Thank you Netgalley for the eARC

Very very nice.,
for being only the first volume, the story is already quite outlined.
The drawings are beautiful and I already have a huge crush on Kizuki.
It's the usual school shojo manga, in this case we have the protagonist with 4 male friends and one of them declares himself to her, putting her in difficulty.

Recommended: eh
For a small start to a series

Thoughts:
The art was tough to follow sometimes as the way people were depicted from one panel to the next could change completely. Since it's inked, the shading and coloring of ink matters a lot for me to identify characters, and someone would go from having a full head of black hair to completely uncolored in the next panel or scene. I would struggle to figure out if it was the same person or someone new coming in or what. That said, it did have a lot of detail.

It occasionally mentions "a pandemic" or "a virus" and events being cancelled because of it, but otherwise the impact of what's apparently meant to be COVID-19 isn't really there. It -certainly- is nothing to the degree I experienced with actual COVID where school was virtual, people didn't see ANYONE outside their household, and everyone was basically just locked in their house. So if this is some alternate generic "global virus" or something then ok, but it's certainly not COVID-19 as the blurb seems to say. This was kind of confusing to me, and ended up feeling like it wasn't really a key part of the story besides a useful way to shoehorn in events to make people feel sad. Maybe this impacts more later in the series.

I'm curious about the characters, but feel like I don't know them very well yet. This might just be since it's early in the series so I'm not feeling impatient about it, but I do want to meet more of them who currently just seem like decoration in the story. As it is, I don't feel very strongly about any of them so it's tough to get invested in any relationships (friendly, romantic, or otherwise).

To be honest, I'm not really sure where this is heading. Sure, the title makes it feel pretty obvious that there will be a romance in here somewhere, but so far things seem pretty one-sided and the "romantic" moments were... uh, well, not romantic. Just kind of abrupt and weird.

Overall, I don't feel super hooked by this first volume. I'll keep an eye out and possibly keep on with this series, but I probably won't be going out of my way to find it either. It's a mediocre start that was just good enough that I might read more, but not so good that I'm desperate for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review!

This was an extremely fast read and I really liked the art. The story though, seems not sure honestly. He does seem to just kiss her a lot which like..... I just don't know much about any of these characters at the end of volume one.

This was fast-paced! Immediately, we know that one of her childhood friends has unrequited love for Mizuha. However, he confesses quite early on and makes his move quickly. Aside from the romance aspect, the four guys would be an interesting focus because they have the potential to be explored for their character development.

It ended quite abruptly with a cliffhanger. I didn't feel as if I had time to process the story or connect with the characters because of the pacing. However, the illustrative style is cute!

For fans of Special A and Maid Sama.

Some romance goes too hard to fast but every so often a special story comes along that you can't help but love.

Our main character is a typical girl with 4 guy best friends. After her original confession to her crush goes awry she gets a surprise confession of her own.

The complexities of not knowing your own feelings, the rapidly changing dynamics of highschool friendship and love, mixed together with a pandemic are beautifully illustrated and articulating. I instantly loved our FMC and cannot wait to see how the complexities of life continue to unravel for her.

I loved it ! I find the idea of writing romance happening during a global pandemic quite interesting and positive.
We follow Mizuha in 2020, and how she wants to still enjoy youth and everyday joys with her loved ones in high school. She receives a love confession from one of her childhood friends who wants her to see him as a man, and not as a brother as she used to say.
The romance is so cute ! I loved how the relationship was depicted.
If you like sweet romance, friends to lovers and high school romance it’s perfect for you!

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for an arc in exchange for review!

Mizuha, a high schooler in her last year, turns 17! She celebrates with her closest friends, a rowdy group of four boys she grew up with. The five of them have been friends since childhood, but all of a sudden adult life seems to be looming around the corner. At Mizhua's party, she seems down after getting rejected from another boy, but the youngest member of her friend group, Kizuki, wants her to finally see him more than just the little boy she grew up with. Mizhua is quick to react to Kizuki's advances, and she starts to quickly realize that her and her friends are no longer kids...

This first volume was so cute! If you like Shojo love stories, kdramas, and friends to lovers plotlines, then you will surely enjoy this story. I'm excited to read later volumes, but warning: This does end in a cliff hanger! 4/5 stars.

I really liked the story.
It was a good first volume for the series.
It's about a group of friends where some feelings begin to change, but there is still a need to support each other.
I really liked seeing first their relationship as it was, just friends, and then there being a moment when a friend decides to reveal his feelings and starts to show them and try to get noticed by the person he loves.
I want to continue reading the manga and discover more about the characters, because I'm super curious about them all.
The drawings are wonderful and convey the character’s story and feelings beautifully.

Sort of mixed feelings on this one? Like okay, I get that the 'girl with a plethora of hot guy friends - who will she choose! also one of them comes on really strong!' is such a standard trope in Japanese media it isn't as skeevy as it could be (mostly because I've been reading/watching Japanese media for uhhh 20+ years so I'm sure it's jarring to people less used to it), but the boys are cute and fine and care a lot about Mizuho.

