Sakura’s Dedication Vol. 1 Review – Falling for Someone Who Loves You

Sakura’s Dedication Vol. 1 is a romance manga about a girl finding out a boy whose enthusiasm and love for her can be a little overwhelming. While she’s not a complete newbie in her love life, this is still a new, baffling experience for the girl.

Everything starts in the morning after Sawa Hanasaki breaks up with her boyfriend, Nakazaki. As she talks with her friend, a classmate called Sakura asks her out. They had never even had a significant conversation as far as Sawa remembers, and she automatically rejects him for not being her type.

The Sakura boy isn’t willing to give up, and he promises to do his best to make her fall in love with him. He’s already trying again on the next day and looking for ways to get closer to her. This behavior could be annoying, but his eagerness and actions end up endearing for Sawa.

In a quick turn of events, the two characters start dating. The volume then starts exploring their relationship and showing this as a new experience for both. While Sawa had relationships before, her love life was very different. None of her previous boyfriends were as eager and saccharine as Sakura.

His displays of affection are frequent, and he has no shame to talk openly about his feelings. The result is Sawa is always embarrassed and starts to think back about her previous experience. It’s an impressive learning experience for her, though it is also trying in its own right.

While none of the boys were as affectionate, she didn’t show her feelings either. Sawa tends to hide behind a facade, so having a relationship with an eager boy makes her rethink her behavior. She is afraid that Sakura will somehow fall out of love due to her cold attitude.

Their relationship starts a little too quickly, but the volume makes a genuine effort at developing their traits. Sakura is a hardworking fellow who’s very dedicated to studying. When it comes to a relationship, he tries to learn as much as possible from books about romance too.

The way Sakura wears his emotions on his sleeves makes him an endearing person. His love for her is very genuine and pure. On the other hand, Sawa’s inner turmoil and difficulty communicating her feelings make her very cute. I already see myself invested in seeing how the two of them will grow.

Volume 1 shows a good rhythm, exploring romance and comedy well. The drama so far is very light, making it a comfortable read. Characters are very expressive, and the soft art style makes them all shine. The volume also includes two cute omake focused on Sakura’s perspective using a chibi style.

Sakura’s Dedication Vol. 1 is an enjoyable romance read that feels very lighthearted. While I feel like Sawa accepted Sakura as a boyfriend a little too early, it does a proper job at exploring the impacts of this decision for both of them. I can’t wait to see the couple grow in the next volumes.