Photo by Nicole. Takamatsu, Volume 1 Cover Art, Skip and Loafer, Seven Seas Entertainment.
Skip and Loafer – Information
Author of Story: Misaki Takamatsu
Chapter Count: 11 volumes, 65+ chapters
Status: Ongoing
Check out the official Skip and Loafer Seven Seas Entertainment page!
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Trauma
- Peer pressure
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.
Skip and Loafer – Plot Summary
Skip and Loafer is a series that many readers are coming to love! It follows the lives of a few high school students; mainly through the perspective of Mitsumi Iwakura.
Mitsumi moves from a small town in the countryside to the big city of Tokyo, where she meets a variety of new people while pursuing her academics.
She has big dreams and very admirable career goals, and therefore has moved to attend school in Tokyo to further her chances of both academic and career success.
Why I Enjoyed Skip and Loafer
I’ve really enjoyed this manga (so far) for many reasons! It is a rather calm and wholesome manga, which is why I also marked it “slice-of-life” in the tags. Those who aren’t looking for an action-packed or fast-paced romance will love Skip and Loafer.
It’s main plot isn’t primarily romance, and it sort of feels like a slightly comedic slice-of-life. Romance aspects are sprinkled in along the way, making it a really cute and slow-paced manga to enjoy.
I actually don’t frequently read slice-of-life style mangas, but this series feels different. It’s very cute and wholesome, and I’ve really enjoyed the story so far.
The plot of this manga is a breath of fresh air. It portrays love and high school experiences without too many fairy-tale romance aspects or rose-colored glasses.
The main character has such a positive outlook on life even while in a new, unfamiliar environment. We see the differing opinions and values for love and friendship from multiple characters, as well as how their past experiences may have formed those opinions.
The Skip and Loafer manga series is not all sunshine and optimism, and that’s what makes it even better. There’s been more and more series taking on this realistic, slightly melancholy, but totally wholesome romance feel lately (like the Insomniacs After School series) and I’m totally here for it!
This series just pulls at your heart, and makes you enjoy every little detail. You fall in love with the characters and each of their own individual stories.
The main character of Skip and Loafer, Mitsumi, is a charming and ambitious character who is eager to succeed in life and understand others better. She is also excited to work hard in her new school and make new friends!
One thing that I’ve enjoyed about Mitsumi is her main goal as a young student isn’t to find a boyfriend but to be successful academically. It’s nice to see a strong-willed and determined female lead!
I hope that we get to see a successful Mitsumi in the future, too. Although it’s not her main goal to fall in love, you can’t help but be hopeful with this cute story!
Takamatsu, Volume 7 Cover Art, Skip and Loafer, Seven Seas Entertainment.
Also, Mitsumi’s appearance in Skip and Loafer is adorably plain; which is a bit refreshing among the many main character designs with vibrant hair, or extremely distinguishing features (which is fun too, but I love plain-girl representation sometimes, haha).
She’s got a very confident and sometimes clumsy personality that makes her stand out a bit in her new school. This manga does a great job at capturing all the silly, embarrassing, or even awkward moments of being a high schooler; especially while Mitsumi tries to fit in with a new crowd.
Speaking of representation, we actually have some nice representation of a trans character in the Skip and Loafer series, named Nao (lovingly referred to as Nao-chan).
Although they are a supporting character, they have a delightful personality and are shown in a positive light (which isn’t seen very often in manga). This made my impression of this manga so much better!
Nao is Mitsumi’s aunt, and her caretaker while living in Tokyo. Nao and Mitsumi’s interactions are so sweet and wholesome! We get to see some backstory for Nao, and how great of a supportive character she is for Mitsumi.
She helps Mitsumi through moral support, giving advice, and even helps with things such as picking out Mitsumi’s outfits. We even learn of her own backstory and experience with acceptance. Overall, Nao is a fantastic supporting character who is thoughtful and very well-written.
We also get to peek into the mind of our male lead, Sousuke Shima. His background is a bit mysterious, and he is actually the opposite of Mitsumi personality-wise. Sousuke is a popular and handsome student who is very laid back, and much calmer about school-related goals.
He seems to go with the flow, and doesn’t seem to have set any big goals for his life. However, although Shima seems to be the popular boy of the class, his character is revealed to be a bit deeper throughout the story.
He has his own backstory, as well as his own challenges to overcome. Seeing him open up throughout Skip and Loafer is so sweet and satisfying!
That’s another aspect I love about this manga; that the focus is not always on our main character. Very often in this manga we get to see more in-depth stories about each side character. It gives the supporting characters more depth and makes the overall story more enjoyable!
It portrays themes like love and friendship and how they aren’t the same for every person. And, we see these characters experience negative feelings in a very normalized way.
Takamatsu, Volume 3 Cover Art, Skip and Loafer, Seven Seas Entertainment.
