Hinachi, Volume 4 Cover Art, The More You Chew the Sweeter It Gets, Flower Comics, Shogakukan.
Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru – Information
Author of Story: Nao Hinachi
Chapter Count: 6 volumes, 24 chapters
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- None to report for this manga.
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
Plot Summary
I don’t see this manga talked about often, but it’s actually a pretty cute and quick read. Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru (The More You Chew The Sweeter It Gets in English) is a short, sweet, fluffy shoujo manga!
It has an opposites-attract trope, with an outgoing, sunny, and extroverted personality for the female lead (Akari Yoneyama); and a reserved, introverted, and uninterested personality for the male lead (Kashiwaba Ryuu).
Akari is a sociable and likable character who easily becomes friends with anyone around her. She has a bubbly, happy personality and is very cute! At the beginning of this manga, we even learn about her personal goal to make a lot of friends (1000 to be exact).
Then there’s Ryuu, who is known for being cold and uninterested in anything or anyone. He only seems to be comfortable around his one childhood friend, Akira, who is very used to Ryuu’s loner personality.
The plot of Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru begins with Akari witnessing a messy one-sided break-up between Ryuu and an unknown girl. Akari is the type of kind-hearted person who wants to step in and help others, but her friends warn her about getting involved with Ryuu.
However, she can’t help but be curious about his very different personality. Later, they end up going to the same group date by coincidence; but Ryuu, uninterested, leaves early. Akari chases after him, determined to be friends. Things don’t work exactly how she planned, but she manages to at least share her thoughts with Ryuu.
Akari decides she wants to make it her mission to help Ryuu realize that trying new things and making friends is fun! Although he wasn’t very fond of the idea on the day of the group date, he actually shows interest the very next day; thanks to Akari’s passionate speech.
So, they agree to work together in order to find something that Ryuu can find interesting and enjoyable. This simple mission becomes the main plot for Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru!
Why I Enjoyed Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru
This manga is a very cute, simple, and easy read. The story is pretty much focused on our two main characters, but it’s a bit unique character-wise and has plenty of sweet moments.
I especially liked Ryuu’s character, because I don’t often see introverted characters represented in a normal way in manga (besides the fact that many characters refer to him as the “Disinterested Prince”).
In Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru, Ryuu’s not necessarily a rude tsundere or anything; he just wants to stay inside a comfortable environment and not be bothered by crowds or tiring activities. He didn’t seem interested in making friends or being super social, which is fine.
Hinachi, Volume 1 Cover Art, The More You Chew the Sweeter It Gets, Flower Comics, Shogakukan.
He also is always surrounded by girls who are interested in him for his looks and not who he actually is; which can explain his reputation of not being very good dating material. He’s just a homebody, which is super relatable honestly (lol). His personality makes his romantic feelings even more significant later on!
Akari is super cute too, she just wants to make friends and have fun. I loved her bubbly, energetic character and personality; it was a fun contrast to Ryuu’s more calm and chill vibe. We get to see how her radiant, positive energy pulls Ryuu in and makes him want to have fun, too! Their dynamic is so endearing throughout this series.
While there is a second lead in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru, he isn’t the worst (or the best) second male lead I’ve seen. He does attempt to win over Akari first, but also sort of unintentionally helps push the main ML to take action more because of this.
I also liked that there isn’t a female rival. Having too many love rivals in a shoujo manga starts to get kind of annoying and often just unnecessarily blocks the main relationship. Because there’s only one other love rival, we mostly get to focus on the two main characters and their developing feelings!
Another aspect I liked is the opposites-attract trope in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru. This trope is always so fun and super cute! I think that having different personalities allows the characters to explore a different worldview and complement each other more personality-wise.
It makes this story feel so youthful; especially with Akari’s excitement and determination to have fun. Meanwhile, Ryuu slowly begins to open up and try these new things with her. Her enthusiasm is contagious!
Even though many might think that Akari’s positivity and excitement is the “right” way of thinking, I like that Ryuu sort of helps her calm down at times. Especially with how Akari puts too much on her plate due to her fear of missing out and very extreme enthusiasm. He shows her how to slow down, take her time, and enjoy the journey.
However, I did like seeing Akari’s outgoing personality affect Ryuu slowly throughout Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru. Seeing him open up and become more daring, interested in trying new things, and even fall in love was super fun and wholesome.
One super cute aspect of this manga is that the art style feels so bright, fluffy, and happy. If you’re familiar with manga (and especially shoujo) you’ll know that the art often contains visual language in the form of abstract shapes or symbols.
Hinachi, Volume 6 Cover Art, The More You Chew the Sweeter It Gets, Flower Comics, Shogakukan.
