Nao is not a human; she's a replica. As a child, Sunao felt there were things she couldn't deal with, so she created a replica of herself to do everything she didn't want to deal with. But Nao's the one who is experiencing things and growing….and now, she's falling in love in this speculative fiction romance.

Even a Replica Can Fall in Love has art by Momose Hanada, story by Harunadon, and character designs by raemz. Translated by Andrew Cunningham and lettered by Rebecca Sze. Published by Yen Press(17 February 2026). Rated 13+.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

This was really good, although I can't actually say I enjoyed it. Once we learn that the girl we are following is not just a replica meant to live the hard parts of life for a girl who has mostly given up, she's not treated like a partner, but like a servant. Nao doesn't get to sleep in a bed, go on school trips, or eat with the family. Sunao, having refused to live her own life, no longer enjoys even the fun parts. She's made no connections and has no interests. Her life is wasted on her, and as a result, she has not grown at all, while Nao only gets to do the hard work, but never enjoys the good things.

We are very happy for Nao as she finds a way to separate herself from her selfish creator, even as we're wary of becoming too sympathetic. We rejoice that she's having some fun at last, as she spends more time with a boy from the school, enjoying cub activities, and going to the zoo. Sunao isn't living her own life, but she sure does not want Nao to have any fun, either. As Nao and Sanada become closer, it is very easy to see a cliff just ahead for them. And then the story throws us a curveball that changes everything…but not necessarily for the better.

The pacing here is excellent, art and writing are so smooth that when the reveal comes, it feels both like a shock to the system and like a perfectly natural development. There is no doubt that I am rooting for Nao and Sanada, but I'm not entirely sure I'd get the next book, and knowing that there are 5 volumes to this series makes me just want to skip to the end to see if they get their happily-ever-after.

Kevin Cormack
Rating:

It can be a little hard to review the adaptation of a story you've read in another medium already. Harunadon's light novel Even a Replica Can Fall in Love really impressed me when I reviewed it for the Fall 2024 light novel guide. I guess I wasn't the only one enamoured with this emotional story about high school-age doppelgangers – not only did the novel score this manga adaptation, but there's even an anime on the horizon. So how well does this manga edition capture the intriguing, melancholy vibe of its source novel? Pretty well, as it turns out, though it can't hope to replace the experience of reading its progenitor.

What I love about this story is mostly left intact here, if edited down to its barest essentials. Protagonist “Nao” is the mysterious “replica” summoned by her “original” Sunao, a young girl who likes to skip school when she's on her period, or when she's feeling unwell, or basically can't be bothered attending. In her place, she sends Nao, an exact physical replica of herself she can summon from thin air when needed, dispelling her again just as easily. As Sunao withdraws from her own life, Nao gladly begins to develop her own identity, friendships, and even romance, much to Sunao's disgust.

Nao's situation is the stuff of quiet existential nightmares. She doesn't get to sleep, as she's dispelled at bedtime. She doesn't get breakfast, only lunch. She misses out on the fun things like school trips because Sunao goes instead. Living a borrowed life when she can be discarded into a timeless void between summonings understandably causes her anxiety. We're not quite as privy to Nao's thoughts in this version of the story, as it's a more visual medium. The cute, simple art does a reasonable job of approximating her mental state, but it's not the same.

The other drawback is that this volume tells only a small part of the story. Highlights like Nao's trip to the zoo with Sanada are super-sweet, but without the latter, more dramatic story events, this version can't help but feel incomplete and insubstantial. It's still the same thought-provoking and emotional story, but it loses more than mere length in its translation to pictures and word balloons. It's still good, but I'd only recommend this to readers who are sure they want to purchase subsequent volumes for the full story.