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スキップとローファー [Skip to Loafer] #11
スキップとローファー 11 [Skip to Loafer 11]
地方から東京の高偏差値高校に首席入学した美津未は、勉強こそできるものの、過疎地育ちゆえに同世代コミュ経験がとぼしい。そのうえちょっと天然で、慣れない都会の高校はなかなかムズカシイ！ だけど、そんな「みつみちゃん」のまっすぐでまっしろな存在感が、本人も気づかないうちにクラスメイトたちをやわらかく感化して…！ ２年生に進級して仲良しグループは別々になったけど、きたる修学旅行はイツメンで楽しくプランニング！そんなとき、志摩くんは美津未に修学旅行先の京都でのある提案を…！ＴＶアニメも大反響を呼び、各メディアから広く深く注目を集め続ける共感度MAXのスクール・ライフ・コメディの最新第11巻は、ときどき不協和音スレスレだけどますます輝きを放ってゆく！
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 23, 2024
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237 people want to read
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April 17, 2025"wait for me, okay? no, that's not it, you don't have to wait. I'll catch up to you." (ch. 65)
think this might be my fav one yet. cannot emphasize more how much the author nailed character growth in this series. they are the cutest ever!!! no one is doing it like them. (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡
edit: I read the chapters as they release and it just keeps getting better and better. I cannot wait for volume 12. if you're not reading this, you're doing yourself a disservice. source: just trust me bro.
January 2, 2025
ohh i just love them. i just love them, they are my darlings.
they are so human, down to earth, they have come such a long way. being considerate of each other, noticing and learning from each other, just figuring it out and being wholesome about it. i've said it time and time again, these highschoolers have amazing friendships, have profound inner emotional worlds, there is so much depth to each of these characters - never ever two-dimensional - and i just love them so much. like ugh, i know this is some of most important frienships in their lives so far. it's the type of friendship that just simply stay with you forever...
yasaka and shima are really in focus in this volume, and while they are not exactly the same, they are similar enough to compare them and see both of these characters (mostly shima) in a new angle - how they both are sort of routed to seek the validation and to please others. one is their own detriments, another is to the other's detriments. by the end of the volume, we really understand better both of them. i hope to learn more about yasaka on her own though, she's a really interesting character who seems not to bother with her casual acts of emotional cruelty. she seems a bit ditzy but it's more a detail of detachment and that's a manifestation of her insecurity - after she's the same girl that told to mitsumi "you must have received plenty of love to be able to not care about how others see you". hope to see more of her!
as for shima, we see that there's been an incredible change in him - he's expressing anger, jealousy, preferences... for mitsumi of course HIHIHIHIHI. but there's a final leg missing and it's really highlighted here - being able to directly expressing your true wants and needs and owning them, being yourself. grappling with his relatability to "frankenstein" both the monster and victor" was a good moment for him and i'd like to see more of that, him and that play. he's also starting to reflect on how to undo the years of habits, trying to learn how to be genuinely considerate and kind (instead of the façade he built from past trauma) and how to present his true and best self to mitsumi despite his and her personal issues about this potential relationship while mitsumi and shima have their first unofficial date since the breakup. and shima is so earnest about it, he said: "i can't see myself walking next to her. no... i can't stand it. ah, i want... to become a better person" AAAAAAAAAAAA PLEASEEE BABYYYY AAAAAAA !!!
and i love that mitsumi has the insight to notice this - she thought something along the lines of "it feels like it hasn't gotten across to him just how much i've been save by his kindness". shhe truly sees him and i think she's willing to wait a bit for shima to catch up to her :)
this is the only push-and-pull relationship i ever want to face irl. i love them so much
they are so human, down to earth, they have come such a long way. being considerate of each other, noticing and learning from each other, just figuring it out and being wholesome about it. i've said it time and time again, these highschoolers have amazing friendships, have profound inner emotional worlds, there is so much depth to each of these characters - never ever two-dimensional - and i just love them so much. like ugh, i know this is some of most important frienships in their lives so far. it's the type of friendship that just simply stay with you forever...
