Saisou. Volume 3 Cover, She’s My Knight, Kodansha.
She’s My Knight – Information
Author of Story: Saisou
Chapter Count: 3 volumes, 23 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
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.
She’s My Knight – Plot Summary
I recently made a review post for Romantic Killer, which was a fun shounen story that sort of joked about and teased common shoujo tropes. This time, I have a shoujo story for you that jokes about shoujo tropes!
It’s called She’s My Knight. It is a very silly and cute romcom story about two characters who take on opposite gender roles that you typically find in shoujo manga.
This short story starts with the introduction of Haruma Ichinose, a 17 year old high school student who is incredibly proud of his status as one of the most handsome and popular students in school.
Except against fellow student Yuki Mogami, a tall and cool girl who seems to outshine him in all aspects. Ichinose swears that he doesn’t have feelings for Mogami, but can’t help but fall for her charm!
This unserious romcom manga is really cute, and has a fun shoujo role-swapping premise. Even though gender identity doesn’t truly define how a person should look or act, gender roles are still commonly found in shoujo manga.
This shoujo, however, uses this aspect of shoujo as the main point of humor, adorably swapping the “expected” personality traits of the heroine and male lead. This makes She’s My Knight a fun read for someone who loves shoujo tropes and doesn’t mind humor centered around them. The chapters are short and easy to binge, too!
Why I Enjoyed She’s My Knight
We’ve seen plenty of shoujos that try to create characters that break social norms or that don’t fit the usual shoujo standard, but I liked the approach taken in She’s My Knight.
The premise sort of reminded me of Heroine Hajimemashita with how the FL was written to be non-heroine-like, but in this case the story focused on how the ML, Ichinose, was more similar to traditional heroine characteristics.
Being completely honest, Ichinose’s character is usually a character type that I’d get tired of quickly in many circumstances. Not because of the heroine-like characteristics, but because he is sort of a tsundere that continuously denies his feelings. This always gives me second hand embarrassment, haha.
However, because his true feelings are obvious and his character is actually just a cute, clumsy dork, I really didn’t mind his character trope this time around. I actually liked his shy, goofy personality.
Male leads with that well-known tsundere personality aren’t exactly new, but I appreciate that more mangakas are taking a less annoying approach to it. I actually liked Ichinose’s character more than I thought I would, since he was just a goofball who was easily embarrassed.
I loved that he played the “heroine” roles more, too. He was very cute and incredibly funny. Mogami’s character was also super cute and hilarious in a different way, with her effortless charm.
Ichinose’s character is actually even better alongside Mogami, who is a total cutie who takes a lot of “male lead” roles in this manga’s shoujo tropes. This aspect of her character is very fun, because although she is cute, she often finds herself “saving” Ichinose—and he is often in need of saving.
Their roles stay this way as the manga continuously (and hilariously) re-enacts common shoujo tropes. Mogami seems to unknowingly yet expertly take on these prince-like roles, and I love that for her!
The characters even acknowledge this aspect of their lives, so the story stays very humorous and comedy-centric. Although the plot is primarily filled with exaggerated humor, you still can’t help but hope for Ichinose’s eventual success!
There are even some very cute romantic moments to enjoy, so this story gives you the best of both worlds in terms of a romcom. There are even some traditional tropes used “correctly,” even if they usually end up in humor.
Because of how the short-style chapters focus primarily on the main characters, She’s My Knight isn’t really what I would consider a slow burn. Sure, it takes a while before anything official happens; but there’s only 3 volumes in the first place. There are also so many cute interactions throughout this story that it’s not like you’re missing out on much anyway!
Saisou. Volume 2 Cover, She’s My Knight, Kodansha.
Any Cons?
This manga really only has minimal cons. Firstly, there’s not any development of a main plot in this story, as it’s pretty much just a collection of humorous stories and interactions between the characters.
I think this keeps the story very lighthearted and fun; however, if you were expecting an actual developed romantic plot for this story, you may be a bit disappointed. Therefore, just know what you’re getting into!
Because there doesn’t seem to be a main plot and this story is more episodic, some things happen at random and pass rather quickly. If you’re not a fan of that sort of thing, especially alongside a ridiculous, almost slapstick sort of humor, maybe just beware.
And obviously as I’ve stated multiple times in this She’s My Knight manga review, it has a ton of cliche shoujo tropes; so again, know what you’re reading before you start!
Lastly, the art style is not the most detailed, but since the manga was mostly comedy I didn’t really mind. It was by no means bad, just maybe lacking a little detail or backgrounds occasionally; but other than that, it’s totally fine.
Final Thoughts
This short and whimsical story had a cute premise that developed quickly in a very fun way. It takes a lighthearted jab at traditional gender roles in shoujo manga, and I really liked how it sort of played into it in terms of both the humor and romance. I think that She’s My Knight is a great quick romcom manga for anyone wanting a silly, cute story to brighten their 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: Saisou. She’s My Knight, Kodansha, 2023 (print), 2021 (digital).
