I love that Shimamura is a normal person in a romance manga. She reacts and acts in a mostly normal way to these situations and in this genre that makes her seem "odd," to some. She's a bit distant, yes but not really that distant and a lot of what makes her even seem distant is because she doesn't immediately go along with Adachi's possessiveness and she doesn't do what characters in these spaces normally would when it comes to romance (she's more measured, calculating and introspective). I like her character for that, especially in the LNs. Her thoughts were actually what became the most interesting parts of the later LNs--I can genuinely say I haven't seen many other characters in this space react and think quite like her.
Same. AdaShima romance story is interesting and well-written for sure, yet the main reason why I like reading this series so much is Shimamura's internal monologue. She might appear as a cold, apathetic, even heartless to some readers, but the truth is she still cares about her family, her friends in her own way. She spent a lot of time evaluating her own relationships with others, how she's live and how the flow of life goes, thinking about how heartless and thoughtless she was when she compared herself with people like Tarumi and Adachi. She is dense and a bit airhead, yet her way of thinking about her surrounding is surprisingly realistic and precise, like she knows clearly what kind of person she is and what she wants (well, at least for a high school kid). And because of how distant she appears with others, moments when she took the initiative (like the sauna with Adachi's mom moment or when she called Tarumi back at the station) can leave a strong impression on readers. Shimamura is a well-written character in general. She seemingly is a normal character, in a normal world and a normal love story, doesn't have anything special. And that's what made her interesting. Iruma Hitoma has made Shimamura an in-depth character, doesn't feel flat in anyways.
last edited at Mar 7, 2023 11:58AM