yasaka and shima are really in focus in this volume, and while they are not exactly the same, they are similar enough to compare them and see both of these characters (mostly shima) in a new angle - how they both are sort of routed to seek the validation and to please others. one is their own detriments, another is to the other's detriments. by the end of the volume, we really understand better both of them. i hope to learn more about yasaka on her own though, she's a really interesting character who seems not to bother with her casual acts of emotional cruelty. she seems a bit ditzy but it's more a detail of detachment and that's a manifestation of her insecurity - after she's the same girl that told to mitsumi "you must have received plenty of love to be able to not care about how others see you". hope to see more of her!
as for shima, we see that there's been an incredible change in him - he's expressing anger, jealousy, preferences... for mitsumi of course HIHIHIHIHI. but there's a final leg missing and it's really highlighted here - being able to directly expressing your true wants and needs and owning them, being yourself. grappling with his relatability to "frankenstein" both the monster and victor" was a good moment for him and i'd like to see more of that, him and that play. he's also starting to reflect on how to undo the years of habits, trying to learn how to be genuinely considerate and kind (instead of the façade he built from past trauma) and how to present his true and best self to mitsumi despite his and her personal issues about this potential relationship while mitsumi and shima have their first unofficial date since the breakup. and shima is so earnest about it, he said: "i can't see myself walking next to her. no... i can't stand it. ah, i want... to become a better person" AAAAAAAAAAAA PLEASEEE BABYYYY AAAAAAA !!!
and i love that mitsumi has the insight to notice this - she thought something along the lines of "it feels like it hasn't gotten across to him just how much i've been save by his kindness". shhe truly sees him and i think she's willing to wait a bit for shima to catch up to her :)
this is the only push-and-pull relationship i ever want to face irl. i love them so much
December 18, 2024
i want to hold shima’s hand and tell him he deserves to be loved and not be overwhelmed with the sense to catch up to people i truly love the way we see mitsushima’s development, their thinking, and their friends like this is really my family
September 3, 2025
The wait between volumes of Skip & Loafer is excruciating, but it’s all worth it for the quality of the content. We may have yet another a school trip arc, but when it involves characters this rich it still feels fresh.
While the big action might be Mitsumi and Sousuke’s sudden evening out in Kyoto, and it is a tasty dramatic morsel indeed, for me the best stuff is actually tucked away with other characters.
Actually, let’s deal with this non-date, as it’s completely out of nowhere, although I think part of it stems from jealousy over how close Mitsumi is getting to Ujiie. Except the latter is exasperatingly negative and spends a lot of time interjecting his put-upon viewpoint.
Mitsumi’s immediate reaction by calling the most ill-equipped war council together is very funny, and I loved how it was presented on the page. The girls turn to Yasaka for advice, but Yasaka’s viewpoint is debatably less than helpful.
Yasaka is so freaking interesting. She’s the typical flirt who has no problem charming boys and knows it, but she also gets incredibly bored when she gets what she wants and then moves on. It’s also pretty clear that she kind of hates herself and is desperate to fill that void with affection, from wherever she can get it.
This consequently makes her very boy popular and very girl unpopular. Watching her habits cause an incredibly awkward moment, for the observers anyway, and seeing her trying to navigate the force of nature that is Mitsumi, who wants to be friends anyway, is the most compelling part of the story for me.
Far as Sousuke goes, I feel like the use of Frankenstein might have been a little too on the nose, but it does churn up further conflict with Ujiie. Ujiie and Mitsumi go at it pretty fiercely at times and it’s the sort of thing that should probably be giving Sousuke pause.
I love watching Sousuke wrestle with his demons and being fully aware of them. He’s extremely cognizant that he’s not a nice guy, he puts Egashira in a heck of a position this volume, but he’s also way too damn hard on himself.
Seeing Mitsumi and Sousuke just missing one another in terms of feelings comes across as very valid for the two of them and I like the way they can’t just get things exactly right. It might stretch the story out, but this always lays the groundwork to make it believable.
In fact, this is one of the very few manga where I assume things will go the predictable route, but I’m never completely certain. And while I wait for that to be proven or disproven, I get some of the best characterization around to keep me entertained.
And huge bonus for that incredibly cute moment in that one omake. Just the best.
5 stars - typical story, but with characters so much better than the norm. I love when we get to find out more about what makes this bunch tick and this is exemplary at showing why you should care.
While the big action might be Mitsumi and Sousuke’s sudden evening out in Kyoto, and it is a tasty dramatic morsel indeed, for me the best stuff is actually tucked away with other characters.