For example, during romance-related panels, you’ll likely see bubbles or flowers floating around. In the case of Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru, you’ll see bubbles and confetti-like decor in the panels pretty often, which felt unique and fun!
I know that is super specific and I probably sound like a crazy manga lady, but it was something I noticed and really liked! I also liked the style in which these characters were drawn; particularly the art style of the eyes. The guys have wispy, long eyelashes while the female lead had cute, thicker eyelashes.
You can see this cute art style in the Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru volume cover art! The art style really adds to the youthful, bubbly vibe of the story. It sort of reminds me of the super cute shoujo art style from Strobe Edge, but with some stylistic differences.
We also have a great supporting character, Ryuu’s childhood friend Akira, who is the best wingman and a great friend to Ryuu. I really like to see the male lead have a supporting friend character that plays a big part in the success of the main romance.
I feel like that role is usually given to the female lead’s friends, but Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru does otherwise! He’s also so much like Akari, I really liked their cute little friendship!
Any Cons?
There’s only a few cons I’d like to mention for Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru. First off, if you don’t like slow-burn romances where characters take some time to realize their feelings, this manga might not be for you. Also, some common shoujo tropes that some readers may dislike are found in this story.
Also, the second male lead annoyed me just a bit. Overall he wasn’t a huge issue, but I don’t like how he picked fights with Ryuu simply because he wanted a relationship with Akari, and was upset that she made a new guy friend.
I discuss my thoughts about the second lead more in my in-depth review section, since I don’t want to give away too much about the story here!
I’m also a bit tired of the trope where one of the lead characters is super popular and always gets swamped by other students. It feels overused and unrealistic, and just isn’t something I like to see so much in mangas.
I feel like the Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru plot would be fine if they were just average students and not super popular. But, I guess that aspect sort of gives Ryuu some character depth or some background to his personality; such as why he doesn’t like dealing with others very much.
Lastly, I personally think the affection in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru progresses rather quickly for two high school students. This could just be because it’s a short read, and I’m also a bit biased because I prefer really long slow burns.
Not really a huge con, especially considering the romance stays appropriate for the most part! I just think the romance could have been stretched into a bit longer of a story, so it would feel a little less rushed.
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
Discussion: Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru‘s first male lead vs second male lead!
As I mentioned previously, I didn’t really like the second male lead, Yuuto Shimizu. He was a bit too possessive of Akari in my opinion, and gloated about their friendship too much (as if he was entitled to her since they were friends for so long).
Both the male leads in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru act jealous, possessive, and kind of immature; so I can’t only hate on the second lead for those behaviors. But something about the way they show it to Akari feels different. Ryuu is honest with his feelings and tells Akari honestly why he is doing things and how he feels.
Yuuto, however, sort of just says rude things or negative opinions about Ryuu because of his jealousy, under the guise of being Akari’s friend. It feels manipulative.
The second lead in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru originally seemed like a friend who was just concerned for Akari, but later it seems like he only wants to date her. I especially disliked how he implies that he doesn’t think men and women can be friends. That sort of belief is a red flag, in my opinion.
He even tries to dissuade Ryuu once he finds out Akari and Ryuu have mutual feelings; that’s just so petty. Then, he threatens to not be friends with Akari unless she dates him. He realizes his actions were wrong, but I still just don’t really like his character for doing all these things.
Ryuu, on the other hand, had the original intention of becoming friends with Akari while having fun trying new things. He just so happened to fall in love, but was nervous to start a romantic relationship because he valued his friendship with Akari so much. Which is why he had my full support!
I feel liked authors either design second leads to be intentionally lovable so that they steal your heart and give you second lead syndrome… or, they intentionally make you dislike them, like in Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru.
Poor Yuuto didn’t stand a chance. I will say though, that his emotionally immature personality is something unsurprising for a high-school aged love story, so perhaps his character just needs some more time to mature.
Lastly, I just wanted to mention how likable Akari is. She values her friends’ advice, but also still tries to follow her heart. She tries to pursue Ryuu, but realizes their feelings don’t match and backs off.
Then, she even sets boundaries for their friendship so that she doesn’t get the wrong idea (preventing Ryuu from being too intimate with her as just a friend).
She doesn’t abandon her friends for the sake of love, and stays true to her word. She’s such an honest and well-intending character; I really liked her! Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru definitely had an adorable FL!
Final Thoughts
Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru is a shorter read with only 24 chapters, but it is still very cute and enjoyable! I liked the personalities of the two main characters and their cute, wholesome romantic developments.
The opposites-attract trope was very cute, and you start to really root for these fun characters. Overall, it’s a nice and simple shoujo that you can finish in a single day!
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Hinachi, Nao. Kameba Kamu Hodo Amaku Naru (The More You Chew, The Sweeter It Gets). Flower Comics, Shogakukan, 2020.
