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私たちはどうかしている [Watashitachi wa Dōka Shiteiru] #1
Something's Wrong With Us, Vol. 1
Married to the Enemy
Nao has followed in her mother's footsteps to become a traditional Japanese sweets maker. Even at 21, her skills are unparalleled, landing her a job at a world-class confectionary company. However, when she meets the young, handsome heir to the company, she recognizes Tsubaki: her first friend, and the same boy who framed her mother for murder over a decade ago. Nao seizes her chance to get close to him, but instead of finding answers, she falls deeper for Tsubaki's allure...
A spine-chilling, steamy romance from the creator of Arisa.
Nao has followed in her mother's footsteps to become a traditional Japanese sweets maker. Even at 21, her skills are unparalleled, landing her a job at a world-class confectionary company. However, when she meets the young, handsome heir to the company, she recognizes Tsubaki: her first friend, and the same boy who framed her mother for murder over a decade ago. Nao seizes her chance to get close to him, but instead of finding answers, she falls deeper for Tsubaki's allure...
A spine-chilling, steamy romance from the creator of Arisa.
176 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2017
50 people are currently reading
1532 people want to read
About the author
Natsumi Andō
82 books349 followers安藤なつみ, Andō Natsumi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for Zodiac P.I. as well as Kitchen Princess, for which she won the Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2006.
Favorites: Donald Duck
Favourite manga: Ossu! Ichijin and Kimagure Orange Road
Favourites: meats and fruits
Hobbies: shopping, reading and watching TV
Favorites: Donald Duck
Favourite manga: Ossu! Ichijin and Kimagure Orange Road
Favourites: meats and fruits
Hobbies: shopping, reading and watching TV
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
October 7, 2021
I was hoping to save my one star reviews for something that raised the dead or caused the end of modern civilization, but honestly I wanted to put my foot through this book by the time I was finished with it.
This book subscribes to the concept of ‘plot-pourri’ - if the kitchen sink had shown up at the end being flown by vampires wrestling alligators it wouldn’t have caused me to bat an eyelash. It crams endless amounts of junk together and does nothing well.
It’s a love story between two characters who haven’t seen one another for years after fate rips them apart! No, it’s a sordid tale of the class struggle between two families! No, it’s a cooking manga about how to carefully prepare traditional Japanese sweets! No, it’s a domestic yarn concerning a girl who struggles to overcome the loss of her parents and fight against more established professionals! No, it’s the story of the business relationship between tea houses and confectioners! No, it’s the story of a total bastard who’s emotionally, verbally, AND physically abusive! Just kidding, it’s actually... a murder mystery!? Tommy couldn’t follow the way this thing pinballs all over the place.
Characters are so thin that they can probably fit between beams of light. I still have barely any idea who the lead’s female friend from the start is or what their relationship is (that section, where the two rival confectioners go at it in competition, only for it to be revealed that it never actually mattered at all, is par for the course in terms of the nonsense this gets up to).
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind lurid trash and have, indeed, read lurid trash. But this story does everything wrong for me.
You’d root for our gutsy heroine and her struggle if she wasn’t making the dumbest damn decisions every step of the way. Too bad she’s the ONLY sympathetic character, so you get to put up with a cadre of assholes the rest of the time. The male lead is an absolute dumpster fire of a human being and what he does at the end of the book puts him so far beyond redemption that I could care less if the mystery gets solved or the entire bakery slides into the ocean.
I will say, plainly, that I did not care for this book.
This book subscribes to the concept of ‘plot-pourri’ - if the kitchen sink had shown up at the end being flown by vampires wrestling alligators it wouldn’t have caused me to bat an eyelash. It crams endless amounts of junk together and does nothing well.
It’s a love story between two characters who haven’t seen one another for years after fate rips them apart! No, it’s a sordid tale of the class struggle between two families! No, it’s a cooking manga about how to carefully prepare traditional Japanese sweets! No, it’s a domestic yarn concerning a girl who struggles to overcome the loss of her parents and fight against more established professionals! No, it’s the story of the business relationship between tea houses and confectioners! No, it’s the story of a total bastard who’s emotionally, verbally, AND physically abusive! Just kidding, it’s actually... a murder mystery!? Tommy couldn’t follow the way this thing pinballs all over the place.
Characters are so thin that they can probably fit between beams of light. I still have barely any idea who the lead’s female friend from the start is or what their relationship is (that section, where the two rival confectioners go at it in competition, only for it to be revealed that it never actually mattered at all, is par for the course in terms of the nonsense this gets up to).
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind lurid trash and have, indeed, read lurid trash. But this story does everything wrong for me.
You’d root for our gutsy heroine and her struggle if she wasn’t making the dumbest damn decisions every step of the way. Too bad she’s the ONLY sympathetic character, so you get to put up with a cadre of assholes the rest of the time. The male lead is an absolute dumpster fire of a human being and what he does at the end of the book puts him so far beyond redemption that I could care less if the mystery gets solved or the entire bakery slides into the ocean.
