Fans of romance shoujo manga know how the story goes: a shy first-year high school girl has a crush on an old male friend or classmate, but her feelings go unreciprocated because she never confesses her love. Or she does confess her love and experiences humiliation instead. Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, she meets a new boy whom she finds annoying and fascinating at the same time. This new boy is usually pretty hot and popular with the girls, but is also usually aloof and hates the attention he gets from female admirers.
Interestingly, this hot new boy notices the shy girl he ran into earlier and finds her fascinating. Of course, he won't tell her that; instead, he'll tease her or surprise her with an unexpected kiss. From that point on, it becomes a journey of falling in love and running into obstacles that keep them from getting together right away. But what if a romance shoujo manga upheld all of the usual tropes of the genre and actually cut to the chase? What if a mangaka said, "forget love triangles; let's hook these characters up right away?" Enter Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love Vol. 1 by Ayuko Hatta.
In school, Satomi starts to think back to her junior high school crush and whether or not she'll once again regret not expressing her feelings when she had the chance. Luckily for Satomi, her mystery boy attends the same school and bumps into her a second time. Not only does she learn his name is Kazuma Yagyu, but he's actually a lot nicer than he looks. After she thanks him for keeping her safe on the train from sexual predators, she starts spending more time with him as one thing leads to another.
For fans who love fast-paced romance stories without any of the melodrama of love rivals, Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love Vol. 1 hits the spot. Not only does Hatta avoid the usual tropes that pass for challenges in a romantic couple's journey, but she delivers on exactly the story beats fans actually want: the first kiss, the romantic dates, seeing the female protagonist paired off with a guy who is actually sensitive to her needs and actually loves spending time with her. Hatta also keeps readers engaged with the character of Satomi, who is shy and awkward but is also funny and bold in her pursuits.
While it's definitely refreshing to experience a romance story that doesn't introduce love rivals or unnecessary love triangles, at the same time Hatta doesn't present different challenges for the couple to face either. In fact, Satomi and Yagyu don't experience challenges of any kind, not even ones that involve individual quirks or character flaws. This causes the development of their relationship to feel a bit forced and less organic in its progression. It also limits opportunities for meaningful character growth.
Another major flaw of Ima Koi resides with Satomi's male love interest, Yagyu. While it's still refreshing to see the female protagonist paired with a male love interest who actually loves and respects her, at the same time, Yagyu isn't much of a character on his own. Apart from his relationship with Satomi, readers don't get a chance to know him as an individual character and he appears to exist solely for Satomi's character growth. The fact that he is everything Satomi wants in a boyfriend -- handsome, loving, affectionate, honest -- makes him a manic pixie dream boy instead.
Art-wise, Hatta excels at giving each character a distinct look that makes it easy to tell them apart on the page. She also brings her characters to life with good use of facial expressions and dynamic body language that are consistent with the characters' written personalities. Furthermore, she's skilled at drawing detailed backgrounds and has a good understanding of page layout, which makes it simple for readers to follow the story with ease.
On the whole, Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love Vol. 1 is a fun shoujo manga for manga readers who just want to enjoy some feel-good romance without the usual headaches of love rivals and love triangles that are common to the genre. For those expecting an organic progression of a romantic relationship, complete with depth and meaningful character growth, Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love Vol. 1 may not be their jam.
