Catch These Hands! is a yuri manga written and illustrated by murata. It focuses on Takebe, a woman who has decided to leave her old delinquent ways behind – until she is challenged by a former rival named Soramori. If Soramori wins their fight, she wants Takebe to date her.
Yen Press licensed the manga for English release. This first volume contains chapters one through to five.
Front cover of the first volume of Catch These Hands!, featuring Takebe and Soramori
Back in the day, Takebe was a tough-as-nails delinquent who could throw hands with anyone. But right when she finally decides to leave her old ways behind, Takebe has a surprise reunion with her old rival, the “Bloody Cardigan” Soramori. After all these years, she still wants a piece of Takebe – but not in the way anyone expected! Her proposal: Of Soramori can beat Takebe in a fight, they have to start dating?!
So we’re delving into a new yuri manga, and right away I want to say that I had a lot of fun reading this first volume. The dynamic between the two leads was something that I enjoyed a lot – Takebe who wants to leave behind her delinquent ways, and Soramori who is kinda into that, actually. Takene’s permanent scowl makes it pretty evident she’s a delinquent, but I don’t think anyone’s thinking that about Soramori at first glance.
She is, though, and more than capable of handling herself in a fight – those martial arts lessons she had when she was younger probably play quite a role in that. That pursuit of strength that she really went for was all for one purpose, though: getting Takebe to notice her.
Safe to say that Takebe really does notice her, especially after that challenge. Seems like Takebe is quite honourable, as she has no intention of backing down on the terms of the challenge – despite having no chance against Soramori at all. She also boldly declares that she won’t ever fall for Soramori… hmm, I’m not so sure about that one…
Takebe makes sure to leave her schedule open when she knows Soramori has a day off, and then there’s the way she gets when she sees Soramori hanging out with another woman…
Said other woman is Maria, a “stranger from the internet”. Takebe’s reaction to discovering that is pretty amusing. Then you have Maria realising that, actually, Takebe and Soramori might be a good fit for each other. Just a shame that Soramori’s nerves make her lash out when they get too much for her…
During their first meeting, in their school days, Takebe mentions something about admiring people who proud of their lives – like Soramori was, despite other girls attempting to bully her. Interesting to see that the present day Takebe is so eager to change. Seems seeing all her friends moving on with their lives has left her feeling a bit left out.
Perhaps Soramori coming back into her life is just what she needs. It might be a bit of an uphill battle for Soramori to get the kind of relationship she wants with Takebe, but I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how it develops.
Particularly as their interactions are a lot of fun to experience. There’s an awkwardness between them, but it’s the kind that comes across as funny most of the time. If anything, Takebe might be leaning towards being tsundere.
Really good start for this series, though. This first volume of Catch These Hands! definitely drew me in, and I am very eager to see how the relationship between Takebe and Soramori continues to evolve.
Rory Muses 