Story About Buying My Classmate Once A Week - Reviews

At first, I found it a bit strange, but now I'm really enjoying it. I haven't read any yuri novels recently because I couldn't find anything interesting, but this one won me over. It's very easy to read!

I was introduced to this manga because of its new adaptation. In brief, it is a truly great love story that is romantic, suspenseful, and very erotic, with no competing love interests. The story progresses linearly from the alternating viewpoints of the two main characters.

The first high school arc introduces the main couple and their unusual relationship, where one rents the other. This arc culminates in a dramatic "decision time" climax at chapter 118, establishing a new baseline of support for their continued relationship as roommates in college, though the romantic element remains unresolved. You could stop reading here if you don’t like it, but I imagine you will keep going because the story has great pacing, and the main characters are well-developed and sympathetic in their own ways. You will find yourself cheering for them!

Although the renting aspect fades away, the theme of "exchanging" reappears as a rationale for why one character might do something for the other, in the absence of explicitly saying, "Because I love you, you are my girlfriend." These are not perfect Mary Sue types; each has a history of abandonment or rejection, and you can really feel their emotional struggles as they deal with jealousy, insecurity, and possessiveness. There are a couple of points where the machine-translated (MTL) version falls short and may make you want to shake the characters for acting like stereotypical useless lesbians in denial. Just push through these parts, and you’ll quickly return to enjoying the story. I strongly recommend the Amawashi translation up to its latest update, as it is far superior to the MTL.

While the satisfying slow-burn romance plateaus somewhat when the main couple starts living together, the more slice-of-life feel is still very enjoyable. Although the main couple still has a long way to go in admitting and expressing their true feelings to themselves and each other, there is plenty of "dating" and a lot of sweet emotional intimacy that will give you those "Yuri is Life <3" good vibes. Their reluctance to risk what they have in hopes of something more adds to the tension.

However, don’t worry—giving them a bit of a push, along with some nice comedic and dramatic tension, comes from how the main couple deals with the "secretly deeper" nature of their relationship within their small friend groups. Even if they don’t admit their romantic relationship to themselves, the main couple recognizes that some of their actions might seem beyond normal roommate behavior (especially the kissing and sex), and they increasingly have to handle friends’ skeptical or enthusiastic questions and antics, such as, "Where’d you get that hickey on your neck?" The friends are nicely integrated into the story but don’t have their own subplots or relationships; they are there to further develop the main couple’s relationship, which works perfectly for me. The story is still ongoing, so that’s my review for now! 10/10 for me.

I genuinely enjoyed this novel, especially after rereading it through the human translation by Amawashi. Personally, I've read most of the novel using Google Translate from Kakuyomu, but I still found it incredibly engaging.

This novel is a slow burn, which means I often wanted to shake the two main characters and yell at them.

Interestingly, I feel like this novel was essentially a game of "Gay Chicken." The characters kept engaging in increasingly gay actions until their feelings became undeniable. I hope the upcoming chapters continue in this direction.

, the protagonists feel incredibly complex and their actions and emotions make sense. One of them even subconsciously lies to herself, making her an unreliable narrator, while the other's perspective is also unreliable. It’s ironically difficult to understand their true feelings until you grasp the nuances of how each one hides their emotions.

The only thing I missed from this novel that other novels often have are side characters. There is no side couple; it's solely focused on Miyagi and Sendai.

It's almost frustrating how obvious their feelings are for each other, yet they refuse to address the elephant in the room.

Again, I would rate this novel highly as I enjoyed the intense emotional rollercoaster of wanting to cheer in joy and then strangle someone in quick succession.

I really, really love this webnovel (Miyagi is cute like a stray cat). Go go go for 500 chapters and more, please!

To be honest, when I first discovered this novel, I felt a bit itchy inside, especially when the first chapter showed Sendai-san licking Miyagi's foot. That really piqued my curiosity and made me continue reading the raws (almost 300 chapters).