Actually, let’s deal with this non-date, as it’s completely out of nowhere, although I think part of it stems from jealousy over how close Mitsumi is getting to Ujiie. Except the latter is exasperatingly negative and spends a lot of time interjecting his put-upon viewpoint.
Mitsumi’s immediate reaction by calling the most ill-equipped war council together is very funny, and I loved how it was presented on the page. The girls turn to Yasaka for advice, but Yasaka’s viewpoint is debatably less than helpful.
Yasaka is so freaking interesting. She’s the typical flirt who has no problem charming boys and knows it, but she also gets incredibly bored when she gets what she wants and then moves on. It’s also pretty clear that she kind of hates herself and is desperate to fill that void with affection, from wherever she can get it.
This consequently makes her very boy popular and very girl unpopular. Watching her habits cause an incredibly awkward moment, for the observers anyway, and seeing her trying to navigate the force of nature that is Mitsumi, who wants to be friends anyway, is the most compelling part of the story for me.
Far as Sousuke goes, I feel like the use of Frankenstein might have been a little too on the nose, but it does churn up further conflict with Ujiie. Ujiie and Mitsumi go at it pretty fiercely at times and it’s the sort of thing that should probably be giving Sousuke pause.
I love watching Sousuke wrestle with his demons and being fully aware of them. He’s extremely cognizant that he’s not a nice guy, he puts Egashira in a heck of a position this volume, but he’s also way too damn hard on himself.
Seeing Mitsumi and Sousuke just missing one another in terms of feelings comes across as very valid for the two of them and I like the way they can’t just get things exactly right. It might stretch the story out, but this always lays the groundwork to make it believable.
In fact, this is one of the very few manga where I assume things will go the predictable route, but I’m never completely certain. And while I wait for that to be proven or disproven, I get some of the best characterization around to keep me entertained.
And huge bonus for that incredibly cute moment in that one omake. Just the best.
5 stars - typical story, but with characters so much better than the norm. I love when we get to find out more about what makes this bunch tick and this is exemplary at showing why you should care.
December 24, 2024
shimaaaaa i adore you so much and i wish you adored yourself too :((
i love how the mangaka develops these characters and their relationships. it’s a slice of life but it’s soooo much more than that, i feel so connected to this little group of friends and i want to protect them with my whole soul
i love how the mangaka develops these characters and their relationships. it’s a slice of life but it’s soooo much more than that, i feel so connected to this little group of friends and i want to protect them with my whole soul
December 28, 2024
This is one of my all time favourite mangas and it just keeps getting better and better. I really love Shima's character development and I love how all the characters just feel so real and relatable.
April 20, 2025
i finally caught up with the manga. god there is so much i want to say about this manga so i will speak but if you’re going to read or watch don’t continue reading!!
—
skip to loafer feels like a shoujo or slice of life manga, and while it is slice of life i think it is categorised as seinen! and yeah i can definitely tell the difference :)
i think a big criticism some other shoujo mangas get for example, the fragrant flower blooms with dignity, is that the characters are teenagers yet resolve their issues in a way that is weirdly mature for their age. while i understand this criticism, i also think that it is a work of fiction and if the author wants to demonstrate growth and what they think humanity is whether that is good or bad, that’s perfectly fine. i think in this case, skip to loafer could warrant some of the same criticism. however, a major difference between skip to loafer and a fragrant flower blooms with dignity is that skip to loafer is a seinen.
all of the characters in skip to loafer are flawed. yes our main character mitsumi feels enchantingly whimsical and seems like she is flawless - she isn’t. there are so many instances where she says the wrong thing at the wrong time, so many instances where she is just quirky and doesn’t fit in. but god is it refreshing. she is so hilarious and can definitely give the reader secondhand embarrassment, but she genuinely instils so much whimsy to the people around her, including the reader! i think a character of her archetype being the mc isn’t really common in shoujo manga tropes, so viewing the manga through her lens is so fun. it makes me motivated in so many different ways.
