Girlfriend, Girlfriend (2022)

[カノジョも彼女]

Volume 10

Author/Artist: Hiroyuki
Publisher: Kodansha Comics Magazine

Synopsis:
Once Shino kisses Naoya, is there any way for her to keep hiding her feelings for him?

Story/Characters:
I'm surprised I had the willpower to wait until this volume came out rather than just looking up scans online to see what would happen from where we left off last time. It's interesting that while poor Shino goes into total brainlock, it's Naoya who provides her a plausible out for what she's done, but then she makes the decision to come out with the truth... only to collapse halfway in due to a combination of a cold and heatstroke. Naoya makes the hero play of making the swim back while carrying Shino rather than risk what might happen if he were to leave her behind to go ahead and seek help. We then get the kicker that surprised me as much as Shino, Saki's tearful reunion with Naoya. To be honest, I doubted Saki's seriousness just as much as Shino did, but when put to the test, her feelings are no trifling thing after all. What follows is little surprise. Ashamed over what she's done, Shino decides to pull out of the running, even going so far as to transfer schools. However, Saki doesn't take kindly to Shino trying to cut and run without a proper explanation. (It's actually hilarious how forcefully Saki opposes the gesture.) Ironically, it's Milika who sets up the conditions for things to get properly hashed out (though not without a lot of taunting of Shino).

When the rest of the gang shows up, Naoya presses Shino to come out with the truth in his usual way, showing that as dumb as he is, he picks up on a lot more than you might think. Shino confesses her feelings and Naoya turns her down. (I was amused that Saki was both A) angry that Naoya rejected her dear friend, and B) was kinda hoping to hear that Shino was in love with her.) This helps clear the air between Shino and Saki, but Shino comes to the conclusion that if Naoya can actually make two girls happy, maybe there's room for one more. Now, you might think that with Shino being more honest about her feelings, the outrageous scenarios that have befallen her would stop, but you'd be wrong. And then we have Saki find out what actually happened on that beach...

Art:
The big emotional beats get sold hard and it's great. It's funny that a series that runs on so much stupid can have better delivery of emotional moments than others that work so hard to be taken seriously. There's a lot of Shino focus, so that's enough to make me happy. She was cute enough to begin with, but once she starts putting effort into appealing to Naoya, the effect is doubled. Good stuff.

Other:
We get an afterword comic from Hiroyuki talking about how he's been doing muscle training. Somehow I have my doubts about the level of his efforts, but I could be wrong.

Conclusion:
What a time to be on Team Shino. Yes, I know the endgame is to have the whole set lined up, but for now, Shino's been the hardest nut to crack and we're moving things along nicely. Now, if only we can figure out a way to beat Milika's warped personality into shape, I might actually be on board with the aforementioned endgame scenario. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing how the change in the dynamics now that Shino has formally entered the ring as a contender. If you've been enjoying this series as much as me, you'll agree that this volume belongs in the collection.

Rating:
Own It