This volume is set during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also it seems to barely come up? There's mention of x and y being cancelled, but everyone's still going to school normally, riding the train normally, no masks anywhere... I think I would have personally preferred going harder into the isolation of youth during really monumental years, especially in Japan with its semi-strictly closed borders and all that.

It was fine! The art was really pretty! I probably won't keep up with it though.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for honest review!

I saw the artwork and title for this and knew I needed to read this.

Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You follows high schooler and mangaka Mizuha during 2020. Initially, I wasn’t sure how to feel as someone who was a high schooler during that time, but I enjoyed the story and its fast paced nature. It’s a usual shojo childhood friends to lovers type of romance with a tall and attractive group of guys which is a little but unoriginal, but I think the artwork makes up for it. The biggest reason for me rating this 3/5 stars were moments with Kizuki continuing to kiss Mizuha that made me uncomfortable. Other than that, this is a pretty cute and easy shojo romance to read.

No spoiler review!

This was available as an ARC on Netgalley. Thank you to the publisher Kodansha Comics again for making it available to read!

What drew me: Honestly, the title and the drawings were beautiful looking. I’m a sucker for a manga that’s drawn real pretty

Overall Review: Common tropes that everyone loves and is somehow always enjoyable no matter how many times you see it. Childhood friends to lovers, hot and tall group of guys…

It’s a fun read, but my feelings weren’t as involved as they can be when I read other romantic mangas. I’m rooting for one of the guys to win this girls heart, but it’s actually the girl that is lack luster to me. But maybe that’s because she’s in a weird place in her life where she’s trying to figure out who she is and what to do with her skills. At the moment she’s lackluster, but I’m hoping she evolves and grows stronger as the series goes.

As for who I think is the main guy, can’t help but like him. He has an innocence but strong passion that I love.

I am curious what happens next as it ends on a twist! I’m not strung out over it as I can be with other mangas I read, but I am lightly curious and do want to continue with it.

If you’re just looking for another fun shoujo manga and just read it for the fun that it is, then it’s a good choice!

This was such a cute manga, with beautiful artwork. It was hard not to crush on every one of Mizuha’s friends with how handsome they all are. And the ending!!!! Such a cliffhanger. Here’s to hoping the childhood friends to lovers trope wins out.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review!

I was super excited to obtain the arc of "Anyway, I'm Falling In Love With You"! Usually, I try to avoid any book that talks about Covid but this was well done. It did not take over the whole story at all. I loved the innocent and heartwarming moments. I wonder what will happen next!

Another pretty standard shojo where the female lead is in a friend group of all cute guys. For me, this particular manga is set apart from others only by the fact that there is mention of a "virus" in the story that is preventing the students from participating in sporting events and school trips. It will be interesting to see what this virus is. (Covid maybe? This is my first story period where that would be the case if it is.) Anyway, I gave this two stars mostly because of how pushy the male protagonist is towards the main female character. No means no and if he had respected that and the story went from there then I would have rated this book higher.

Is it a little melodramatic, yes but oh boy is the art pretty. Possibly unpopular opinion but I have fun with love triangles in shoujo. I forget how pushy Kazuki is in the beginning but it is very much a slice of life. I do prefer I Fell In Love After School which is written by the same mangaka.

By the way, Kodansha has volumes 1-5 available digitally through different platforms! I believe this is back on Netgalley because it is getting a physical release. Volume 1 sets up introduces the characters but it does get more in depth with the other characters through the subsequent volumes.

I was intrigued by the pandemic supposedly being a factor in this manga, but it barely played a part. Overall, this was a standard shoujo manga with not much to differentiate it from others. Pretty art, though.

Overall 3.5/5
It was an okay shoujo manga. I did not expect it to have a love triangle and I was wondering if we were ever going to see the present self of the Mizuha but we did not.
I kinda love the romance between Mizuha and Kizuk. I hate that Shin had to have a crush on her too because I have second male lead syndrome (sadly). And that is why I was suspicious once I found out she has four boy friends.
I might continue reading the series maybe wait till once the manga ends 😅

*Update* SO apparently I have read this before in 2021... also from a NetGalley arc... my opinions were pretty similar but I just didn't give it a pitty half star for the art like I did last time and I was just as confused as to the blondes being two people but I didn't mention it this time because I thought I was just tired hahah. Anyways, here is my review and I'll add my old one below this just cuz.

2.5 stars out of 5

I feel like the first half of this volume was something I have read before?? I don't know if it's just because it's hard to change up the shojo childhood friends to lovers troupe but it was just very unoriginal and there wasn't anything much that makes it stand out in comparison to the other books in the same genre. There were also multiple mini-genres all rolled into one, so nothing really got explored fully or really even just well if I'm being honest. We also barely got to know the characters, which is a big issue with shojo-type series and the male lead was very pushy... which is a huge no for me, and making him the "innocent" one doesn't change my opinion on that. I did however finish this volume and I gave it an extra .5 star because I would maybe give the next volume a shot but there are just better options out there. This is the type of story that I'd read to remind me of reading manga all day in my early teen years and it just didn't deliver the vibes I needed it to, I'm sure younger shojo readers would enjoy this but there are definitely better options out there to fill your time.