Man, these two girls really make me want to slap someone in the face (but I end up slapping my own cheek instead).

I went "kya kya" when I read the Winter Break chapter and Miyagi asking Sendai-san to teach her.

Miyagi is really cute when she's docile, but her stubbornness also makes me anxious and frustrated sometimes.

Haneda Usa-sensei's detailed depiction of the girls' inner conflicts, longings, desires, denial, and contradictory emotions really makes my chest tighten so many times. Miyagi, who doesn't want to rely or depend too much on Sendai-san's presence, and Sendai-san, who wants Miyagi's mind and heart to be full of her. I can feel the very delicate feelings from their interactions.

Just like said, "Sendai-san is honestly one of the best things to have happened to Miyagi." And yes, I also cried during that part...

"But, if, someday, she were to love someone else other than me. My heart wouldn't widen enough to wish for her happiness. That's why, when I can't wish for her happiness, I thought that this piercing could wish for her happiness in my place."

After the fourth time re-reading this...

The Aquarium scene really left an impact on my heart (again): Sendai-san's joy and happiness after seeing Miyagi smile for the first time when they're alone together! indeed.

**UPDATE 8/26/2023 Chapter 300-301:** This chapter got me hard... Miyagi, don't do that again. Don't try to kill your reader, please. My heart almost stopped beating.

From the machine translation, Miyagi wants to end the "Roommate" relationship. I can feel Sendai-san's sorrow and despair, but luckily, Miyagi wants something more from Sendai-san. This actually makes me happy but also anxious for their future.

Miyagi: "Then, don't become someone else's. Don't follow someone when they say something to you, and don't meet that kind of person. Be ."

**Mannnn... Chapter 320.** I can't even describe how I feel after reading that. How Miyagi calls Sendai-san "Hazuki" so many times... my heart...

**06/01/2024 Chapter 338.** What a chapter... I just can't...

This is really good.

**Story: 6/10**

This novel really takes "character-driven" storytelling seriously. There is absolutely none of the typical fluff and drama surrounding school clubs, siblings, and friendships you see in a typical yuri story. The setting is dreadfully mundane and circles entirely around grades and less dramatic aspects of school life. And you know what, that's perfectly fine with me. At this age, I don't want to hear about someone's idealized school life where they constantly go around solving other people's life problems and resolving all their personal flaws (like in *Bloom Into You*, *Oregairu*, etc.).

Spoiler: They also graduate from high school about 1/3 of the way into the novel, which is a win for any romance novel.

I feel ambivalent about the author eventually leaning away from the BD*M scenes. That was the only thing distracting me from how much I disliked Shiori as a person (not as a character), and without it, the story lacks some excitement. The author took away the action of the story and replaces it with... nothing. I can only hope there's something to fill the void in the next few arcs. The novel clearly works if you take it as a "real" romance with some spice added in, but I only wish the author didn't try to dull things down so much.

**Characters: 9/10**

I am very impressed with how character development has been tied with the storytelling itself.

Spoiler: In the beginning, we are led to believe that Shiori is the main character. Certainly, with a title like "Buying My Classmate," you would expect a fetish novel with a major emphasis on the sadistic dominant main character. But after a few chapters, the story turns you on your heels and reveals that she's a deuteragonist and nowhere as threatening as she tries to make you believe. Hazuki is actually the one with agency in this story. Because of just how messed up Shiori is from parental neglect and her fear of intimacy, she gradually loses her ability to control the progress of her relationship, essentially surrendering the plot to her partner. By trying to drift away from Hazuki, she shies away from all her responsibilities, including her role in the story and connection with the reader, in a way that parallels Hazuki's feelings.

**Translation/Writing: 7/10**

Occasional errors. Nothing immersion-breaking if you've read many amateur Japanese translations. The writing is rather stiff and almost hesitant to portray emotion. If you like [melo]drama, people expressing their genuine feelings in a concise and logical manner, and healthy ways to develop a relationship, this is not the novel for you.