3.25 ⭐

Attempted sexual assault in the beginning, Some chapters might be heavier than others.

Chika Hanai has never experienced romantic or sexual attraction. Her high school friends thinks there's something wrong with her and began to make her feel as if she's not 'normal' but as Chika enters university and meets new people, she realizes that she isn't alone.

A fun book about self-discovery. Despite the fact that Chika exhibits traits of being aroace, the manga solely portrays her as asexual. Regardless, I'm glad to see more aroace representation in books.

People's reaction towards Chika having no attraction whatsoever is honestly very accurate. I enjoyed the friendship Chika has between Enomoto and Ito expecially when they watched Magical Girl Rosette together.

"If I want to find an answer that makes sense to me, I can't just blindly accept what other people say. I have to choose, from a multitude of possibilities as abundant as the stars."

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the e-ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! This was an interesting read. I loved the character growth and the relatable conversations. I felt that the conversation around queerness and queer identity was very real and vulnerable. Even the language and dialogue felt genuine.
I loved that the main character went through a journey with her identity and that no one forced her to label it and by then end it was “this is the label for now but it’s not all encompassing and it can change.”

There was some odd scene jumps and pacing but otherwise very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Uta Isaki for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

This manga is a single volume contained in 250 pages. It is right up my alley, as it has great LGBTQIA+ representation, and demonstrates how sometimes, we as people don't really quite fit into a single word to identify ourselves, but we can at least find something that somewhat fits.

In high school, Chika's friends gush about romance and push her into a date. When she isn't really feeling the touching aspect, let alone any aspect of romance, she is seen by her friends as a prude and "not normal."

Chika goes to college for psychology, hoping to explore herself more and determine why she doesn't understand or cannot relate to those who are so into romantic relationships, she she has never felt that way herself. She soon learns about ace, and that there are different domains under ace as an orientation.

This manga explores what it means to look into and discover oneself and to understand that all people are different. There isn't one form of "normal," it just may take some time to find the right words to describe oneself as they explore their version of normality. A great manga.

This was an interesting coming-of-age story about a young woman who is figuring out her sexual identity. She discovers that she couldn't develop any romantic feelings for the people she dated in high school, which led to her feeling alienated for not having desire for physical intimacy like everyone else.

Chika identifies herself as asexual. She was looking for answer to herself that didn't exist, trying to figure out how to be normal, when normal is not something she has to be. However, knowing from her past of being treated differently for not being normal, it is understandable that Chika would behave in an attempt to fit into society.

I like the portrayal of struggles she faces, what's seen as normal and average, and what is seen as abnormal, and her exploration of trying to understand romance.

Overall, I enjoyed this manga! It was interesting to get different aspects of romance and learn more about sexual orientations for different characters!

I loved this manga so much. It made my heart happy to see that this was a celebration of sexuality in however that manifests for each individual person. Its hard to experience the world in a way that is different from what is considered “normal”, but the truth is everyone has to find and define what “normal” is for themselves.

I hope that this manga finds the people it needs to find. I know that reading something like this can change a life for someone who is feeling alone and misunderstood. You don’t have to have romantic or sexual love be part of your life at all ever. There are a lot of judgements that get passed on people who are a-sexual or a-romantic and I don’t think those judgements are fair. People should be allowed to go through life and discover who they are for themselves.

I love how this manga showcased different kinds of relationships and the importance of communication in every relationship. Each relationship should get to be defined for itself. When people get into relationships and they have different ideas on how they want to be loved, what is and isn’t ok, boundaries, what cheating is, and more issues arise. It is so important to discuss not just in romantic relationships, but friendships, and even in familial relationships as well.

This manga is such a beautiful showcase of what healthy and unhealthy relationships and friendships look like. As well as what it’s like to look inward to understand yourself and how you truly feel about yourself and how you relate with the world. It’s ok not to know and it’s ok for the labels and definitions to change and grow with you and all that matters is that you feel right in yourself about who you are.

I highly recommend everyone to pick this up and enjoy the openness and maybe answer some of the questions it raises for yourself.

This was beautiful coming of age story discussing sexuality, romance and attraction. I was super invested in our main character's story and her coming to terms with who she is. I was a big fan of the message of things changing over time and giving yourself the space to change and grow as you get older. I loved the asexuality representation and I feel that manga should be read by everyone!

Absolutely amazing. The art style and story were so well done, certainly one that is more about explanation and exploration of the sexuality it is exploring but very enjoyable nonetheless

I really like this one. The art style is cute, and the asexual representation is really good. I’m definitely getting it for my school library!

I think this book was good. The cast of characters was interesting and all so different from one another. I love the setting and environment this book created it really helped to create well rounded and dynamic characters.

Isaki's Is Love the Answer? is very information heavy, but not in a bad way. She has several characters that exist outside of the "normal" and along the way there is a background exploration of what exactly it means to be normal. There is a lot of information online about the various subcategories of asexual that it can be hard to navigate. Chika's overthinking in the face of trying to put a name to what she feels in the light of new ways of thinking is very relatable. I like that, in the end, she comes to the realization that the words help describe her as she is, but do not define all that she is or could be.

Is Love The Answer? by Uta Isaki is a thoughtful exploration of one person's experience with asexuality. I loved the way the author discussed how asexual people experience their sexuality differently, and that this was meant to just be one person's experience with it. The characters and friendships felt authentic and I enjoyed their growth throughout the story. I can think of numerous people I want to share this story with, and am eager to get it for our library.

