I received an ARC of Let’s Do It Already!, volume 1 by Aki Kusaka published by Viz from NetGalley and Viz in exchange for an honest review.
I went into Let’s Do It Already! holding my breath. Normally, I approach new books with an open mind but something about the synopsis made me nervous. It describes the male character as “straightlaced” and says he cannot engage in any “sexual relations” until he is 18. Was this just a story of a girl trying to get a boy to break his rules and sleep with her? Something about that premise made me uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I persisted and I am so glad I did.
Let’s Do It Already!, by Aki Kusaka and published by Viz, is the story of two students from completely different worlds dating. Yuri Hasegawa is a reformed delinquent who could not be more excited to start dating Keiichiro Katsuragi. The two meet on their commute to their schools, which happen to be across the street from each other.
Once they start dating and Yuri leans in for a kiss, Keiichiro blocks the kiss. Yuri learns that he comes from a super-elite family and cannot have any sexual relations before he is 18. Yuri is distraught to learn this as she wants nothing more than physical affection from her love! However, she resolves that their love is worth waiting for. This is all in chapter one.
The premise at this point almost feels like a red herring. Yuri does want physical affection from Keiichiro. The main overarching theme is that they are limited in how they operate in their relationship due to Keiichiro’s family. But, what follows the first chapter and carries the story is how those limitations allow them to explore how they can be in a relationship.
Something we see often in the story is Yuri venting to her friends about the situation with Keiichiro. Because Keiichiro’s family situation is unique, the advice her friends give her doesn’t work for Yuri. Yuri has to navigate her feelings of wanting a normal relationship but wanting to be with Keiichiro, despite the limitations.
Keiichiro on the other hand knows his family path and does not want to stray away from his path. He realizes that to be with Yuri he has to get creative. He starts doing new things and going outside of his strict life in little but important ways.
It’s still early, but if Let’s Do It Already continues this theme of “our relationship is how we make it,” I am in. What I especially find endearing is how realistic it is to teen romance. Yuri and Keiichiro are both 16, which naturally is a time of feelings, wanting physical affection, and comparing your love life to others. It’s on par with the worries of teenage love. Let’s Do It Already! acknowledges that without shaming the characters and instead, finds ways for them to work those feelings out and create a relationship on their terms.
