Our Dating Story - The Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me Vols 1-3

With Nagatoro finally ending at volume 19, I was in the mood for a new favourite romance manga. The arrival of the Panini Manga imprint and a browse of their stall at MCM Expo on Friday may have just provided one.

Essentially the story of an introverted guy (Ryuto) and an extroverted girl (Runa), it has the two basic ingredients for most awkward teen romance manga, but manages to sidestep expectations by including some interesting social commentary and a relationship that hooked me surprisingly fast.

Ryuta is a typical romance protagonist, finding himself plain and suffering the after effects of a rejected confession that shattered any confidence he once had. Losing a bet to friends, he must forfeit by confessing to whichever girl he currently likes - unfortunately for him, this is Runa, an outgoing, popular gyaru (fashionable) girl with a reputation for working her way through boyfriends. To his complete shock she agrees to date him and asks to be walked home.

What happens next is quite interesting from a social standpoint - having escorted the young lady home, Runa invites Ryuta into the empty house and then casually offers to sleep with him, which to be fair is pretty fast movement for a series in this particular genre. You're usually in double-digit volumes before a relationship gets to holding hands, so this has to be some sort of record. 

Runa feels as though she's obligated to offer herself to a boy when she's dating him, whether she actually wants to or not. Ryuta is sorely tempted (not to mention confused) but refuses, asking her to take things slowly and states that he won't take the relationship to that stage until she actually wants to. This completely throws Runa who really only has experience with confident young men with one thing on their minds, the sort of gents that aren't intimidated by her beauty and instead want to take advantage of her. Sadly, in my experience there are plenty of guys like that, so it's easy to see how Runa might have a warped sense of self worth due to her own experiences.

This for me was the main interest of the book, watching a young girl being supported by a male and not just used by him. It's probably the first healthy interest she's had, and it's hugely satisfying to see her realise her own self-worth but also try to give confidence to the timid young man who obviously has feelings for her but won't give in to his base desires. It's the sort of story I'd like my daughter to read when she's old enough so that she can understand how valuable relationships develop.  

And so the book continues, with Ryuta doing the decent thing (in many situations, proving he has real character) and Runa recognising his virtues and developing deeper feelings for him. Both characters want to fall in love and are prepared to do the work to get there.

I worked my way through all three volumes in short order, thoroughly enjoying the characters and challenges that come the couple's way. There are supportive and disruptive elements outside the relationship that cause drama, but what I really enjoyed was seeing Runa gain a sense of self-respect, while Ryuta gained confidence steadily over the course of the story so far. Yes, he's still a bit wet, but at least things move forward in the relationship and, most importantly, it feels earned.

I remember the first girl I slept with; I was sixteen, and after the deed we chatted and discovered that each of us only went through with it because we thought the other expected it. It was more amusing than anything, but it did highlight that we second guess a lot of our relationship expectations and they aren't always in line with reality, and that journey is reflected here with warmth and feeling. Both characters have their issues but grow to support each other, and I've already pre-ordered volume 4 as I want to spend more time with them.

There's an anime adaptation on Crunchyroll I'll be checking out, though during my research I found some reviews that found the books slow (I disagree) and the anime adaptation's characters uninteresting (we'll see) but my own experience of the manga was highly enjoyable, so check it out for yourself before writing it off. I'm glad I put the money down for these and I think this will be one of the rare series that I see through to conclusion.