My Love Mix-Up!, Vol. 1 by Wataru Hinekure

This manga is absolutely, a hundred percent better because of Aruko’s artstyle. Both Hashimoto and Aida are such great friends, always to lend a hand, sometimes even too literally, ahah! I also want to shine a light on the supporting cast though. I love how Aoki’s and Ida’s story is slowly, but steadily evolving and I love the fact that there are demiromantic characters as the main character and his love interest! The story is so beautiful and if you know me, you know I am all-in for slow-burn romances and when they are queer and feature character in the asexual spectrum, I think they are even better. My Love Mix-Up! Volume 2 by Wataru Hinekure and illustrations by Aruko is a contemporary manga about Aoki’s and Ida’s blossoming relationship, which sprang from a hilarious mix-up with a borrowed eraser and a misread identity. Representation: queer demiromantic Japanese protagonist, queer demiromantic Japanese secondary character, Japanese secondary and tertiary characters.Ĭontent Warning: implied homophobia, violence, internalised homophobia, It's maintaining its light touch while still covering some serious topics, and the only thing keeping it from being a five for me is the ugly gorilla faces, which aren't needed to lighten the mood - the writing is more than capable of that on its own.ĭRC provided by VIZ Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My Love Mix-Up is shaping up to be more than just the goofy story it seemed in its first volume. As he says to Aoki when he's apologizing, if his initial reaction (a homophobic one) was 'normal,' 'Then normal is wrong.' But when Hashimoto sets the record straight (while still doing her best not to give away Aoki's secrets), Aida snaps to. He doesn't want to admit to his best friend that he's got a crush on another boy because he thinks Aida will react badly, and at first it looks like he does.

There's a lot more internal anguishing going on, but that brings with it the revelation that Aida isn't the person Aoki is afraid he is.

There's also some hint that Ida felt lacking somehow in never having had a crush before now, which is a topic I hope to see explored at least a little more.Īlthough this is still funny, it's overall a less silly volume than its predecessor.

After a volume of agonizing over it, Aoki now seems fully accepting of the fact that he likes Ida, and for his part Ida is coming to terms with the idea that getting to know Aoki as a person is allowing him to fall for the other boy, suggesting that he's the sort of person doesn't become attracted to someone without knowing them first. I am perhaps reading too much into this, but it's wonderful that in My Love Mix-Up! we have a manga starring characters who can be interpreted as bisexual and demisexual, two orientations that don't always get the visibility that they deserve.

My Love Mix-Up!, Vol. 1 by Wataru Hinekure