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A review by princess_starr
My Love Story!!, Vol. 6 by Aruko, Kazune Kawahara
4.0
How does My Love Story!! just keep getting better with every volume? If anyone but Kawahara Kazune had been writing this, I think I would be more frustrated with the progression of this series so far. And yet, at volume 6, I’m still here, excited to read the next installment and find out what happens next.
What I think helps with this volume is that the driving force isn’t so much about Takeo and Yamamoto’s relationship for the first half, but rather the long-gestating (heh) plotline of Takeo’s mother’s pregnancy. I’ve seen a few people talk about how parents in shojo manga don’t really play as much of a role in the plot, and I’d have to agree. While I certainly do think that there’s been some great depictions of parenting in other manga that I’ve read, most of the time they’re existing on the sidelines. (For example, in Kimi ni Todoke, I love Sawako’s parents, but they’re haven’t been really integral to the series.) And while I do understand why the parents wouldn’t play as big of a role as needed, it does seem that parental figures really only exist at times to show the reader that the characters have a family life or if there needs to be an easy source of conflict.
While Takeo’s parents have largely existed on the sidelines up until this point, what I really love about this first half is that it really fleshes them out more as characters, and not just as supporting characters. I also really love how much we see Takeo taking after his mother—not just her physical strength, but his genuine and kind nature as well. And I really liked seeing his mother helping out others and telling people “I can take it, you need to go before I do.” But what I really liked the most is the flashback to Takeo’s parents first meeting—first of all, I liked that it’s not framed as a joke of Takeo’s father being attracted to burlier women, but he’s genuinely attracted to Yuriko’s kindness and self-sacrifice. And I liked that both of their traits really come through with Takeo. The first half of this volume has managed to pull off so much character development in a few chapters, and it’s so well-done. (Also Takeo being even more over-protective over his new baby sister is adorable.)
While the second half of the volume focuses more on the requisite first Valentine’s Day for Takeo and Yamamoto (complete with the ongoing joke about how their respective group of friends just want to hang out for every major holiday; I will love it if this series ends with everyone eventually hooking up because “Eh, why not?”), but I also like the promise that Sunakawa might actually get more to do in this series. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sunakawa, and especially his aloof attitude towards life in general and Takeo’s oversized personality, but there are times where he does feel a little boring or just a third wheel. So I think actually giving Sunakawa his own romantic arc might actually end up really good. Especially given that Takeo is the one to first meet the girl who’s been following them, and it’d be an interesting spin on Sunakawa’s role as the one to give advice and helping Takeo out.
As I said, I’m still really enjoying this series, and that this volume starts to branch out from focusing solely on Takeo and Yamamoto only makes me want to know how the rest of the characters are going to be developed from here on out. I don’t think I can really say more than look if you haven’t been reading My Love Story!! already, then you are sorely missing out on a fantastic series.
What I think helps with this volume is that the driving force isn’t so much about Takeo and Yamamoto’s relationship for the first half, but rather the long-gestating (heh) plotline of Takeo’s mother’s pregnancy. I’ve seen a few people talk about how parents in shojo manga don’t really play as much of a role in the plot, and I’d have to agree. While I certainly do think that there’s been some great depictions of parenting in other manga that I’ve read, most of the time they’re existing on the sidelines. (For example, in Kimi ni Todoke, I love Sawako’s parents, but they’re haven’t been really integral to the series.) And while I do understand why the parents wouldn’t play as big of a role as needed, it does seem that parental figures really only exist at times to show the reader that the characters have a family life or if there needs to be an easy source of conflict.
While Takeo’s parents have largely existed on the sidelines up until this point, what I really love about this first half is that it really fleshes them out more as characters, and not just as supporting characters. I also really love how much we see Takeo taking after his mother—not just her physical strength, but his genuine and kind nature as well. And I really liked seeing his mother helping out others and telling people “I can take it, you need to go before I do.” But what I really liked the most is the flashback to Takeo’s parents first meeting—first of all, I liked that it’s not framed as a joke of Takeo’s father being attracted to burlier women, but he’s genuinely attracted to Yuriko’s kindness and self-sacrifice. And I liked that both of their traits really come through with Takeo. The first half of this volume has managed to pull off so much character development in a few chapters, and it’s so well-done. (Also Takeo being even more over-protective over his new baby sister is adorable.)
While the second half of the volume focuses more on the requisite first Valentine’s Day for Takeo and Yamamoto (complete with the ongoing joke about how their respective group of friends just want to hang out for every major holiday; I will love it if this series ends with everyone eventually hooking up because “Eh, why not?”), but I also like the promise that Sunakawa might actually get more to do in this series. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sunakawa, and especially his aloof attitude towards life in general and Takeo’s oversized personality, but there are times where he does feel a little boring or just a third wheel. So I think actually giving Sunakawa his own romantic arc might actually end up really good. Especially given that Takeo is the one to first meet the girl who’s been following them, and it’d be an interesting spin on Sunakawa’s role as the one to give advice and helping Takeo out.
As I said, I’m still really enjoying this series, and that this volume starts to branch out from focusing solely on Takeo and Yamamoto only makes me want to know how the rest of the characters are going to be developed from here on out. I don’t think I can really say more than look if you haven’t been reading My Love Story!! already, then you are sorely missing out on a fantastic series.