You Like Me (Mama), not my Daughter?! (Musume Janakute Mama Ga Sukinano!?)
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You Like Me (Mama), not my Daughter?!
娘じゃなくて私が好きなの!?What is this?
This is a romantic comedy starring an adult 30 year old woman named Ayako who is confessed to by a man 10 years her junior, 20 year old college student Takumi... A man she knows as the boy "Takkun" who lives next door and who has tutored her adopted daughter since he was 10. The revelation astounds her as she thought her daughter Miu and he were an item.
This volume details Ayako's first stage of denial, her trying to assess the situation and get Takkun to give up on the attraction by showing him her "true self".
Can these two become lovers, or will "common sense" prevail? Find out!
What makes it stand out in a crowd?
I'd say the perspective most of all. It shifts between the two leads, but I'd say 75% of the book is from Ayako's perspective. It's nice to have the mother's perspective here, what her hangups are with what's going on, and how she comes to decisions on how to proceed.
Both characters are adults. They're supported by other mostly mature adult characters besides the 15 year old daughter of Ayako, Miu (who is a bit of an idealist when it comes to her mom's happiness, which comes at conflict with common sense). These other characters include co-workers, Takkun's parents, and at least one college student friend of Takkun.
The time gap to be filled in (10 years of knowing each other) means there's plenty of room for the writer to do flashbacks as well to further develop the characters.
How Funny Is It?
This one operates on Gag comedy. The main joke being Ayako's expectations being betrayed, from the initial shock that the boy next door liked her and not her daughter, to revelations about who was in the loop or no, and then to expectations for how he may react to her faults. Lots of flushed / embarrassed Ayako in this one. A lot of stupid stunts by Ayako in this one as well to truly test Takkun's attraction for her.
I enjoyed it definitely, and when I thought the premise wore thin, so didn't the characters in the story, and the drama started to move again. The pacing I thought was great in this one.
Why Wouldn't We Get This in English?
I think there's a few aspects that could hold it back, namely Ayako's inadvertent "grooming" of her neighbor Takumi.
She comes at him with some seemingly innocuous advice that ends up being life changing for him when he is at a vulnerable age, worried about bullies at school. She gives him advice to avoid being picked on by becoming muscly + athletic (her type?). She comes at him with her worries and vulnerabilities about work + family balance which is maybe less innocuous (keep in mind, this kid is 10 at the time, no need to pile your problems on him). Not to mention where these vulnerabilities are displayed.
Takumi takes all her advice to heart, even going as far as to be into the same type of magical girl anime as Ayako. Her vulnerabilities crush his illusion of her as a "hero", that she still needs saving + support herself even if she's strong in other situations. It's a bit weird, not gonna lie.
Who is the author?
This is by Nozomi Kota, known for their work on Inou Battle / When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace, which got an anime a few years back. Since, this author has really been given the chance to write about older female characters in stories like this, Hero and Maid Sisters, and The JK I liked was 27 years old.
Publisher?
Dengeki Bunko.
How Many Volumes?
Edit: Up passed 4 volumes now.
Volume 2 is coming out soon! The reception for volume 1 was very positive, especially "eye" wise. It has held the number one spot on Kadokawa's light novel preview site, KimiRano , for months. Childhood Friend Who Never Loses 3 actually just dethroned it for 1 day, but it still holds the monthly and weekly number one rank. xD
To be clear, the sales were also good, it got a few reprints iirc, and was up there on the Best Seller ranks the week of release.
The Twitter announcement of the title had many thousands of retweets and likes as well (I think the final like count was over 9,000).
Volume 1 page:
https://bookwalker.jp/de1d5a30eb-52c5-46b3-84e5-1b31b1217a6f/?acode=WpfPW3yk
Author Twitter (for more looks at illustrations and their other work):
https://twitter.com/nozomikota?s=20
There is now a PV for the series. Check out the Mama voice of Ai Kayano. ^_^
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This post is deleted! -
There's at least one more mommy series in the pipeline that we don't have (the Dragon MILF series). And of course the one about the mother of a hero, the mom marrying a demon king (hear that's more about the daughter and the demon king though). I will keep an eye out for others. xD
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Based on the description, it's a 20yo male wanting a 30yo woman instead of her 15yo daughter? Actually, it makes a lot of sense, since the 15yo would be "just like a little sister".
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Yeah, Takkun knew the daughter since she was 5 at least (and she was living with her real mom next door at the time).
