Recap
If you haven't read our review of volumes 3 & 4 of The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl yet, you can check it out by clicking the link at the bottom of the review
Mangaka: Miyuki Tonogaya
Translator: Julie Goniwich
Letterer: Lys Blakeslee
Editor: Sarah Tangney
I received The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl volumes 5 and 6 as an Advanced Review Copy from Square Enix Manga and Books in exchange for an honest review.
Note: This review will contain some spoilers
Review
Volume 5
The volume picks up after Fuyutsuki inviting Himuor over to her place to play with her cat Here, we see Himuro display a new power, Diamond Dust. This occurs when he's quietly happy.
I don't recall this power being in the anime, so it was interesting to see it in the manga. Romantic tension starts to run high between the two...until Himuro's sister shows up! Fuyutsuki invited her as well. Himuro does seem to achieve a second meetup with Fuyutsuki at a later date!
I'm starting to notice what the anime cut from the manga. There is a chapter where their company holds a sports festival because many of the lead cast are out of shape. In this chapter, we get a flashback to how Himuro and Kotori were in high school, Fuyutsuki rooting for Himuro with all of her heart, and more screentime with some of the side characters like their boss.
In addition, there is a bonus chapter that was cut from the anime were Himuro, his sister, and Fuyutsuki do karaoke. There was development where Fuyutsuki realizes that she views Himuro differently. Something more than colleagues...
While I understand why the anime cut these chapters (likely due to pacing), they were fun chapters that I wished got included. Especially the karaoke one.
Later in the volume, Himuro and Fuyutsuki have to attend a business trip. Things were going well until Himuro caught the dreaded fever that all romance anime and manga have characters experience, knocking them out of commission. In Himuro's case, he shrinks down to a child. Fuyutsuki decides to take care of him and his work while he recovers. At this point, you can see how much development their affection for one another is growing.
Volume 6
The volume opens with focusing on Komori trying to refine her project proposal in hopes of becoming the next project lead. Unfortunately, she forgot about work-life balance and collapses after two days of working non-stop. This is when the crew comes in and helps her clean her house and cheer her up.
Komori being my favorite character in the series, I always enjoy Komori's chapters. This one was especially enjoyable because it significantly furthered her relationship with Saejima. All the hard work she put into her project proposal and the risk of not being picked because she's been instructed to take an extra day off to recover and would miss the project selection meeting. She breaks down crying about it, in a room where only Saejima is present. The significance here is that she's comfortable exposing her vulnerabilities to him.
We also see that Yukimin got casted in a movie!! As an extra...a dead extra....in the background....of a horror movie. Excited, she invites Fuyutsuki over for her, Himuro, and Fuyutsuki to watch it together. While it sounds great on paper, Himuro isn't a fan of horror movies. The surprise is that Fuyutsuki was affected by the movie as well, which actually causes the two to become closer. Definitely helps that Himuro pulls out one of the biggest romantic lines in the series thus far!
Later in the volume, we see that Yukimin's music career has popped off! Her song Candy Pop is a catchy hit and her label has her working on her next hit single. That's where the problem lies where we're introduced to Ryusei, the composer of her next song. Yukimin can't seem to hit the notes for the song and Ryusei won't change the arrangement. These two argue like children, which have Himuro and Fuyutsuki intervene like parents.
Ryusei's backstory reminds me of the musician Ayase (one half of Yoasobi, and music composer). I don't know if that was an intentional reference by the Mangaka, but I definitely noticed it. With his introduction, you can tell that he and Yukimin will get together. I wouldn't say their relationship falls under "enemies to lovers" because they don't want to kill each other but they're not competing against each other, so they're not "rivals to lovers" either.
Final Thoughts
Volume 5
Volume 5 covers the last of the anime. While there are a few chapters that were not adapted, most of the story is the same. I did enjoy the cut chapters. They gave a a decent amount of development to Himuro and Fuyutsuki (maybe not in the way Himuro wanted). It also sets up Yukimin's future career that you see more of in volume 6.
Volume 6
Volume 6 is where the manga continues past the anime. The Sakura flower watching scene where they first met at the end of the Anime's final episode does not show up on volumes 5 or 6. This is a must buy for those who watched the anime. There are a lot of relationship developments that I'm excited to see how it plays out in the future!
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