The classic tale of "Pretty Boy Meets Bifauxnen."
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Japanese: Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki, lit. The Beauty of the Evening Moon) is a shoujo manga centered on Yoi Takiguchi, a 16 year old girl with stunning androgynous looks and a polite, aloof demeanor to match. Because of her looks and casually chivalrous behavior, she has been nicknamed "Prince" at her new high school by both adoring female and male students alike, much to her annoyance and resignation. After crashing into her earlier and learning that Yoi is a girl, upperclassman Ichimura, who is also unhappily nicknamed "Prince" because of his good looks and familial wealth, takes an interest in Yoi and attempts to casually pursue her. What follows is a high school romance story following a girl who considered herself too boyish to ever attract romantic attention and doesn't know how to deal and a boy who never really took romance all that seriously learning that he just might want to get serious with her.Written by Mika Yamamori of Daytime Shooting Star and Tsubaki Chou Lonely Planet fame, the manga was first published in Dessert magazine on July 21, 2020. It was later announced that Kodansha USA would digitally publish the series starting in late 2022.
Provides examples of:
- The Ace: Yoi is smart, good-looking, good at basketball, and admired by her peers. This is lampshaded in the story because when Yoi is trying to repress and distract herself from her emotions, she goes into excellence overdrive, exuding princely charm. Nobara and Kotobuki point this out and wonder if she's doing ok.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Yoi is about as straight-laced as they come, due in part because of her natural shyness and chivalrous demeanor. Ichimura on the other hand is a ladykiller, with bleached hair, piercings galore, and a devil-may-care attitude. Yoi is at first not trying to have much to do with him, but his persistence in chasing her, as well as him (barring their first run-in) always treating her as a girl and not a Prince or a boy makes her soon fall for him.
- Almost Kiss: At the end of their gyoza date, Ichimura admits to Yoi that though he says he's fallen for her, he's not really sure if what he feels is love, so he wants their dating test to be a test for his feelings as well. Then he proceeds to lean in towards Yoi as if to kiss her, only stopping just short of doing so.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Yoi is dark haired and naturally a bit withdrawn and reserved, which gives her a cool and somewhat distant vibe. Paired with her more boyish looks and consideration towards others, girls in particular, she comes off as a Bifauxnen, much to her annoyance.
- Amusement Park: Ichimura ends his and Yoi's first date at an amusement park because he enjoys going to them right before they close at night.
- Attractiveness Isolation: An interesting case because it is obvious that Yoi is physically very attractive, to the point that she regularly has girls confessing their love for her. The only issue is that her looks lean more boyish than what's typicaly considered the beauty standard, especially for young girls her age. Because of this, most men don't pursue her, leading her to have never dated anyone let alone been asked out. All of this baffles Ichimura, who can't understand why any of that should even matter because she's still, in his words, "so beautiful you have to stare."
- Bifauxnen: Yoi's slim body, shortly cropped hair, and lower voice gives her a somewhat androgynous appearance, which has led to most people who just quickly meet her confusing her for a very beautiful young man. She is frequently approached by girls at her school who give her gifts to show their adoration and call her their "Prince". She is also naturally a polite and protective person. When the cashier at a convenience store is being hit on by a customer, she intervenes and even blocks a blow from the man, using karate. While holding the stance she is depicted with twinkling lights and roses to lampshade her princely behavior.
- Bishie Sparkle: Used for comedic effect along with Something about a Rose to play up Yoi's princely behavior and image whenever she is acting particularly chivalrous.
- Boyish Short Hair: Yoi has short black hair. While it suits her extraordinarily well, it likely contributes to the Lady Looks Like a Dude incidents she runs into and further characterizes her as being less traditionally feminine than her peers.
- Cannot Talk to Women:
- Gender-Inverted with Yoi who has a hard time talking to men. We later learn this is because since middle school, she's been somewhat unfavorably compared to her older and more traditionally feminine sister by the boys in her class. Overhearing a boy she had a crush on balk at the thought of dating her made her withdraw.
- Ouji bonds with Yoi over this in chapter 21. He goes to an all boys school and has played sports for most of his life so he has little experience talking to women and admittedly comes off much colder than intended because of his awkwardness.
- The Casanova: Ichimura is introduced to Yoi through the rumor that "the number of girls he's made cry is already in the triple digits" to highlight his ladykiller, playboy ways.
- Caught in the Rain: In chapter 3, just as Yoi is trying to explain to Ichimura that she doesn't actually find his light teasing annoying as much as she does embarassing and disorienting, it begins to immediately downpour. This leads to the two taking shelter at what Yoi comes to realize is Ichimura's large house where he lives alone. There she's finally able to admit her desire to actually talk more with guys and Ichimura takes the opportunity to hold her hand.
