Kieta Hatsukoi
My Love Mix-Up!

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What a great manga!
If you want something similar to Ao no Flag, but funnier, with less drama and more fluffiness, this is the one! This work made me get back to reading manga and started my whole interest in LGBTQIA+ manga as well. This was my heartstopper lol.
It has a pretty solid plot, character development, nice art, and nothing feels out of place or doesn't have plot holes, I would say. This is one of the few romance mangas that I've read when the main couple actually talks things out. At first, we have that whole misunderstanding trope, but little by little the characters start ... to develop and change, becoming more mature. Also, all the protagonists are so lovely and captivating, they're that type of character that you just want to protect because they're so precious!
And, even tho sexualities are never mentioned in this manga, it does show a lot of things that queer people have to deal with such as homophobia, and coming out, so I think this is a pretty good LGBTQIA+ rep. Honestly, reading this manga was a journey, it almost felt like they were my kids or something and I was watching them grow up (I'm not that old, I'm not even in my 30s yet). But anyway, this was great, I enjoyed so much.

Kieta Hatsukoi is what all modern shounen-ai should aim for. This throws all the usual BL tropes out the window and only leaves room for a genuinely amazing romance, that just happens to be BL. It has a hilariously creative set-up, a realistic and emotionally gripping story and seriously well-written and developed characters. This is easily my favourite shounen-ai of all time and I feel compelled to write a review lol.

STORY: 10
So the story begins with the protagonist Aoki, borrowing an eraser from his crush, Hashimoto, only to discover that she's written the name of another one of their classmates, Ida, on it. And of ... course, he accidentally drops it and Ida picks it up and assumes that Aoki has a crush on him. With balls of steel, Aoki takes one for the team and decides to commit to it and confess to Ida to hide Hashimoto's feelings for him. And if you don't think this has been shenanigans enough - it only gets better from here. Small spoiler; the main couple gets together around 2/3 into the story so it covers a lot of their relationship, between being afraid of coming out to friends and family, to first kiss and their first time. But it's not this grandiose drama that fetishises their relationship - it's literally just two teenagers falling in love and it's fucking adorable. There is a perfect balance of shoujo tropes, with it being slow-paced but also not making the audience feel like hand-holding is a drop of water in the middle of a desert. Although it is a shoujo BL, Kieta Hatsukoi rejects all of the stale tropes associated with both genres, and it's so rare to find something this refreshing. I'm ngl, at one point I got very upset because I thought they were pulling an amnesia plot (which is actually the fucking WORST) but even then, IT WAS A BAIT N' SWITCH! The mangaka seriously dangled how shit it could've been in front of me before reminding me that there's no way they're that low.

ART: 10
The art is generally very cute and bright, but my favourite aspect by far is the facial expressions. Not only do they convey specific emotions seamlessly, it's also the reason why the comedy lands so well. Aoki's expressions in every situation just brings out the humour in a usually dramatic situation, and it hits just right. Moreover, it just feels relatable, like that's how an actual person would react to that, which is surprisingly uncommon in most manga. The character design is also gorgeous, general teenage archetypes but with individual flare to all of them that express a bit about their character.

CHARACTERS: 10
Not only are Aoki and Ida fantastically developed and interesting characters on their own, but their chemistry and genuine growing affection for one another is so well-written it's palpable. Also, Hashimoto and Aoki's best friend, Aida, are just as great; they each bring their own personality and comedy to the situation and are actually just great friends to Aoki. At one point, there's a misunderstanding between Aoki and Ida, and as soon as Aoki confides in Aida, he just says the exact right thing, no judgement, just seamless advice. I love all of these characters with my entire being.

ENJOYMENT: 1000
This is consistently engaging and I got extremely attached to the characters, probably more than I should have, so it's safe to say that I really, really enjoyed it.

OVERALL: Masterpiece
I love Kieta Hatsukoi. I will never stop thinking about Kieta Hatsukoi, and I literally could not recommend Kieta Hatsukoi enough to anyone reading this right now if you haven't already read it. Do yourself a favour, especially if you're looking for something fresh in either the BL or shoujo genres, because this is the absolute best of both worlds.

