Io Sakisaka is one of my favourite manga creators so when I saw that another one of her series is being published in North America, I knew I had to read it! Thankfully, I continue to be obsessed with Sakisaka’s work.

Love Me, Love Me Not begins when two girls, Yuna and Akari, form an unlikely friendship, not realizing that they are actually neighbours. The two have different opinions on love, especially high school love. Of course, they’re not the only characters in this wonderful series and I really adored all of the characters. I don’t want to really reveal more than that because this is only volume 1 of a new series.

I found the premise super cute and I really liked all of the characters. I thought the drawing style was Sakisaka’s usual style, even more refined. I can’t really reveal much but I really enjoyed the start of what I can already tell will be an adorable series!

A sweet manga about two very different girls starting high school and becoming friends. Yuka is shy and believes in fairy tale romance while Akari is outgoing and more realistic. Together they navigate school and dating boys. Akari has an attractive, shallow, brother that Yuka is drawn to based on his resemblance to a prince while Akari starts with a boyfriend but is also interested in Yuka's old friend Inue. Even though there is a lot of talk about boys and romance the main thrust of the book is the developing friendship between the two young women. The newness of their friendship can lead to misunderstandings and interference from others but ultimately they are there for each other. I wasn't too happy with the twist in the last chapter but probably should have expected it based on the genre.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1" by Io Sakisaka. Such a sweet and innocent romance manga! Reminded me of having my first crush. I enjoyed the art style. The writing was easy to understand. The story leaves off on a cliff-hanger. I will gladly be continuing this series in the future.

First volume in a new shojo (romance) manga series.

Akari is bold of personality: she is gregarious, makes friends easily, and isn’t afraid to pursue a crush or be in a relationship. Yuma is her foil: timid, shy, and only crushes from afar. These new friends will experience the first year of high school— crushes, love, and maybe some homework, too—together.

This is a cute shojo manga. However, the abrupt change in setting/time mid-“chapter” is somewhat confusing, as is the quick introduction of characters in too short a time.

I need to read more manga. I used to read it all the time in middle school and this book reminds me of all the reasons I loved reading them in the first place.

Love square and possible step sibling relationship? All the typical fair for high school shojo is here including catty girls, rumors/gossip mill, and first crush. Even though the main heroine is a bit of a pushover, I liked that she is an avid shojo reader (much like many of the fans of this series are apt to be). The series is probably going to follow her journey to becoming more self confident.

This was my first manga that I've ever read, and I really liked it! I found it to be a cute and easy read, and it kept me interested through the many twists and turns. I would classify the story as a cute YA romance, where we follow Yuna and her new friend Akari, as they both experience the difficulties of young love. I found the plot to be interesting, and the twists to be surprising! I'll definitely be checkin out volume 2 when it becomes available, and I'm excited to recommend it for the YA manga collection at my branch!

While the art style was absolutely adorable, this storyline was confusing. It was a very superficial way of thinking about love. You have two different girls that approach love very differently. One girl uses a more forward, hands on approach, while the other girl is quieter are more drawn into herself. I will be happy to read what comes next, though because there was no conclusion to the story.

This was a sweet manga about new friends Akira and Yuna, and their different approaches to boys and falling in love. Things get slightly complicated when Yuna finds herself falling for Akira's brother, Rio. Akira's convinced that Rio is far too predatory for innocent Yuna, while Yuna is happy to pine away, and admire Rio from afar. The volume ends on a cliff-hanger that, if true, will certainly further complicate things!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I still had to try any of Sakisaka’s manga, so I was happy to have the opportunity to review this one. The short—but to the point—blurb and the pretty cover totally grabbed my attention, and now that I read it I’m even happier!

This was such an enjoyable first volume with some funny moments and an artwork that is truly adorable, just like the heroines of the story. Complete opposites, Yuna and Akari are two girls with different personalities everyone can relate to. Which one you find more of your liking it really comes to your own traits, but there is still a chance you could recognise a bit of both—the idealist and the realist—in yourself. Find that hard to believe? Let these girls put some sweet thoughts in your mind. And just like they pique your curiosity with their vision of love, things get an interesting turn at the end, leaving you want to uncover an unexpected piece of the puzzle . . .