other than mitsumi, all of the other characters are so likeable. when i say all i meant it. i could wax poetry about mitsumi and shima, but let me talk about my favourite characters: nao-chan and mika! i saw someone say this before but kin-stag ram would love mika and yes! they’re right! i love the character so much i feel like there is no structure to this review because i don’t know where to start so sorry if this is all over the place…
nao-chan: makes me cry every time. what touched me the most was when she took mika and mukai to the lookout she’d always visit when she wanted to vent to the world about how unfair the world was. guys… this scene… at this very same lookout mika vents to nao-chan about her problems and nao has a thought: “even pretty girls deal with these sorts of problems too” and starts crying. YEAH JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS SCENE IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME TEAR UP BECAUSE GOD IT IS SO TOUCHING.
mika: i would kin her so bad… she is the realest ever i dont even know how to articulate how much i love her development so much. she is THE teenage girl. she is the epitome of such. if there are a million fans i am one of them, if she has no fans i am dead. i also ship her so hard with mukai :3333 i think they are so cute and awkward i love them
i could talk about the other girls, and i love them equally.. all i will say is please bestow us a yuri route and the skip to loafer fandom will go crazy (maybe im being to general here but at least ID go crazy)
i need to sleep i have so many things to add that i may make revisions to this but i will part with this quote:
“you know what? i think it’s okay if we don’t like-like each other. because you could have been a boy or a girl, a little kid or a wrinkly old man… and i’d still like you” (mitsumi to shima). brother she said all of this and all you could think about later during your date with her is that your feelings run deeper than her feelings for you? someone hit him please knock some sense into him (said with endearment i love shima)
SPEAKING OF WHICH I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE FACT THAT THEY BROKE UP IM SORRY. I AM LIVING FOR SHIMA DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT HIS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS, AND EVENTUALLY REALISING HE IS IN LOVE WITH MITSUMI HE IS THE SILLIEST EVER PLEASE REFER TO:
- him seeing a video of mitsumi and wanting it sent to him so bad
- him getting a little jealous over ujie and another one of mitsumi’s childhood friends being close with her
- implying that she should invite him to work with her at a part time job, being shocked that she said she could do it on her own, being shocked again that she so casually invited one of her girl friends to do it with her
and many more… he is so clumsy and silly guys he is so adorable i love him he is my son and they are my children and they will get married thank you
—
skip to loafer feels like a shoujo or slice of life manga, and while it is slice of life i think it is categorised as seinen! and yeah i can definitely tell the difference :)
i think a big criticism some other shoujo mangas get for example, the fragrant flower blooms with dignity, is that the characters are teenagers yet resolve their issues in a way that is weirdly mature for their age. while i understand this criticism, i also think that it is a work of fiction and if the author wants to demonstrate growth and what they think humanity is whether that is good or bad, that’s perfectly fine. i think in this case, skip to loafer could warrant some of the same criticism. however, a major difference between skip to loafer and a fragrant flower blooms with dignity is that skip to loafer is a seinen.
all of the characters in skip to loafer are flawed. yes our main character mitsumi feels enchantingly whimsical and seems like she is flawless - she isn’t. there are so many instances where she says the wrong thing at the wrong time, so many instances where she is just quirky and doesn’t fit in. but god is it refreshing. she is so hilarious and can definitely give the reader secondhand embarrassment, but she genuinely instils so much whimsy to the people around her, including the reader! i think a character of her archetype being the mc isn’t really common in shoujo manga tropes, so viewing the manga through her lens is so fun. it makes me motivated in so many different ways.
other than mitsumi, all of the other characters are so likeable. when i say all i meant it. i could wax poetry about mitsumi and shima, but let me talk about my favourite characters: nao-chan and mika! i saw someone say this before but kin-stag ram would love mika and yes! they’re right! i love the character so much i feel like there is no structure to this review because i don’t know where to start so sorry if this is all over the place…
nao-chan: makes me cry every time. what touched me the most was when she took mika and mukai to the lookout she’d always visit when she wanted to vent to the world about how unfair the world was. guys… this scene… at this very same lookout mika vents to nao-chan about her problems and nao has a thought: “even pretty girls deal with these sorts of problems too” and starts crying. YEAH JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS SCENE IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME TEAR UP BECAUSE GOD IT IS SO TOUCHING.
