New Manga Impression: Koi to Yobu Niwa Kimochi Warui

Synopsis

The story begins with a high spec businessman named Amakusa Ryou after another night with a woman as always. When he nearly ends up falling head first into a flight of stairs he is saved via umbrella by high school student Arima Ichika. When she realizes that he seems lacking in energy she offers him her lunch before running off for school.

This one moment results in Ryou instantly falling in love with her and coincidentally he is the brother of her friend. When she comes to visit their home he without hesitation tries to charm her and confesses his attraction. Ichika immediately responds in disgust and rejects his attempts, but rather than be deterred, Ryou takes this as a challenge and this begins a rather quirky love story.

The Good

It’s a quirky series to say the least but it’s different in a good way. Some parts of the concept have been done before but the way that the story twists the trope just enough brings something new to the table. The character dynamic has been done before but the way that Ichika and Ryou bounce off other makes for some pretty funny and cute scenes at the same time. Sure, the framework may be a bit weird, but the series thankfully doesn’t make things too awkward.

For one thing, the way that Ryou is portrayed doesn’t go overboard in the way that a series would make his type, over the top or overly flirtatious. Then there is Ichika, the fun thing about her is that for the most part, she’s not the usual shoujo girl type. In a way there are some points to her which make her realistic and relatable. Basically, there’s a solid balance going on with the characters that bodes well for this shoujo work.

The Bad

While Ryou’s personality was toned down from the usual, it is something that has been seen before. Then there is the whole way that he fell in love with Ichika, the concept of characters falling in love way too fast has been done before but this series feels like it takes on a different level that leaves and “ehh” feel to it. There isn’t much to be said against it so far given how short it is but there’s only hope that they maintain what they have so far.

Conclusion

It’s different, it’s cute and it achieves just a right amount of balance between sweetness and comedy. Personally, this writer has been growing tired of the shoujo series given how much frustration there’s been going on with the majority of shoujo works that’s been encountered. With the way that the character dynamics are showing here and the way the flow is going, there’s a pretty high chance of this series of hitting off. Overall if you’re looking for a quirky series that offers something cute and different, this is the one.

Rating: 7.5/10