15 Minutes Before We Really Date Volume 2 Review

At the end of 2023, I reviewed Volume 1 of 15 Minutes Before We Really Date, which introduced us to childhood friends Yuuki and Natsuha. With the two only half a year away from graduating high school and still single before they go their separate ways for college, they decide to date. Now with a second volume in hand, it’s time to find out how the pair are getting on!

As we begin Volume 2, we find Yuuki and Natsuha reaching the end of a date at the cinema, with Yuuki leaning in for a kiss. However, this is only their first date and Natsuha worries that they’re moving too fast and pulls away from her boyfriend, but Yuuki argues that if they don’t start making progress they’ll run out of time before they graduate.

In truth, Natsuha doesn’t think it’s too soon. The pair have been dating for two months now, so it’s not strange that their relationship would be moving forward in a physical sense. The bigger issue is that she wants her first kiss to be memorable and take place somewhere they’ve spent a lot of time and that means something to them both.

The two growing closer in their relationship ends up being the main theme of the volume. A second attempt at a kiss leads to the pair being grilled by Natsuha’s father (as her family caught them in the act!), and they’re made to promise they won’t get up to any funny business in the apartment complex until they graduate from high school.

Afterwards, their attention moves to Christmas where they’re hoping to have another romantic date and also consider what to buy one another. As childhood friends, they’re used to exchanging gifts every year, but this year there’s the added pressure of making sure it’s something memorable and perhaps romantic.

If you enjoyed Volume 1, you’re sure to have fun watching Yuuki and Natsuha navigate their relationship, especially toward the Christmas arc. It may be filled with romance tropes that we’ve seen before, but it’s presented in such a charming way, it’s difficult to fault it.

This instalment of the series follows a similar path to Volume 1 with it being a collection of relatively short chapters but keeping a through-line in terms of the story. There are still several bonus chapters dedicated to other members of the cast too, which I appreciated as there isn’t time to make them a focus of the regular chapters.

Compared to its first outing, this second book feels moderately more polished too. Mangaka Perico’s artwork retains the unique style we saw in the first book, but the art feels less sketchy and more put-together. Similarly, the panels flow together better than they did before and are more consistent in nature, which is a relief as that was something I had trouble with.

The extra polish lends itself well to the more serious nature of the story, too. After being discovered by her dad, Natsuha is surprised to hear Yuuki explain that the two are seriously dating (after she tried to say they were just killing time). They may only have a short time together before their high-school days are behind them, but the fact they’re both approaching this seriously warms Natsuha’s heart, given how long she’s been crushing on Yuuki. I found myself more eager to follow their story and cheer for the two as the book went on. Certainly, I look forward to seeing how their relationship will progress as the series goes on.

15 Minutes Before We Really Date Volume 2 comes to the West thanks to Yen Press where it continues to be translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by Rachel J. Pierce. As with the previous volume, this one reads well with no problems. There are no translation notes to speak of, but as a bonus, the book does open with colour pages which are always nice to have.

Volume #3 is due for an English release in July with #4 following in October which brings us to the end of the series. It appears that while in Japan the digital releases were six volumes, the paperback editions have been  condensed down to four and that’s what Yen Press are putting out.

Overall, 15 Minutes Before We Really Date Volume 2 is still an engaging read that offers a charming romance tale. It’s reassuring to see Perico’s art improve between volumes as that helps alleviate some of my earlier complaints and makes this more readily recommendable too. If you liked #1, I’d certainly encourage you to continue!

Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.