mika: i would kin her so bad… she is the realest ever i dont even know how to articulate how much i love her development so much. she is THE teenage girl. she is the epitome of such. if there are a million fans i am one of them, if she has no fans i am dead. i also ship her so hard with mukai :3333 i think they are so cute and awkward i love them
i could talk about the other girls, and i love them equally.. all i will say is please bestow us a yuri route and the skip to loafer fandom will go crazy (maybe im being to general here but at least ID go crazy)
i need to sleep i have so many things to add that i may make revisions to this but i will part with this quote:
“you know what? i think it’s okay if we don’t like-like each other. because you could have been a boy or a girl, a little kid or a wrinkly old man… and i’d still like you” (mitsumi to shima). brother she said all of this and all you could think about later during your date with her is that your feelings run deeper than her feelings for you? someone hit him please knock some sense into him (said with endearment i love shima)
SPEAKING OF WHICH I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THE FACT THAT THEY BROKE UP IM SORRY. I AM LIVING FOR SHIMA DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT HIS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS, AND EVENTUALLY REALISING HE IS IN LOVE WITH MITSUMI HE IS THE SILLIEST EVER PLEASE REFER TO:
- him seeing a video of mitsumi and wanting it sent to him so bad
- him getting a little jealous over ujie and another one of mitsumi’s childhood friends being close with her
- implying that she should invite him to work with her at a part time job, being shocked that she said she could do it on her own, being shocked again that she so casually invited one of her girl friends to do it with her
and many more… he is so clumsy and silly guys he is so adorable i love him he is my son and they are my children and they will get married thank you
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 13, 2025(>᎑<๑)/♡ mitsumi & shima !!!!! <3 that's it. that's the review. cheering for you shima, you have the best character development ever and deserve the world. ◡̈ !!
February 6, 2025
Tellement un bon titre, mature et avec des personnages intéressants, de la DIVERSITÉ je suis amoureuse je suis à jour et je suis déprimée et je vais me les acheter je pense hihi
June 18, 2025
KYOTO TRIP LET’S GOOOO!!
September 6, 2025
Aw Shima. I feel for him so much. I just want to see him genuinely happy.
September 6, 2025
I don't even know if they're going to end up together...
This is genuinely such a beautifully written story. It's also the most accurate depiction of high school life that I think I've read in a while. At that age, your friendships and other relationships matter an incredible amount, and you never believe the people who tell you that you'll grow apart and even forget some of those friends' faces and names after a while...but the memories will always shape you in some way.
I don't know if this series is going to conclude with something bittersweet and open-ended when they graduate. I hope not. I hope it continues to college, or time-skips to after, or something.
Realistically, I think Shima is right about his relationship with Mitsumi...while she broke up with him because she largely (and very incorrectly) thought he wasn't really seeing it as romantic, it's true that he hadn't been a particularly boyfriendy partner. Something had felt a little off about it, and it took him until the end of this volume to figure out what it was. He'd never felt like he was ready to be Mitsumi's boyfriend. Basically, dating him would hold her back from her dreams, and he loves her too much to ever want that to happen.
It's a little agonizing that he can literally ask her, "wait for me," and she still doesn't get that he's head over heels for her, and heartbroken about how much he doesn't deserve her yet. He is slowly gaining some confidence that he might, in the future, if it doesn't take him too long to catch up. He's trying his best now by actually pouring his soul into his acting - doing it for himself and for the joy of it now, instead of just trying to get other people (like his mother) to care about him.
So much of this series is about outside perspectives having very little correlation to what a person is truly like inside. Everyone sees Shima as incredibly popular and friendly and charming, and some even resent him for the privilege that gives him, to skate through certain parts of life, taking for granted that people will say yes to him. Even his best guy friend says that to him (Shima: dude, do you even like me??), and there is certainly truth to it. He has advantages that other people don't.
But he's also incredibly insecure and lonely. This entire volume is pretty much about him feeling like an outsider. Mitsumi is truly enjoying her high school life to the absolute fullest: she has amazing friends, she even dated the most popular boy in school for a bit, she's on the student council, she's doing tons of exciting things all the time in the city. And Shima...well, he's watching her happiness, and aching because so little of it involves him anymore.
He's even hurt to be left out of their friend group - just the four girls get together during their school trip, bonding over those bittersweet reminders that things won't always be like this, and they'll be going to different universities and careers and futures after graduation.
