By Dustin Cabeal

I will be up front, the reason I wanted to read this book was the title. There is probably not a single circumstance in which if someone were to yell “catch these hands” that I wouldn’t laugh or show interest. What made it better were the two seemingly average women with scowls on their faces on the cover. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew someone was going to catch these hands… and I needed to be there.

The story is about an aging delinquent that finds herself the only woman from her group of friends that is unmarried, without child and without a steady job. After yet another friend lost to marriage, she decides to get her life together and stop being a delinquent. The first step in her mind is to go clothes shopping. It’s sound logic, you need to stop looking like a delinquent to first stop being one. The clerk at the store pleads with her to stay after nearly chasing her away. She agrees to help her find whatever clothes she likes, but that’s when our main character Takebe notices the clerks name tag… Kirara Soramori. Suddenly the name is familiar. It turns out that Soramori is an old rival of Takebe’s from high school.

Takebe continues to try on clothes wondering if this is some sick revenge or if she’s going to need to fight Soramori, who doesn’t seem to recognize her. The clothing she tries on its frankly stupid looking on Takebe and eventually Soramori gives her a jacket to try on… a delinquent styled jacket that Takebe loves and purchases. Just as Takebe is leaving thinking that she wasn’t recognized, Soramori slips her a note challenging her to a fight in a park.

Takebe doesn’t like her chances against Soramori, but she’s never turned down a fight before. The two square up, but instead of fighting really it turns into a love confession. Soramori has always had a crush on Takebe and wants her to date her if she wins the fight. The rest of the volume is exploring that relationship while also trying to help Takebe navigate her life away from being a delinquent.

The story could be paced better. The opening is fine, you need to thrust this character into circumstances that force this meeting with Soramori. After that, the timing of the story gets skewed. Their first date is spent fishing and talking about the past. There is actually a lot of talk about the past which is fine and adds to the characters development. The next time we see them they’re learning about Instagram and taking bad pictures at an amusement park. After that Takebe is annoyed that she cleared her day to hang out with Soramori, but that she’s not calling her. We’re really not informed of how many times they’ve hung out and because of that their relationship feels very new and underdeveloped. Takebe doesn’t come off interested in Soramori in any way other than friendship and it really comes across as if Soramori is being used as a surrogate friend. There is some seed of romance in the last few pages of the volume, but it overall is a rushed relationship that needed more time to develop.

The angle of them both being delinquent teens and one of them still being a semi-delinquent adult is quite humorous. At one-point Soramori comes over to help Takebe throw out her delinquent styled clothing and she tells her she may want to keep a few things, or she’ll have nothing to wear. The story gives a sense that there’s going to be more physical fighting, but there isn’t really. Soramori states several times that she always ended up talking with her fists when it came to Takebe, but then it only happens in the story one time. It would be better to see this old habit die hard and for more physical comedy to come from the story.

The artwork is interesting in that at times it struggles. Even on the cover that I enjoy the perspective of the bench is glaringly bad. The backgrounds are empty or simple and could really stand to have more going on to help the world feel alive. Then there are the outfits, which are some of the most stylish and realistic I’ve seen in a manga. They look like something a real woman would wear, and the characters all have realistic body types. The facial expressions work overtime on this story, no one has a blank face or lacks detail which elevates the character development.

Catch These Hands seems to be by a newer creator that’s still growing and while it’s not perfect it’s highly enjoyable. The concept is fresh and just needs more time to develop across the story. The characters are very well developed for this being the first volume. While the artwork has it’s struggles overall it’s appealing and enjoyable adding to the already entertaining story. If you’re looking for a different type of romance manga, you should definitely give Catch These Hands! A shot.

Creator: Murata
Translation: Amanda Haley
Lettering: Bianca Pistillo
Yen Press

Score: 3/5