A lovely opening to a very nice shōjo that is not just about (chasing) love, but also about friendship and acceptance. Find your inner strength and go after what—and/or who—you want. And you do want this manga!

For starters the art is amazing. I related alot to Yuna in the socially awkward romance. The ending definitely left me wanting more. I am in shock at this new and wild revelation of who rio is in love with. Talk about a cliffhanger!

This was good, but it also wasn't the best. It wasn't very memorable, in my opinion. It's one that I would continue if I found them for cheap, but not one I would necessarily seek out.

The art was done well and the story was fine. It just wasn't anything spectacular.

Thank you to NetGalley, Io Sakisaka, and Viz Media for the opportunity to read Love Me, Love Me Not Volume One in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Strobe Edge by the same author, and Blue Spring Ride has been on my to-read list for ages, so I thought, why not check out another series by the same author?

I love Sakisaka's art style. There's a gorgeous simplicity to the characters. This story features two heroines, Yuna and Akari, who both see the methods of falling in love in very different ways. The two become unlikely friends when Akari moves into Yuna's building, and Yuna sees Akari's brother, Rio, as a prince from her favorite picture book. She is unconfident in herself and unsure about pursuing Rio, while Akari likes to be open to different boys and different forms of falling in love. Akari thinks Yuna should date her childhood friend, but when she starts to get to know him, maybe she finds him appealing herself.

This was an enjoyable manga and I am interested in seeing the loves stories of both girls as they play out.

Shojo Goodness & Shojo Drama: ‘Love Me, Love Me Not

Viz’s imprint Shojo Beat has a new hitter at bat: another series by mangaka Io Sakisaka, who is also responsible for such fan favorites as Strobe Edge and Au Haru Ride. She’s had success in the shoujo manga industry — Au Haru Ride has an anime adaptation and a live-action drama film adaptation along with being translated in English. Io Sakisaka writes stories about youth who are complicated and learning about each other, themselves, and the world. When I heard about Love Me, Love Me Not I knew I wanted to figure out the strange dynamic between our four friends — two girls and two guys. I knew I wanted to read more about seeing the world and love through rose-colored glasses focusing in on the friendship of two teenaged girls and all the drama and goodness that comes out of it. Look, it’s springtime. I can feel the shojo sparkles and flower petals dancing in the wind!

The synopsis introduces “Four friends share the springtime of their youth together” and that is correct. With Yuna and Yukari come the two boys who are mixed up in the topsy turvy complication that is called friendship, attraction even,and obligation. Our main players are the soft-spoken and idealistic Yuna, who is very much the-girl-next-door type of character many will recognize. Yuna becomes fast friends to her total opposite, the fast-talking realist with her heart on her sleeve, Yukari. Joining the girls are Rio and Kazuomi. Rio is the tall, handsome playboy, of course, with surprisingly emotional depth that peeks through the more and more you see of him. He happens to be Yukari’s brother. Kazuomi is not quite Captain Obvious. He’s Yuna’s actual next door neighbor who she’s known her whole life — making him the literal boy-next-door. Together all these personalities build an intriguing web of character studies that keep being developing with each page. Each young person has their own thoughts and strategies of conquering love and maintaining friendships. This is the work Io Sakisaka does well.

The pacing is suited for those who can wait and those who can play the long game — If you can emotionally invest in the first 100 pages, then you’re good. This is no microwave feast to behold. I can imagine this is where some readers will be lost if they want it all within the first two chapters or so. Also of bigger note: The revelation made at the end of volume one is a D-R-A-M-A-B-O-M-B and in the way of Adventure Time’s LSP.

