Holiday Review: ASAHI-SEMPAI'S FAVORITE

And of course there was plenty of digital-only shojo books that don't make their way to print because they're too dull, too douchey, or a bit of both like today's selection.

ASAHI-SEMPAI'S FAVORITE (Asahi-Sempai no Okiniiri), by Iroha Machino.  First published in 2017 and first published in 2019.

PLOT:

It all started when her brother's best friend Asahi walked in on her in the bathroom.  Ever since, Asahi won't leave Matsuri alone.  He constantly teases and touches her to get a reaction out of her at both school and home, and every time Matsuri is flustered and confused by her reactions.  Yet the more she interacts with him, the more Matsuri finds herself falling for him.

STORY:

As far as bad shojo goes, this is not the worst.  Asahi might tease Matsuri, but he's never outright cruel to her.  While he doesn't go so far as to outright declare his affection for Matsuri, he's clearly fond of her and interested in her.  The only reason that they don't end up dating (other than "because the story would be over") is because neither he nor Matsuri can articulate their feelings.

That being said, I couldn't like this series either.  I just can't get behind a series that revolves around making a teenage girl embarrassed.  Asahi may not have ill intentions, but his teasing and flirting is meant to push her personal boundaries for his amusement (and by extension, the reader).  That's not cool.  That's not cute.  That's not romantic.

That being said, Matsuri has the all-too-common (for shojo heroines) problem of refusing to speak her feelings out loud.  Over and over she monologues to herself how Asahi's actions make her feel, but a simple "Stop!" or "No!" would go a long way towards allowing her to maintain some boundaries.  This is one of those scenarios that would literally be solved with a five-minute conversation, which might allow these two to actually start communicating with one another and making steps towards an equal and respectful relationship.

In fairness, if that happened then Machino might be forced to actually come up with an interesting premise.  Teasing Matsuri seems to be the only idea she's got, as everything else we see comes straight from the Bucket of Stock Shojo Stories Ideas.  We've got a clingy jealous girl/informal fan-club, the two getting locked in a room during the school festival, the girl making lunch for the boy, and so much more, with not an original idea to be found.  Thanks to this, whenever Asahi-Sempai's Favorite isn't being uncomfortable, it's being boring as hell.

ART:

Machino's art is unremarkable, her page layouts are messy, and I'm really not a fan of how juvenile she makes Matsuri looks with her pouting face and frequent use of pigtails.  Yet what distracts me most from her art is how she chooses to draw the highlights in Matsuri's hair.  She uses thick white streaks that look less like sheen and more like Matsuri is trying for some sort of punk-rock meets Rogue look.

RATING:


Asahi-Sempai's Favorite is simultaneously too tedious and too uncomfortable to enjoy.  With so many other digital shojo series to choose from, this one is easy enough to skip.

This series is published by Kodansha Comics.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 6 volumes available.  All 6 volumes have been published digitally and are currently in print.

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