Is Love the Answer? is a very sweet story about a young woman exploring her sexuality during her first year of college. I really enjoyed the cast and the message that gender, sexuality, and romantic attraction can be fluid and change as someone's understanding grows, which I think is very important and was really happy to see. I think the art was also nice and I enjoyed Chika and Ume's growing bond over the course of the story.

This was such a lovely story to read! So much of it hit close to home (I'm pretty sure half of Chika's lines I've said myself). It really does an amazing job at capturing what it feels like to learn about and discover community around asexuality!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this review copy

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki
3/5 stars

This is a fairly short manga that explores the ideas behind what is considered "normal" in society. Chika, our protagonist, has struggled with her identity. She believes something is wrong with her because she doesn't have crushes on boys or feel sexual urges. Her classmates in high school and even the beginning of college make fun of her and basically tell her she doesn't know anything. That is until one day, she meets a professor of psychology who help Chika discover that she may be asexual. The rest of the book goes through Chika learning about LGBTQIA+ and trying to figure out who she is.

I think this book was a great representation for asexual people, as well as other people struggling with their identity. It gave me things to think about and consider. On the other hand, it almost felt like it was trying to be more of an informative book rather than a story. That's fine, really, but not necessarily what I personally want to read. I liked it, I felt for the characters, it wasn't bad, by any means, it just wasn't a book for me. I enjoyed reading about the representation, but it was just so-so for me. It's an important book, but the story was lacking to me.

Fantastic representation for several different identities within the ace-spec community and a great gateway to those wanting to learn more about asexuality. This manga has beauty both in its story of self discovery as in its art. The manga has become an instant favourite, possibly even one of my favourite books of all time.

The book starts with content warning for a brief scene (attempted sexual assault) in the beginning of the book that kicks off our main character's journey. It feels a bit textbooky at times but after the traumatic event in the beginning it pretty much reads like an ideal coming of age for an asexual young person who finds friends and mentors. She discovers that "normal" and being just like everyone else is not for everyone and that's okay. The author's notes at the end of the book also loop back on the topic of consent.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Being Ace and Aro I was super excited to see this manga up for request!

The story is great in showing a variety of journeys to find/understand your identity better, as well as the acknowledgement as when you get older the words you use to describe yourself may change as you get to know yourself better.

This was a great story and I highly recommend checking it out upon release!

This may be my new favorite manga. Is Love the Answer? is a gorgeous exploration of sexuality, gender, friendship, love, and societal expectations. I adored the characters, especially the MC, Chika. The vulnerability and curiosity that Chika experiences in her quest to understand her asexuality was so beautifully written. China's emotions and struggles felt genuine and you can't help but like her and root for her to find some solace within herself. Stunning artwork and brilliant characters. I love everything about this.

I'm crying like damn baby over here

It had very thorough explanations, and showed different shades of aspec identities. The found family was also extremely adorable!

'is love the answer?' is a great book. it's about a girl named chika, who struggles to understand why she struggles to feel any romantic or sexual attraction like the people she knows, her peers. she goes to college determined to find out more about herself and to understand love.

i love the asexual representation given in this book, chika herself has a great personality, the way she's portrayed makes her character more relatable. her finding out more about her sexuality and understanding it and wanting to know more about it when she knows nothing about it is just so good.

i genuinely adore this book and would love for everyone to read it

(3.5 stars)

I have conflicted feelings about this one. While we definitely need more asexual and aromatic representation this one very quickly turns into a kind of asexual 101, something I wish we could move away from. I loved the start when she felt isolated and confused by "normal" (something many aces and aros can relate to) and enjoyed seeing her discover that hey, not feeling this things is an option! I enjoyed seeing amatonormativity being called out and how it was shown as being so ingrained in how people talk to each other and how isolating it can e if you don't feel that kind of attraction towards others. But after that it very much felt like it became an educational pamphlet type thing (you know the kind - here's what this means and why you might be it) and the story kind of became secondary. While I don't have an issue with asexual education in books about asexual characters, I do wish that it had been more integrated into the story and character relationships that were being developed earlier in the story. And while I did still finish it and still appreciate that it exists, I started losing some interest and emotional investment around this point. Yeah, I get it may be helpful for those who are allo, but I would love it if more stories centered asexual experiences for asexual people and didn't spend a significant portion of what it is (even if we are a minority - it's just a little exhausting when it is described every single time, especially since this one had a long author's note type thing at the end).

While I do think many aces and aros will see themselves in this book and enjoy it for those reasons, I feel like it is most suited for allos and those questioning their sexuality who are interested in learning more about sexuality due to how much of the story is a discussion about what asexuality is. It also does a decent job at showcasing how allonormative language and expectations are isolating if that is something you are interested in. I feel like there are several books out there that go down this route, but this is a nice choice if you want to go down the manga/graphic novel type route!

This book had me hooked from the start so much so that I read it in one sitting. I was particularly drawn to the main character and her journey as she struggles to find herself unlike her peers.
The artwork was highly detailed and intricate which fit well with the story.
The characters constantly challenged the concept on what was normal "normal" during the book.