I will say, plainly, that I did not care for this book.
May 5, 2022
It's a shojo manga with quite a different story to tell. The heroine is a young woman who has set her mind to become a successful pastry chef in the trade of the traditional Japanese dessert, but she is up against an impossible odd: 15 years ago her mother, also a pastry chef, was accused of murder and then she died suddenly due to a stroke, and the orphaned young woman's life was haunted by her mother's supposed crime ever since.
Years later, in order to clean her late mother's name and fulfill her dream, the young woman agrees to marry the son of a famed traditional dessert shop, who was once her childhood friend and also the one person who framed her mother as a murderer?
This first volume is well written, the artwork is lovely and the air of suspense and hinted romance is also well set, I look forward to see how things will develop from here onward, plus I'm also glad to see the heroine isn't some blushing innocent girl for a change.
PS: I watched the first few episodes of the TV drama adaptation and it's quite good, the male lead is yummy.😜
Years later, in order to clean her late mother's name and fulfill her dream, the young woman agrees to marry the son of a famed traditional dessert shop, who was once her childhood friend and also the one person who framed her mother as a murderer?
This first volume is well written, the artwork is lovely and the air of suspense and hinted romance is also well set, I look forward to see how things will develop from here onward, plus I'm also glad to see the heroine isn't some blushing innocent girl for a change.
PS: I watched the first few episodes of the TV drama adaptation and it's quite good, the male lead is yummy.😜
August 21, 2023
Very recently I watched the Youtube video "Josei Manga You NEED to Read" by Colleen's Manga Recs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILM-p...). They praised this manga highly, and since I had always felt a little guilty about not getting into this manga's vibe, and never put the two volumes I owned into the used bookstore box, I decided to give it another try.
To my surprise, I appreciated Nao's character a lot more this time around. It takes ovaries of steel for her to put herself into a situation that is hateful to her at the very least, and possibly dangerous, with a carefully neutral expression, and without crying even once. Kougetsuan's proprietress lambasts her and she flinches slightly, but never gives ground. And agreeing to marry Tsubaki was pretty gutsy, too, especially considering that he basically destroyed her mother with a single sentence, breaking her spirit to the point of death, and leaving Nao to the mercies of the orphanage system.
Wagashi pervade the story, and have some level of symbolism in every scene they are in. The tiny, delicate-looking sweets that the old master holds in his hand, one falling to the ground, him picking it up and consoling it like it was a child. The yokan I mentioned in my previous review below. And so on.
I was also looking for Nao's motivations, since I'd missed them first time out. Paraphrased: There are at least a couple of ways that that could be interpreted, and now I'm much more interested in seeing how it plays out.
Let's see what I think of volume two. I've bought three and four, and that should be enough to make a firm decision as to whether to follow through on Something's Wrong With Us to the end.
***
This one ought to have hit my "trashy melodrama" sweet spot. It starts with the protagonist Nao's mother being a live-in worker at a high-end Japanese sweets shop and being--quite obviously falsely--accused of her employer's murder, and dying or committing suicide in disgrace. Fifteen years later, Nao, under a very thin alias, meets the scion of the shop and spontaneously agrees to marry him.
I think what distinguishes trashy melodrama manga like Peach Girl, Black Bird, and so on, for me, is that on some level you can empathize with, or at least understand the emotion of the heroine while all this crazy stuff happens to and around her. You might think she makes terrible decisions, or gets too carried away, or is just a hapless doormat, for sure. :)
I just never got that with Nao in Something's Wrong with Us, though. The "very mildly shocked" expression she has on the front cover is the expression she wears throughout the book. It's hard to tell what's motivating her. Doesn't seem to be love, doesn't seem to be hate. Doesn't seem to be much of anything.
The love of wagashi permeates the whole book and is its greatest strength. All the treats that Nao makes are emblematic of her own state of mind, or of what she perceives in the other characters she's dealing with, or are signals to them, and that's quite cool. The explanatory notes about the sweets at the end of the book add some oomph to the otherwise bland proceedings. (The yokan scene in particular.)
I've got another volume of this, so we'll see if it picks up as it goes along.
To my surprise, I appreciated Nao's character a lot more this time around. It takes ovaries of steel for her to put herself into a situation that is hateful to her at the very least, and possibly dangerous, with a carefully neutral expression, and without crying even once. Kougetsuan's proprietress lambasts her and she flinches slightly, but never gives ground. And agreeing to marry Tsubaki was pretty gutsy, too, especially considering that he basically destroyed her mother with a single sentence, breaking her spirit to the point of death, and leaving Nao to the mercies of the orphanage system.
