Nitamono Doushi no – Kanbe Gorou

It began with a mistake. When Tanaka and Nakata are given each other’s papers back, they come to a horrible realization…

They have almost identical names. And test results. And body types. And taste in fashion. And sports scores. And hobbies. The list goes on, and as annoying as it is, at least they know they always have each other.

And maybe, just maybe, their similarities run even deeper.

I was expecting a light-hearted comedy of errors. What I got was an angsty unrequited love that made my heart ache.

Like Two Peas In A Pod is told from the POV of Nakata, the more introverted of the two. He and Tanaka formed a friendship because of how similar they were. This friendship was tested when Tanaka started dating a girl.

Nakata’s fervent longing for the oblivious Tanaka was just a sad, sad thing. I really felt sorry for him, especially when they started drifting apart. I liked how the the mangaka drew the heartbroken expressions he tried to hide.

Best girl is Futaba, Nakata’s new friend, who noticed his pained expressions every time he watched Tanaka and his girlfriend together. She helped him through these trying times and encouraged him to confessed. It was only later that she realized, he loves the boy, not the girl. She was super cool with everything.

Meanwhile, I wanted to strangle Tanaka for being so dense. Not so sure he’s the guy for Nakata. It wasn’t until the very last scenes, when they switched seats, that I was convinced that, maybe, these two would work.