For far too long, I’ve put My Boyfriend in Orange on the back burner. Sorry readers! Now, onto the review!
Chapter 13
We open with a seemingly steamy scene between Ebihara and Moe regarding the accidental kiss at the end of volume 3. It turns out that Moe had a dream right in the middle of class, and she woke up embarrassed.
Meanwhile, back at the firehouse, the idol group member Mana Enomoto has arrived to prepare for a role in a TV drama, and she wants to shadow our boy Ebihara. (Ebihara actually saved her from an overturned vehicle recently, and Mana remembered him specifically.) For Ebihara helping her was just another day on the job, so he tales her thanks in stride. Unfortunately for Moe, Ebihara’s aloofness seems to intrigue Mana. Mana tries to get all the 411 on Ebihara, but he stops her in her tracks, reminding her to keep it professional and focused.
Mana seems bold and asks Ebihara straight out if he has a girlfriend, and she notices he hesitates when saying “No.” (Thinking about that accidental kiss, are we, sir?) On a side note, I am convinced that the mangaka was dead set on drawing abs in this chapter because then this happened while Ebihara gave Mana the grand tour.
Mana might be almost as clumsy as Moe because she nearly gets herself hurt by the gym equipment at the station, and Ebihara saves her. Ever dutiful, Ebihara reminds her to be careful.
After school, Moe goes to her part-time job at the restaurant, and who should she serve first but Ebihara? (The Shoujo world is a small world, after all.) She unsuccessfully tries to hide from him but must quickly recover when he tells her not to sweat it when it comes to the kiss. This almost disappoints Moe, but Ebihara was actually a sweetheart and didn’t want things to be awkward between them.
Moe is happy to have that cleared up and looks forward to future dates. The two bicker because the naive Ebihara didn’t realize that Moe considered their outing a date. Mana is in spy mode, and she and her manager follow Ebihara, and she is none too happy to spot Ebihara and Moe smiling together. While Moe attends to other customers, Mana sneaks up on Ebihara and tries to cuddle up to him. He doesn’t seem to notice, but Moe sure does. She recognizes Mana’s interest in Ebihara and perceives her as a potential threat, as she should.
Chapter 14
One morning, shortly after Ebihara visits her at the cafe, Moe daydreams about Ebihara and literally bumps into him.
They wish each other good luck with their day, and Moe is happy, and yet she feels she may have forgotten something important. (Your rival girl!) At the station, Mana arrives to observe the firefighters’ training, Every time Mana would try to help, they would tell her no need, or it was too dangerous. To prove herself, Mana does 50 push-ups to get the men to take her seriously.
Ebihara decides to let Mana be a real part of the training which pleases Mana immensely. At school, Moe is happy to have made Ebihara some cupcakes she hopes to give him. All of her friends decide to go to the firehouse to see Mana. Moe goes in the hopes of seeing Ebihara. Ebihara praises Mana’s hard work, which leads to Moe witnessing this:
After seeing that she can’t work up the nerve to give Ebihara the cupcakes herself, she gives them to the chief. The chief is kind enough to give them to Ebihara and tell him that Moe seemed a little down. At work, Moe is distracted and literally writes agony in latte art. Mitaka-kun notices and listens to her worries and cheers her up.
Moe spends some time feeling down and comparing herself to Mana until she gets an unexpected pick-me-up: a call from Ebihara!
He thanks her for the adorable cupcakes, saying they have just the right amount of sweetness. Ebihara mentions that Moe seems a little down, but she makes up a lame excuse because she feels too embarrassed to be honest about Mana. She is happy to say goodnight to him.
Chapter 15
Moe and Ebihara meet up by chance when he and some other firefighters get together for dinner. He ends up sitting at Moe’s table at her mother’s suggestion. (Mom is a good wingwoman)
We learn that Ebihara has two siblings, one older brother and a little brother who is eight years younger. This explains his helpful big brother nature and why he is always so kind to Moe’s brother Ryu. When he spots food on Moe’s face and tries to help her, it leads to teasing from the other guys.
The guys start talking about Mana, and Ebihara praises her work ethic, which sours Moe’s mood. When Ebihara notices the mood change, he asks if she’s sleep-deprived again since that was the excuse she used last time.
A few days later, Moe and her brother Ryu visit the firehouse during a demonstration in which Mana participated. Moe accidentally overhears Mana confessing to Ebihara but leaves before she hears his response. Mana unexpectedly stops by Moe’s cafe job, and Moe is brave enough to ask if Mana likes Ebihara too. Mana admits she does, but she tries to trivialize Moe’s feelings. Fortunately, Moe stands up for herself and declares her feelings to be just as valid as Mana’s.
Moe can’t help but start telling Mana about why she adores Ebihara. The list is surprisingly long, which annoys Mana.
Mana admits that Ebihara turned her down, and what she told Moe about her feelings is what Ebihara told her in response. Ebihara mentioned an “airhead” whose feelings would never fade and Mana is wondering if he meant Moe. Mana won’t admit this to Moe of course.
The girls start chatting about some of the other firemen, and we discover that Ebihara is secretly listening in on this conversation, and it gets his shy heart racing.
Moe declares to herself that her feelings won’t lose to anyone’s. Ebihara (still hidden) says he might be in a bit of a fix now.
Chapter 16
Moe’s school is preparing for the school festival, and her classmates note that she is kind and hardworking. A few of Ebihara’s fellow firefighters swoop in to help Moe, and she discovers that they will be at the school’s safety booth. (The plot convenience reminds me of how for years, the Ouran members did not move up a year or graduate LOL) The day of the school festival arrives, and Ebihara feels so shy about overhearing Moe’s feelings for him that he has trouble seeing her.
Moe’s class is running a cheer cafe, which throws Ebihara and the others for a loop at first, especially when they see Mitaka-kun cross-dressing as a girl. Moe and Sayumi are in full cheerleader gear and Moe wonders how Ebihara will react.
Ebihara and the guys decide to take photos in the social media corner. I swear the mangaka’s focus in this volume was abs because the boys inexplicably change into the cheer squad outfits right in the middle of the classroom. All the girls go into fan-girl mode, taking photos and videos. Moe asks Sayumi to forward everything.
Moe is so in awe of Ebihara’s good looks that the poor girl suffers a nosebleed. As is his custom, Ebihara saves her while simultaneously being the cause of her embarrassment.
Moe learns that her school is Ebihara’s alma mater, and he fondly remembers the day they first met. Moe thanks him for giving her the confidence to make friends and enjoy her life.
Ebihara reaches out to Moe but stops himself just shy of caressing her face. The two soon discover they are trapped in the supply closet. I’m sure Ebihara will bust them out when the time comes, but for now, this is where the volume ends.
Impressioons? 10/10 I feel like we’re getting to the heart of the series. I like that it doesn’t take things too seriously. This is definitely NOT Bokura Ga Ita, my friends. I also appreciate that misunderstandings and miscommunications don’t last for like 10 chapters a pop or more. To my knowledge, the series has at least ten volumes, so I will certainly continue my review of the series. Does anyone else believe that the mangaka was having a grand old-time drawing in this volume?