Wagashi pervade the story, and have some level of symbolism in every scene they are in. The tiny, delicate-looking sweets that the old master holds in his hand, one falling to the ground, him picking it up and consoling it like it was a child. The yokan I mentioned in my previous review below. And so on.
I was also looking for Nao's motivations, since I'd missed them first time out. Paraphrased: There are at least a couple of ways that that could be interpreted, and now I'm much more interested in seeing how it plays out.
Let's see what I think of volume two. I've bought three and four, and that should be enough to make a firm decision as to whether to follow through on Something's Wrong With Us to the end.
***
This one ought to have hit my "trashy melodrama" sweet spot. It starts with the protagonist Nao's mother being a live-in worker at a high-end Japanese sweets shop and being--quite obviously falsely--accused of her employer's murder, and dying or committing suicide in disgrace. Fifteen years later, Nao, under a very thin alias, meets the scion of the shop and spontaneously agrees to marry him.
I think what distinguishes trashy melodrama manga like Peach Girl, Black Bird, and so on, for me, is that on some level you can empathize with, or at least understand the emotion of the heroine while all this crazy stuff happens to and around her. You might think she makes terrible decisions, or gets too carried away, or is just a hapless doormat, for sure. :)
I just never got that with Nao in Something's Wrong with Us, though. The "very mildly shocked" expression she has on the front cover is the expression she wears throughout the book. It's hard to tell what's motivating her. Doesn't seem to be love, doesn't seem to be hate. Doesn't seem to be much of anything.
The love of wagashi permeates the whole book and is its greatest strength. All the treats that Nao makes are emblematic of her own state of mind, or of what she perceives in the other characters she's dealing with, or are signals to them, and that's quite cool. The explanatory notes about the sweets at the end of the book add some oomph to the otherwise bland proceedings. (The yokan scene in particular.)
I've got another volume of this, so we'll see if it picks up as it goes along.
April 27, 2020
If the real killer isn't Tsubaki's evil mom, I'll eat my hat.
May 16, 2023
Jetzt hab ich Hunger 🥸
July 30, 2020
2.5 stars - might drop this down to 2
Hmmmmm...I didn’t particularly enjoy this that much - the male lead is a jerk and his mother is some sort of psycho-bitch! And I just have this horrible feeling that things are going to get a LOT worse for Nao (MC) before it gets better and I’m not sure I want to read about that :/
The artwork is beautiful though!
RTC
Hmmmmm...I didn’t particularly enjoy this that much - the male lead is a jerk and his mother is some sort of psycho-bitch! And I just have this horrible feeling that things are going to get a LOT worse for Nao (MC) before it gets better and I’m not sure I want to read about that :/
The artwork is beautiful though!
RTC
June 17, 2020
I hate to say it, but this was pretty disappointing.
Despite the negative reviews I read, I was hoping maybe I would still enjoy this. Everyone's different, right? Well, unfortunately I have to agree with those negative reviews.
I don't know if this was just me, but it felt like there was so little build up for the dramatic murder scene. It's like, "yay, everyone's baking sweets and it's so happy!" and "aww, isn't it nice that Nao's mom wants to encourage her to travel and spread her wings?" and then BAM! Murder! Accusations! DARKNESSSSSSSSS! And I was just like, "uhhh, whaaaat?"
The story felt unfocused and all over the place. First, we're seeing her serve sweets, then she's fired, then she's entering a contest, then she's getting marred, I think? Wait, I think the marriage proposal came first, then the contest? I don't fucking know, everything happened so fast and despite the *dramatic flair* present in EVERY SINGLE FUCKING REVEAL, I couldn't keep up with what was going on.
On a separate but more important note (at least to me), what is up with the artwork? I know I haven't read a Natsumi Ando manga in awhile, but she's the creator of Kitchen Princess, which was gorgeous! And Arisa was beautiful, too! This just feels moody, brooding, and lifeless, which I guess was the point but even scenes that are supposed to be elegant and pretty (like serving the sweets) doesn't have the same beauty as her previous titles. Is this just me, though? Anyone else who's read her titles, let me know what you think.
That being said, I do think this series has some potential. The murder plotline and the marriage for revenge aspects are still intriguing, they were just bogged down by everything going on and the story wasn't focused. Ando tried to set up too much in one volume and it came back to bite her, but I think this series does have potential. Am I going to continue with it? Maybe, but it's not a priority. I'd say give this is chance if you're interested since it does have a lot going for it, but I prefer Ando's earlier titles.
Despite the negative reviews I read, I was hoping maybe I would still enjoy this. Everyone's different, right? Well, unfortunately I have to agree with those negative reviews.
I don't know if this was just me, but it felt like there was so little build up for the dramatic murder scene. It's like, "yay, everyone's baking sweets and it's so happy!" and "aww, isn't it nice that Nao's mom wants to encourage her to travel and spread her wings?" and then BAM! Murder! Accusations! DARKNESSSSSSSSS! And I was just like, "uhhh, whaaaat?"