- Caught the Heart on His Sleeve: After Ichimura tells Yoi he won't try to kiss her again because he knows she hates it, Yoi pauses and wonders if she actually did hate it, and unconsciously grabs on to Ichimura's shirt as he turns to leave. She tries to tell him that she didn't mind, but is interrupted before she can get it out. Ichimura is so emotionally stirred by it that he has to take a second to compose himself after Yoi leaves.
- Chastity Couple: Invoked by Yoi as part of the terms to her and Ichimura's trial dating period. She writes that there will be no hugging, kissing, or sexual activity between them at all, though she does make an exception for accidental hand touches. She later relaxes this rule, when she starts to develop genuine feelings for Ichimura.
- The Comically Serious: In addition to her chaste and princely behavior, Yoi is in general a serious, straight-forward, and somewhat dense person, leading her to react to even the lightest of ribbings and teasings with bewilderment and getting flustered. For example, she takes Ichimura's suggestion to test date as Serious Business, producing a Comically Wordy Contract at school to go over how the arrangement should be.
- Crash-Into Hello: Yoi and Ichimura first meet when he falls on top of her after jumping out of a classroom window. After apologizing, he grabs Yoi's face, comments on how beautiful she is, and then proceeds to mistake her for a guy. She promptly stands up and cooly rebuffs him.
- Crush Blush: Yoi's lack of experience and straight-laced behavior makes her already prone to blushing and sputtering at even the slightest bit of flirtation from Ichimura, but as she slowly becomes more aware of her feelings, even the slightest touches turns her beet red, something that Ichimura can't help but notice.
- Damsel in Distress: Many throughout the story, like the girl who has fallen down in the first chapter or the convenience store worker who is being aggressively hit on by an older customer. They are there for the writer to show off Yoi's natural princely qualities like her strong sense of justice.
- Double-Meaning Title: The original Japanese title, "Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki," translated literally as "The Beauty of the Evening Moon" can be interpreted a few ways:
- Instead of interpreting "Yoi" literally as "evening", you can interpret it as "Yoi", the first name of the heroine of the story, thus changing the meaning to be "The Beautiful Yoi's Moon" and referring more explicitly to Yoi and Ichimura's relationship. This reading is further encouraged because in chapter 3, Yoi compares Ichimura to "the moon reflecting off the water": elusive and hard to grasp, despite appearing so bright and clear. Ichimura as "the moon" is also supported by his first name being Kouhaku, which can be read and understood as "a pale yellowish white", like the glow of the moon.
- You can also interpret the title much more metaphorically, relying on traditional Japanese literary practices. Specifically, the saying "the moon is beautiful, isn't it" has been widely interpreted since the Meiji era as a subtle and poetic way of saying "I love you." Therefore, the title can be understood as a statement on love, particularly a beautifully subtle love, which suits the slow burn of the relationship that happens between the two leads.
- Foil: Yoi is dark-haired, working class, and despite her frustrations with being treated as a prince, she genuinely is good-natured and chaste, with a strong sense of right and wrong, like an actual Prince Charming would be. Ichimura on the other hand has bleached hair, is very wealthy, and is known as a playboy. Though they're both called "Prince", by their peers, in Yoi's case, it's a genuine term of endearment; Ichimura, however, is called prince as a slight dig at his social status. They both resent the label regardless.
- Gender Reveal: This happens to Yoi all of the time in universe, but the story sets up a quick one for the audience in the first chapter. A teen girl falls down at the train and Yoi helps her back to her feet. We follow the girl as she sits down with her friend and the two wonder whether they should ask Yoi for his contact info becuase they're smitten. Then the next panel reveals Yoi's school uniform: a white button down tucked into a form fitted black mini-skirt. The girls, acting as Audience Surrogates are shocked to learn that the princely boy was actually a girl.
- Hates Being Called Cute: This is Yoi at first. She so rarely gets called cute or beautiful, especially from a man, that she is made so uncomfortable by Ichimura doing so she'd rather he not. This slowly changes though as she begins to realize her feelings for him.
- Holding Hands: In an effort to get closer, Ichimura asks Yoi if they can keep their flirtatious vibes going after their gyoza date by holding her hand. She's hesitant because she's worried about being mistaken for two guys. Ichimura says he doesn't care to a flustered Yoi.