It’s either going to make or break your budding love for this series. With that being said, Io Sakisaka’s introduction of the dynamic of these four characters is done in such a way that I have more than a sliver of interest in how they’ll be as high school students navigating life and love. I was touched by Yuna and Yukari and how they’ve been adapting: Yuna the girl whose ideal first love is princely and Yukari who would rather grab love by the collar. The ever-present notion that when you’re young and you have no idea of what you’re doing and you’re swimming with the current trying to figure out which way to go with your feelings is relatable AF and I’m ready to feel this once more.

Timeline wise, I believe this was a series created after Au Blue Ride so Io Sakisaka had time to think on what worked and what didn’t from that series and apply that here. I’d recommend it if you know and love her work: Love me, Love Me Not, Volume 1 is for those who like character-driven work with a slow burn for romance and development. This may be too slow for you which is a shame as this type of story needs time to stew in the pot before we get to the meat and the potatoes.

Two girls with two different views on how love is and how it works. Neither of them are wrong, it's just how each one perceives it. I really enjoyed watching how both girls handled love and how things were. It was super nice seeing different views from each girl and it left me hanging. I want more and can't wait for Vol. 2 to come out to see how relationships are going to blossom and what happens next!

I love Io Sakisaka's Ao Haru Ride, so I was very excited to read the beginning of a new series.

Love Me, Love Me Not follows two girls with different views on life and love as they become friends and navigate high school. I loved that the main focus of the book was on these girls' friendship. It is still a shojo manga and we do see potential love interests and the will they/won't they of that in this first volume, but I love that we get a chance to have a series with friendship at the forefront.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love Me, Love Me Not, Volume 1 by Io Sakisaka is an adorable, romantic manga that should be on everyone's must read list of 2020.

One day, a handsome man who likes like a prince from Yuna's dreams comes into her life! That same day, Yuna's best friend Satchan moves away but she meets a new friend named Akari. Akari and Yuna become quick friends, but it's suddenly obvious they have very different views on love and live. Akari wants Yuna to date her childhood friend, while Yuna believes true love is very different.

Along the way, we watch Akari and Yuna take very different paths towards the love department. Plot twists unfold to reveal some information we would never expect...

Manga like this is always fun. The pictures show a lot of emotion and the story unfolds itself naturally. This manga is far more contemporary romance and drama than the typical fantasy manga I read, but it was still an absolute delight! I found myself glued to this manga and unable to put it down - in fact, I binged the whole thing in one sitting.

My positives:
1. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, adorable and fantastic!

2. Two opposing points of views on love. The heroines of the story idolize love in very different ways and I truly liked seeing two different perspectives instead of having just one forced on us. Bonus points!

3. The themes shown throughout this book was truly intriguing - the takes on love, friendship and jealousy.

4. The DRAMA in piece 4. My goodness.

My negatives:
1. This volume had multiple "pieces". I kind of wondered if this book was broken up like comic books are and then put into one giant volume. Either way, I was a little confused but it didn't impact my view of the story at all.

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga and I would love to continue it if given the chance. I've missed the fun romantic side of mangas and all of the drama that ensues.

Five out of five stars.

Thank you NetGalley and VIZ Media for giving me this wonderful opportunity to pick up this book early!

One word can sum up this book: adorable! It's sweet and heartfelt, the art is stunning and I loved watching the friendship grow between the two main characters and how they help each other when needed.



Now, while I would still recommend this title, it's not my personal favorite because it's just too wholesome. I like my stories to not be so... clean. I want more grit, darkness, adult content and all that good stuff. But it was nice to read a sweet story that left me smiling.


Will go live on the blog: 3/25/2020

This was pretty good manga. I really enjoy the two perspectives from both of the main girl characters on love. I also enjoyed the story line about friendships. Think this would be good book for libraries to get or teens and tweens to read.

This was pretty good manga. I really enjoyed the two perspectives from both of the main girl characters on love. I also enjoyed the story line about friendships. Think this would be good book for libraries to get to add to their collections and teens and tweens to read.