Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi.
You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story

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I haven't read the LN, and there's only 5 chapters out as of writing this review, but I do feel inclined to leave a review here even though I've never reviewed on this site before.

On the surface this story may seem like another carbon copy of the popular girl x gloomy guy trope, but through the female lead, I feel like it addresses really important elements of the way some girls approach dating. This is a story about a girl who loves the idea of love and is taken advantage of because of that, meeting a guy who is completely inexperienced with love but truly ... wishes to cherish and grow with her.

I constantly pick up wholesome and/or romantic comedy manga because my heart's pretty tired and I can't handle the dark, gritty stuff much anymore, so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Its very wholesome. Less comedy, but really romantic and cute.

I'm excited for more chapters. Hope you all enjoy it too.

Initially when I started reading this a year or so ago I did not think much of it. While I liked how it flipped the whimpy guy trope on its head a bit I was not a fan of the wish fulfillment aspect that showed itself in how Runa treated Ryuuto. However having now read the first 6 volumes I think it has really developed into something that is somewhat unique. The main draw of this manga is just how frank they are in how they portray young relationships, particularly the female side. Especially in the later chapters they really start going into the aspects ... that make young love work and how superficial some parts of it can be. However there is no judgement given, it just is like that, in this story atleast. Sure there are definitely still aspects that are idyllic, but for what it is it is a pretty fresh take. This permissive characterisation of the people in this story helps them feel more like human beings instead of characters in a story. That being said I am not going to argue that this is done without flaws. It is generally pretty messy in most of the other aspects. Most of the things in this manga are decidedly bland and somewhat inconsistent. I also think there is some tonal whiplash between the tropes that are used and the confrontation with the aforementioned style of story telling. It feels more like a PSA at times for teens in Japan reading this than a story with a genuine message to share, that is to say that it can be too in the nose.

Overall I think this manga is fairly interesting and above average but ultimately fails to be something truly special, for now.

6.5/10

Out of all of the “popular girl falls in love with the loser boy” mangas I have read — which is too many to be proud of — this is probably one of the most shallow; to elaborate, the character interactions, drama, and resolutions just feel awkward or unnatural at times, as the manga is too idealistic,

The premise of this manga isn’t anything new, but it does involve a slight twist that I have rarely seen: The fmc is NOT a virgin, and she has a reputation for being, well, a thot. Contrasting to many other similar stories, it focuses on a more psychological ... deep dive than comedy with the plot point. Though it is always nice to explore the character’s psyche, this manga takes it too far — not in the way where everything is deep, but rather, the opposite: Every single chapter or development, there has to at least be one mention of sex or virginity, which too be honest, ruins the tone/atmosphere of the story every single time, as it’s mentioned in the most obscure scenes.

As for the plot developments, all of them are cliche and drama for the sake of drama — there’s not really a natural reason for the drama or developments, but the author pushes them anyways. Yes, this includes the stupid dramas where people won’t talk to each other because of a simple interaction with the opposite sex.

Despite that flaws, there’s a decent amount of character development, even for the “loser” mc; but mainly, the manga focuses on opening up the envelope of the fmc, as she’s the only character that has been set up, as the rest are set up for plot’s sake, and frankly, most of them are unnecessarily added to the story for no other reason. Most of the side characters seem forced upon the plot for the sake of drama, and there are some attempts to make them have more depth, but it wasn’t done in an interesting or heart-tugging way.

Maybe it was because I’m a sucker for the whole “gal x loser boy” trope, but I read this manga for more than I should have, as this manga didn’t do anything much different from its peers, but where it did do something different — in this case, the fmc’s backstory — it was done in an awkward and heliocentric way where every plot point was unserious and forced because of it.

Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired & A Huang Teizan Original)
10 – God’s penmanship
9 – Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 – Instant bookmark
7 – Entertaining
6 – Good to pass time
5 – Why are you reading this?
4 – Bad.
3 – Typical garbage.
2 – My head hurts.
1 – Retirement is a thought.
0 – “Did they even give you a story?!”