He does gather up the nerve to basically ask Mitsumi on a date during the trip - by cashing in on the promise she'd made him early into their friendship. But on that date, even though she puts effort into buying a new outfit and taking him to a dessert place for his birthday, she has very little to say in answer to his question.
"What did you like about me?" Past tense. And even so, her responses kind of devastate him, because they're the sorts of things anyone at school would list. All the surface-level friendliness and charm and kindness that's mostly just a shell to get people to like him.
Would she actually love someone as broken as him, if she knew what he was really like? It's...painful. This series is so painful.
I just want happiness for all of the characters. Maybe even Ujiie, even if he is an absolutely inconsiderate jerk who uses blunt honesty to cover for the fact that he judges other people as much as they do him. I liked that Shima got genuinely angry with him. I liked that Mitsumi doesn't let him just get away with things.
One of his complaints was Shima getting the role of Frankenstein's monster in the school play. He has a point, in a way: it's absurd to cast the most attractive and well-liked guy at school as a character who is universally hated in the original novel. But Shima earned this role and is working incredibly hard to shine in it. It's unfair to only look at him at the surface level.
The reality is that he relates a lot to the monster, and it's a thread that carries - in a subtle and very literary way - throughout this volume. The writing is so intelligent and thoughtful.
I think I honestly wouldn't even be that sad if it didn't have a happy romantic ending. I mean, I would cry. For sure. But I trust the writing, and the important thing throughout has been showing all of the characters' growth as they become more certain of who they are and who they want to be.
This is genuinely such a beautifully written story. It's also the most accurate depiction of high school life that I think I've read in a while. At that age, your friendships and other relationships matter an incredible amount, and you never believe the people who tell you that you'll grow apart and even forget some of those friends' faces and names after a while...but the memories will always shape you in some way.
I don't know if this series is going to conclude with something bittersweet and open-ended when they graduate. I hope not. I hope it continues to college, or time-skips to after, or something.
Realistically, I think Shima is right about his relationship with Mitsumi...while she broke up with him because she largely (and very incorrectly) thought he wasn't really seeing it as romantic, it's true that he hadn't been a particularly boyfriendy partner. Something had felt a little off about it, and it took him until the end of this volume to figure out what it was. He'd never felt like he was ready to be Mitsumi's boyfriend. Basically, dating him would hold her back from her dreams, and he loves her too much to ever want that to happen.
It's a little agonizing that he can literally ask her, "wait for me," and she still doesn't get that he's head over heels for her, and heartbroken about how much he doesn't deserve her yet. He is slowly gaining some confidence that he might, in the future, if it doesn't take him too long to catch up. He's trying his best now by actually pouring his soul into his acting - doing it for himself and for the joy of it now, instead of just trying to get other people (like his mother) to care about him.
So much of this series is about outside perspectives having very little correlation to what a person is truly like inside. Everyone sees Shima as incredibly popular and friendly and charming, and some even resent him for the privilege that gives him, to skate through certain parts of life, taking for granted that people will say yes to him. Even his best guy friend says that to him (Shima: dude, do you even like me??), and there is certainly truth to it. He has advantages that other people don't.
But he's also incredibly insecure and lonely. This entire volume is pretty much about him feeling like an outsider. Mitsumi is truly enjoying her high school life to the absolute fullest: she has amazing friends, she even dated the most popular boy in school for a bit, she's on the student council, she's doing tons of exciting things all the time in the city. And Shima...well, he's watching her happiness, and aching because so little of it involves him anymore.
He's even hurt to be left out of their friend group - just the four girls get together during their school trip, bonding over those bittersweet reminders that things won't always be like this, and they'll be going to different universities and careers and futures after graduation.
He does gather up the nerve to basically ask Mitsumi on a date during the trip - by cashing in on the promise she'd made him early into their friendship. But on that date, even though she puts effort into buying a new outfit and taking him to a dessert place for his birthday, she has very little to say in answer to his question.
"What did you like about me?" Past tense. And even so, her responses kind of devastate him, because they're the sorts of things anyone at school would list. All the surface-level friendliness and charm and kindness that's mostly just a shell to get people to like him.
Would she actually love someone as broken as him, if she knew what he was really like? It's...painful. This series is so painful.
