I’m not even from Japan, but I’ve been following this novel for quite a long time, and honestly, I’m a little disappointed with the direction it seems to be taking.
What made this story interesting to me was how different Reo and Kokone’s situation was from the usual romance setup. Reo was never actually heartbroken by the fake confession—he knew from the beginning that it was fake and even played along because it gave him an excuse to skip classes and play Asoon. Yet, through spending time together, their relationship slowly started becoming something more genuine.
That was the part I really enjoyed.
So after all that build-up with Kokone, seeing a new heroine suddenly enter the story as Reo’s three-year online gaming friend and transfer into his class feels like the story is heading toward a very standard love triangle.
I’m not saying Shigumin is a bad character. In fact, her connection with Reo is interesting. But I personally feel like introducing her as a potential romantic rival makes a lot of the development between Reo and Kokone feel like it went poof.
I really wanted to see the fake relationship gradually become a real one after everything they went through. That felt like the unique part of this novel.
Hopefully the author has something more interesting planned and this doesn’t turn into the usual “two girls competing for the protagonist” route. I’ll keep reading because I’ve already followed the story this far, but I’m definitely more cautious about where the romance is going now.
ラノベのラブコメは、あまり好みに合わない作品が多いです。しかし、この作品は他のラノベで気になるところが解消されていて、物語に没頭することができました。では、他のラノベと何が違うのか。個人的には、リアリティと丁寧な描写だと考えています。こういう日常の延長線上にあるラブコメは、読者の共感や理解を引き出すのが重要だと思うので、現実でも十分ありえそうな展開かつ、違和感を持たせないのは、純粋に凄いと思います。ただ、１つだけ文句を言われそうなのが、ちょっと長いところです。先程も言ったように、丁寧に感情の移り変わりなどが描かれています。そのため、他の作品よりも展開が遅いとは感じました。ですが、個人的にはこうやってじっくり腰を下ろした感じも好きです。もし、「オススメのラブコメは」と聞かれたら、僕はこの作品を選ぶと思います。
追記 普通にこのレビュー、長いし読みにくいですね。