relationship that took her *years* to recover from only lasted a month, but mental health just BE like that. It's a jerk. Something like a whirlwind romance (that crashed and burned in just a few weeks) can set off the first in a domino downward spirial of depression. She not only was dealing with being dumped, but being poor, in college, thrust into adulthood, then the Japanese work force, and then a physical health crash.

I love this for the same reason I loved "Lara Dead keeps Breaking up with Me". Because we honestly need these books about breakups -not daytime soap opera breakups- but ones about real(istic) relationships. Without media literacy on topics like this, we don't get to learn what healthy recovery from toxic or unhealthy relationships looks like.

Lastly, I can't forget the art. Fun, loose, silly and just dang beautiful to look at. This is one of my top books of 2023.

I love the influx of LGBTQ memoirs from Japanese authors! This one was the perfect blend of comedy and seriousness and I appreciated how she didn't hold back on her negative feelings, even when she knew they were dramatic. Her art style is also wonderful! It's a great mix of beautiful shojo and funny visuals that helped bring out her personality!

I know after reading this that Mieri had a very hard time. But the care and attention she poured into healing and learning to love herself is so inspiring. And somehow, even though a lot of this story breaks my heart for her, she's managed to keep a lighthearted tone in retelling her story.

I think a lot of teens and adults are going to relate to her. In fact, from what she's said about posting this manga online, a lot of people DO relate to her story. Loneliness and wanting to be loved are so hard to experience. And I think Ash really wasn't healthy for her, but Meiri learned to stop relying on other people to give her value.

This manga is so sweet. It's a beautiful reminder to be your own biggest fan. I absolutely love that. Thank you Mieri for sharing your story ❤️