The story felt unfocused and all over the place. First, we're seeing her serve sweets, then she's fired, then she's entering a contest, then she's getting marred, I think? Wait, I think the marriage proposal came first, then the contest? I don't fucking know, everything happened so fast and despite the *dramatic flair* present in EVERY SINGLE FUCKING REVEAL, I couldn't keep up with what was going on.
On a separate but more important note (at least to me), what is up with the artwork? I know I haven't read a Natsumi Ando manga in awhile, but she's the creator of Kitchen Princess, which was gorgeous! And Arisa was beautiful, too! This just feels moody, brooding, and lifeless, which I guess was the point but even scenes that are supposed to be elegant and pretty (like serving the sweets) doesn't have the same beauty as her previous titles. Is this just me, though? Anyone else who's read her titles, let me know what you think.
That being said, I do think this series has some potential. The murder plotline and the marriage for revenge aspects are still intriguing, they were just bogged down by everything going on and the story wasn't focused. Ando tried to set up too much in one volume and it came back to bite her, but I think this series does have potential. Am I going to continue with it? Maybe, but it's not a priority. I'd say give this is chance if you're interested since it does have a lot going for it, but I prefer Ando's earlier titles.
March 29, 2020
2020 Read #313
As a J-drama, this series would probably have me glued to knowing what happens next — but, as a pseudo-josei manga, I’m just not convinced by it. And I really, really will not buy the romance either, I can tell right now. I just expected so much more, I guess, than a story ornamented with familial hierarchies and twisted motives. I don’t know if I will continue on with the series at this point. It just felt empty to me, sad to say.
As a J-drama, this series would probably have me glued to knowing what happens next — but, as a pseudo-josei manga, I’m just not convinced by it. And I really, really will not buy the romance either, I can tell right now. I just expected so much more, I guess, than a story ornamented with familial hierarchies and twisted motives. I don’t know if I will continue on with the series at this point. It just felt empty to me, sad to say.
August 9, 2022
fantastic
I just finished volume one and I can not tell where this going or what I just read. I just know i am on a wild ride and I am mad that I only purchased volume one. Shame on me 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
I just finished volume one and I can not tell where this going or what I just read. I just know i am on a wild ride and I am mad that I only purchased volume one. Shame on me 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
November 5, 2022
The grip childhood friends to estranged lovers has on me.
October 18, 2021
Ummm that was underwhelming. Things happened so fast with zero explanation. From the murder to the accusation to the random fucking marriage proposal, nothing makes sense. My library has more books in this series, but I doubt I'll read more. It just didn't grab me.
April 4, 2024
I’ve never read a murder mystery romance thriller before, this is promising so far 😅
Read
August 1, 2024oh yea. this is IT.
January 7, 2024
UPDATE: I don't remember liking this manga very much, but upon reread I am OBSESSED, even with the cold, calculating love interest. It's interesting how my opinion changed over time. I need to buy the rest of the series.
Original review:
As a child, Nao and her mother live in a confection shop where the mother works. The shop owners are extremely classist and disapprove that their son, Tsubaki, and the daughter of "the help" are close. One day the shop owner is found dead, and Nao's mother is framed by the least likely person - Tsubaki! The mother collapses during her murder trial and dies, leaving nothing behind for her young daughter except a letter that says: I am innocent!
I love the murder mystery idea behind this manga, but I think the art is making it all too apparent early on who the real killer is.
I was drawn to the manga based on the idea of a forbidden romance between a girl and the boy who framed her mother for murder. But actually he is extremely abusive, always roughly grabbing her by the arms and snarling threats in her ear. At the end of the first volume he also starts playing mind games to cause her severe psychological distress, and I am sooo not into that kind of relationship.
Side note: this is a book about rival confectioners, so there is a looot of detail about cooking. Really not my thing but I know some people like it.
I bought two volumes of this manga so I hope the next one shows the love interest in a better light because right now he is grossing me out to the extreme. I feel like I really need to continue because I want the girl to clear her mother's name and make sure the real culprit pays, so as a murder-mystery this is a good manga, but as a romance it is a major turn-off.
Original review:
As a child, Nao and her mother live in a confection shop where the mother works. The shop owners are extremely classist and disapprove that their son, Tsubaki, and the daughter of "the help" are close. One day the shop owner is found dead, and Nao's mother is framed by the least likely person - Tsubaki! The mother collapses during her murder trial and dies, leaving nothing behind for her young daughter except a letter that says: I am innocent!
I love the murder mystery idea behind this manga, but I think the art is making it all too apparent early on who the real killer is.
I was drawn to the manga based on the idea of a forbidden romance between a girl and the boy who framed her mother for murder. But actually he is extremely abusive, always roughly grabbing her by the arms and snarling threats in her ear. At the end of the first volume he also starts playing mind games to cause her severe psychological distress, and I am sooo not into that kind of relationship.
