So Cute it Hurts!!

So Cute it Hurts!!
The cover of the first volume of the manga
小林が可愛すぎてツライっ!! (Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai!!)
Manga
Written by	Gō Ikeyamada
Published by	Shogakukan
English publisher	NA Viz Media SG Shogakukan Asia
Demographic	Shōjo
Magazine	Shōjo Comic
Original run	August 2012 – August 2015
Volumes	15
Original video animation
Released	July 26, 2013
Runtime	15 minutes each
Episodes	2

So Cute It Hurts!! (小林が可愛すぎてツライっ!!, Kobayashi ga Kawai Sugite Tsurai!!) also known as Koba Cute! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gō Ikeyamada. It was adapted into an original video animation, included in volume 3 limited edition of the series.^[1] The series concluded on August 20, 2015.^[2]

Plot

The story revolves around a twin brother and sister: Mitsuru and Megumu Kobayashi who are now attending separate single-sex high schools. One day, they decided to exchange places without knowing what fate had waiting for them.

Characters

Megumu Kobayashi (小林 愛, Kobayashi Megumu) aka Mego

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (OVA), Ayahi Takagaki (game)

She is one of the main protagonists. She is the twin sister of Mitsuru. Her name was based on Megohime, Date Masamune's wife. She is an otaku; she likes Date Masamune so much. Megumu fell in love with Aoi during the exchanging of identities with Mitsuru.Her love for Aoi is so strong . This can be proved when she kiss Aoi's scar and accepted him . Near the end of the manga, she marries Aoi and has a daughter named Ibuki.

Mitsuru Kobayashi (小林 十, Kobayashi Mitsuru)

Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (OVA), Ayahi Takagaki (game)

Mitsuru is one of the main protagonists. He is the twin brother of Mego. He is very skilled in kendo and was one of the top fighters in his school. He fell in love at first sight of Shino during the exchange of identities. He gave up on his feelings towards Shino after discovering that she has a boyfriend. Later, he gradually fell in love with Azusa. He proposes to Azusa after Azusa's father was forcing her to marry someone else. At the end of the manga, he marries Azusa.

Aoi Sanada (真田 蒼, Sanada Aoi)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

He's one of the main protagonist of the series. He is the top fighter in his school. Aoi met Mego when she fell down of the stairs at the bridge. He gradually fell in love with Mego during the exchange identities. Because he did not realize that Mego was disguising as a boy , he questions his sexuality due to that. He has a phobia towards women. He has an eyepatch on his left eye. Under his eyepatch, he has a terrible scar on his eye due to incidents in the past. Due to this scar, his mother abandoned him and Shino.He is scared of anyone seeing the scar as he is scared of the fact that they might leave him. He is the half-brother of Shino. Near the end of the manga, he marries Mego and had a daughter named Ibuki.He and Shino have a younger sibling called Akane who becomes very closer to Aoi and is the only son of their lost mother.

Shino Takenaka (竹中 紫乃, Takenaka Shino)

She is a student in Mego's high school. Mitsuru fell in love with her during the exchange identities. She is also half sister to Aoi and Azusa. Her father is Azusa's father while her mother is Aoi's mother. She is mute. She used to being bullied by Azusa in school but when Mitsuru changes place with Mego , she started to smile more. She has a boyfriend and later marries him. At the end of manga, she created a children story book together with Mego. She has a daughter called Shiori,who is born near the end of the manga.When Aoi tells about their mother, she says she's not gentle as him for forgive her.

Azusa Tokugawa (徳川梓, Tokugawa Azusa)

Voiced by: Azumi Asakura (OVA), Yū Serizawa (game)

A student in Mego's high school. A teenage model and a popular girl. Under her nice face, she has a bad personality as she likes to bully Shino and other people. She is the first person to discover Mitsuru's secret. She was planning to expose it but decided not to. She gradually fell in love with Mitsuru. Later, it was discovered that she was half sister to Shino and one of the reasons she hates her is her father loves Shino's mother and Shino than her and her mother. She eventually become couple with Mitsuru . She was forced to move when the rumors about her parents escalated but later come back.At the end of manga, she marries Mitsuru and had two unnamed children (boy and girl) who looks like twins.

Reception

Volume 1 reached a total of 117,197 copies by January 13, 2013 on the Oricon manga chart.^[3] Volume 2 reached the second place on the week of March 25 to March 21, 2013 with 100,762 copies.^[4] Volume 3 reached a total of 143,886 copies by August 11, 2013.^[5] Volume 4 reached the 7th place on the week of August 21 to September 1, 2013 with 113,820 copies.^[6]

References