MANGA REVIEW | "It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too" - Volume One
When a relationship is going well, the next logical step is to move in with your significant other. Sometimes this helps with building the relationship; other times, it can make a love crumble apart. For the duo of Yuya and Rio, moving in together definitely results in the former, as Suzuyuki’s series It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too showcases. It also results in a bountiful of adorable hilarity!
After fourteen months of dating, Yuya and Rio make the big leap towards living under the same roof. As they learn from one another, the more they find ways to grow as lovers. But not everything is sunshine and rainbows, as disappearing pudding or a long night out can cause some trouble for the pair. Thankfully, as the narrative goes on, Yuya and Rio find more reasons to stay together than there are to break up.
What makes It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too stand out is its protagonists. With there being a bountiful of high school (and even middle school) romance manga series, it’s refreshing to see a narrative about two grown adults progressing through a relationship. However, as one quickly sees, being an adult doesn’t necessarily mean growing up, with both Yuya and Rio having their moments of childish behavior. They’re not man/woman-children, mind you; they just have their silly quirks.
A missing pudding cup results in a quick game of detective from Rio, who points out to Yuya how deep food grudges can go. Yuya’s attempt at making tamagoyaki at first starts with high praise, only for Rio’s wrong words to stab him in the heart like no other. One misunderstood note makes Yuya worried that Rio had left him for good, but a quick clearing up of the situation leads to him spending a weekend alone worried about his skills at self-care. Then there’s a battle for TV privileges, with Rio and Yuya’s fight putting an exhausting damper on one’s choice for nightly screentime.
As one can imagine, these fights in It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too are more playful than serious. Rio and Yuya throw jokes and one-liners at one another, sometimes crafting humorous comebacks that bite the other in the butt. Only when there’s a situation like an inability to check in does something close to an issue arise, with Rio worried when Yuya gets home very late from a party. But as Yuya explains himself, it winds up being a Murphy’s Law situation that couldn’t be either predicted or avoided.
The duo of Rio and Yuya remind me a lot of Nasa and Tsukasa from Fly Me to the Moon, as both attempt to one-up the other in both cuteness and daring tactics. Although there is no supernatural element in Suzuyuki’s series, the level of heart that Rio and Yuya have for one another is at the same level as Kenjiro Hata’s creations. They also have their moments of dorkiness, such as when Rio and Yuya fight for the last pudding cup at a convenience story. Although Rio wins, Yuya pulls a trick from Nasa’s big book of love tactics to cause the woman to fluster.
However, there’s enough originality in this manga that helps it to stand toe-to-toe with other rom-coms. Whether it’s the office work banter about differences in relationships or a search for a special sleep mat, Suzuyuki fills his pages with laughs and groans that make Rio and Yuya a relatable duo. The narrative also shines thanks to the cute art style, which brings out the sweeter sides of the couple when a moment of passion occurs. (It’s also funny seeing how big the dark circles Yuya’s eyes gets as the series progresses, a possible side-effect of the long work days the boyfriend has.)
It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is laugh-out-loud hilarious. It also happens to be one of the most endearing rom-coms to come out in recent memory. With this and the recent English-language released Love’s In Sight!, the romantic comedy realm has blossomed with a plethora of uniqueness and relatability. Couples who are thinking of moving in together should take a gander at It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too, and see what their romance under the same roof could conjure up.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Eric Margolis of One Peace Books. In stores October 17!