Side note: this is a book about rival confectioners, so there is a looot of detail about cooking. Really not my thing but I know some people like it.
I bought two volumes of this manga so I hope the next one shows the love interest in a better light because right now he is grossing me out to the extreme. I feel like I really need to continue because I want the girl to clear her mother's name and make sure the real culprit pays, so as a murder-mystery this is a good manga, but as a romance it is a major turn-off.
July 10, 2021
I swear this manga put a bitter taste in my mouth rather than allowing me to savour the idea that a female protagonist is creating Japanese confectionary. I mean, she's practically baking for the ML, who asked her to marry him. It turns out he married someone else, but that wedding went down the drain when he decided to marry the FL all along. He's simply so goddamn ignorant, and he's blatantly using the FL! Yes, they were childhood pals, big woop, will anyone in the manga world just calm the f down?!
As much as I realize the ML's mother is mourning the loss of her father since the FL's mother was accused of murdering him, she had no right to threaten the FL! This manga got me angry rather than intrigued, which was disappointing given my high expectations for the whole thing. For the sake of this man, I really don't want to enroll in anger management classes xD
As much as I realize the ML's mother is mourning the loss of her father since the FL's mother was accused of murdering him, she had no right to threaten the FL! This manga got me angry rather than intrigued, which was disappointing given my high expectations for the whole thing. For the sake of this man, I really don't want to enroll in anger management classes xD
December 3, 2021
A overdramatic yet engrossing tale of a Woman who lost everything and decides to get answers.
Nao when a little kid lived in a mansion of sorts where her mother served very rich people. One day her mother is accused of killing the head master of the place and Nao basically has to live her life as a Orphan. It's a sad and fucked up tale but we have a time skip and Nao knows her mother was innocent and decides to return to the place that ruin her life to get revenge.
It's dark, twisted, every character has alternative motives, and everyone has a "plan". Who killed who is intriguing enough and the characters are interesting. I'd say the idea of going back for revenge seems too foolish and we know bad things will happen to Nao but I am intrigued where we'll go from here.
A 3 out of 5.
Nao when a little kid lived in a mansion of sorts where her mother served very rich people. One day her mother is accused of killing the head master of the place and Nao basically has to live her life as a Orphan. It's a sad and fucked up tale but we have a time skip and Nao knows her mother was innocent and decides to return to the place that ruin her life to get revenge.
It's dark, twisted, every character has alternative motives, and everyone has a "plan". Who killed who is intriguing enough and the characters are interesting. I'd say the idea of going back for revenge seems too foolish and we know bad things will happen to Nao but I am intrigued where we'll go from here.
A 3 out of 5.
August 22, 2021
I've only read volumes one and two, but this series is a little dark so far. The daughter of a sweet maker and her mom live with a wealthy family as live-in servants I think? And then the mom gets framed for murdering the head of the house. Later the daughter goes on to marry the son of the man her mother was accused of murdering(wrongfully? Also, the guy's son was the one who accused her mom and the reason she's in jail), but he doesn't know it's that girl?? And the whole time this guy's parents hate her and yell at her and- yeah. Idk, very complicated, lots of drama.
March 28, 2023
3.5 stars - vol. 1-11
Addicting to read and the suspense/psychological elements are done really well but not my favourite Natsumi Ando.
Addicting to read and the suspense/psychological elements are done really well but not my favourite Natsumi Ando.
November 30, 2020
30 Nov. '20
This is a rating and review of the first three volumes.
Story: ☆☆☆
Art: ☆☆☆☆
Sakura's mother worked as a live-in confectioner for the famed Kogetsuan wagashi shop until she was accused of murdering her employer and owner of the family business, Takatsuki Itsuki, leaving her daughter orphaned(?) when she dies before her trial.
Fifteen years later, Sakura has changed her name to Nao Hanaoka, and as fate (or meddling parties as of yet supposedly unknown though I may have an inkling) has it, crosses paths with her childhood friend--Takatsuki Tsubaki--the boy who accused Nao's mother of murdering his father.
Long story short, Tsubaki proposes to Nao as an excessive way of cancelling his existing wedding plans. Nao, who's set on clearing her mother's name and finding out the truth, obviously agrees to this charade.
Three volumes later, they are battling against both Takatsuki and Kogetsuan politics where everyone seems to hate everyone, and battling against their own growing attraction to each other.
The story is so far promising, and our main lead Nao at least attempts to dig into the past and follow-up on clues pertaining to her mother's time working for Kagetsuan. I would not say her plans have (so far) been particularly clever (I mean, faking an order from an important and loyal customer and expecting no one to find out that it's a fake order? What the actual f*ck?) but at least she drives the plot forwards, and you can't say that about a lot of protagonists in this genre.
