Danica Davidson
November 29, 2022 
You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! is a romantic comedy that opens with a tragedy. Ayako is a woman in her twenties when her sister and brother-in-law both die, leaving their daughter Miu orphaned. Seeing no one else wants her, Ayako volunteers to raise Miu herself.
Time quickly jumps 10 years into the future. Ayako and Miu have become a close and unconventional family. Miu is in high school, and Ayako thinks she ought to date Takumi, their friend and neighbor who’s a college student. Ayako has all kinds of fantasies about Takumi and Miu together, and gets Takumi to acknowledge he has a crush on someone, but there’s an age difference. Akayo thinks he just means the age difference between being in high school and being in college, but then Takumi spills the beans: he wants to be with Ayako! He’s had a crush on her for 10 years, and now that he’s an adult, he’s ready to make it real.
A title like You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! could easily be an ecchi manga, and it does have some risque jokes, suggestive shots (and a busty protagonist). But it’s actually much more innocent than one might think at first glance (though not completely innocent), and is rated for teens and up. The relationship between Ayako and Takumi also isn’t lewd—he has real, genuine feelings for her, starting with his respect for her adopting Miu. You can see them grow closer as the manga goes on, even though Ayako does everything in her power to try to push Takumi away, thinking their relationship could never work. But Takumi is a grown man now, and Ayako is too strung up by what his parents or society will think to stop and ask herself how she feels about this situation.
You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! is amusing and a little racy, but it stands out for the parts where it has heart instead of just gimmicks. There is also a short prose story at the end told from the point-of-view of Takumi. All in all, a fun, light read.
Story: Kota Nozomi
Art: Tesshin Azuma
Publisher: Seven Seas
Translator: Alan Cheng and Rowena Chen
____
Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
