MANGA REVIEW | "I Wanna Do Bad Things with You" - Volume Three
Conflicts of the heart are common in manga rom-coms. In the case of I Wanna Do Bad Things with You, Mamori’s heart is now pining for Soshi Fuji. However, now that it’s been revealed that Soshi is betrothed to Ichika Tsubaki, Mamori must find a way to keep her distance in a respectable way. But there in lies the problem: the only one to see Mamori’s actual worth is Soshi, so wouldn’t pushing him away cause her more harm than good?
These thoughts run rapidly through Mamori’s head in the manga’s third volume. After biking away from the hospital, Mamori quickly realizes that she can’t keep her distance when she’s literally hugging Soshi from behind! Thus, she panics and runs away, with Soshi confused. But even if she finds herself taking the coward’s route with Soshi, she does grow a spine when the pool team captain confronts her of the pool sabotage. Not only does she take responsibility, but it gives her classmates a moment to look at her in a different light.
During her punishment time, Mamori realizes that she’s merely doing what her classmates guilt-tripped her into during the first chapter: clean the pool. But for some reason, the task feels more…satisfying? Soshi finally shows up on the final day of her punishment, with Mamori conflicted over how she should feel about him. Come to think of it, what’s going through Soshi’s mind too? (Jeez, these Fuji brothers are sure hard to read, huh?)
But it all leads towards Soshi’s next plan to make his brother Koichi embarrassed: best him at test scores. Soshi is a smarty pants, so he’ll have no trouble beating his brother. Mamori, on the other hand, isn’t book smart at all, meaning if she wants to also best Koichi, she’s gonna have to hunker down and study! At first, Soshi helps Mamori out, but she’s hesitant to take the aid due to her fearing she’ll drag his grades down. However, some outside help comes around, in the form of a gold-hearted gyaru!
New to I Wanna Do Bad Things with You, Kei appears to be a bully when Mamori sees her treat a teacher with little respect. But it turns out she’s a sweetheart, who not only wants to help Mamori with her studies, but also with her love problems. Although Mamori claims that she’s happy to just be Soshi’s minion, that answer won’t fly for Kei. Instead, she seemingly comes up with her own plan.
What follows is a little too good to be spoiled here, but it involves a friendly home study session. The right amount of good luck and bad luck happens for both Soshi and Mamori, with Kei “conveniently” running late. Wet clothes, tasty snacks, and a quick pre-study nap lead to some steamy moments, and not just the shower kind! And then…progress. Sweet, delicious progress!
However, we’re only just at the halfway point of I Wanna Do Bad Things with You. (It’s only a seven-volume series.) As such, we may still be away from a legit confession between Mamori and Soshi. Thankfully, now with someone like Kei in their corner, it may be a lot easier for these two to let their hearts ring loudly. As for the pranks and revenge aspect of I Wanna Do Bad Things with You, well…I’m certain Soshi’s got something nice & evil up his sleeve!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.