Both Kaede and Hatano find themselves both a little more interested in Sakura. Hatano, as we learn, is not one who likes to get close to girls. Especially since, he turned down Sakura and accused her of being a creep. Kaede, of course, is internally panicking since they’re stepsiblings.
Two guys, one girl…you know where this is going.
…Psyche! Actually, Hatano and Kaede start getting along. This is evident even moreso in the bonuses between chapters thanks to the power of cats. But will their new casual friendship be in jeopardy once Kaede finds out Hatano has blurted out to the entire school that he’s dating Sakura? Even if it was to stop all the rumors about the stepsiblings’ relationship?
Sakura, meanwhile, is becoming more comfortable being a friend to Hatano, even trying to make him feel better about his looks which sometimes attract too much attention. She’s also trying to get her heart to stop pounding around Kaede and be a sister. As she has before, she points out to Kaede he’s not making it easy on her, like when he leans on her. She’s also, like the rest of her class, working hard so that Kaede can win the school’s best crossdresser contest.
So while Sakura hasn’t been doing well in living up to the manga’s title, Kaede is following in her “it’s just because this is new!” excuse footsteps. While Kaede has much of a traditional shoujo manga love interest coolness (as evidence when he manages to help Sakura faster than Hatano several times), he also has an adorkableness about him that we don’t often see. Those moments mostly come at the end, but signs are placed throughout the volume.
I also praise Tsukishima for kind of inverting the usual “protagonist turns friends into rivals” staple. We need more of male friendships starting because of a girl instead of dividing them over one in manga. There’s a chance things will be ruined as tension over Sakura’s affection builds, but it’s nice to see them even reaching a point where they can walk home together in the rain. Again, only in the extras, but better than their relationship worsening.
Less thrilling is how big a role We Must Never Fall in Love! gives the contest. Plenty of guys in manga dress up as girls for a laugh in these stories, but the gang is doing more to Kaede (and requiring more of him) than just putting on a dress. The festival starts in the final chapter of this volume, but the previous includes prep work for it. With only four chapters total, that’s still a significant chunk.
While that and the school chatter that reflects a lot of people’s real-world opinions about stepsiblings dating, We Must Never Fall in Love! volume 3 continues to be a likable series. If the author can continue toying with the usual romance tropes as she does with the Kaede/Hatano friendship, the manga might turn from likable to very good.