Of course as is typical of this genre (and mangas in general), there are still conveniences that test my patience--such as the fake mother coming in and saving Nao just as she's being interrogated about her parentage and childhood. My issue is not so much that there's no way Nao's unknown helper could know she would be interrogated about her parentage, but more the convenient timing of it all.
Minor as they may be, things like this are still worthy of an eyeroll and a -1 star deduction in my book.
That said, I'm still looking forward to the next volumes, and to the inevitable moment Tsubaki discovers Nao's true identity.
This is a rating and review of the first three volumes.
Story: ☆☆☆
Art: ☆☆☆☆
Sakura's mother worked as a live-in confectioner for the famed Kogetsuan wagashi shop until she was accused of murdering her employer and owner of the family business, Takatsuki Itsuki, leaving her daughter orphaned(?) when she dies before her trial.
Fifteen years later, Sakura has changed her name to Nao Hanaoka, and as fate (or meddling parties as of yet supposedly unknown though I may have an inkling) has it, crosses paths with her childhood friend--Takatsuki Tsubaki--the boy who accused Nao's mother of murdering his father.
Long story short, Tsubaki proposes to Nao as an excessive way of cancelling his existing wedding plans. Nao, who's set on clearing her mother's name and finding out the truth, obviously agrees to this charade.
Three volumes later, they are battling against both Takatsuki and Kogetsuan politics where everyone seems to hate everyone, and battling against their own growing attraction to each other.
The story is so far promising, and our main lead Nao at least attempts to dig into the past and follow-up on clues pertaining to her mother's time working for Kagetsuan. I would not say her plans have (so far) been particularly clever (I mean, faking an order from an important and loyal customer and expecting no one to find out that it's a fake order? What the actual f*ck?) but at least she drives the plot forwards, and you can't say that about a lot of protagonists in this genre.
Of course as is typical of this genre (and mangas in general), there are still conveniences that test my patience--such as the fake mother coming in and saving Nao just as she's being interrogated about her parentage and childhood. My issue is not so much that there's no way Nao's unknown helper could know she would be interrogated about her parentage, but more the convenient timing of it all.
Minor as they may be, things like this are still worthy of an eyeroll and a -1 star deduction in my book.
That said, I'm still looking forward to the next volumes, and to the inevitable moment Tsubaki discovers Nao's true identity.
December 21, 2020
Came for Ando-sensei and the promise of pretty kimono, staying for the drama and intrigue because HO BOY did the drama get dialed up to 11. There's also a bit of a mystery going on about murder, and I am so here for that to unfold.
So far, we've been introduced to Tsubaki and his family, all of whom seem to know more about the events 15 years ago than they're saying. Tsubaki especially. He has goals, and he strikes me as an ends-justify-the-means type. His family is ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.
Nao is no less determined to figure things out, and though we get justifications for her actions, she's also ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes.
I'm reminded a bit of Arisa, but more grown up with higher stakes from the getgo. There is indeed "something wrong" with these characters, and man oh man am I looking forward to seeing where this one goes.
So far, we've been introduced to Tsubaki and his family, all of whom seem to know more about the events 15 years ago than they're saying. Tsubaki especially. He has goals, and he strikes me as an ends-justify-the-means type. His family is ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.
Nao is no less determined to figure things out, and though we get justifications for her actions, she's also ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes.
I'm reminded a bit of Arisa, but more grown up with higher stakes from the getgo. There is indeed "something wrong" with these characters, and man oh man am I looking forward to seeing where this one goes.
July 22, 2022
There's nothing better than sweet revenge and a pact full of confectioneries. Something's Wrong With Us is filled with haunting past, and trauma, with delicateness seeping in that is pure Japanese.
Nao Hanaoka holds grudge against Kogetsuan, a confectionery shop where her mother used to work. She's traumatized for dear life and swore to find out the truth about the terrible incident that separated them in her childhood. Having a chance encounter filled with a contest for tea ceremony delicacies... and a so-so marriage proposal with Tsubaki, the son of the former proprietor of Kogetsuan, Nao is given a chance to uncover the mystery of that one unfateful day by finally entering the doors of Kogetsuan once again.
I love the kind of terrifying atmosphere around Kogetsuan. Also, I kind of feel like Tsubaki knows Nao's identity already ever since he saw her at that sort of chance meeting. This is interesting and I'm hooked!
Nao Hanaoka holds grudge against Kogetsuan, a confectionery shop where her mother used to work. She's traumatized for dear life and swore to find out the truth about the terrible incident that separated them in her childhood. Having a chance encounter filled with a contest for tea ceremony delicacies... and a so-so marriage proposal with Tsubaki, the son of the former proprietor of Kogetsuan, Nao is given a chance to uncover the mystery of that one unfateful day by finally entering the doors of Kogetsuan once again.
I love the kind of terrifying atmosphere around Kogetsuan. Also, I kind of feel like Tsubaki knows Nao's identity already ever since he saw her at that sort of chance meeting. This is interesting and I'm hooked!
