The Fall 2020 Manga Guide

Practice Makes Perfect

What's It About? 

28-year-old Japanese national representative for volleyball, Nohara Suzuki, and Judo, Takaya Yano, are facing the same problem: they both just got dumped because they were too inexperienced in the world of physical relationships. So the two over-achieving athletes decide to practice. And as Nohara and Takaya practice more and more, they may just find the ones they're practicing for are each other.

Practice Makes Perfect is drawn and scripted by Ui Hanamiya. The digital version of the first volume is currently available at Kodansha Comics for $10.99

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

Practice Makes Perfect is a very silly book, and happily that's exactly what it wants to be. The plot, that two Olympic athletes in their late twenties have never had any kind of romantic relationship (sexual or otherwise) and are now definitely regretting that, is made sort of adorably ridiculous by the fact that they approach love and sex as if they were new sports to train for. So they set “training goals,” which are things like “kiss 200 times” or “practice hugging,” which they do with rolled up gym mats or teddy bears. Then they meet at a love hotel to practice together and get confused when the ol' hormones kick in and things get a bit out of hand.

That this is intended to be funny is probably its saving grace. Nohara and Yano are somewhere around middle school in terms of emotional maturity and they definitely don't act like adults, whether in the bedroom or in their daily lives. That they're both obsessed with losing their virginity reads more like a statement on a social fixation than anything else – neither character has enough interior life for us to see their driving need as anything other than “I am at x arbitrary age and so am late at this.” That there are no outside forces – such as friends, parents, or teammates – giving them grief about it is a good thing, because that sort of pressure could have soured the story very quickly; they're more working off of messages they've internalized than any actual pressure.

While I wouldn't call this laugh-out-loud funny (it's more like shake-your-head-in-mock-despair funny), it is entertaining. The characters' intense determination is the story's driving force, and as they get to know each other better it takes on a different quality, because it's slowly moving beyond the idea that they must do this in general and turning into that they want to do it with each other. Yano seems like he's moving much faster than Nohara, both physically and emotionally, but the feels are definitely there and growing for both of them, and volume two stands to pick up the pace quite a bit. It's a major bonus that everything is consensual, and often permission is asked, although we're probably supposed to find that funny. Basically this is the definition of a story that is just good enough. It's not spectacular on any front, but if you're looking for a light, fluffy read that's also a little bit racy, this is a safe bet.

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Caitlin Moore

Rating:

There's a weird cloud of shame hanging over Practice Makes Perfect, a manga about two professional athletes who are both virgins at 28 years old and decide to “practice” together. Nohara, the protagonist, was always too focused on sports to pursue a relationship, so when her new boyfriend finds out she's a virgin and dumps her, she becomes embarrassed about never having had sex. Later, when Yano, her “training partner” kisses her thighs, she accidentally moans, then stops him and mentally scolds herself for being a slutty slut who dares to enjoy sex.

A more thoughtful manga would examine the catch-22 that so many women find themselves when it comes to sex – that if they don't have it, they're pathetic, but if they do and enjoy it too much, they're a skank. And it's true, this is only volume one of two, but I have serious doubts that Practice Makes Perfect is smart or complex enough to do right by this plot thread. Nohara and Yano are fairly simple characters, acting out a simple plot, without much to hint at a deeper meaning.

The story and comedy reminded me a bit of Science Fell in Love So We Tried to Prove it – two adults who have specialized in their career paths to the exclusion of all else, now trying to fit romance into that framework. Yano and Nohara first approach sex as they would a sport: with a carefully-planned training regimen. It's always awkward, often cute, and even a bit hot on occasion, but it's mostly a silly one-note joke. I appreciate how the characters are always careful about consent – Yano stops immediately when Nohara asks him to, despite her concerns about him “turning into a beast” if he gets too turned on – but it's just not as sexy as the premise demands.

I'd mostly describe the art as “just okay”. Never bad or off-model, though the characters seem to vaguely look in each other's general direction than actually at each other a bit too often. The character art and backgrounds lack detail or motion, and overall just aren't very interesting to look at. I also hated that, though Nohara is a professional athlete and describes herself as tall and muscular, she looks like just about every other generic josei protagonist, with no visible muscle tone and a head shorter than Yano.

Practice Makes Perfect is perfectly acceptable fluff, just lacking in anything more substantial. It's brain candy.