Reviews - Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9

215 reviews for:

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9

Kintetsu Yamada

4.41 AVERAGE

novelbloglover's review

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Book Review

Title: Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9 by Kintetsu Yamada

Genre: Manga, Comedy, Romance

Rating: 5 Stars

Volume 9 was a volume that completely broke my heart as I was hurting for Asako throughout it. It begins when Asako returns home to see her parents and also stops in on a childhood friend, Mitsuki. Mitsuki is now a mother with a two year old daughter and Asako asks how she got married and became a mother, not logistically, but how the conversations around those things occurred. Asako asks because she has some anxieties about how to move the relationship forward but Mitsuki actually confesses that she is separated from her husband and has been for a few months.

Everything seems to be going find until another woman arrives, she seems to know Mitsuki and her daughter but she is actually one of the girls who bullied Asako a lot when she was a child. She is also one of the people responsible for the anxiety she has about her sweat issues and some well placed comments and an old nickname bring those bad memories flooding back to Asako. This drives Asako’s mental state back to where she was in the first volume which is blow since she has come so far since then and it really hurts Natori to see her like this and not able to do anything about since Asako won’t talk about it.

While Natori isn’t able to do anything he does give Asako the space she asks for and tries not to pressure her into talking about something that is clearly upsetting her but after a week he doesn’t see another option but to force the topic with her. The second he does Asako’s defences crumble and she breaks down crying in his arms.