Disclaimer: I received an arc copy of this volume from NetGalley in exchange for my (pretty obvious on this one) honest review.


Old review:

3/5 A decent high school shoujo manga but this would've been a 2-star book for me if it didn't have the art.

I was given access to an early arc pdf of this book so my review is for that.

If this wasn't great or anything new which is kind of expected with shoujo. The only thing different about this manga was that this was set during the pandemic which they only brought up like three times. They weren't wearing masks or anything but just some school events got canceled so it wasn't really that big of a difference from other shoujo. The storyline is basically a girl surrounded by guys that semi like her and one of them likes her enough to tell her. The issue I had with this is that they have all been friends since childhood and she sees them as brothers and I ain't about that family love no matter how popular it gets. The ending wasn't great and you probably would just be annoyed at it like me unless you're like thirteen and don't mind characters developing feelings in two seconds even though they didn't like that character. They also had the "I'll make you see me as a man" trope in this, so ew, you're 16/17 please stop and go back to swim practice lmao. I wish they would've gone more into her trauma response and the event that caused it (was a very small part and not descriptive at all so I don't think a trigger warning is necessary) because that scene was my favorite and the only time I wasn't mad at that character for the way he was behaving towards her.

Besides the storyline being meh mostly the artwork was beautiful. So I know I'm a huge sucker for artwork and most manga's get an additional star rating for it because I hate being harsh on them but trust me this one deserves it I swear! I couldn't really tell the blondes apart though so I guess there is a small fault in the artwork but it was probably just me being dumb. An issue I did have with this visually is the font size and I don't know if it's just the pdf that has an issue with that. I had to scale it up to be quite a bit bigger than manga pages usually are and that isn't going to be something a physical copy reader can do so that's something to keep in mind if you're interested in this.

I think that was everything I wanted to say about this manga so yay a semi "long' review from me! I recommend this to teens but also not at the same time because of the actions from the love interests so I guess read at your own risk, sorry lol I'm not being very helpful. I know as a teen I loved that toxic shit but it did cause me to get into quite a few bad relationships even though I'm not very interested in romance for myself (demi/aro). I will always read anything Kodansha puts up on NetGalley because some of my favorites are printed by them but this was definitely not something I would read again, I might consider continuing it for more reviews but it's not something I would reread or purchase for myself and my manga wall thanks you because I am running out of space lmao.

Disclaimer: I was given access to a digital ar copy of this from Kodansha and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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NOTES I TOOK WHILE READING THIS, they are in order and pretty much just repeat everything I talked about but I wanted to keep them here since I may have forgotten something.
-Font is a little small on the pdf and I've already zoomed in to the point it's bigger than the physical pages would be.
-Multiple times already stated that they're like siblings and I ain't about that family romance.
-A pandemic setting which is odd because they aren't wearing masks and the only thing bad that's happened is some of their sports and school activities were canceled what?.
- :( page 90 made me super uncomfy lol I hate when they have the "I'll make you see me as a man" trope.
-Okay I usually hate when characters are scared of rain/thunder but that scene was so cute so I will accept it lmao.
-The ending was very meh, it's supposed to be a dramatic cliffhanger but I feel like anyone over thirteen wouldn't be all that affected by it because it kind of just annoyed me. Also, why are almost all the blondes assholes lmao? I also couldn't tell them apart so oops.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review, thank you!
First of all, I love mangas, so it was definitely a YES for me to read this book. It's a typical highschool best friends to lovers (?) or something like that kind of story (it doesn't get clear at the end of Vol. 1).
Mizuho is having her 17th birthday when everything is blowing up in her life (her best friend Kizuki is acting weird, a new virus is on the horizon and her love interest rejects her). I found her character and her relationship to her childhood friends (four boys) cute
But (and it is a big BUT), the way Kizuki starts to act is a little bit pushy... Almost harassing... I mean, he doesn't consider her feelings and wishes... Which is very unhealthy!
Ok, end of whining :')
The illustrations are great, the characters and the story are getting interesting. I am looking forward to read the next volumes!

Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You is a coming-of-age manga following a group of childhood friends as they navigate high school life and some big changes. Our FMC is the only female in this group of friends.

I loved the beautiful illustrations and was really intrigued the idea of a romance plot set during the start of a pandemic, but unfortunately there were some big things I didn’t enjoy and that let this down. I’ve not read a manga before so maybe this is common, but the pacing felt extremely rushed. I would have liked to have spent more time with each character to get to know them a little more, but this might come in later instalments in the series.

I also felt that the story didn’t particularly flow. I thought it jumped around a lot and I found it quite difficult to follow, which made for a very disjointed reading experience. What’s more, it made me uneasy that so much of this storyline involved a character putting our FMC in strange situations and saying things like “I’ll make you see me as a man” (I’m paraphrasing).

Overall, whilst I thought the illustrations and concept were fab, I didn’t enjoy the pacing or storyline, and I won’t be continuing this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for eArc in exchange for an honest review. I found this comic book in the “Read Now” category of NetGalley.