Shortcake Cake Graphic Novel Volume 1 cover image

Short Cake Cake is a shojo manga created by Suu Morishita (or “suu Morishita”).  The manga began serialization in the Japanese manga magazine, Margaret, in 2015.  VIZ Media is publishing the manga in a series of English-language graphic novels, entitled Shortcake Cake.

Shortcake Cake, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces Ten Serizawa, a freshmen at Nekochiya High School.  In order to attend the high school, however, Ten has a two-hour commute through the mountains, both ways, every school day.  Ten's friend, Ageha Haruno, suggests that she move into the boarding house where Ageha stays.  If she does move in, Ten will have to contend with three high school boys who, to varying degrees, are attracted to her.

[This volume includes bonus manga and eight pages of cover and chapter-page illustrations.]

THE LOWDOWN:  In the tradition of Honey So Sweet, the Shortcake Cake manga is a like a warm cup of cocoa.  It does manage to be a bit off-beat as far as shojo high school romances go; the boarding house element is the reason.

Shortcake Cake Graphic Novel Volume 1 introduces a nice cast of six boarding house residents, all of high school age, and also the adult “house mom.”  They are all good characters, and I like that there is a bit of tartness to Ten Serizawa.  I found that each character is different from the other, and while they are familiar high school shojo types, they are interesting, maybe even a little intriguing.  I enjoyed reading this first volume and look forward to the second volume.  I think that Shortcake Cake will reveal a bit more edge in upcoming volumes.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of high school shojo romance will want to read the “Shojo Beat” title, Shortcake Cake.

B+
7 out of 10