Since she was little, Mayuko Komori’s social anxiety has been bad, and that has led her to have low confidence in herself and how she acts in school. The only things she can manage energy for is wrapping herself in her futon at home and listening to her favorite idol group, KBF47. She totally believed that’d be something she could keep to herself, but in attempting to recreate a dance while at school she’s spotted by Ohba, a guy who comes across as a bad boy and a bit intimidating. But she lucks out — he’s a massive KBF47 fan too! From this encounter, Mayuko manages to find a friend, and with Ohba’s support, maybe become a…popular online dancer?!?
Aside from that jump, When We Shout For Love is not original in the slightest, but it is entertaining nonetheless. It’s another shoujo where the main lead may or may not have had a moment in her life that made it hard for her to speak up or speak to people, and now she meets a boy who can change that due to their shared passions. The manga doesn’t get into her backstory as to why she’s like this, but does show her being in her futon and stanning KBF47 a fair amount.
Which is why she’s shocked Ohba is also a fan too — they use that to bond and become friends. This somehow leads, as she begins to become more confident, to try and become an online dancer herself. Yes, she was inspired by a person on TV who noted they became more confident due to dancing online, but for Mayuko to do it now seems slightly early to me. But they do it, complete with a panda mask, Ohba becoming a spartan teacher, and somewhere along the way synchronized dancing becomes a thing!
The art style is appealing, as it feels fresh and nice in places. The comedic bits — there’s a time where Mayuko poses like a haniwa as Ohba watches her dance for example — are timed well, and when the manga needs to grab your attention, having a spread to emphasize Mayuko’s growth is a welcome sight. In general, Mayuko’s general emotions and whenever she looks to stand up for herself are great to me.
The problem outside of the typical storyline is we definitely still need to learn a lot about these characters. We still don’t know why Mayuko got like this, and we really don’t know much about Ohba. And where the manga can go from here to show how Mayuko grows is in question. However, becoming friends with someone when you find something in common is a completely relatable thing, and When We Shout For Love clearly shows how well one can click with someone when that happens. I do hope it can shake things up a bit — the ending suggests this — but further reading might make it clear if there’s more to this than what’s shown in its debut.