Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai

This is a lovely josei manga. Perfect for the twenty-year old me who can relate to the MC's problems. And, I haven't laughed so hard while reading manga in a loooooong time. Almost every other josei manga is too sexual (for me), while this story is super cute and the lines between the characters are all so witty. Before I knew it, I finished the manga, which made me sad but there is a sequel!! Though I don't necessarily think it needs one, but I still can't wait to read it. :') This review is not helpful, but I just wanted to vent my admiration forthis manga. Thank you for reading and I hope you do decide to read this!

TL;DR: Light-hearted, sweet, low on drama, hilarious, and nice character development sounds for you? Then go ahead. This manga is in its fundamentals a typical shoujo/josei light-hearted romance story. Woman has a difficult life, gets helped by a man, and so they get to know each other. However, what this manga does incredibly well is the entire execution of it. Their dialogues are often incredibly funny (and that goes for both sides, they are often quite witty) to the point of even having me laugh out a few times, there is no unrealistic love octagon going on to entail drama, and most importantly: Character development! Throughoutthe entire manga, all the important characters develop steadily and visibly (and in a realistic pace and manner), none of them feel stagnant. On top of that, the ending was very well put together, all the pieces falling into place, and compared to other manga, it already started leading up to it throughout the entire manga, which made the ending feel very fitting, not rushed or out of place whatsoever.

Upon completion, I'd say the story shifts focus. In the beginning, the story is more focused on the main MC's life, which I found more relatable than the family drama of the male MC. His family literally barges into his cafe to either stir up drama intentionally or find another reason to shift our attention from the girl MC to the guy's family drama. It gets stale after a while: first issues with his older brother and then moving onto his father. Then the girl MC's father busts into the cafe out of nowhere for more family drama. I had to skim the middle partof the male MC's issue with his rich dad - seems like a plot line right out of kdrama. In the beginning, I found the struggles the girl MC have mirrored much of my life. I am in my late twenties, similar to the MC. Her struggles are super relatable. You kinda know the two MCs will get together, except you don't know when. What I admire about the romance is that their relationship actually progresses from a friendship/mutual earned respect/trust. The two MCs don't get together immediately. They talk to each other and actually develop a friendship before that's considered. Feels more real, ya know? It's not like BAM Kare Kano style where from love confession the two MCs literally stop talking and just make out all the time. Super relatable. Who hasn't spent the early 20s pining over younger guys only for literally their face? She is a super relatable doormat who does get better. Believe me, I thought it started off depressing because it was like seeing my life thus far: paying for a guy who ditches you for his friends and totally takes advantage of you, taking other people's workload because they asked. But then she starts developing better friendships, aside from pining for romance like a typical shoujo MC. From the friendship she develops with the various characters, she develops boundaries and learns what it means to take care of your needs I think. She realizes where her limits are and when to trust other people in her life, other than the main MC. Middle wise it got to kdrama land with drama between the male MC and his dad. Yes of course the main guy has to be from a super wealthy family who has financially separated from him: he has to work and he has chosen to work as a chef for the family cafe. I like how it shows you can still be thoughtful without money from merely the act of cooking for someone. The male MC cares for his friends from the food he cooks, not just lavishly throwing money onto the female MC. (I'm looking at you stupid kdrama fantasies!) Pros are the characters, aside from the family members of the male MC & the girl's dad, are developed and concrete. The family members seem there just to unleash the male MC's baggage onto the world - aka the cafe... Aside from the unnecessary melodrama, I am glad the girl really grows from doormat to eventually someone who stands up for herself, even in front of her dad at the end and thinks about herself and even what she wants to eat through the help of her friends. Yes her male MC is her friend first before they get together (which hello was obvious from the very nature of this Rom-Com).

Honestly I really was going to drop this manga altogether cause I really thought the FL was seriously mega dumb when it comes to being easily swayed by fellas without considering a double check if they are actual legitimate or not. However as I got into to reading more of the manga, you start to getting use to Shibata as a character. You just have to admire her that she always pokes fun at Shun with her chin sticking out. Just funny banters basically both her and Shun have throughout XD Also for those who would prefer the chemistry to suddenly happen, you might have tofind other romance manga for that. This manga is very much a slow burner like it seems the author wants to give the characters more time to grow and get use to each other. That’s what i really admired about Nakaharas work like she did well with the comedy too in Love Complex! Again I did not expect to enjoy this manga, it is super cute and it’s nice for a change that it’s different from the other mangas out there who don’t add that type of flavours needed to the story! Also it has a Jdrama for those who want to watch in its live form! Very good “slow burn” romance story guys, check it out 😊😊😊😊😊