Catch These Hands Vol. 1 Review – Tough Girls and Love

Love is a strange beast, and how manga handles the theme of love always has me baffled. Catch These Hands Vol. 1 follows two girls who probably shouldn’t be together but are. But, on the other hand, they are perfect for each other, which causes some comedically fun interactions. This first volume gives us a taste of what their zany relationship will come to be, but there are some annoyances caused by just how they approach situations.

Catch These Hands Vol. 1 introduces Takebe, who has decided that it’s time to grow up. She wishes to leave her delinquent life behind after all of her friends from high school are getting married and having kids. I can totally relate to this, and after looking at the dozens of band t-shirts in my dresser when people my age wear casual, formal wear.

She’s a fun character who is impulsive and borderline insane. However, she thinks she has it all figured out, which causes people around her to have to go through various means to convince her to believe that the things she’s doing are her idea and not theirs.

In her journey to rid herself of her delinquent ways, she runs into her old rival Soramori. They used to fight in high school, and Soramori challenges Takebe to one last fight. If she wins, Takebe will go out with her. Yea, things move quickly here. Well, Takebe loses, and the two date.

The relationship between these two is hard to follow because it’s not entirely believable. Soramori really likes Takebe, but the feelings aren’t mutual. Soramori knows this but still does her best to involve Takebe in her life. There are real reasons for Soramori’s feeling, though, which shows how great the writing here can be. The two often get in challenges that are so fun and sweet to fitness.

The illustrations are gorgeous and charming. The two girls interact in some zany ways that I never thought were too interesting such as cleaning and fishing, but the overall narrative makes it fun. Further chapters could easily get away with random dates between the two girls, but I’d like to see them acting like more than friends in future volumes. However, the pacing is fantastic because it doesn’t rush Takebe to fall for Soramori out of the blue. Instead, we see their relationship evolve and follow how the two can possibly be together.

Catch These Hands Vol. 1 sets up a friendship between the Takebe and Soramori, but the goal here is to see them fall in love. The charming outings they share together carry these opening chapters, but I’d love to see them connect on more than their desire of competition. Regardless, I’m totally into this zany relationship, and I’m looking forward to seeing how exactly Takebe will grow out of her delinquent phase or not.