Futago Matomete "Kanojo" ni shinai? Vol 01 - Chikage and Hikari are so cute!
Futago Matomete "Kanojo" ni shinai? (双子まとめて『カノジョ』にしない？) is a romantic comedy light novel series written by Shirai Muku and illustrated by Chikusa Minori, centered around a pair of twins. The series has six volumes released so far and is still ongoing since it started in 2023.
The story follows Takayashiki Sakuto, a high school student who tries to keep a low profile at school until he gets involved with a pair of twins, Usami Chikage and Usami Hikari. Sakuto had already known Chikage for a few years since meeting her at cram school and was already interested in her.
Once they start interacting more at school, he is puzzled by the significant change in her behavior between her persona at school and her persona outside. At school, she is serious, diligent, and quite shy in interactions with her peers, whereas outside school, she is outgoing, energetic, and extremely friendly. She seems almost like a different person.
Curious about some rumors circulating at school, Sakuto decides to follow her to find out more about what she is doing. They meet at a game center and talk. It turns out she is indeed quite different, and he finds himself attracted to this other persona as well. These encounters repeat over time without him realizing the truth.
It is only after he meets them together that he realizes the outgoing "Chikage" was actually her twin sister, Hikari, taking her place. They both declare their love for him on the spot, and his answer is, "I like you both, so I won't date either of you". He has sound logic, as dating one would almost certainly cause their relationship to crack.
Hikari, however, has a different idea: "Why don't you date both of us?" (hence the title). Chikage is conflicted but open to the idea considering the alternative, and together they manage to convince him to accept this unusual relationship. The condition he sets is that the arrangement must remain a secret from the public for obvious reasons. Thus begins the story of Sakuto's strange but sweet relationship with these twins.
The light novel is very easy to read and, despite being of average size at 315 pages, it feels very quick to finish. There is a strong emphasis on the close relationship between Chikage and Hikari, and the novel seems more focused on showing their cuteness rather than just their beauty. There is a bit of fanservice here and there, but it is mostly tame.
I am always a bit wary of these "one protagonist, already a couple" stories because they often focus too much on the romantic or ecchi aspects and forgo other developments that could make the characters more interesting as a whole. However, so far, the series has been good at portraying the heroines as actual people with their own thoughts and ambitions.
So far, we have only seen one recurring side character in the teacher, Tachibana. She is a young teacher very focused on extracting the best from her students, and she acts as the catalyst for the most change in the characters in this first volume through her meddling. She may look rash with her decisions sometimes, but her results speak for themselves.
Tachibana's presence really made me think that this story could use more side characters, especially students, to gravitate around the main trio. This could create new and more exciting situations to spice up the plot and help the main characters develop their personalities further. The main "trauma" of the protagonist is technically solved by the end of the first volume as he starts to give his all again, so the focus will necessarily have to switch to something else.
Overall, I would suggest Futago Matomete "Kanojo" ni shinai? because of its solid romantic comedy roots and the potential to become even better with the right character direction. I will definitely keep reading it, and I will post another article on the second volume as soon as I finish it, hopefully within a few days.
