Before starting a brief introduction to how I found this manga: looking for a new yuri manga to read I found a comment about Protagonist x Rival on another page that literally said THIS IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT THIS IS WHAT WE NEEEEED so I was curious and decided to read it... and he was totally right. The story follows the daily lives of Kimura and Hiyama two high school girls. Kimura is a shy girl a bit cowardly and with very little selfconfidence Hiyama on the other hand at first glance seems rude confrontational and aggressive although appearances can be deceiving since she is hopelessly in love with Kimurathis is a yuri manga after all. Having said that the story introduces a third character: Mizushima Hiyamas childhood friend and Kimuras love interest and with this the comedy is served. Beware of spoilers from here on out: Protagonist x Rival is a short story despite having 4 volumes and 47 chapters. From what I understand this manga began his life as a WebComic in May of 2019 until April 2020 when it was serialized by Gangan Joker. I mention this because even though the art was improved for the serialized version the length of the chapters was not what caused several chapters to be short stories approximately four pages long about the characters in random everyday situations. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily since this manga is pure comedy with zero drama so this manga manages to make you smile even with four pages. Now comedy is quite subjective in most caseswhat makes me laugh doesnt have to make you laugh and in this particular case the comedy is quite childish and repetitive. Almost all the chapters follow the same pattern: Kimura tries to get close to Mizushima to deliver Valentines Day chocolates for example and Hiyama apparently interferes by bullying Kimura only to discover that what she really wants is to express her love for Kimura which she does in a rather clumsy and very aggressive manner. And this pattern is constantly repeated throughout almost the entire manga. Objectively speaking what I just wrote is true which for some may be a negative point for the story for me personally it is not so much. I really love the interactions between Hiyama and Kimura and they make me laugh out loud in every chapter. Kimuras shyness and low selfconfidence and Hiyamas social awkwardness lead to many hilarious misunderstandings. The strongest point of the manga is without a doubt Kimura herself: her progression is more than evident in each chapter she gradually overcomes her shyness and little by little she discovers and understands her feelings towards Hiyama. There is a huge difference between the Kimura that we see in the first chapters of the manga and the Kimura that we see at the end of itthey are complete opposites. With this I do not mean that Kimuras radical change is a bad thing in fact it is quite the opposite it is very satisfying. Hiyama doesnt really change much she pretty much stays the same throughout the entire manga. Thanks to Kimuras radical change we are also able to see Hiyamas true face: behind her aggressive strong and selfsufficient attitude that she shows at the beginning we discover a rather innocent and shy girl at the end. Put this way it shouldnt work but it does and I promise it makes sense. The other characters are not worth mentioning... Mizushima is only there to help the plot move forward. And the others like Kimuras friend or Hiyamas two classmates most of the time just serve as comic relief. Im not saying theyre bad for example all of Tatemotos interactions with Hiyama are hilarious Im just saying theyre not very important to the storyexcept for Mizushima who is important and necessary. Summary: Protagonist x Rival or Shoujo Manga Shujinko x Rivalsan is probably a manga that you can read in one sitting in just a few hours its fun and heartwarming full of fluff and absolutely no horny momentsno bra or panty flashes...sorry. Its just an innocent story between two girls who discover their feelings for each other... and once in a while that alone is enough. The score is probably too high maybe 70 or 80 would be more appropriate but I love this manga so much that I cant be realistic about it... but thanks for reading anyway.