Title: My Special One Vol. 3
Author: Momoko Koda
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
The Story
Well… the unthinkable has happened. Kouta and Sahoko became an official couple! Even though Kouta was the one who confessed his feelings, Sahoko couldn’t come to terms with the fact that a popular idol just asked her out. Sensing this, Kouta felt that maybe he didn’t get his feelings across strongly enough so he took her to a petting zoo and then glamping. He made another attempt at confessing and it finally sank in with Sahoko that he’s serious and wants to be her boyfriend. She accepts and now they are dating.
Kouta asks her to come by the studio as he was busy recording an interview. There, she means the other members of LL and they seem pretty cool. When he goes to meet Kouta, Emika Nanase, a famous actress, was doing the interview with him. She ends up meeting Emika but she’s suspicious as to why a high school girl is hanging around LL… more specifically, Kouta. She can’t let her know that they are dating so she makes up a lie by remembering how Kouta looked on their petting zoo non-date date (he was in disguise) and she accidentally describes Kanato instead… who just so happens to show up and “save” the scene by dragging Sahoko away!
This paints a huge misunderstanding because Emika has a crush on Kanato and thinks that Sahoko is her love rival! It gets even worse when Sahoko decides to throw a wrap party for Kouta after his film finished. It was meant to be the two of them but Emiko and Kanato got wind of it because Kouta couldn’t keep his mouth shut and they showed up! This ends up putting Sahoko in the most awkward of spots!
Finally, after all of that mess, she begins to wonder just how to kiss Kouta and if he would even want to accept a kiss from her. Whether or not he does, is how our volume comes to an end.
Characters
While we have a new character to talk about, we spend the majority of this volume on Kouta and Sahoko.
Now that they are a couple, their development has shifted to figuring out how to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Kouta continues to be adorable in the sense that he truly cares about every little thing. If even one thing is off, he worries that it’s his fault. He just wants to make Sahoko happy and be happy around him. It’s as clear as crystal that his public idol persona really is him in real life. Just a caring guy who thinks the world of Sahoko without any ego whatsoever. That makes me suspicious because it is one of those “too good to be true” moments. I’m just waiting for the drama bomb to be dropped here but… the deeper you get into this volume, the more you begin to think that this isn’t a ruse at all… unless he’s going so deep into it that it will be world-shattering if there ever is a swerve with him.
Sahoko, on the other hand, is starting to come out of her shell. She’s still really reserved but she’s now going out of her way to do things for Kouta. Things she would have never dreamed of doing before. That change in her is gradual but it’s really starting to pay off. Heck, even Yuku talked her into getting a makeover and she loved it so much, she had Yuku teach her how to do it in case she needed to again. The fact that she’s now caring about her looks when it comes to Kouta shows just how much she’s accepting reality! Plus, she makes another high-profile friend through this whole ordeal which is also another “too good to be true” moment.
Finally, we have Emika Nanase… our new character. For being a high-profile actress (I wonder who Sahoko’s new friend is), she’s really down to Earth. I think the message being sent here is that celebrities are just humans like anyone else and what you see on camera is different than what you see in real life. Sometimes, that real-life persona is for better or for worse but, so far, it is for the better here. Emika seems pretty cool and the comedy that ensures with her a Sahoko over the huge misunderstanding with Kanato was top-tier! The only thing is… after that whole initial introduction and storyline blew over, she immediately got relegated to a background character. I hope that doesn’t remain the case because we definitely need more Emika in our lives.
Final Thoughts
I only have one complaint… and that is I think they pulled the trigger too quickly. Shipping the main couple in the third volume seems a little too fast for me; however, what we got was still some really good stuff. Watching them figure out how to relationship was a treat and made for some great entertainment. The inclusion of Emika was a nice touch but it makes me wonder if Sahoko is going to start getting a bunch of high-profile friends. I mean, she’s dating Kouta, has now been introduced to all of LL, and is now friends with Emika.
Even though we don’t see a lot of Yuku, I wonder if this will drive a wedge between them. Maybe she gets more and more confident to where it only appears that she’s hanging out with top-tier crowds exclusively and maybe Yuku will feel as if she’s being left behind. I can definitely see that happening. Maybe it will get smoothed over if Sahoko brings Yuku to meet Kouta. After all, Kouta said that if Yuku is important to Sahoko then she’s important to him, too. Maybe that was the seed that got planted as a resolution to a problem that hasn’t happened yet.
It’s an interesting thought and a direct they could go in… or they can just keep it as-is with Sahoko making a ton of high-profile friends but continuing to go through life as if it’s not a big deal. Either way, the ending felt like an ending and I don’t know what to expect from Volume 4 but it is one that I am looking forward to!
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