This had me laughing out loud, crying, smiling, just a whole roller-coaster of emotions. I honestly wasn't expecting much since the story line is kinda cliché, but I was pleasantly surprised. The comedic drawings/aspects of the story play a huge part in making this an enjoyable read. But also the emotions, and realistic questions of youth. I genuinely can't wait to continue reading to see where the characters end up, having become fully invested. The only reason I'm rating this a nine is because its currently incomplete, but I can see this being a ten for me. Recommend for sure:)

If you want a fluffy rom com with an absolute of a loving dork as a protagonist, that has a natural inclination to get into the most dumb of situations, look no further! This is the perfect pick!
It's so underrated it hurts, I wish more people knew about it.

Not gonna lie, I may be " a bit" (as you can see from my scores..,,,) biased when it comes to Kieta, which is easy easy one of my all-time faves (going as far as making me sell my dignity and soul for costly japanese tankobon), but let's see why I hold it up so high.

Firstly, ... it's definitely one of a kind. There is no unnecessary melodrama, and misunderstandings here are only for comic effect, as it should be. There are no 3-volume-duration problems that would be solved with simple ✨communication✨, a 5 minute dialogue. Speaking of communication, I love that when there is a misunderstanding here, they always get fully discussed. Sometimes, they are even already taken care of, but the other person wasn't aware of the entirety or details of the situation, and the author comes up with a situation where it needs to be fully exposed, and I love this. There are no secrets and misconceptions.

After I read Ao no Flag, I saw the synopsis of this one and went all "oh no, more drama and love triangles", but no! If you're worried about any of those things, don't be!
One of the aspects of this manga that I truly love is the comedy. Is top-tier on my book. I wasn't expecting it to be so good vibes, and when I read the first chapter I went "woaah??! It’s an actual comedy??!". I love them. And Aoki has the most funny, relatable and sometimes dumb break-downs ever, with the most amazing faces, and we have to thank artist Aruko for that, and for the godlike art too, she's completely good in what she does (did you see the covers? man… you at least should!).

Next, something that probably put some people off. It is indeed a boys love in essence. But it has shoujo written all over it, and it's another thing I never saw before, at least done correctly. If you don't like the genre, don't worry. It is a silly wholesome fluffy rom com as any other, it just happens that two guys are the main couple, this is no biggie. This is published in the same magazine as Kimi ni Todoke and Lovely Complex for example, the crowned rulers of slow burn. If you're like me and hate heavy, explicit or cliche/fetishized yaoi, this is the thing most further away from it, and will most certainly stay that way.

Other thing is the story truly moves forward. Things get solved so quickly (compared to long-running series, with annoying problems that run over for even 10 volumes, usually 2 at the least), it's refreshing to see. You'll not be troubled and pulling out hair for too long, and I always get satisfied with the solutions given. There is no third person here to screw with the main couple too, or love rivals. I won't put my 2 cents here because it can happen in the future, it's one more troupe almost always used, but for now, the situation is looking pretty clean. There happened to be at least one character that looked like they would take this role, but then became a supporter instead, and was shown to have a loving personality. I think this would happen too if another situation like this rises in the future.

And I should have written about this first but xD well. The characters! I love all of them! With all of my heart! Don't be scared at first because of some questionable actions of the cast, because not everything is at it seems! I'll not say much to not spoil it, but damn, they are natural, realistic, have mistakes, but even then, super loveable, and I love how different they are from one another. I saw it happen a lot, having an annoying character in the main cast for no reason, but this doesn't happen here, and they're all very supporting. The secondary couple is super cute as well.

At last, I forgot about mentioning this, but it's a series that is indeed very very light hearted, but knows how to have some more heavy topics now and then, after all, the main couple is gay (the couple, but the characters seems bi). There is a recent little arc involving homophobia and I really liked the way Aoki dealt with it, the answers he gives.
As teens in high school, there is too some debate about the future and what to do with it too, and things like that. About finding yourself in general.

