Shoujo Manga Protagonist x Rival San is a webcomic and manga written by kuu_u_
.
Kimura Honoka wants to get close to her crush Mizushima Aoi, but the beautiful and confrontational Hiyama Yurina has a problem with that... though it's not the kind of problem you'd expect from this scenario.
The manga was originally a webcomic hosted on Twicomi before being serialized by Gangan Joker.
Shoujo Manga Protagonist x Rival San contains the following tropes:
- Alpha Bitch: Hiyama initially appears to be this type of character, and it's why her two lackeys latch onto her even though they despise her. However, it's later subverted when it turns out she is just naturally cold and aloof towards everybody, and she doesn't seem to have any interest in being a social-climber, a trend-setter, or establishing a pecking order for anything besides who gets to date Kimura.
- Bait-and-Switch: The manga's raison d'etre. Every single webcomic chapter (each about four pages long) will set up a stereotypical shoujo manga situation where the heroine gets a little closer to her crush, have the heroine get cornered by her seeming rival for his affections, and then subvert expectations by revealing the rival character is actually mad about the protagonist not returning her affections.
- Blackmail: A particularly bizarre incident of this happens in chapter 10 of the webcomic. Hiyama took a picture of Kimura and Mizushima together and threatens to... crop Kimura out and make it her phone's lock screen and print out a huge poster to hang in her room if she doesn't go on a date with her. Credit to Hiyama, it worked.
- The Bully: Hiyama is a subversion as her bullying is really just her inept attempts to flirt. Her two friends attempt to play it straight, but their efforts are often undercut by Hiyama's infatuation with Kimura.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Hiyama is... a weird case of this. She has no problem saying her feelings, but the way she goes about it comes off as so threatening that it ends up sending mixed messages.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Hiyama in spades, as she is very keen to intercede in any conversation Kimura has with other characters, especially Mizushima. Kimura starts becoming this when she begins to realise her feelings for Hiyama, wanting only Hiyama to herself.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Initially, Hiyama is cold and contemptuous towards everybody. However, once she starts falling for Kimura, Mizushima says she's smiling and genuinely enjoying herself far more than she ever did before.
- Large Ham: Hiyama to the point that it actually works against her as she's so extra in her attempts to win her heart that Kimura can't tell if she's being genuine or if it's a really weird bullying tactic.
- Love Epiphany: After several chapters teasing her feelings, Kimura has this in Chapter 36 while watching Hiyama and Mizushima talk.
- Love Makes You Dumb: As stated under Alpha Bitch, Hiyama is a naturally cold and aloof girl, but put her in the same room as Kimura and you'd never know it as she devolves into a hysterical screaming blushing mess.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Hiyama is not shy about expressing her feelings to Kimura, but her methods are often so aggressive that she ends up scaring Kimura.
- No Social Skills: Hiyama is seen as a cool, dignified, mature girl by her peers. As a trio of bonus chapters show, however, she just genuinely doesn't know how to interact with other people, pushing them away with her abrasive and rude attitude. It's so bad that a simple kiss on the cheek from Kimura causes Hiyama to faint.
- Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactics: Subverted. Every single webcomic chapter sets up a Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactic and then pulls a Bait-and-Switch by revealing Hiyama wants to get closer to Kimura instead of bully her. Her two lackeys try to play the trope straight, but since they're following Hiyama they inevitably get dragged along on whatever scheme she's cooked up.
- Stock Shoujo Heroine: The protagonist Kimura Honoka is a walking stereotype of a put-upon shoujo heroine determined to win over her crush, but with the twist that the "rival" character has the hots for her rather than her crush.
- Supporting Protagonist: Although Kimura is the protagonist of the title, she's (intentionally) rather bland and stereotypical. Once the manga started being serialized, it devoted much more time to exploring Hiyama's psychology, while Kimura remained a fairly Flat Character until she begins realising her feelings for Hiyama and asserting her confidence.
- Will They or Won't They?: Initially (for the first three pages), the manga seems to be about whether Kimura will get together with Mizushima-kun. Then it reveals the actual driving question is whether Kimura will reciprocate Hiyama's feelings.
- Work Info Title: It's titled "Shoujo Manga Protagonist X Rival-san". It's about a shoujo manga protagonist getting shipped with her Rival-san.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Kimura's friend Tomoe is familiar enough with manga tropes to recognize the plot setup that Kimura has found herself in. The one thing she got wrong is that she's in a Yuri Genre story. She even lampshades it in later portions of the story.Tomoe: Hiyama-san's made my Honoka all weird...
- Yuri Fan: When Kimura finally starts returning Hiyama's affections Mizushima turns out to be surprisingly okay with it, going so far as to create opportunities for the pair.
