Introvert Tries Really Hard to Get Closer to His Friend (and Crush)
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Go For It Again, Nakamura!!. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to peer pressure, obsession, occult, kidnapping, mentions of religion, depictions of ritual sacrifice, breakups (not between the main couple), stalking, and questionable teacher-student relationships, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
This is the sequel to Go For It, Nakamura!.
Nakamura has gotten one step closer to his crush, Hirose. They are now real friends. It should be easier than ever to get close to Hirose and maybe someday even become more than friends. But for awkward and introverted Nakamura, that is easier said than done. Though they are officially friends, Nakamura doesn’t find it any easier to talk to Hirose.
At the rate they’re going, they’re liable to become strangers again before they ever become lovers. But Nakamura is not willing to let his chance at true love pass him by. He’s willing to put himself out there to get closer to Hirose, even if it means falling into all manner of strange hijinks to do it.
Review:
We’re back with another Syundei title. I won’t dwell on this too long because if you’ve seen my other reviews of their work, you already know that I’m not a fan of this art style. It’s a very consistent and clean style, and it’s a perfect representation of that classic manga style, but I personally just don’t like it. As usual, this perfectly highlights the lighthearted and comedic tone of the series, so it’s hard to fault it for anything. This artist is incredibly skilled in what they do, and this title is no exception.
Now, onto the story. Being that this is the sequel to Go For It, Nakamura!, it is another episodic volume, with each chapter being somewhat self-contained from the next. I said it last time, and I’ll say it again: I don’t care for this storytelling format. I don’t mind it when it’s an after story or side story, especially if the couple is already together, but I don’t like it when it’s the main story, and the couple hasn’t even gotten together yet. I do think it works well for the comedic aspect, as it allows for very dynamic settings and situations. Still, it’s a bit frustrating when you’re just looking for some progress between Hirose and Nakamura.
And with that said, this is where I talk about the worst part of this volume: we still don’t get any romantic payoff. This was a huge gripe for me in the previous entry, and it’s an even bigger issue this time. At least in the prior volume, we get a semi-confession with Nakamura asking Hirose to be his friend, but in this volume, we end up with a bit of a cliffhanger and a goofy conclusion to a random episodic plot. The last official chapter in this volume is Nakamura bemoaning the intense exercise regiment he inadvertently enlisted in, which is so weak compared to the previous entry’s ending. I was really hoping for some significant movement on the romance this time around, but that didn’t happen, which makes this even more frustrating than the previous entry.
But what I dislike even more than the ending is the icky setup of the teacher being Nakamura’s rival for Hirose’s love. This art style makes all the young characters look very young to me, especially the ones with big, rounded eyes like Hirose. So, seeing Hirose and the teacher having a weirdly flirty conversation is so icky to me. Granted, this is from Nakamura’s perspective, so it could very well be his own jealousy coloring the situation, but it doesn’t make me feel that much better. There is a chapter where Nakamura is jealous of Hirose acting intimately with a fellow classmate, which I felt made much more sense and was much more palatable in turn. Yet, we end up with a full-grown adult, their teacher no less, as the ultimate rival, and that’s how the volume ends. It’s my least favorite thing that could’ve happened.
Results:
This was a major disappointment. Admittedly, the bar was already pretty low since I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first entry, so this had a good chance of being better. But then it ended up falling flat on its face. The choice of the teacher as Nakamura’s rival in love was such a poor one, in my opinion, and the lack of a romantic payoff again was almost as equally disappointing. It feels like we might get another entry in this series, but I haven’t seen news of one yet. I’ll be reading it if it does come out, but if not, that makes this volume all the more disappointing. I don’t care for this.
Have you read Go For It Again, Nakamura!!? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!