Boy actually initially becomes attracted to the mom as a "hero" when Ayako
Despite enjoying the fact these are adult characters, I'd love a future flashback to deal with Ayako's highschool days to see if she was ever active in the dating scene then, and how that went.
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Volume 2 cover. Releases in April.
Courtesy the author's Twitter.
https://twitter.com/nozomikota/status/1227142067966447616?s=20
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Is MILF a genre?
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@jon-mitchell said in You Like Me (Mama), not my Daughter?! (Musume Janakute Mama Ga Sukinano!?):
Is MILF a genre?
You tell me. xD
(This may be every Mommy series though, and I had to use Dragon Mother twice for LN + Manga).
Edit: Forgot to add that "Demon King Married the Hero's Mom one.
- topic:timeago_later,3 months
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@Terrence What is name of novel/manga one in swimsuits?
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@Antera Even Though I’m a Former Noble and a Single Mother, My Daughters Are Too Cute and Working as an Adventurer Isn’t Too Much of a Hassle / Moto Kizoku Reijou de Mikon no Haha Desuga, Musumetachi ga Kawaii Sugite Boukenshagyo mo Ku ni Narimasen / 元貴族令嬢で未婚の母ですが、娘たちが可愛すぎて冒険者業も苦になりません
- topic:timeago_later,3 months
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Volume 3 out in September.
Here's a link to the cover (it's not really spoilerific, just mom and daughter in Summer outfits).
https://twitter.com/nozomikota/status/1291651728593494016?s=20
- topic:timeago_later,about a month
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Volume 3 is out.
Even more exciting perhaps, the manga has started serialization. And it looks good.
The mangaka put a taste of the first part up on Twitter. Images from Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/az_tessin/status/1304437044085534720?s=20Aunt Ayako getting frustrated at her extended family coming up with excuses not to take in Miu while they're at the funeral for Miu's parents' deaths:
Miu overjoyed at her new mother Ayako showing her kindness and offering her a place to live:
Manga Link to read it in Japanese:
https://manga-park.com/title/32170(there are 2 manga parts so far
and one novel short story about the mama cleaning wax out of her neighbor Takkun's ear up at the manga site).
- topic:timeago_later,2 months
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Just a little bump and a link to the book's special site that I don't think I ever put here. You can get a look at Takkun's crossdressing friend, Ringo, and the boss of Ayako Mama, Oinomori.
https://dengekibunko.jp/special/mamasuki/
The novel is confirmed for a fourth volume in January (beautiful cover).
https://twitter.com/nozomikota/status/1327175871896064000?s=20
The first volume of the manga releases in December.
A dakimakura of Ayako Mama is in the works.
https://twitter.com/g1un1u/status/1329113381442228224?s=20
Reminder that the light novel is by the same author as the recently licensed "Are You Ok With a Slightly Older Girlfriend?", author Nozomi Kota.
- topic:timeago_later,2 months
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Small bump for the fourth volume releasing today.
https://twitter.com/bunko_dengeki/status/1347666892442329088?s=20
Hopefully the manga volume 1 release isn't too far behind.
The dakimakura is also for sale now on your favorite overseas shops, so you can check out the design (it's not too explicit or anything).
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I hate to do another bump so quick, but there's a lot of small stuff happening with this series since the last post.
The series has now sold over 100,000 copies!
The YouTube Promotional PV that just released with Ai Kayano doing her mommy voice for Ayako just released.
The video is up to over 468k views in about a week's time! (That is not usual for a Dengeki PV besides the heavy hitters like SAO or Bunny Girl Senpai).
There's also this short reading of a scene from the book by Satou Rina.
I believe the manga is debuting soon. They released some fun manga shorts (first one features the artist who draws the series, GiuNiu, as a character).
https://twitter.com/bunko_dengeki/status/1349914208884957185?s=20
https://twitter.com/bunko_dengeki/status/1349914452657803266?s=20
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I read the first three volumes and I really liked it, I'd love to see it licensed.
- topic:timeago_later,14 days
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The preview is closing in on 700,000 views on YouTube (lots of the comments section are English folks reading the manga who got the video recommended). O_O
The author also announced a new series on their Twitter:
元カノとのじれったい偽装結婚
"Fake Marriage With My Ex-Girlfriend"https://twitter.com/nozomikota/status/1355094627892695043?s=20
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Isn't the protagonist basically the twin of Futaro from the quintessential quintuplets? Anyway, I'll have to check on this new series,
- topic:timeago_later,3 months
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- topic:timeago_later,5 months
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Volume 6 releasing November 10th in Japan!
Spoilery image at the link. (The Mama