Sweat and Soap

Sweat and Soap (あせとせっけん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kintetsu Yamada. It was serialized in Kodansha's digital manga magazine D Morning from June 2018 to August 2019, and later in Morning from October 2019 to January 2021, with its chapters collected in eleven  volumes. A nine-episode television drama adaptation was broadcast on MBS from February to April 2022.

Plot
Asako Yaeshima is a timid office worker at Lilia Drop, a toiletry company. Asako loves the company, because she is ashamed of 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.

Characters

 * Asako Yaeshima (八重島 麻子)


 * Kotaro Natori (名取 香太郎)


 * Korisu Ichise


 * Keita Yaeshima


 * Yūji Suzumura


 * Maki Sakashita


 * Osamu Hashitani


 * Jin Ōkura

Manga
Written and illustrated by Kintetsu Yamada, a one-shot chapter of Sweat and Soap was published on Kodansha's digital manga magazine D Morning on January 4, 2018. It was later published as a full-fledged serialized manga in the same magazine 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 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. The eleven volumes were published from February 25, 2020, to December 14, 2021.

After the serialization, Yamada published a 24-page doujinshi titled Kodomo Tsukuru Hon (こどもつくる本, "A Book of Making a Baby") in Comitia 136 in June 2021. The story is about Asako and Kotaro having sex without contraception for the first time.

Drama
In January 2022, it was announced that the series would receive a television drama adaptation, which was broadcast on MBS's Drama Tokku programming block from February 4 to April 1 of the same year.

Reception
Sweat and Soap placed second in the third annual Tsutaya Comic Awards in 2019. The series also placed ninth in the fifth Next Manga Awards in the digital category. Alongside Dr. Stone and Heterogenia Linguistico, the series ranked 17th on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2020 for male readers. It ranked sixth 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!."