Title: My Special One Vol. 6
Author: Momoko Koda
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 177
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
The Story
We completely shift gears and place the spotlight on Kanato and Emika! She accepts a script where she will be co-starring with him and while everything seems fine at first, things get turned upside down when she notices that there’s a kissing scene to be had! Of course, being an actress, she tries to convince herself that she’s a professional and that this is just like any other kiss scene she had done in the past; however, she can’t wrap her head around it because it’s going to be with the person that she’s in love with.
From here, Emika becomes a complete and total mess. Her mind is going a million miles per minute as she analyzes, re-analyzes, and over-analyzes every single moment that she is together with him. She even gets an idea from Sahoko to go to an unpopular amusement park so that the two of them can spend some alone time together; however, Emika sets is up as an ice breaker so that they can know each other better to slip into their roles more effectively.
Just when she thinks that she’s getting somewhere with Kanato, she runs into a major roadblock when he honestly answers one of her questions. Thinking that she’s doomed, an unsuspecting helping hand pops up in the form of Haru Kurusu from Like Legend! He offers to help Emika win over Kanato; however, his plan is a bit bold and invasive; however, did it bear any fruit in the end?
Characters
This was quite the shift and a nice change of pace as we really got a good look at Emika as a character.
Before, she was kind of aware that she was a popular actor and that awareness came through here on several occasions. What made it rather humorous is that she came off a bit high and mighty at times in an attempt to be as casual as possible around Kanato… which backfired. It got to the point where Kanato saw through the ruse and told her to just be herself. Despite the fact that she is aware of her popularity, she’s just a girl on the inside like everyone else.
Her fangirling, her indecisiveness, her overthinking, and everything else she exhibited all for the sake of trying to know how Kanato feels is kind of accurate for anyone who has ever been in love. Even though this is a high-profile love between a major idol group star and a top-level actress, their feelings and emotions are just like anyone else’s. It brought a high-profile crush down to Earth and made you feel that these characters are human just like anyone else. Although, I will say Emika’s over-the-top behavior did get old rather quickly so I was very thankful when Haru came in to save the volume from droning on way too much with a running gag.
Speaking of Haru… he’s brash, not afraid to poke fun at Emika but he’s quite the sweetheart underneath it all. His willingness to help her was genuine; however, he is Emika’s childhood friend so, of course, he would be there to help her out. His plan is a bit brash like he is but given his personality, it fits him perfectly. I guess you could liken his character to something sweet and sour. There is no either or with him, you get both and you either enjoy it or you don’t.
Kanato didn’t get any development until the very end… at least, that’s what it seemed until you realized that Kanato being Kanato was him throwing subtle clues about how he truly felt about Emika. Haru and Kanato are similar in the fact that they can be brash but they are different because Haru will do it in a joking manner while Kanato is more direct. Not necessarily blunt, but he will tell it as it is but he also has a caring side… when he wants to show it, which isn’t often but there were a few moments here where it did come through and those were you clues that there might be something there.
Final Thoughts
The change in gears was quite refreshing. Here we had two characters who seemed to be sentenced to the background only to be called upon when needed to get the spotlight for an entire volume! Heck, it’s going to continue into Volume 7 so the spotlight hasn’t gone out just yet! It’s not often in a romance series that the side characters get this much attention but the fact that they are is really enjoyable. It shows that it’s not just about the main characters…. There’s a living, breathing world out there and the other characters have lives of their own, their own interests, and unique stories to tell. Besides, there’s only so much of Sahoko and Kouta that we can take before it starts getting repetitive so this break is very much needed.
The question remains, though… Once this little story ends, will Emika and Kanato be relegated to the background once again? How will the story shift back to Sahoko and Kouta? Will there be a nice mixture so that all of this effort doesn’t go to waste? That’s the tough part about focusing on side characters in a series such as this. We’re not in a fantasy setting with multiple countries, factions, politics, etc. Typically in a slice-of-life romance, you get the spotlight on the main characters and that’s how it stays from beginning to end. Giving this much attention to Emika and Kanato is a bold move because this isn’t their story but, at the same time, the story isn’t ignoring them as per usual.
Something like this isn’t done often but almost every time I have seen it happen, you’re thankful that the side characters got some time to shine but then they disappear and their story is all but forgotten. I don’t know if My Special One will be the series to break that cycle but all we can do is hang back and wait and see how it all pans out. For now, I’ll just enjoy the change of pace and root for Emika!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