July 12, 2021
13 July 2021
3.5 stars, upgraded to 4 for rating bc of cultural dissonance and metaphor avoidance (see point 3).
1. Confectioner semi-seeking revenge for the possibly (probably?) false murder accusation against her deceased mother agrees to marry into the murderee-family to find out what really happened.
2. Hey this is more messed up than the manga I usually read so that's pretty cool. The premise is fascinating and makes me want to know more. The love interests' family is deeply unsettling. (I'm guessing LI accused the heroines mom because he was threatened to do it? Idk.) And the love interest is as of now, pretty controlling. Which makes sense given his family, but also makes the story interesting. I'm very curious about how this is going to be handled.
3. I wasn't particularly into the whole Japanese sweets and symbolism thing, but that's probably because if my nonexistent knowlege of the Japanese sweets. And also my tendency to let symbolism fly over my head. Also, idk if it was the translation or the panel arrangement but sometimes it was hard to tell what was happening in some of the pages.
3.5 stars, upgraded to 4 for rating bc of cultural dissonance and metaphor avoidance (see point 3).
1. Confectioner semi-seeking revenge for the possibly (probably?) false murder accusation against her deceased mother agrees to marry into the murderee-family to find out what really happened.
2. Hey this is more messed up than the manga I usually read so that's pretty cool. The premise is fascinating and makes me want to know more. The love interests' family is deeply unsettling. (I'm guessing LI accused the heroines mom because he was threatened to do it? Idk.) And the love interest is as of now, pretty controlling. Which makes sense given his family, but also makes the story interesting. I'm very curious about how this is going to be handled.
3. I wasn't particularly into the whole Japanese sweets and symbolism thing, but that's probably because if my nonexistent knowlege of the Japanese sweets. And also my tendency to let symbolism fly over my head. Also, idk if it was the translation or the panel arrangement but sometimes it was hard to tell what was happening in some of the pages.
December 31, 2024
Ohohoho wait a second. I'm hooked.
FMC is a Japanese sweets maker whose mother was framed for murder by her childhood friend slash employer's son. Flash forward to the present, she re-enters that family's orbit by agreeing to marry that same son. And so on so forth.
There's a bunch of symbolism that's a little lost on me, but the drama, the oncoming toxic relationship, the murder mystery, and the backdrop of a confectionary? I'm so intrigued, it's not funny lol.
RECAP: past back story, flash forward to present, wedding favor competition, marriage proposal, walks in on a wedding and gifts a black dessert, first day at the confectionary kitchen, ends with Tsubaki making her deliver red sweets and causing her to pass out.
FMC is a Japanese sweets maker whose mother was framed for murder by her childhood friend slash employer's son. Flash forward to the present, she re-enters that family's orbit by agreeing to marry that same son. And so on so forth.
There's a bunch of symbolism that's a little lost on me, but the drama, the oncoming toxic relationship, the murder mystery, and the backdrop of a confectionary? I'm so intrigued, it's not funny lol.
RECAP: past back story, flash forward to present, wedding favor competition, marriage proposal, walks in on a wedding and gifts a black dessert, first day at the confectionary kitchen, ends with Tsubaki making her deliver red sweets and causing her to pass out.
February 25, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 2.75/5
Oh no, he's reading manga again. That must mean he has gone to the library. Yes, I went for one book and came back with 15, one of which was this surreptitious little title I am currently reviewing. Set amidst the oh so masculine world of Japanese confectionary making, Something's wrong with us was certainly better than some of the other manga I picked up, yet can't bring myself to review. The art is your typical manga fare. It's fine without being anything exemplary. The story was what mostly intrigued me, and whilst hardly perfect, despite it's flaws, it did have a certain charm that kept me turning the pages, and even enough to continue it. I'm quite sure I saw a few more volumes on the shelf. As far as manga goes for me, that's a raging success. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
Oh no, he's reading manga again. That must mean he has gone to the library. Yes, I went for one book and came back with 15, one of which was this surreptitious little title I am currently reviewing. Set amidst the oh so masculine world of Japanese confectionary making, Something's wrong with us was certainly better than some of the other manga I picked up, yet can't bring myself to review. The art is your typical manga fare. It's fine without being anything exemplary. The story was what mostly intrigued me, and whilst hardly perfect, despite it's flaws, it did have a certain charm that kept me turning the pages, and even enough to continue it. I'm quite sure I saw a few more volumes on the shelf. As far as manga goes for me, that's a raging success. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
January 24, 2021
A romance with a mystery?! Sign me up, please!
The plot starting is pretty simple. Everything is perfect for little Nao until Tsubaki frames her mother for the death of his father. Her mother ends up dying on trial, leaving Nao alone. After Nao turns 21, she receives a letter from her mother, saying she didn't kill anyone.
