Wednesday Webcomics: “Not So Shoujo Love Story”

Not So Shoujo Love Story tells the story of a girl whose “perfect love story” is derailed when a popular girl confesses her love to her.

Curryuku’s comedic Not So Shojo Love Story is the story of Rei Chan, a super fan of shoujo manga, who wants Hansum Ochinchin, a pretty boy in the Koko High School, to be her boyfriend. However, this goal becomes more distant when Hanna Schulerin, a girl who became popular due to so-called “dumb reasons,” declares that she loves Rei, catching Rei off guard. As the story moves forward, she begins to figure out her feelings toward Hanna, while Hanna’s feelings become that much more clear.

Rei begins by facing a set of bullies with rhyming names (Pam, Bam, Jam, and Ham), whom she attacks after they ruin her manga. Hanna tells her to stay away from Hansum, but when Rei tells Hanna she is pretty, it sets in motion a series of events which disrupt Rei’s objective. And her “love story” becomes something entirely different than what she had imagined, and continues to face challenges along the way.

Meanwhile, Hanna, who is junior council president of the student council committee, struggles with her popularity, something she want so escape, trying to figure out how to have a health relationship with people, and Hansum has a secret which no one expects.

Not So Shoujo Love Story has compelling characters and storytelling. It pulled me in from the beginning and has kept me engaged throughout! There’s Susan, a friend of Hanna and “rival” to Rei in terms of affection toward Hanna, who Rei labels “Hanna Dumbass” in her phone, and the dads of Rei and Hanna. The love stories of Hanna and Rei merge into one, whether Rei likes it or not, with Rei remembering back to when she met Hansum and was smitten with him after he called her hair style “pretty,” but is heartbroken when he doesn’t remember their first meeting.

At first, Rei is skeptical of Hanna calling her a “normie” and even wants time apart from her after the bullies try and pull them both apart. But, as the plot continues, she comes around to her and changes as a person. There’s even funny anime references, like characters holding bread in their mouths, and the heroine tropes in manga.

The webcomic, which has more than 59 episodes and hundreds of thousands of subscribers, is written and illustrated by Curryuku. Aria Villafranca edits the webcomic, while Elliot and Alza also assist. Not So Shoujo Love Story is a reboot, as the original was on WebToon Canvas for 33 episodes. Curryuku, known as Curry for short, is a freelance artist and illustration who enjoys drawing yuri / girl’s love stories such as this webcomic. I hope she continues to draw and create in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead!

Not So Shoujo Love Story reminds me of the beautiful animation and art in Kageki Shoujo! or the scenes in Cardcaptor Sakura, both of which are just as colorful and full of life as this webcomic. There is even a whole episode where Rei imagines herself as her dog, Taro, making me think of the episode of Cardcaptor Sakura where Sakura is shrunk down to small size, having to face insects and other animals which are “monsters,” or another where she is trapped in a world resembling Alice in Wonderland.

Not So Shoujo Love Story is available to read on WebToon as a WebToon Original.

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You can find Curryuku on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, and Soundcloud. The webcomic can be supported on Patreon.

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For more great webcomic recommendations, check out our Wednesday Webcomics archives!

Author: Burkely Hermann

Burkely is an indexer of declassified documents by day and a fan fic writer by night. He recently earned a MLIS with a concentration in Digital Curation from the University of Maryland. He currently voraciously watches animated series and reads too many webcomics to count on Webtoon. He loves swimming, hiking, and searching his family roots in his spare time.

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