By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn. High school romcoms have made a big comeback in recent days. Technically, they never really went away in Japan, but like sports manga in the 2000s, non-supernatural tinged light novels in the 2010s were forbidden. The gateway has now burst open, though, helped by the breakout hits such as My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki and Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle. And we have the “sweet” subgenre, characterized by minimal conflict and a lot of “awwwww” moments. Now there’s a good chance that when a new series hits big numbers in Japan,...

Manga Bookshelf