Nao wants to prove her mother didn't kill anyone and find the real killer. When a chance encounter has Tsubaki asking for her hand in marriage, she might get her wish. Though now married to the guy who claimed her mother was a murderer, finding the actual killer won't be easy.
The plot starting is pretty simple. Everything is perfect for little Nao until Tsubaki frames her mother for the death of his father. Her mother ends up dying on trial, leaving Nao alone. After Nao turns 21, she receives a letter from her mother, saying she didn't kill anyone.
Nao wants to prove her mother didn't kill anyone and find the real killer. When a chance encounter has Tsubaki asking for her hand in marriage, she might get her wish. Though now married to the guy who claimed her mother was a murderer, finding the actual killer won't be easy.
January 2, 2022
This is a manga mystery romance about the daughter of a baker. The daughter, Nao ended up living a hard life when her mother was framed for the murder of a well known owner of a bakery. The owner of the bakery had a son, Tsubaki who Nao had become very close with up until Tsubaki's father was murdered.
Now Neo is grown and looking to uncover what happened to her mother. Nao poses as a baker only to be taken in by Tsubaki as his fiance, and Tsubaki had doesn't know Nao's true identity.
This has a lot of mystery to it and really it is just fun to read.
Now Neo is grown and looking to uncover what happened to her mother. Nao poses as a baker only to be taken in by Tsubaki as his fiance, and Tsubaki had doesn't know Nao's true identity.
This has a lot of mystery to it and really it is just fun to read.
August 9, 2022
That was so intense lol
February 1, 2021
Mannnn, I just don't know.
I like Ando's work in general, even though I never finished Kitchen Princess or Arisa. (This was mostly because I was focusing on other series, not that I didn't enjoy them.)
The art here seems more mature, suiting the content and the fact that this is more josei than shoujo. I love that so many characters wear traditional clothing, and Ando's skill when it comes to drawing food is exceptional.
However, the plot, and pacing especially, are a bit of a mess. We're immediately given the backstory with Nao's mother and the murder fifteen years previously. Then we're just kind of thrown into Nao's present-day life and the reunion with Tsubaki. The "proposal" is out of nowhere, no reasons given, no "let's do this to stick it to my family" or anything. It's touched on briefly later but it all makes even less sense than the usual manga/anime surprise roomates/marriage plotline. "Nao needs a way into the family to figure out what happened back then, so let's just throw this out there 15 pages in and go with it."
I love all of the detail when it comes to the wagashi, but everything else seems to have taken a hit because of it.
I like Ando's work in general, even though I never finished Kitchen Princess or Arisa. (This was mostly because I was focusing on other series, not that I didn't enjoy them.)
The art here seems more mature, suiting the content and the fact that this is more josei than shoujo. I love that so many characters wear traditional clothing, and Ando's skill when it comes to drawing food is exceptional.
However, the plot, and pacing especially, are a bit of a mess. We're immediately given the backstory with Nao's mother and the murder fifteen years previously. Then we're just kind of thrown into Nao's present-day life and the reunion with Tsubaki. The "proposal" is out of nowhere, no reasons given, no "let's do this to stick it to my family" or anything. It's touched on briefly later but it all makes even less sense than the usual manga/anime surprise roomates/marriage plotline. "Nao needs a way into the family to figure out what happened back then, so let's just throw this out there 15 pages in and go with it."
I love all of the detail when it comes to the wagashi, but everything else seems to have taken a hit because of it.
May 7, 2022
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk.
Read 7 volumes
The premise of this one really grabbed me and I was so excited to read it. This first volume isn’t much though. It sets up this mystery and introduces our main players but that’s about it. I look forward to learning about Nao, what happened to the master, and who did it? I have a theory already.
Edit: I read more a while ago and forgot to update! It got so interesting! I love this reluctant enemies AND lovers thing going on!
Edit 4/21/22: wtf is up with the soap opera plot twists?! But I can’t stop reading!
Edit 4/6/22: That’s the end of part 1. This is going to be a long wild ride huh? I’m still kinda rooting for them.
Read 7 volumes
The premise of this one really grabbed me and I was so excited to read it. This first volume isn’t much though. It sets up this mystery and introduces our main players but that’s about it. I look forward to learning about Nao, what happened to the master, and who did it? I have a theory already.
Edit: I read more a while ago and forgot to update! It got so interesting! I love this reluctant enemies AND lovers thing going on!
Edit 4/21/22: wtf is up with the soap opera plot twists?! But I can’t stop reading!
Edit 4/6/22: That’s the end of part 1. This is going to be a long wild ride huh? I’m still kinda rooting for them.
January 1, 2021
Bought this book for the stunning cover and intriguing title. Love the art style. Hated the story line. I felt as though the descriptions of the desserts was over done and awkward. The main girl's personality is lacking. The main guy? Unmemorable. Got to the end of the manga and could care less about what happens next. Will not be finishing the series. Pretty sure I know the ending already.
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