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Review

by Rebecca Silverman,

My Love Story!!

GN 4

Synopsis:
My Love Story!! GN 4
Yamato and Takeo's romance has been mostly smooth and lovey-dovey, but all of a sudden, two threats appear! Suna's older sister Ai has had feelings for Takeo for years, and now they're interfering with the plans of a classmate who wants to date her. Then at the school sports festival, Takeo helps out a female classmate who is suddenly able to see the prince beneath the muscles. Will Takeo ever realize that he's got other admirers? And how will Yamato handle her rivals?
Review:

The central conceit of this collaboration between High School Debut's Kazune Kawahara and Aruko for the first three volumes was that Takeo was such a big, muscular, unattractive guy that no one but Yamato could possibly want to date him. Even Takeo bought into this idea – for most of his dating life, girls were attracted to his best friend Sunakawa, passing him by. That did work for those three volumes, but by the third it really was beginning to wear thin, despite ramped up efforts to show that Yamato found him physically desirable and wasn't just attracted to his sweet personality. So it's a welcome change that now in the fourth volume Kawahara switches things up a bit with the revelation that Yamato isn't the only one who can see beneath Takeo's exterior to the great guy within.

There were hints before that Sunakawa's older sister Ai may have had a crush on Takeo when they were younger, and this volume confirms it. When Ai comes home from college on vacation, a young man from school follows after, desperately trying to convince her to go out with him. She's put him off by telling him that she likes someone else, and when he meets Takeo, he realizes that this is his rival. While Takeo himself remains pretty oblivious, others begin to really see that he's more than just a big dude, a plot thread that is carried through into the next story arc, which takes place during Takeo's school sports festival. Unatheletic girl Saijo finds herself put on Takeo's relay race team when another girl sprains her ankle, and through his unstinting, careful aid in making her a better runner, she falls for him, realizing that his exterior, which previously repulsed her (perhaps not quite that bad, but she certainly didn't find him physically attractive), is a guy she's falling for. Saijo is much more aggressive than Ai, who accepted the fact that Takeo and Yamato were head-over-heels for each other and backed off, and she looks to be the first serious rival to enter the scene.

That's really something this manga needs. The heartwarming adventures of Takeo and Yamato are adorable and oftentimes funny, but previous to this point there was a sense of stagnation in the series. While volume three did try to spice it up with Yamato thinking (hoping?) that maybe she and Takeo were going to sleep together when they got stuck in the mountains, Takeo remained totally clueless, which kept the story from advancing. He's still pretty out of touch with the fact that Saijo has a crush on him, but Sunakawa definitely knows what's going on, and he and Yamato discuss it. This sets the stage for doubts to be planted about Sunakawa's and Yamato's relationship if Saijo chooses to exploit it, because it's clear by the book's end that she's not going to give up on Takeo, even though she knows he has a girlfriend. While I would hate to see this devolve into a love geometry series, it is badly in need of some shaking up, so a little triangle wouldn't hurt at this point.

Of course there is still plenty of the goofiness that helps to make this series so much fun. Takeo's nice guy need to use his strength to help others – and their fear of him – continues to make an appearance, most notably when he helps a child retrieve a toy stuck in a tree and Sunakawa gets the thanks because he's less intimidating to look at. Takeo's innocence, not just in the romantic sense, but in his firm, Candide like belief that the world is a wonderful place, makes him more lovable than the vast majority of shoujo romance heroes and remains a chief attraction of the book. Aruko's art is not at its finest, sadly, with bodies looking lumpen and misshapen in far too many panels and some pages trying to cram too many panels in. However Takeo's faces and the Bro Cafe Machos still remain wonderful touches that help to make up for it.

My Love Story!! is sort of the shoujo romance for people sick of shoujo romances. The hero is likable, the heroine is secure, and the relationships are strong and not abusive in any way. While this can make the story stagnate a bit, Kawahara's introduction of a non-bitchy love rival this time helps to prevent that, making this once again a sweet, fun story worth reading.

Grade:
Overall : B
Story : B+
Art : B-

+ Introduction of rival plot helps reinvigorate the story, Takeo still makes the best faces. Likable characters give this an edge over more typical shoujo romances.
Aruko's art isn't at its best, crowded pages. Story still feels like it's dragging a little.

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Production Info:
Story: Kazune Kawahara
Art: Aruko
Licensed by: Viz Media

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My Love Story!! (manga)

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My Love Story!! (GN 4)

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