The Dangers in My Heart - Vol. 2 Ch. 30.4 - A Soaked-in Feeling

[WeebOomfie]

The only other middle-school romance I've experienced in manga/anime so far is SukiMega (The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses), which is also written by a woman like BokuYaba, if I'm not mistaken. Though I will note that Komura and Mie's first year of interacting goes by pretty quickly with a slice-of-life approach to show them getting comfortable around each other as at least acquaintances, their second year as desk buddies (their final year of middle school) seems to take it slower and really starts to emphasize them truly getting to know each other as they finally start breaking through each other's defenses and insecurities to truly connect with each other.

They're also absolutely adorable little goobers that are technically more pure than Yamada and Ichikawa, so I've enjoyed both of their stories for different reasons. SukiMega is just so much gosh darn sugary sweetness that it's a diabetic overload, but this feels more awkward and real, and acknowledges the hormonal madness of puberty in a way that I feel many others shy away from.

Edit: there's another slow, more what I'd call 'natural' relationship development story that I've also been reading, though it's going a lot slower and it has an anime that went further because the real source is a light novel that's way, way ahead of the manga and it really has no hope of catching up... And it's also written by a woman. The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, originally written by woman author Saeki-san but illustrated for manga by a 'Wan Shibata'. Literally a couple that starts out as a relationship built on the exchange of favors and 'because I feel like it' excuses for helping one another that turns into what amounts to a married couple that hasn't admitted they're even boyfriend and girlfriend (but they will reach that stage and start actually dating and not just sharing their evenings and weekends at the boy's apartment- it's at least double the manga volumes away from where the story is currently at (manga has 5 volumes currently, so closer to 10 volumes, likely, beore that point), since I think the manga has adapted up to vol2 of the LN, and the proper 'confessions' take place end of vol4 of LN, and the anime adapts the first two volumes pretty solidly then starts skipping around with 3 and 4 so it could end the first season on the conession).

Seeing Tenshi mentioned here (not the first time, actually lol) warms my heart, since Mahiru was a big push to get me back into manga/LN, the place where I got a lot of dopamine during an important period of my life. Remembering back, Tenshi's anime released around my 12th grade, and she got me REALLY invested into the series. Then uni hit and I forgot about the series for 2 years until this month, when I reread Tenshi LN and got reminded why I loved this series so much.
The setting's timeframe nearly coinciding with my current age back then, Mahiru's adorable personality, Amane's super-admirable personality, and both their attitudes when treating each other like a small married couple melted my heart.
Outside of that, rereading it during my current uni times ignited a miniature fire inside me to start studying and focusing harder on my academics and overall life. I also want to try and aim to reach the level of attentiveness both Mahiru and Amane has towards each other too, so I can treat my future significant other to such a degree. Fiction is still fiction, and at its core unrealistic, but I believe that a lot of what Saeki-san illustrated can be invaluable lessons to me.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. It's already 1 AM when I'm writing this so I should probably get some shut eye.