I just want happiness for all of the characters. Maybe even Ujiie, even if he is an absolutely inconsiderate jerk who uses blunt honesty to cover for the fact that he judges other people as much as they do him. I liked that Shima got genuinely angry with him. I liked that Mitsumi doesn't let him just get away with things.
One of his complaints was Shima getting the role of Frankenstein's monster in the school play. He has a point, in a way: it's absurd to cast the most attractive and well-liked guy at school as a character who is universally hated in the original novel. But Shima earned this role and is working incredibly hard to shine in it. It's unfair to only look at him at the surface level.
The reality is that he relates a lot to the monster, and it's a thread that carries - in a subtle and very literary way - throughout this volume. The writing is so intelligent and thoughtful.
I think I honestly wouldn't even be that sad if it didn't have a happy romantic ending. I mean, I would cry. For sure. But I trust the writing, and the important thing throughout has been showing all of the characters' growth as they become more certain of who they are and who they want to be.
March 1, 2025
Skip and Loafer written by Misaki Takamatsu is a charming yet profound work following the lives of Mitsumi and her friends as they navigate high school and their futures. This also happens to be my favorite series to ever exist. I first began reading it in 2021, and I have stayed up to date since. Takamatsu's ability to write truly realistic characters has always been something that stands out to me. All of her characters, yet so different, are so well developed. Masakatsu writes from a Modern Japanese perspective, and this is clear in how high school is depicted throughout the story. American high school life is nothing like Japanese! It also shows in a lot of the cultural stigma around some of he characters. Mitsumi's aunt, who she lives with, is a transgender woman, and despite transphobia existing very apparently in the U.S. still, it is nothing like how it is in Japan. The author touches on the experiences of trans people and transwomen in Japan, and how even the younger generation shuns and judges it brutally. Despite these cultural differences, it hasn't hindered my ability to relate to the stories and characters in the slightest. Masakatsu's ability to depict trauma and mental health and everyday issues that teenagers face is unlike anything I've ever seen before. This volume specifically really dug into a lot of the main love interest Shima and the core of his struggles mentally. I am biased, but I think Shima is one of the most perfectly written characters ever. It is impossible to condense the depth of his character into a single review because there is just so much to cover. His trauma, his passivity, his avoidant attachment style, his terrible self esteem issues, his struggle to navigate the dichotomy of his world views and his desire to be passionate and find something that drives him, his jealousy for those who have found that drive, where do I even begin or finish! I mean, there is just so much, and all of it is written so beautifully. The slow burn of watching him find peace and understanding of himself through Mitsumi is one of the greatest things I have ever read, and this volume digs so deep into that when we see Shima face his trauma head-on. And it's beautiful! I think Masakatsu did such a fantastic job with writing Shima's issues with his mother. She was narcissistic and forced him to be a child actor, he had no choice and it ruined his life, but he loved acting outside of her control. Seeing him break free from the shackles that trauma held him under, and finally say to himself "I am doing this for myself, and for the me that didn't have a choice" is so profound. I love this series so much and each volume just gets better and better. The thought that someday it will end haunts me, but I won't let that ruin how much I enjoy it now.
August 11, 2025
apenas me estoy poniendo al día con el goodreads, pero quiero dejar mi reseña en el último tomo completo de Skip to Loafer porque dkdbsjdbdkdhdkdbd
hace mucho que no leía un slice-of-life tan TAN bonito que me hace reflexionar siendo ya adulta también. es brígido como uno idealiza no solo a las personas o las relaciones, sino también cómo uno se presenta hacia los demás con una máscara para ser aceptado o comprendido.
Shima era un pj que me caía bien, pero siempre Mitsumi ha sido mi favorita. pero, en estos últimos tomos Shima ha tenido un crecimiento personal tan bonito que 🥺🥺🥺🩷
ojalá siga así, ojalá todos pudieramos reflexionar sobre nuestros traumas, temores, los daños que otros nos han hecho y que han impactado directamente en como nos relacionamos con el mundo y como nos presentamos hacia afuera. ojalá hubiesemos hecho esas reflexiones antes, para ser mejores adultos uwu
tkm Skip to Loafer 🫂🩷
hace mucho que no leía un slice-of-life tan TAN bonito que me hace reflexionar siendo ya adulta también. es brígido como uno idealiza no solo a las personas o las relaciones, sino también cómo uno se presenta hacia los demás con una máscara para ser aceptado o comprendido.
