Title: Let’s Do It Already Vol. 1
Author: Aki Kusaka
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 193
Genre: Shonen, Battle
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
The Story
Let’s Do It Already wastes no time with the love confession. In just two pages, we already see that Yuri and Keiichiro are together so this isn’t going to be your typical chase-style love story. Instead, we’re going to explore their lives as they enter their relationship as they learn and grow with one another… at least, that’s why I thought but that couldn’t be further from the case.
While we are learning about the characters, it seems to be one-sided as Yuri is learning more and more about Keiichiro and all of the restrictions that come with being his girlfriend! You see, Keiichiro is the scion of the Katsuraga family and the heir apparent to the seat of Prime Minister like the others in his family before him. Because he comes from a prestigious family and is of high importance, there is a family code he must abide by or suffer dire consequences. One of those codes is to not have intimate relations with the opposite sex until the female is at least sixteen years of age and he is at least eighteen years of age. This means that Yuri needs to wait a full year and six months before she’s able to even kiss him!
It’s not as if Keiichiro is hellbent on ignoring her desires, though. He does some research and finds a loophole in the family code that would speed things up but it’s still a good deal of time away. Until then, they have to make do with what they have but it doesn’t mean that they can’t exploit the code along the way. The code never prevented Keiichiro from owning a cellphone but he never had one because he never saw a use for one. After getting the purchase of a phone approved through his family’s accounting department, he becomes quite addicted to it. He has to draw up a formal contract to set rules and boundaries about cellphone usage!
Another loophole would be to share an umbrella with Yuri as it would be seen as a favor or service to protect him from the rain and not close intimate contact. This plan seemed to be executed perfectly until Keiichiro failed to cancel a ride. Yuri finds herself in the back of a limo with Keiichiro and thinks that she can try and make a move but we are introduced to a new character right at the end who not only keeps tabs due to the camera surveillance system but also delivers an ominous statement that doesn’t sit well with Yuri!
Characters
Yuri is a typical teenage girl who seems to be in her rebellious phase as evident from the very first page of the series where she states that she doesn’t care about traditions. This makes her out to be a free spirit who prefers life unrestricted. She doesn’t understand the need to have limitations put in place, especially when it comes to a relationship. While it does seem a bit naïve, she does bring up a good point by wondering what the point of having a boyfriend would be if you couldn’t be intimate with them… and not just kissing or other deeper things, either. Just being close or certain types of physical contact are prohibited which does make being in a relationship a moot point. In that sense, you can understand her frustrations.
Yuri is also a bit on the dense side. She doesn’t even know what a memorandum is. Some of the things Keiichiro talks about are also lost on her. She would much rather have things kept simple and spelled out for her because that’s the way she operates. This, again, accents her free spirit side but the thing that I like is that it’s not overblown. You get just enough to learn about her personality but it’s not taking to the extreme as you would see in similar romantic comedies. This is nice to see because it makes the characters seem grounded in a premise that is anything but.
Keiichiro is very strict when it comes to traditions mainly because of his position in society and within his prestigious family. Just because he comes off cold and direct sometimes doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care. After all, he fell in love with Yuri and a flashback shows us how that happened. Even though he abides by his family’s code, he wishes he didn’t have to do so. Even if he doesn’t state it outright, his actions convey that message loud and clear. Looking for loopholes in the code, agreeing to have a cellphone and then becoming hilariously addicted to it, or even intentionally breaking part of his code knowing the minimal punishment he would incur just to have a moment with Yuri are all clear signs that he wants to escape his burdens but do so in a way to where he can uphold his family’s legacy and carry it forward.
It’s a tough balancing act but Keiichiro seems determined to make it work for Yuri’s sake. So, while he has to be rather strict at times, you can easily tell that he truly loves her and wants to make sure she’s happy.
The only side character that stood out was Chigusa. Um… I might as well call her doorknob. You’ll find out why once you read the story.
There is also our new character at the end of the volume but I’ll leave that for Volume 2’s discussion in the future.
Final Thoughts
When I read the synopsis, it made zero mention of this being a story like this so I was taken aback by the premise. At first, I questioned how this premise could make any sense because we have Yuri who asks out Keiichiro without any knowledge whatsoever that he’s part of a blue-blood political family. Like… she didn’t even bother asking what his last name was which makes no sense from a Japanese culture standpoint. It’s an unwritten law to always call someone by their last name until you are granted permission so how did she not know what his last name was or what family he was from? Plus, the fact that he went to an all-boys school for the gifted, a school known to house the upper echelon of society, and didn’t think to question that made absolutely zero sense.
I know romantic comedies oftentimes throw common sense out the window for the sake of a laugh and we’ve all come to accept that but this… this is on a whole other level of ignorance to where even if it was made unbelievable on purpose for the sake of a laugh, it was so unbelievable that it almost ruined my entire reading experience because I couldn’t take the premise seriously; however, I gave it a chance and read on.
Once I got over that hump, I could see what the series is trying to do. It wants to bring Yuri and Keiichiro together as a normal couple while keeping things abnormal between them. Along the way, it’s meant to find loopholes in their situation so that they can cheat the system until the system no longer applies. This is where the comedic aspect comes in and so far, it has been executed fairly decently. I did find myself smiling a couple of times as I flipped through the pages and the title of the series perfectly accentuates the feeling the reader gets. In a way, the title seems to poke fun at other series that drag the suspense out so long that you find yourself practically screaming at the characters to get locked in a room until they get it out of their systems. In a way, this whole series is like one giant meta joke wrapped around a unique story.
While I wouldn’t say that this first volume blew me away and made me want to read more, it did make me curious to wonder what other ways they can try to circumvent the family code and the line by the new character at the end possibly suggests even more hurdles once Keiichiro turns 18. There are enough seeds planted here to make you wonder just enough to look forward to the next volume and that’s what I’m doing. Decent start with the potential to get better as the series goes on.
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
