恋のはじまり

KOI NO HAJIMARI

Romance

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
7
RELEASE
August 13, 2022
CHAPTERS
33

DESCRIPTION

Average-looking, always speaks-her-mind Hachiya Nanami just wants a boyfriend that likes her for her—preferably the school's popular soccer star, Mizuno. As their best friends start dating, they immediately find that they, too have a lot in common. This is the perfect chance for Hachiya to finally score her dream guy. But does Mizuno feel the same way?

Note: Chapter count includes six extras chapters.

CAST

Nanami Hachiya
Atsushi Mizuno

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

RoseFaerie
85/100
A lovely romance that just radiates cuteness between a duo of very silly teenagers.
I promised I'd step away from the villainess isekai, and I always keep my word (unless it involves not adding more to my planning list). This series recently was completed, so I decided to read it, and I even read it all in one evening!

Koi ni Hajimari is a simple romance story. Nanami Hachiya, "Hacchi" for short, is a normal, average looking high school girl. She has a crush on her classmate from the soccer team, Mizuno. Hacchi gets the chance to get to know Mizuno when their close friends decide to start dating. She discovers that they actually have a lot in common. There's actually a chance that their relationship will bloom into something more than just a simple friendship.

With super fluffy high school romances I always go in a bit scared that it will be another Heroine For Hire situation, where it was boring and just felt like it was missing something. Fortunately for me, that was not the case. It was definitely a silly slice-of-life romance series, but I adored it. There obviously wasn't much in the way of plot or drama, but something about it just clicked for me. I appreciated how grounded it felt with the characters' approaches to dating. I could literally see kids at my school doing the same things our characters do. There were love triangle elements but they felt normal (such as the ex following Mizuno around and being petty until he gave her the small bit of validation she wanted, in order to make herself feel less insecure).

I also really appreciated how the series approached the characters growth and awareness about love. The "Koi" in Koi ni Hajimari won't always be "koi", and it instead might change into something else.

Some people might get annoyed with the couple initially. Hacchi really loves Mizuno and wants do date him, and she doesn't think she can have a normal relationship with him while she's in love with him. She sees dating as the only option until she can fall for someone else. Meanwhile, Mizuno took his time to contemplate his feelings, and he wanted to make sure that he didn't say yes to her just because she liked him. (I've had friends who contemplated relationships with people just because they confessed to them.) I could understand both people's thought process and was not annoyed with either one.

The characters were so cute. The word that comes to mind at the moment is silly. Hacchi is very secure with who she is. She's not always the brightest bulb in the box, overthinks things, and eats a lot. Mizuno is rich and popular, but he has a hard time with communicating his feelings, as well as understanding them. However, the two can only see the best in each other and bring out each other's best qualities. I've heard the series described as one about "pure and immature love" which I think is correct. Neither character is particularly mature, but they definitely deeply love each other.

I thought Kuma was kind of annoying but I could understand his thought process. I wish he was fully able to move on, and I never felt like his part in the love triangle was unrealistic or out of the realm of normal teenagers. I do feel like the other three girls in the cast had a lot of potential that was never really explored. In general, there wasn't a whole lot of character development in this manga. I wish I had gotten to see more of Chima's insecurities about how she only sees the value in her looks, or the way Shiori is upset that her friends see her as "the girl who says yes to everyone" because she dates a lot of different guys. I don't even know much about Naomi or Mizuno's friend Hattori. I remember their general vibes but not much else. I think this story had a lot of potential with the side characters and their development, but unfortunately that is untouched.

I love the art for this series. It doesn't have the polished, immaculate look that some manga have, but instead it reminds me more of a freehand sketch. (I don't know if that's the right term.) The characters don't always look the same and the proportions might be a bit off from time to time, but I find the sketchiness and inconsistencies charming. This helps create a genuinely adorable atmosphere and compliments the story.

Slow paced romance slice-of-life series are not for everyone. But if you are looking for something along those lines, I highly recommend checking this out. It's super cute, and I had a great time reading it.
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