Ahhh I'm so happy. I feel like this book was so well written. I do agree with others that the book was heavy and kinda loaded with informational segments. But I actually enjoyed this. Many books do not face different points of views about the LGBTQ+ groups head on. I appreciate the main character exploring her identity through experiences as well as books/research. And to be honest, I felt like the informational segments still built on the story and were points that the characters used to build relationships with each other. I felt like the characters were well-written and did a good job a showing a spectrum. This author really said definitions with identities are up to the individual and I love that. Plus, it's not a series? Thank you. Well-worth the read.

I really enjoyed this manga - I loved seeing our main character exploring her sexuality and accepting herself for who she is.

I loved what this manga was trying to say - I adored how it explored asexuality (and other sexual orientations), but also acknowledged that sexual identity isn't a monolith, and that everyone is different. I really enjoyed the conversations around how people may fit into multiple categories, and that no experience is exactly the same - even the straight "normal" characters had different views on sexual and romantic relationships.

As someone who also identifies as asexual, I loved that this is out in the world and that it will encourage others to questions what is viewed as "normal", and hopefully find themselves along the way.

I adored the conversations in this, and think it's definitely worth the read for anyone trying to find themself.

Thank you so very much to Netgalley & The Publisher for providing me with an E-Arc, in exchange for an honest review!

CW: Attempted Sexual Assault

5 / 5 Stars

This was such a beautiful and informative story, that, even days after I've finished reading, I'm still smiling about it all. It features not one, not two, but at least three canon ace folks, from different sides of and on the spectrum, showcasing their struggles and how different the ace-experience can be depending on so many different things. The support system, the friendships, the small found-family and the just everything all togehter made for an amazing read. We even found the time to mention and imply a potential QPR - even going as far as using the word Zucchini, which is my favourit word for partners in a QPR ♥. It just makes me wonder, which word the japanese original used. If someone knows, be free to let me know.
The art is beautiful as well and the cover just makes my heart sing.

Final Thoughts
Just beautiful.

Actual rating: 3.5
tw: attempted sexual assault

IS LOVE THE ANSWER? is a refreshing story about Chika, a college student, who always struggled with sexual and romantic attraction. She tried to date, but she could never relate to what other thought was "normal" or "expected". This is her journey to understand herself better. I loved the community aspect, especially a queer community like she has, because it added so much depth to the story. Uta Isaki managed to touch on a subject that is not often represented and she did it with such care! Words like "normal" are deconstructed, and while it's informative it was always really touching. There is a brief mention of gender identity as well, but like the rest there are no definite answer because that's life.
I don't know if I read it too fast, but while asexuality was explained in depth, I felt like aromanticism wasn't? Which is surprising considering a few characters, including Chika, are aroace. But maybe that's just me! I didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story, but it did take a way from my understanding of the characters...though the author's note as the end was really interesting and explained it a little bit more.
Anyway, it was a nice story, I'm happy that I could relate to them and one line that stuck with me was "the important thing isn't to have others recognize that you're asexual. it's to decide the path that feels right to you".

This manga handles the topic of asexuality sensitively and also includes other queer characters. It would make a good addition to an LGBTQ+ manga collection.

CW: sexual assault

This story follows a young girl who does not feel like she is normal because she does not like the same things as her classmates, and does not understand or feel the same way about romance. It follows her as she grows up and goes to college, where she starts exploring and trying to figure out who she is not based on the views of others but on how she feels she is. I really enjoyed this book because sometimes we care too much about how others think of us and forget to just be ourselves because at the end of the day we are the only ones that can truly understand ourselves and love ourselves for who we are. The art of this story was also very well done.

This. Was. Everything. The topic of the main character learning of her sexual orientation/coming of age was beautifully written and portrayed. The topics side characters brought up are also deep and complex. I want to suggest this book to so many friends or children to help them see and learn. I have a friend who is asexual and have seen first hand people demanding love and partners and how it brought them down. I also learned new information myself! I have never heard of a queer platonic relationship before but oh how it resonated with me and the relationship I could never define until now! Thank you to this author!

Wow! This manga really resonated with me. Chika's journey was so much like my own experience when I was figuring out my asexuality. At times the info felt repetitive, but it did a great job explaining the diversity of the aspec umbrella, as well as other LGBTQIA+ identities and the fluidity of sexuality. There were also important discussions about expectations, societal pressures, types of attraction, and what it means to be "normal." Overall, it's a sweet story about self-discovery with loveable characters and I enjoyed it immensely. I also liked the art style and would recommend this book to everyone!

This is a great manga for those teen years + that are trying to figure out their sexual identity. The story follows a young girl named Chika who is trying to figure out why romance is just not working for her, eventually causing her to look into what is asexuality and aromantic. She meets some friends along the way who help her to understand who she is and she learns about their sexual identities as well. The book is a great intro into the LGBTQ+ community and explains a lot of different sexual/romantic identities.

The artwork was very typical YA/teen manga style and done very well. I think the topics and scenes were appropriate for teens or older. Another great thing about this manga is that it's a stand alone/tells a complete story in the one volume. The only downside to this manga is that it felt very textbook like. I felt like it was one fact after the other sometimes and ended up zoning out a few times.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 4/5 stars