The romance aspects in Skip and Loafer are sweet and innocent. Relationships seem to develop slowly and naturally. Although it isn’t super conspicuous, romance still plays a common role among our group of main characters.
The way the romantic relationships are written are a bit unconventional when compared to how romance mangas are often portrayed, but it honestly feels more realistic. These young characters have to really learn to understand themselves, their emotions, and how they’d like to act on them.
Communication is really healthy among both romantic and non-romantic relationships in Skip and Loafer, which is really refreshing. We get to see different friendships develop, even between very different personality types.
These characters are also impressively mature; often being pretty accepting of each others’ differing views or feelings. They come to terms with negative experiences in their own way, on their own time. The way their struggles and personal differences are portrayed in this story feels so mature, wholesome, and healthy.
Any Cons?
I think Skip and Loafer has very few cons. It a beautiful story with realistic characters, and I have really enjoyed it so far. However, many people seem to think this story is a shoujo that will focus solely on romance. Unfortunately, if you begin reading it with that expectation, you may be disappointed.
This lovely manga is not only labeled as seinen, but takes a more well-rounded and slow-burn approach to romance and storytelling. It has its ups and downs, sad moments and happy moments.
That is what makes this story amazing, and long as you go in knowing what to expect. Readers who are looking for a quick and easy romance will not find that here. However, skipping out on this series solely because of that means you’ll miss out on a very beautiful story.
Therefore, some readers may not like the slow slice-of-life pacing of this manga or the fact that it isn’t solely focused on romance… but that is why I try to tag these recommendations accordingly!
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
Although I’m usually someone who reads more romance-focused stories, it’s nice to see this slow, realistic take in the Skip and Loafer manga series.
The slice-of-life style is calm, and helps show how both romantic relationships and friendships take time. It puts a lot of emphasis on the characters, how they feel, and where they feel like they are lacking in life.
Mitsumi actually realizes her feelings rather quickly, but still has trouble understanding how romantic relationships actually work. It’s nice to see a romantic relationship needing time and understanding to properly form.
However, she’s also incredibly mature. Even when her feelings aren’t reciprocated, she still values her friendship with Shima, cares for him, and doesn’t blame herself.
She has people who love her and who are pillars of support during any challenge she faces, so she is still able to bounce back after her struggles.
Mitsumi has her own insecurities, but lets her emotions out so that she can solve them in her own way. Poor Shima, on the other hand, is a character who struggles much more in Skip and Loafer.
Shima is unsure of his own feelings, and struggles with making decisions for his own sake. He only ever does what will make others satisfied.
We learn that this is due to his lonely upbringing, constantly being told how to act and how to feel when he was younger, and often being used for others’ benefit. He seems afraid of making the wrong choices or doing what he actually wants.
He seems to not have lived in a super loving environment like Mitsumi, and he is scared of making people dislike him or confronting issues head-on.
However, at this point in his life Shima appears burnt out, and simply feels guilty or undeserving. He feels as though the personality that he acts out as a “nice person” is fake.
It’s clear he needs to overcome his guilt and learn to love himself once more.
He wasn’t ready for a relationship, and this manga does a great job at portraying this struggle. I hope to see this character progress positively soon!
I think he will be able to, now that he has met some awesome friends. I think that Mitsumi will become his important pillar of support. She has inspired him, but I hope he learns to be kinder to himself, too.
Each character in Skip and Loafer has their own challenges to overcome, and it feels very appropriate for a high-school setting.
I love how the characters communicate often to overcome their differences and understand each other more. They even have small arguments or misunderstandings, and make mistakes as normal high schoolers (and people in general) do.
It’s impressive to see how the author allows each character to be so different and yet be able to learn from each other and grow at their own pace.
They are often portrayed as being venerable, and having to open up to each other about their feelings in order to better understand themselves or solve conflicts. The plot is so well thought out, portrayed well, and very realistic.
It’s still a bit early in the manga, but I am still rooting for Shima and Mitsumi! I personally think their personalities could compliment each other very well. They just have to discover theirselves and learn about self-love first.
Let’s keep up with this lovable manga series to see how things play out!
Final Thoughts
Personally, I think this manga is very worth the read.
So far, Skip and Loafer is delightfully calm, yet meaningful. The events, emotions, and relationships formed in the manga are realistic and very heart-warming!
It’s got some inclusivity and doesn’t have any inappropriate fan service. It’s a great option for new readers or those who want a calmer story with the portrayal of a lot of beautiful emotions.
Readers of all ages can enjoy this lovely story, even with its high-school aged setting. It reminded me of how ambitious I was at Mitsumi’s age, and how memorable high school friendships were.
It is a beautiful story that shows how a group of students learn about others and themselves. In conclusion, if you’re looking for a laid-back, cute, and wholesome manga to read, definitely check out Skip and Loafer.
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are not owned by me and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Takamatsu, Misaki. Skip and Loafer. Seven Seas Entertainment, 2021.