I absolutely love this. It validates me, and has wonderful art as well. I’m ace, have identified as such since I was a teenager, but really needed this book. It helped me a lot, and even answered some questions I already had!

A wonderful look into the complex identity that is the asexuality and aromantic spectrum. I have struggled for years whether to call myself asexual & aromantic, despite sometimes crushing on fictional characters, and even occasionally thinking I want a relationship till I get into one, and I very much related and felt a connection with the main character, having experienced many of the things she went through. In addition, the art was beautiful, and I very much enjoyed the overall themes of UFOs and aliens, and the way people on the ace and aro spectrum might feel like one. I plan to buy this manga once the physical comes out, as it helped me understand myself a bit better as well, and made very clear that you choose which label you prefer, based on the experiences you have and how they relate to them.

I really thought this whole manga was cute. The art is great. The pacing was great. The story being told was great.

I got this manga because I was very interested in learning more about asexuality and I stumble into this manga. I do recommend for manga readers.

tl;dr
A thoughtful and well-illustrated exploration of asexuality and the ace spectrum.

Thoughts
Chika feels out place in a way that she can't describe. The version of love that everyone assures her will show up someday seems unattainable - even undesirable. It's a struggle many ace people have been through - how do you define something by its lack? Especially in a world where sexual attraction and romance are considered as universal and as "normal" as breathing. But as Chika discovers, not all love is expressed sexually or romantically. Not everyone is wired to be that way, and that is, in fact, entirely normal. This isn't a story as much as it is a really well-illustrated exploration of asexuality and the ace gradient, with a cast of really fun characters. I appreciate that the story also covers the fact that there's no one way to be asexual, and that terms and words are only useful until they aren't. It's a very sweet coming-of-age one shot, that works as a great introduction to what it means to be ace.

There isn't that much manga out there that goes out of its way to represent characters on the ace spectrum as real, struggling people, putting them at the center of the story instead of, at best, throwing them in the background of a gay romance as aloof, detached tertiary characters. It may be at times a bit didacting, but I found Is Love The Answer a solid attempt to not retrace those steps, and also to root the story of self-discovery in all-important connections within the wider lgbtq+ commity. The friendships Hanai has with her new friends at college is what makes this story come together, and by reiterating that labels help us understand ourselves better now, and it's okay to poke at them and revise them as you learn about yourself better -- that's great to see on page.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for an ARC.

This manga is such a great overview of and introduction to asexuality and its spectrum. Chika is a very relatable main character to me and a lot of her thoughts about being alien, her gender identity or not getting 'normal' things are all things I have experienced as someone who identifies as aroace (aromantic and asexual).

I like how it never narrows down anything to one strict definition like what is normal? What is romance? What is love? Everyone has different boundaries, definitions and experiences things differently. There is no one single asexual experience but rather we are shown many types like Chika, the professor and her senpai. I liked all the side characters and hearing their stories and about their own sexuality journeys and experiences.

I'd def recommend this manga to people who are on the ace spectrum or people who want to learn more about asexuality! I do wish it explored aromanticism more.

I really enjoyed reading this! Asexuality is not a common topic in literature or in any media really, so it was refreshing to have it be the main focus of this manga. The main character explores her asexuality, although she does not yet know the word for it, and gets lots of different advice throughout the story. I thought this was a great read and would definitely recommend to other LGBT+ people or people looking to learn more about asexuality as an identity!

Is Love the Answer? is an educational manga exploring aromantic asexuality through the eyes of a freshman college student grappling with her lack of desire for romance or sex. While initially she finds herself isolated from and misunderstood by her peers, she finds community with several other asexuals and a handful of friends who embrace her identity and help her understand herself.
The manga focuses more on the educational aspects and is lighter on the story side of things. As an aromantic asexual person myself, I think the manga captured well the sense of alienation from one’s peers and the frustration of having an experience of love and attraction that others so readily dismiss or refuse to believe. I also appreciate that it touched on some of the more material issues that can come from being aro/ace in a society that does support that, including the risk of sexual assault or other sexual trauma and the difficulties of being unattached in a society built with the expectation of having a partner or nuclear family.

This was part intro to Asexuality- I really liked how the author introduced this and other aspects of the LGBTQIA+ community. Part Coming-of age and a sprinkle of found family. All things that I love.

Some of this felt a bit awkward to read, not sure if it was lost in translation or what but it felt a bit clunky the way some of the conversations and information was presented. It felt like the author sort of jammed in every Ace trope they could and it felt a bit disingenuous- though I think so many readers will find some or all of it relatable. That aside I really did enjoy this so much I think it covers so much in terms of learning about your sexual identity and finding yourself. I saw a lot of my own experiences in Chika's story.

I think one of my very favorite lines of dialogue was "You don't have to conform to some generic idea of what asexuality is. If you think you're asexual that's enough." Such an important message one that I know I and a lot of other Aces struggle to accept.

I hope there's another volume coming out!