“Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie” at its core is a low-drama fluff RomCom. The premise of this series is that Miyako Shikimori & Yuuki Izumi start dating. Very much through the first volume, you have these short, Twitter-length chapters. Which is fine, but in a volume’s worth of these of Shikimori saving accident-prone Izumi looking cool, it can be repetitive.
Thankfully the series improves in volume as it introduces the cast. The manga is at its best as a light read. The overall cast is charming and brings out the best of their leads. Though we run into a problem where this series plays out better as a slice-of-life manga than a romance manga. To put it simply, we never see the relationship between Shikimori & Izumi evolve. There is barely any intimacy, which is common for RomCom manga, but it is frustrating given that the series starts with them being in a relationship.
One of the strong points of the series is how the supporting characters bring the most out of the leads. Ai Kamiya & Risa Hayase for Shikimori. While Saruogi is that for Izumi. It does a good job of characterization. One issue with the mangaka Keigo Maki is that despite having a very charming cast, he lacks the ability to bring the most out of them. As characters end up feeling underused. Perhaps there is more to the story than that thought of, but the final 5 volumes feel pretty padded after Risa’s arc.
In terms of art, this series won’t blow you away, but it is very solid. “Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie” at its core, is a very wholesome series. If you are interested in the romance, then you might get frustrated with it. But if you are a slice-of-life fan, you can possibly enjoy this as a light read.