- I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Given the fact that most people see her as a beautiful boy at first glance and has never been asked out because of that, Yoi is generally shocked that any guy would look at her romantically, but especially Ichimura, the upperclassman rumored playboy who is attractive and popular enough to have his pick of the ladies.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Ichimura cannot explain at first what it is that draws him to Yoi other than her stunning good looks and says that he thinks he'd be just as interested and fascinated by her even if she was a guy.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Said word for word by Yoi to Ichimura when he says that she really looked like a real prince defending a girl in need. Yoi explains that she never wanted to be a prince or a hero, it's just a role that others have projected onto her. Ichimura counters that it's good to be a princely girl, because being so, she doesn't have to adhere to all of the gender expectations that other girls must contend with.
- The Ingenue: Despite her princely demeanor and appearance, Yoi's personality is more in line with this trope. She is beautiful, polite, and surprisingly innocent in comparison to her peers due to her lack of experience with men cause by her Bifauxnen looks. She turns beet red from Ichimura picking her up and carrying her princess style. Seeing the gap between Yoi's princely persona and more innocent personality is actually what ends up appealing to Ichimura.
- Insecure Love Interest: Yoi has a complex about her somewhat androgynous looks, so she easily gets overwhelmed and confused by Ichimura's pursual of her as well as embarassed about public displays affection. When Ichimura holds her hand at a gyoza restaurant she quickly pulls away when two girls entering the shop comment that those two boys are sitting quite close to each other.
- Intimate Healing: When Yoi gets a sudden fever in the middle of school and goes to the nurse's office to rest, Ichimura is there skipping class. Although she tries to avoid him, he helps her into the bed and climbs in with her, using the excuse of sharing his body heat to help her fall asleep and get rest. She balks but can't resist and eventually the two nap together, with her commenting on how nice it feels, likening him to a giant cat.
- Ladykiller in Love: Ichimura makes it clear that despite his wealth of dating experience, he's never really felt as attached and fixated on a girl as he does with Yoi. At first he tries to avoid it and downplay his feelings, but soon even he has to admit that he's behaving differently towards her than anyone else. It's his friends that point out he likely fell in Love at First Sight.
- Lascivious Beauty Mark: Big Man on Campus Ichimura has a beauty mark near his mouth and is a known ladykiller in school; he hooks up with girls freely and doesn't stay tied down for long. His interest and pursuit of Yoi, his Bifauxnen and beautifully androgynous underclassman, has a clear More Experienced Chases the Innocent dynamic: he is overtly flirtatious and physically affectionate towards the chaste and inexperienced Yoi, who responds with Crush Blush and flustered responses. She even calls out his penchant for physical touch and he admits that up until now, he's thought romance just was sex and flirtation, so he doesn't know how else to show his feelings towards the person he likes.
- Love at First Sight:
- Ichimura's friend wonders whether or not Ichimura genuinely fell for Yoi the very first time they met since he is seemingly inexplicably and intensely attracted to her and is treating her in ways he's never treated the many other girls he's been with. The question stuns him into contemplation.
- Ouji went to the curry place owned by Yoi's father on the recommendation of one of his favorite youtubers. He saw Yoi and was immediately entranced by her beauty, realizing later that he fell in love with her in that very instance.
- Love Confession: Ouji ends up telling Yoi that he has feelings for her and quickly hugging her after she spends the day with him picking out a gift for his younger sister. Yoi is too shocked to react.
- Love Triangle: The classic example of two people in some sort of romantic relationship and a third who pines over one of the two. In this case it's Yoi and Ichimura with Ouji, the part-timer who works with Yoi.
- Meaningful Name: Both Yoi and Ichimura are nicknamed "Prince" in their school for similar but still distinct reasons. They are often contrasted with one another and begin to date. A male part-timer at Yoi's family restaurant is introduced in the third volume just as Yoi is wondering if she actually likes Ichimura or if she's just being swept away by any guy showing interest in her, with heavy implication that he's going to shake up the Ichimura-Yoi relationship. How do we know? His first name is Ouji, the Japanese word for "Prince."
- More Experienced Chases the Innocent: Because of her Bifauxnen looks and behavior, Yoi has zero experience with men, who often mistake her for a really, pretty boy. The gap between her public image and her much more innocent and chaste personality is part of what attracted the school's playboy, Ichimura, to her. He pursues her, at first casually, then more seriously which flusters Yoi. This is later lampshaded by Yoi's friend in chapter 4 who asks her, "isn't it better for a late-bloomer and beginner in love like you to be wooed strongly by a master of love?"
- Only Has Same-Sex Admirers: Up until she meets Ichimura, this has been Yoi's experience. She is fawned over by girls of all stripes because of her Bifauxnen looks and accidental princely treatment towards women and is otherwise ignored by guys who often mistake her as one of them. This changes as she begins to be pursued by Ichimura and later Ouji.
