MANGA REVIEW | "Let’s Do It Already!" - Volume Seven
There are many moments people look forward to when reading rom-com manga. But perhaps the most magical of moments is when the couple has their very first kiss. However, when it comes to Aki Kusaka’s Let’s Do It Already!, even the simplest of things like holding hands and hugging never come easy. So when the big moment in the manga finally happens, you can bet that it comes with a lot of hurdles for poor Yuri to jump.
For starters, let’s focus on the events that lead to the big moment. Keiichiro’s birthday is coming up (Christmas, of all days!), so Yuri wants to go all out for him. It leads to the couple’s legit first fight, as Keiichiro keeps telling Yuri that she doesn’t have to go super crazy to give him the best birthday ever; just having her in his life is enough. Naturally, this leads Yuri to push even further, to the point where they stop talking to one another.
But that silence is hard to pull off when they start working at the same job together. It appears that Keiichiro has caught Yuri’s stubbornness, as the two work together despite the rich boy’s lack of experience. It goes just as you’d expect it to, but the two manage to hash things out in a way that allows both Yuri and Keiichiro to fully understand one another. Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean that Yuri will back down from giving her boyfriend a birthday experience of a lifetime.
And what an experience it turns out to be! After getting some help from Papa Katsuragi, the plan is set in motion. Keiichiro, blindfolded and tied up, is taken to Yuri’s house, whilst Yuri is waiting for him, also tied up. The agreement: Keiichiro can touch Yuri on his birthday, but Yuri can’t do the same to Keiichiro. And if you read through this entire paragraph, you’ll notice that there’s a big ole “Whoopsie!” with this plan.
Yeah, this is Let’s Do It Already!, meaning that every single romantic gesture is bound to fail. With both Yuri and Keiichiro tied up, that means that they can’t enjoy a birthday dinner, birthday cake, and other sorts of things. It’s a plan that’s gone tits-up, until Yuri reveals a letter that she’s written for the occasion. After the two painstakingly open the envelope, Yuri reads it out loud, as it captures everything the two have gone through since they started dating.
Just as soon as Yuri finishes the letter, the magical moment happens. And it’s surprising that Keiichiro’s the one who goes for the kiss, considering his traditional ways. But for his birthday, perhaps it’s best that he’s the one who takes the first mouthful of his gift. Even if it gets interrupted by the arrival of the family security, the moment between Yuri and Keiichiro is nevertheless enchanting and sweet.
Still, the question remains: has the kiss hurt the chances of Keiichiro earning his freedom from the family rulebook? If so, will we see a bigger divide placed between him and Yuri? Let’s Do It Already! is filled with so many rules placed on this couple, to the point where I’m certain even its author wants to give them a break. Alas, once you’ve committed to the bit, you can’t just stop it midway. Thankfully, Volume Seven of Let’s Do It Already! has given our couple a moment to remember, even if the hurdle they had to jump to get there was as high as Mt. Fuji!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
