You're an interesting one, aren't you, Shinba? You have no job, talent, or money. You're forgetful, your room's filthy, and you only talk about games no one's heard of. No matter where you go or what you do, you're a complete embarrassment. Could being with such a loser ever make anyone happy? …Heh-heh. Don't be so sad. I'm simply having a bit of fun. All I did was look at your pitiful face, but I'm sorry for making you anxious. I love you, so forgive me, okay? Ha-ha…

How to Love a Loser has a story and art by Iwaba. English translation is done by Paul Starr, edited by Stacy Stiles, and lettering by Michelle Ai. Published by Yen Press (March 24, 2026). Rated OT.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

I have to admit, I don't think I've ever sighed in exhaustion while reading a manga I didn't overtly dislike quite as much as I did with How to Love a Loser, Volume 1.

Shinba is “a loser.” He's awkward and irresponsible, an otaku with poor social skills, rolled low on physical fortitude, poor fashion sense, and constantly anxious about all of the above. His girlfriend Hizumi is attractive, cool, sensible, and genuinely likes Shinba…but she definitely likes him even more when he's falling apart and can't cope. This is the most relatable manga that I haven't enjoyed in a long while.

Shinba is us, and Hizumi is the partner we all want, presumably, but Hizumi pushing all of Shinba's buttons constantly just grated on my every nerve. While it does seem that she likes him for who he is and does want to help him be his best self, she's also constantly pointing out his flaws and failures with a sincere, but irritating chuckle.

All this is meant to be funny, possibly endearing. I am long past finding manipulative behavior to be anything but toxic. Hizumi probably does like Shinba for the person he is, but he's never going to be happy with her, because she likes his miserable face best. Eww. And sigh.

Art here feels very much like pencil sketches on steroids, which worked pretty well for the unfinished weight of the story and characters. The volume as a whole felt like an idea that was played out almost immediately. Maybe this manga works better in serialization. I could see finding it way more tolerable one chapter at a time. As a collection, it just felt tired and mean-spirited. I cannot imagine wanting to read any more of this for any reason.

Bolts
Rating:

Have you ever read something that felt simultaneously wholesome and problematic? That's what it felt like reading How to Love a Loser because while there were a lot of sweet moments, there were also a lot of moments that made me squirm in my seat a little bit because of how wildly uncomfortable things felt. The story follows a young man who, try as he might, seems to just be a natural-born screw-up. He's always late, no matter what he does, he stumbles and falls, doesn't always know basic etiquette, and in general doesn't seem like he's taking care of himself. So he's constantly wondering why this tall, seemingly perfect woman wants to be his girlfriend. To be honest, I don't blame his constant and random bouts of anxiety, considering that every chapter has at least one full page spread of his girlfriend pointing out all of his flaws and seemingly looking down on him. But she smiles, says that she likes being with him regardless, and then the chapter ends on a seemingly wholesome note. That is virtually how every chapter is structured, and I swear to God, it was hard to sit with the amount of whiplash I kept feeling because of everything about this. This isn't helped by the monochromatic shaded style that the manga seems to be going for, or the black speech bubbles that are almost always commonly used to make a character come off as sadistic or intimidating.

Credit where it is due, there is a sense of narrative progression in this, and the first volume actually ends with a bit of a shake-up to the formula with hints of deeper-rooted issues that might be plaguing this relationship dynamic, particularly on the girlfriend's side. She doesn't necessarily treat the boyfriend poorly as much as she almost seems to relish in how much of a loser he is, almost like she's getting off half the time. A more wholesome story would have framed her liking him despite him being a loser, but a lot of the time it feels like she likes him specifically BECAUSE he is a loser, and I don't think I need to tell you which one sounds more problematic. It feels like the story is specifically setting itself up to be about that issue, but how it plans on handling that has yet to be seen, and to be honest, the story feels like it's trying to have its cake and eat it too.

Those scenes where the girlfriend is talking down to her boyfriend come off in a very fetishized way. Am I supposed to enjoy the fact that she is saying this stuff to me, even though the boyfriend does not enjoy it at all? What's worse, she never seems to communicate exactly what her desires or intentions are. I believe that her romantic interest in him is probably genuine, but if these conversations aren't happening or if she is intentionally keeping him in a place of spiraling, self-dependency for the sake of making herself feel better, then that's not really a relationship that I want to root for either. So I feel really stuck reviewing this one because I find it fascinating and enjoy the more wholesome moments between the two, but it almost feels like it's poisoned. I might just find myself keeled over, wondering why I let it get this far. If you like those types of stories that have a bit of edge, then by all means. I'll probably continue reading this one out of pure curiosity, but I also understand that most people aren't as crazy as I am in that regard.