Medical Rep Tries to Sell Himself to a Doctor
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Love Sprouts from a Misunderstanding. 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 manipulation, prejudice, dubcon/noncon, BDSM, cheating (not between the main couple), breakups (not between the main couple), violence, assault, extortion, harassment, and mentions of disordered eating, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Shingo is a medical rep. His job is a pharmaceutical salesman, and he is a very good one. When he’s not going around to various hospitals or clinics to try and earn new and maintain his current contracts, he’s researching. What is he researching? His prospective clients. If one of his clients loves cats, he will buy them an album of cute cat pictures. If his clients are really into golfing, he’s more than happy to take them out for a few rounds. With Shingo’s ambition and obsessiveness, he’s yet to meet a client that he can’t woo into a contract.
That is, until he meets Reiji.
Reiji is a hardass. Whenever Shingo even tries to get close, Reiji is ready to shut him down because he hates medical reps. But Shingo wouldn’t be the top rep at his company if he were so easily dissuaded. So, Shingo returns time and time again, doing his best to endear himself to Reiji. Eventually, all of his efforts appear to be working, a little more than he expected, as not only does he get a contract, but Reiji even goes so far as to seduce him. They end up in bed together, and Shingo can’t help but assume this means Reiji has fallen for him.
Yet, when Shingo tries to get him to confess, Reiji claims that it’s not he who has fallen in love, but Shingo instead.
Review:
I love Owal. I truly do love them, but their art style is so inconsistent. This might be one of the worst covers to represent their style I’ve ever seen. Our top, Shingo, is very cute throughout the series, but he is such an inconsistent design, and that is perfectly represented on the cover. His fave is nearly a perfect parallelogram. It hurts my soul, especially when Reiji is so stinking beautiful on the cover and throughout the series. He can be inconsistent, too, but compared to Shingo, Reiji is like an angel. Please, don’t make this your first Owal title because I don’t think this is a great representation of their art. Instead, give A Dominating Prince and His Naughty Habits a try. It’s one of my absolute favorites.
The story is also better in A Dominating Prince and His Naughty Habits. However, for this title, when compared to the art, the story is much better. The foundation of the story is absolutely adorable. I’m a sucker for enemies-to-lovers, and while I wouldn’t say this is full blown hate-to-love, it certainly starts off with these two very much disliking each other. But as Shingo tries to steadily wear down Reiji’s tough exterior, using gifts and just being super endearing, it’s no wonder that Reiji might misunderstand all of these grand gestures. These two have sex under the assumption that the other is in love with them, while refusing to admit their own feelings. I loved it when the two were finished and trying to discuss the other’s feelings, only to realize neither was willing to admit they had fallen in love. It’s such a cute premise and much more enjoyable misunderstanding than what many other stories try to use.
However, as much as I love the premise, the overall story is very messy. While it’s all one narrative, each chapter is rushed and chaotic, and it really shows in the dialogue, which is choppy and sometimes nonsensical. Of course, this could be due to a poor translation, but even without the dialogue, the way their relationship progresses is very much a chaotic whirlwind. When the ex is introduced, things accelerate tenfold. They go from the cusp of a proposal to a breakup (very reminiscent of Look at Me) because of extortion on the ex’s part, to a confrontation between Shingo and the ex, only to end up with Reiji jumping in and breaking it all up. Because Reiji ends up jumping in and telling his ex to essentially screw himself, and accepting that love is more important than their jobs, everything works out. This isn’t necessarily a bad concept, but because of the rushed nature of it all, it feels unnecessary. If Reiji was going to turn around and defend his relationship with Shingo within a chapter or two, what was the point of having him end it at all? More time would have benefited this to make Reiji’s feelings and choices more understandable.
I love the dog-like top with the tsundere bottom, though, so even with all of the rushed storylines and rough art style, it’s hard not to love the romance between these two. Reiji, having gone through a traumatic first love, deserves someone to dote on him, and someone as ambitious as Reiji is willing to work for him. It’s very romantic, the speed of the romance notwithstanding.
Results:
Again, I adore Owal. They’re not the most consistent artist, and some of their stories aren’t the strongest; this is an example of both of those downfalls. But there is something about Owal‘s characters that is just so endearing. It’s hard to dislike a title, so while I wouldn’t necessarily outright recommend this, I think it has some shining moments. I like it, but I don’t love it.
Have you read Love Sprouts from a Misunderstanding? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!