Shima era un pj que me caía bien, pero siempre Mitsumi ha sido mi favorita. pero, en estos últimos tomos Shima ha tenido un crecimiento personal tan bonito que 🥺🥺🥺🩷
ojalá siga así, ojalá todos pudieramos reflexionar sobre nuestros traumas, temores, los daños que otros nos han hecho y que han impactado directamente en como nos relacionamos con el mundo y como nos presentamos hacia afuera. ojalá hubiesemos hecho esas reflexiones antes, para ser mejores adultos uwu
tkm Skip to Loafer 🫂🩷
May 30, 2025
The gals sleeping together was so cute
Mika prefering Mitsumi to Shima >>>>>>
The First love poem reference dhcuyes Kanechika ily !!
Jealous Shima wants that Mitsumi video fufufu
Shima indeed need to be set straight, the boi is STRUGGLING, and *needs* help
Him talking to his inner child and reveling the truth to his old acting friends is so precious to me
Shima’s mom is toxic in such a classic way, i'm so sorry for him :(
I like that she realized it and stopped, even though she definitely destroyed Shima’s trust
I'm still just at chap 71, i need the rest of it !! *insert the Let me in meme*
Mika prefering Mitsumi to Shima >>>>>>
The First love poem reference dhcuyes Kanechika ily !!
Jealous Shima wants that Mitsumi video fufufu
Shima indeed need to be set straight, the boi is STRUGGLING, and *needs* help
Him talking to his inner child and reveling the truth to his old acting friends is so precious to me
Shima’s mom is toxic in such a classic way, i'm so sorry for him :(
I like that she realized it and stopped, even though she definitely destroyed Shima’s trust
I'm still just at chap 71, i need the rest of it !! *insert the Let me in meme*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2025
This serie is just so wonderfully written, the emotions are so complex, the characters so human.
We can feel the emotional growth in this volume! The beautiful friendships! It also made me cry toward the end in the best way.
The simple lines of the various faces, all so unique!
Easily one if not my absolute favorite manga. I never reread mangas but I did for this one, don't hesitate and start reading this serie. :)
We can feel the emotional growth in this volume! The beautiful friendships! It also made me cry toward the end in the best way.
The simple lines of the various faces, all so unique!
Easily one if not my absolute favorite manga. I never reread mangas but I did for this one, don't hesitate and start reading this serie. :)
May 29, 2025
SHIMA KUNNNNNNN OMG. after him being like "yeah idk if i think of her like that..." NOW IS AGAIN??? unofficial date.... on the school trip... YUP YUP. ALSO THE SCHOOL TRIP. so cute omg. i love them all so much. i want to pinch all their cheeks and be best friends with all of them. all of them just have such a depth that makes them so real and i love them with their flaws and cant wait to see each of them grow.
September 8, 2025
Mitsumi and Shima are so cute! I’m really glad that Shima I understands that he does like Mitsumi but thinks he feels inferior in some way, even if it’s not true, he needs to find passion for what he likes and then he will be able to be next to her! Mitsumi is really nice, agreeing to meet him and celebrate his birthday, she’s the best!
February 9, 2025
I love this series so much! This volume really focused on a lot of unique perspectives that hit close to home and challenged me to consider the deeper reasons as to what might be motivating some potentially damaging behaviors. I related to Ujiie’s experiences a lot…
July 9, 2025
shima's character development makes him so loveable :/ i want him and mitsumi to have an honestly conversation one day abt their feelings and the course of their relationship, they neeeeeeed to sort out these misunderstandings, it breaks my heart when they're feeling insecure :/
December 24, 2024
school trip arc!! woo!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2024
this is by far one of my favorite manga series right now, i just love the writing of the characters <3
January 11, 2025
i love them all so much
January 11, 2025
5 ✨stars
January 14, 2025
EU AMO ESSE MANGA COISA LINDA
January 27, 2025
I LOVE THIS MANGA CAN THE AUTHOR PLEASE MAKE THE CHAPTERS WEEKLY
February 16, 2025
Skip and Loafer... Empathy is the core value of this series and it never stops hitting...
Read
March 18, 2025la manera en la que se está cocinando esto nunca me había sentido tan representada... infj world domination
April 3, 2025
I think that just know I’m starting to understand shima
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