Wait, not last yet, one more thing I remembered! The plot twists, lmao. Especially in the beginning. Like, I cried. Of laughter. When you think there couldn’t be any other thing behind the situation, BOOM, there are!! And I love how they change the flow we thought the story was in. All the ones I remember here were pretty good for the story, in my opinion.

But yeah, I think that's it! At least all my small brain could remember. This turned out to be a kinda chaotic review, but anyways! I love preaching about Kieta, so here we are. Give it a chance, please! And if you like it, there will be an English release later this year =]
Sadly, there is nothing in my country and I’m not thaaat hopeful there’ll be, but enjoy it for me :D!

I love this manga!
It shares an artist with another amazing manga, Ore Monogatari, which is why I decided to read it.
And certainly, the art is amazing. Like Monogatari, it uses really crazy and funny facial expressions but still retains a soft shoujo vibe.
Whilst still using the typical ‘misunderstanding style’ plot found in many romance manga, I feel like it’s still a largely refreshing take on the genre (one twist in particular)
All of the characters are likeable, which strengthened the duller parts of the story as I just enjoyed seeing them interact and develop in the series.
It’s a relatively new manga, with only 16 chapters as ... I’m writing this, but it has already gone through so many twists and developments (sometimes a tad too fast paced for my tastes) that it feels alot longer.
I would definitely give this a read if you like a good romcom, it’s a feel good and fun manga with a lot of heart!

[this review is partially copied over from my old account!]
I love this manga!
It shares an artist with another amazing manga, Ore Monogatari, which is why I decided to read it.
And certainly, the art is amazing. Like Monogatari, it uses really crazy and funny facial expressions but still retains a soft shoujo vibe. I feel it perfectly captures the awkward but sweet and fluffy feelings of a first real romance exceptionally well.
Whilst still using the typical ‘misunderstanding style’ plot found in many romance manga, I feel like it’s still a largely refreshing take on the genre (one twist in particular)
All of the characters are likeable, which ... strengthened the duller parts of the story as I just enjoyed seeing them interact and develop in the series. Towards the end, there is one bafflingly weird choice in story, with an equally strange conclusion—however, it is only a few chapters and does no hamper much!
If manga isn’t your thing, whilst it has no anime (yet…. Fingers are crossed!), it has a wonderful drama adaptation that is most certainly worth your while!
I would definitely give this a read if you like a good romcom, it’s a feel good and fun manga with a lot of heart!

It's hard to find BL that doesn't entirely rely on non-consensual themes or have overly heteronormative beliefs, this is why I've set my standards down for any BL that I've stumbled across -- they mostly just end up disappointing me.

Kieta Hatsukoi, however, made me realize that that's not the case at all. Queer stories do not have to be just lewd or be nothing more than a tale of tragedy. It can be grounded. It can be sweet and hilarious and give you butterflies and remind you of your first love. It's feel-good as its best.

The comical expressions are half of the enjoyment, too. Found ... myself reading through and catching up to it in less than a day, that's how much fun I was having while I read this manga. It gives you the feeling of wanting to stay in that universe for as long as you could, be surrounded by characters who feel like the personification of a Warm Hug.

Before Kieta Hatsukoi, I would've given up on finding the perfect slice of life BL, the one that would make me feel like queer people do not have to stand out, that they don't have to be a Big Deal nor do they deserve to be treaded as if they're in different waters. As a queer person, sometimes you just want to be looked at the same. That you love and yearn and fail and make mistakes the same as everyone else. And it can just be that, as simple as being a story about life and its ventures. I really believe Kieta Hatsukoi gave me all that, and I'll be patiently looking forward to this lovely little ensemble's stories.

*Spoiler Free Review*

I genuinely think volume 1 of My Love Mix-up is one of the best volumes of manga that I have read, period. I bought it on a whim because the cover was pretty. I have never been so pleasantly surprised in my life. Genuine belly laughs, and an ending that made me audibly gasp 'WHAT' out loud.

