First Love, Clumsy Vol. 3

Yonekura-kun, a gloomy, introverted guy who's a bit mentally unstable. He's fallen for the heroine who's always kind to him, and to comfort her after she gets dumped, he proposes that they play at being lovers—an idea he himself came up with. But he's actually in love with her, so playing pretend lovers is heartbreaking, and there's no way he can hide his real feelings! Even during their "pretend" relationship, he doesn't hide his feelings at all and keeps telling her "I like you," and when she calls him out on it, he just insists, "This is what you do when you're pretending to be lovers." Honestly, I found myself thinking... isn't that a bit much? When the heroine realizes his feelings are genuine and tells him she wants to stop the pretend-lovers thing, it was genuinely scary. She wasn't playing along knowing his feelings—she just wanted someone to lean on after her heartbreak. I totally understood how she felt, but she really picked the wrong person! After that, he corners her with obsessive talk, force-feeds her sleeping pills mouth-to-mouth to put her to sleep, and keeps her semi-confined... He even cuffs her so she can't struggle, and the fear of not knowing what he might do next was truly frightening. His eyes seemed completely unhinged. After about a week of confinement, when the heroine finally tries to escape, Yonekura-kun finally gets serious! The way he rattles off things about her that only someone who truly watches and loves her would notice—hitting the mark every time—was scary, but also, seeing how much he really loved her made me soften toward him a little. And then there's the handcuffs again... that's so like him! But when it really counts, he's actually gentle, isn't he! Because his "love" is the fundamental premise behind his instability, his mental fragility ended up feeling kind of endearing by the end. Please make sure to listen to Yonekura-kun's ending! I wonder if they've managed to build a good relationship... Yonekura-kun, whose first love got twisted and twisted again... He was so full of love and so endearing. Himesaki-san's portrayal of his instability had just the right emotional weight—it was great. And thank you so much for the bonus free talk track!

Kotaro-kun, an introverted guy who struggles with communication, gets so angry at the person who dumped the heroine that it's clear just how much he loves her. He really wants to be her real boyfriend, but he can't say his true feelings, so he covers it up by proposing they play pretend. He's secretly overjoyed when she agrees to be his "pretend" girlfriend, and his devotion and love overflow in his every action—he was just too single-mindedly adorable. At first he was even hesitant about becoming her friend, but the way his feelings for her gradually become impossible to suppress is portrayed beautifully, and I found myself relating to him so much. Many people will probably be shocked when Kotaro-kun's feelings finally explode, but he's such an endearing character that you can't hate him. Things like making a bet with the heroine and deciding what he wants if he wins, or working so hard to make things she loves... Well, he does tend to go overboard (laughs), but his overwhelming love comes through so clearly that it's also heartbreaking. (I might have shed some tears myself.) The voice actor Himesaki-san delicately portrays every facet of Kotaro-kun's emotions—his awkwardness with communication, his heartache, and his gentleness—all of it. He goes overboard with his feelings and causes all sorts of trouble, but I absolutely loved how the final track ended. I was smiling to myself thinking, "Ah, I really love this kind of thing," when Himesaki-san suddenly appeared in the cast talk and totally surprised me. I hadn't expected there to be a cast talk at all (^-^;) Himesaki-san's warm words about Kotaro-kun warmed my heart all over again, and I finished listening feeling really good. I highly recommend not missing a single word of the cast talk at the end. Thank you, Hime-chan. You always make me happy. To the creator: you handled both the scenario and the illustrations yourself—that's amazing. Please keep up the great work going forward! I'm not just saying this to flatter you—I really think this was a wonderful work!

Kotaro-kun, a gloomy, introverted guy who struggles with communication, proposes "playing pretend lovers" with all the kindness he can muster, in order to heal the heroine's broken heart after she gets dumped. But when she starts leaning too comfortably into their pretend relationship, and eventually realizes his real feelings and tries to break things off, Kotaro-kun's self-deprecating, obsessive side explodes... As suggested by the romantic comedy tag, it was truly impressive how much fun and enjoyment could be found even in this kind of storyline. And indeed, Himesaki Haruka-san, who voices Kotaro-kun, clearly seemed to be having an absolute blast performing the role! From Kotaro-kun's rollercoaster-like, intense emotional ups and downs, all the way to the incredibly sweet kiss that closes out Himesaki-san's free talk—thoughtfully placed as a kind of gentle counterbalance—I love the story and character of Kotaro-kun, condensed into about 30 packed minutes from start to finish. With Kotaro-kun clearly wrapped around the heroine's finger, I found myself hoping the two of them will continue supporting each other happily going forward—and honestly, I just wanted to cheer him on.