Sweat and Soap
Plot. Asako Yaeshima is a timid office worker at Lilia Drop, a toiletry company. Asako loves the company, because she is ashamed about her sweating problems and body odor, and the scent of the soap produced by the company is the only thing capable of undermining her insecurities. However, when Kotaro Natori, the company’s lead product developer, approaches her and gets a deep whiff, he states that he loves Asako's smell and finds her inspirational. As the two continue to meet for work, Asako begins to care less about being sniffed by Kotaro, and they  start a romantic relationship. Media. Manga. Written and illustrated by , "Sweat and Soap" was serialized in Kodansha's digital manga magazine "D Morning" from June 21, 2018, to August 22, 2019. The series was then transferred to "Morning", being serialized from October 3, 2019, to January 7, 2021. Kodansha collected its chapters in eleven "tankōbon" volumes, released from October 10, 2018, to May 21, 2021. In North America, Kodansha USA announced the English language release of the manga in July 2019. Drama. In January 2022, it was announced that the series would receive a television drama adaptation, which premiered on  MBS's Drama Tokku programming block on February 4 of the same year. Reception. "Sweat and Soap" placed #2 in the 3rd annual Tsutaya Comic Awards in 2019. The series also placed 9th in the 5th Next Manga Awards in the digital category. Alongside "Dr. Stone" and "Heterogenia Linguistico", the series ranked #17 on Takarajimasha's "Kono Manga ga Sugoi!" list of best manga of 2020 for male readers. It ranked #6 on "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020" by the Honya Club online bookstore. The manga was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category  in 2021. Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network wrote that while the "sniff-based" romance is a "bit awkward" or "uncomfortable", it is "worth giving this a chance anyway", adding: "it's easy to get behind Asako and Natori and in romance, that's often the most important thing". Brittany Vincent from Otaku USA called the main characters' relationship "downright enviable", and wrote that the story is "unique and moves along at a good clip". Demelza from Anime UK News wrote that despite a premise "somewhat creepy and off-putting", she "wasn’t expecting such a sweet romance series", calling  the "wholesome content of the story" a "compelling and heartwarming read", concluding: "If you’re looking for a sweet love story involving adult characters then certainly give this one a go!".