The characters are relatable, and extra all at the same time. Each character has their own distinct personality and quirks, the cast is relatively small and easy to keep tabs on.
The plot is funny, wholesome, and genuinely good. Teenagers having romantic angst isn't groundbreaking but the ... way My Love Mix-up tackles it really feels like a breath of fresh air. The perfect mix of relatable plot points, and overexaggerated reactions (that are also somehow relatable)
The art is both silly and beautiful - Aoki's extreme facial expressions never let up and never disappoint. No same-face to be found. The art ranges from comically simple to beautiful, nuanced art that shows expressions wonderfully.

This manga is fantastic. Aruko continues to be an absolute genius with her art. She has an exceptional talent for drawing the most brilliant, hilarious facial expressions. This is my favourite manga ever, with beautiful art, witty writing and the most wonderful, wholesome, and extremely loveable characters. I manifest every day that this masterpiece receives an anime adaptation. My Love Story, also illustrated by Aruko, was a fantastic success with both an anime and manga series so I pray with my whole heart that My Love Mix Up gets the same treatment. Read this masterpiece. You won't regret it. The plot is brilliant, the character ... pairings are so sweet and loveable. Everything about it works. It has no flaws.

This is currently my favorite manga. It’s a genuine laugh out loud type of series that I continue to come back to. This was the first time in a while a first chapter hooked me into the series. It’s sweet seeing the different relationships and dynamics pan out throughout the series. The highlight of the series by far is the main characters Ida and Aoki’s relationship. You get to see it form naturally over the course of the entire seires. They have a sweet relationship that feels realistic and not forced. All of the characters (although I’ll admit not that much) grow over the ... course of the series. I’m probably biased due to my love of this series but even the side characters are pretty entertaining. One problem I have with Kiera Hatsukoi is it’s pacing. The first 20-28 chapters pacing was fantastic but I feel as if the ending was rushed like they didn’t know where to take it. I’m hoping with the official translations coming from Viz that it will feel less rushed but still. I also wish they added more dimension to some of the side characters. I would have loved hearing more from some of the side characters like Kokoro and Saionji. Even including the parts I didn’t enjoy I still adore this series and recommend this to anyone who enjoys bl, shojos, or slice of life comedies. It’s currently done serialization with 39 chapters and Viz as i’m writing this has released up to vol 6 so it’s a good time to get into the series. I’m hoping for an anime adaptation in the future.

One of the best mangas I have read so far

It is different from the usual BL manga. This one is cute and really has a character development I care about. Most BL is overly sexual and I can't really connect to the characters at all but Kieta Hatsukoi has a story I could connect and relate too. It's is wonderful love story that I am sure is real to someone. Characters really take time to find themselves and have fears that can make a lot of sense. Not everyone is accepting, not everyone is mean. There are a lot of things happening which really add ... to the story, there are friendships and acquaintances, fears and passions. I don't think the story is slow paced at all. So I do recommend it.

Also the art style is really nice and I love it.

After watching the Japanese tv series, I read the manga too. This is one of the best bl romcom, it makes you die from diabetes. It's really cute and wholesome. I loved all the characters. It might seem confusing at first but it's simple once you get into the story. The story and character development is well written. It starts with misunderstanding trope, but little by little the characters start to change, becoming more mature.

The art is pretty and funny at the same time. I loved all the character designs.

I recommend it if you're looking for a heartwarming, funny and cute bl!

While this manga is funny and does not have any particular downsides it just feels like a soulless feel-good manga trying to tell kids to be more confident. None of the characters felt like they had much drive or development, they just did what the story dictated they do with some funny stuff thrown in. The romance did not hit that sweet spot of believability that separates the good romances from the bad romances either. The main couple had very little meaningful inner conflict that made me believe what they had was true love instead of a high school fixation.
Overall, it was pulp fiction ... with an extra tag to sell it to modern audiences. Best part was the art by Aruko.