- Princely Young Man: Subverted with Ichimura. He has the wealth, the status (his dad is the CEO of multiple businesses), the good looks, and the slightly aloof demeanor to fit the bill. On top of this, his peers jokingly call him "Prince." But as his bleached hair and piercings indicate, he's much more of a rake than a prince and much like Yoi, he's aware of the mismatch between his personality and the image others have forced upon him and doesn't care for it much.Yoi: Rather than being a prince, isn't he more like someone from a gang?
- Secret Relationship: As part of the rules for their trial dating, Yoi stipulates that outside of them (and their friends who are there when she is reading out the list of guidelines) no one can know they are dating.
- Serious Business: After giving Ichimura's test dating proposal some thought, Yoi shows up the next day to school with a Comically Wordy Contract detailing the terms of their relationship in excruciating detail. One of Ichimura's friends asks Yoi's friend Nobara if she's always like this, to which she replies "Well, relatively."
- She Cleans Up Nicely: So far two significant occurances both involving Yoi.
- On their first date, Yoi shows up in her school uniform after panicking trying to figure out what to wear. So Ichimura takes them to a trendy clothes store to try on clothes because he wants to see her dress up. In a subversion, he doesn't ask her to put on something girly, but a more unisex and cool look. She's so attractive that both he and the store attendant are momentarily stunned.
- When Ichimura goes to the local festival, Yoi musters up the courage to attend wearing a yukata. Ichimura's so moved by her appearance that he doesn't want any of the friends he came with to also see her like that, lest they too realize just how beautiful she is.
- Shout-Out:
- Yoi's friends shout out Boys over Flowers and Whisper of the Heart when discussing the merits of a guy with a lot of romantic experience like Ichimura pursuing the inexperienced Yoi. They think like in those works, even if Yoi doesn't like it right now, she'll come to enjoy and appreciate his aggressiveness like in those works.
- In chapter 7, Yoi's friends discuss whether they saw the latest episode of Attack on Titan.
- In chapter 9, Yoi's mom wonders aloud if Yoi is dating Timothée Chalamet when Yoi tells her Ichimura's also called "Prince".
- Doraemon gets referenced in chapter 19 when Ichimura's friends rib him for taking so long in the shower, like Shizuka.
- Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: Ichimura is well known and swooned over in school as the other prince (despite being at the school for a shorter amount of time, Yoi is the primary prince) because of his good looks and boatloads of money. While Yoi tries to rebuff his advances at first, she ends up falling for his charms and decides to pursue a relationship with him.
- Something about a Rose: Like many Bifauxnen and prince types before her, Yoi is often depicted with roses and Bishie Sparkle when she is coming off or doing something particularly princely.
- Stalker with a Crush: After Yoi tells her friends that Ichimura told her father he wants to date her so he can stare at her face all the time, her friends joke that he sounds like a stalker.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Yoi favors her father quite a bit, who also has short dark hair and handsome features.
- Sweet Tooth: Yoi loves eating sweets, to the point of treating it as Serious Business. When Ichimura makes the mistake of asking whether there's a difference if red bean paste is strained or coarse, she deadpans before going off on a long shpiel. She's unaware of this aspect of herself until Ichimura points it out to her.
- Tomboy Angst: More like "Bifauxnen Angst", but the same rules apply. Yoi is well aware of the fact that she looks androgynous enough to pass for a young man and can even accept that, but she doesn't really enjoy being treated like a Prince or constantly mistaken for a boy. That said, she's too afraid of a Femininity Failure to even try changing things on her own and is resigned to her fate at the start of the story.
- Trial-Period Dating: Yoi is a Bifauxnen high school girl who has never really been approached by guys because of Attractiveness Isolation. Big Man on Campus Ichimura Kohaku takes an interest in her, and one day casually brings up the idea of the two of them test dating to help her get used to guys. Much to his surprise, she accepts and the next day she pulls out a Comically Wordy Contract to impose rules on the whole arrangement, the first of which is that they would only do it for a period between two weeks and a month. When the time to end things comes, they have both begun to develop genuine feelings for each other and decide to continue dating.
- Wall Pin of Love: Ichimura calls out kabedon by name while doing the wall pin action himself when he corners Yoi at school as she's avoiding him.
- Yaoi Fangirl: One of Yoi's friend Nobara, upon hearing that Ichimura is pursuing Yoi, is seen excitedly holding a magazine that has "BL" (short for "boys' love") written on it and says "I'm making progress." The Bifauxnen Yoi exasperatedly responds with "I'm still a girl you know." In a later chapter, she mentions that she's watching Yoi and Ichimura to collect material, implying that she herself writes or draws boys' love stories.
