Yankee JK Kazuhana-chan Vol 11,12 - Koharu is incredible as a new character!
Volumes 11 and 12 of Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan (ヤンキーJKクズハナちゃん), just as we predicted in the previous volume's review, introduced a series of new heroines (Kijitani Ayano, Inukai Koharu, and Hibino Misuzu) to the main cast. I was honestly surprised by how easily they managed to grab my attention.
The new school year is starting in the series, so lots of new students are flowing in. Saotome was very hopeful he would get at least one male friend to join him, but it turns out it was another year without any other male enrolling in the school. I guess he will have to survive another year with the heroines, both new and old.
Ayano is the typical "little devil", fitting the trope where the underclassman does whatever she can to tease the people around her and cause havoc. She is generally good-spirited, but she never loses a chance to try to do something underhanded to win if the situation requires it, be it in a tennis match against Hanako or in love.
Misuzu is small not only in age but also in size. She is very close friends with Koharu, with whom she spends most of her time at school. She seems to be extremely attached to food, to the point of calling the other girls "older sister" when one offered to share some food with her. She is not really interested in Saotome, so she instead tries to help her friend win the race.
Koharu is the one I ended up liking the most among the three. She looked like a rather shy girl in middle school, but she decided to change now that she enrolled in high school by going for a "gal" look. And boy, does she look amazing in it. Her personality hasn't changed much, though, so she is still quite shy and seems to idolize Hanako. She has bad eyesight, so she uses glasses to avoid scaring people (when she tries to focus to see without glasses, it looks like she is glaring at you).
The vast majority of these two volumes was spent giving enough depth to the new characters, so there wasn't any real development for the overarching romance plot, as Hanako is still fighting with her conflicting feelings whenever she sees Saotome. The presence of the other heroines was paper-thin, which is understandable considering how big the cast is becoming.
I count a total of 13 regular heroines in the story so far, and I am sure they are going to add another one or two first-year heroines later in the story. Not that I mind a bit of variety, but it becomes a bit of a shame when the heroine you like doesn't get much screentime.
Koharu was the queen when it comes to ecchi scenes in these two volumes as you can see from the various screenshots I added to the post. She seems to be pushed hard on the heroine angle with the interactions with Saotome being quite sweet. Finally a worthy rival for Hanako?
One interesting scene involved Ayano trying to join the cheerleading club and interacting with Kamogawa Mai. They are kind of extreme opposites, with Mai being ultra-timid with a very soft voice while Ayano is cheerful and outgoing, but they actually bonded quite well. The two are at the start of a friendship that could be interesting to see develop if they focus a bit more on the club.
Volume 12 ends with Saotome choosing a swimsuit for both Hanako and Koharu, which means we are likely getting a swimsuit-centered volume next. Will Koharu manage to grab Saotome's attention? And how will Hanako react to all the rivals showing off their swimsuits for him?
