“Skip and Loafer” is probably the best manga series in its genre and I doubt that I’ll find anything better. One aspect that drew me in was the lovable and well-written characters. And whether you’re a manga fan or not, you’ll relate to them and the issues that they grapple with. 

Our main character, Mitsumi Iwakura comes from a small town in the countryside of Japan, and moves away from her family to the fast-paced Tokyo to start her first year of high school. She dreams of attending a prestigious university and contributing to the country. But once she arrives in Tokyo, she realizes that she hasn’t prepared herself for what city life is like. 

Mitsumi is one of the most charming main characters in any piece of media I’ve consumed. Her interactions with her friends, family and people she meets, show how much she cares about them and how she’s not afraid to be herself. She’s a bit naive, but it’s endearing, not annoying. 

Over time, Mitsumi becomes more and more aware of how people perceive her. For example, in the beginning, when one of the supporting characters, Mika, was making fun of her, Mitsumi didn’t really get it. Then, further along in the story, when another character, Sousuke, doesn’t stand up for Mitsumi getting subtly mocked by her peers, she realizes how wrong it was and calls him out.

Mitsumi is the main character, but every single character is very fleshed out, including the supporting characters. Two of the most compelling are Mika and Nao.

Mika is definitely one of my favorite supporting characters in this story. Though it’s true that she did make fun of Mitsumi, which was pretty rude, she’s very aware of this character flaw. That’s one of the reasons why she is so interesting; she’s aware of how awful she has been in the past and present and how it all stems from her personal insecurities.

In this way, Mika is such a realistic depiction of a teenage girl; she’s tried so hard to fit the beauty standard and while it has made the people around her become kinder to her, it has filled her with disgust towards the facade she projects and the real her. She has so little confidence that when guys see her as a potential girlfriend, her inner voice says that they must have no taste.

There are times when Mika is more true to herself. For example, when Mika received a call from Mitsumi after she had attempted to do her own makeup, Mika felt a sense of happiness realizing how Mitsumi trusted her so much. 

And another time, Mika confessed her feelings to Sousuke on Valentine’s day even though she knew he had feelings for someone else. This scene was quite noteworthy because after she got rejected, she showed her maturity and her ability to accept rejection but not hold any grudge against him and instead value the fact that he gave her the chance to love somebody. 

The other character that I really find interesting is Mitsumi’s aunt, Nao. She’s a trans woman and the series handles this in a tasteful way while also highlighting the realities of her experience and her personal feelings towards her identity. 

Nao’s relationship with her niece is very touching, but at times Nao feels some envy towards Mitsumi and her youth. When talking about Mitsumi’s life to her boyfriend Nao expresses her feeling that sometimes she thinks Mitsumi is living the life that Nao had always dreamed of for herself.  

Nao is also friends with Mika. Nao understands Mika’s insecurities because she was once just like her, a girl who lacked confidence and got hurt easily. At one point, Nao gave Mika some advice and from then on they were close. And occasionally Mika gives Mitsumi gifts to give to Nao and it’s so sweet.

This manga is really special to me and I highly recommend it to anybody who likes coming-of-age, romance and comedy. The characters and their relationships with each other are so detailed and realistic that it’s easy to fall in love with all of them. The anime came out earlier this year, and if you want to read the manga, I suggest watching the anime first.