THE ICE GUY AND THE COOL GIRL VOL. 1
Writer/Artist: Miyuki Tonogaya
Translator: Julie Goniwich
Letterer: Lys Blakeslee
Cover Designer: Ti Collier
Editor: Sarah Tangney
Publisher: Square Enix Manga (print/digital)
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
Rating: Teen
Genre: Manga (Japan), Slice of Life, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Office Humor, Romantic Comedy
REVIEW RATING: Four Stars (Recommended)
Miyuki Tonogaya crafts a healthful, relatable, and really shaggy dog story that had me going “awwww” on the finish of each chapter.
He’s the descendant of a snow spirit, she’s his coworker. He has to maintain his cool. and she or he’s simply naturally cool. Together their emotions for each other start to blossom because the partitions between them slowly soften away…
The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl by Miyuki Tonogaya is a superb story about two individuals who, because of the skills or personalities they had been born with, merely aren’t capable of simply knock down the intangible boundaries that might permit them to be open with each other in regards to the emotions they so clearly harbor. This creates main pressure for the continued narrative with out it ever feeling dragged out.
Himuro and Fuyutsuki are the principle characters of the sequence. Himuro is a tall, comparatively average-looking man who additionally occurs to be the descendant of a snow spirit (don’t fear, they inform you this data firstly of each chapter). If he can’t maintain his feelings in examine, he will create all types of snow and ice climate phenomena round him. Of course, that is usually performed for laughs.
Fuyutsuki is his cool-headed colleague who tries to not let something faze her. She’s additionally overtly kind-hearted and likes serving to others.
These two are so clearly good for each other that it’s virtually sickening, but on the finish of each chapter I discovered myself bursting with happiness and instantly wanting to maneuver on to see what would occur subsequent. The chapters are very quick, usually lower than 10 pages, however in that point Tonogaya is ready to inform a really compelling story with a variety of laughter. It’s fascinating to see what new gimmicks they provide you with to discover Himuro’s powers and the way that situation helps to advance the plot. Generally, Fuyutsuki will then attempt to treatment the state of affairs by doing one thing very nice for Himuro, thus constructing a relationship between the 2.
I usually get pleasure from rom-coms and The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl is not any totally different. I actually like this story thus far. My solely gripe is that the chapters are so quick that you would be able to learn by way of the quantity somewhat rapidly, making the watch for the subsequent guide somewhat painful. Tonogaya’s artwork is top-notch and the conditions involving Himuro’s powers are sometimes humorous and—pun meant—cool. Every time any of the characters blush—which occurs quite a bit—you’ll be able to actually really feel that emotion blasting off the web page.
The total construction of The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl may be very easy, so there are only a few characters. This is in the end one of many story’s strengths, because it retains the concentrate on the protagonists. Himuro and Fuyutsuki every have greatest buddies at work, permitting sure conditions to evolve extra naturally and rounding out the solid and world. These secondary characters are additionally fantastic.
I discovered the lettering and translation by Lys Blakeslee and Julie Goniwich to be actually robust. The pages flowed properly collectively and I might simply perceive who was saying what even when a personality’s speech or thought bubble was in a panel, however they weren’t. Every sentence was simply readable and emphasis was constant all through. It’s very nice to see this sequence getting such a powerful English launch.
To my data, that is additionally Tonogaya’s first manga launch within the U.S., which makes it additional fantastic.
This is a sequence I very a lot wish to proceed studying and see the place it goes, and when you’re into situational workplace humor and rom-coms the place the leads are completely lovable in all the things they do, please take a look at The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl Vol. 1. If you’d somewhat watch the anime adaptation, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is accessible on Crunchyroll in sub and dub.
The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl Vol. 1 is accessible in each print and digital by way of Square Enix Manga, which additionally hosts a free preview of the primary 4 chapters on its web site. Volumes 2-5 are additionally obtainable for pre-order.
You can observe Miyuki Tonogaya instantly on Twitter/X at @tonomyu, or on Tumblr at tonogaya.tumblr.com.
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