Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai (Love, That's an Understatement)

Risa Amakawa is only in high school, but she is extraordinarily self-sufficient. With the tools inside her seemingly bottomless bag, she is prepared for any freak incident that lady luck chooses to throw her way. So when Risa encounters a delinquent—all battered and bruised—on a rainy afternoon, she takes advantage of the power bestowed upon her by her own sense of caution and uses it to help him. What she does not expect is the victim, Zen Oohira, to take a liking to her.

Zen checks all the boxes of a typical delinquent; he has an air of nonchalance about him and even owns a motorcycle. Even so, he is oddly cheerful and sweet, going so far as to give Risa a "help coupon" as thanks for her aid in his time of need. When an unforeseen episode forces Risa to redeem her coupon, she realizes that Zen can be far more charming than he lets on. But is she prepared to sacrifice her meticulousness for a carefree gamble on romance?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai has been published digitally in English as Love, That's an Understatement by Kodansha USA since April 25, 2023.

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Characters

Oohira, Zen

Main

Amakawa, Risa

Main

Fumiya

Supporting

Oohira, En

Supporting

Oohira, Miyabi

Supporting

Oohira, Mother

Supporting

Reviews

Dec 27, 2021

Zimmu

Recommended

Preliminary (4/? eps)

No one has made a review for this, so why not I make one?

No spoilers

Main female character-Risa Amakawa
Main male character-Zen Oohira

Story:
The synopsis for this manga is quite accurate, so I won't explain the story again. For myself, despite this being a shoujo manga and I am a male, I think it's very entertaining! Some might think it's a generic story of a cool delinquent and high school girl, but it is actually really eye-catching. Once you start reading, you just want to keep going. The story is pretty fast-paced, so they resolve their problems without procrastinating a lot. 4 chapters in, they usually ... can solve their problems within that individual chapter (Fast-paced, including their romance part). This makes the story really satisfying to read. The first chapter laid the ground for this manga, like showing the personalities of the characters. Read the first chapter, if you like it, you will most likely love the rest of the story. If you didn't, then I'm afraid this probably isn't for you. Overall, I think its the best to read it without thinking much. It's important to enjoy rather than criticize everything they do.

Characters:
I haven't read a lot of shoujo manga, so I don't know if male characters in shoujo manga are always shown like this...but the main male character, Zen, really looks really damn cool and is well presented. The author has a sense of fashion, which was also demonstrated in other side-characters. Zen himself, has a very good demeanor. He is supposed to be a delinquent, but under that cover is a helpful person towards his friend and community. He is protective of Risa, our main female character, but also does not lose his sweetness. I don't know if this makes sense lol. On the other hand, Risa is a bit of an absurd character, being a "self-sufficient" character. She is the type to solve everything on her own, act independently, and keep everything to herself. She needs someone to help her, and that's when Zen comes in. Again, a bit generic, but this dynamic does work. As for the reason why she is like this, it would be explored deeper in the story.

Problems (?!)
If I have to say a problem, I noticed in the first chapter, the panels were a bit confusing to understand, such as skipping movements. But I believe this problem was solved in the later chapters. Apart from that, it feels like the author was trying really hard to craft this "perfect" characteristic of Zen. Zen is like a knight, showing up every time Risa is in trouble, and having almost no weakness. I'm not saying it's a bad thing and it's totally fine with me, but some people could find that annoying. Then, almost all of the delinquents no matter good or bad, are all beautiful-looking teenagers. Obviously, you expect this in a shoujo manga, but it might annoy some people, who think it's not realistic. I don't know, I'm not one of these types of people.

To conclude, I don't really have too much to say as I suck at writing and expressing my ideas. What I want to convey is that only 4 chapters in, it's interesting, I think people should give it a try, no matter their gender.

note: It's the first time I'm writing something like this, and I'm not even sure if this will make any sense to people because expressing my ideas isn't a review. But I tried. English isn't my first language, so excuse me for grammar mistakes. Thanks for reading.

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May 7, 2022

Kokoninut

Recommended

Preliminary (8/? eps)

I saw there was only one review on this amazing manga so I decided to write one.

I will not include any spoilers in my review :) (the manga is not finished yet)

First of all, I wanted to start with the reasons to why I really liked this manga; unlike many other romance mangas, I personally really enjoyed the originality of the vibe in this one, it is not cliché and is very fun to read with the comedic touches to it. Another point that was pleasing to me is that the romance isn't too slow, it develops in a rapid and constant pace but it ...

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Mar 24, 2023

melon1880

Recommended

Preliminary (12/? eps)

Why have a heard no one talk about this it’s such a cute and wholesome manga I love it so much. The story may look basic but it has its own turns and I like that it makes it unique. The art style is absolutely beautiful no complains along with the characters each having a unique personality which just made them shine above each. I love how each character feels like they could be a real person and responding to situations in a real way. I feel like this is a manga that is really simple to understand and many people will enjoy. In my ...

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Poll: Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai Chapter 8 Discussion Short_Circut - May 6, 2022	2 replies	by CQLLIST »» Jun 10, 2023 7:48 PM
Officially licensed in English by Kodansha nushrathumaira - Mar 30, 2023	0 replies	by nushrathumaira »» Mar 30, 2023 5:45 PM
Poll: Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai Chapter 6 Discussion Uji_Gintoki_Bowl - Mar 2, 2022	3 replies	by Shy »» Mar 5, 2023 12:09 AM
Poll: Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai Chapter 5 Discussion Short_Circut - Dec 31, 2021	2 replies	by Shy »» Mar 4, 2023 11:53 PM
Poll: Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai Chapter 4 Discussion Shy - Mar 4, 2023	0 replies	by Shy »» Mar 4, 2023 1:18 PM

Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai
Love, That's an Understatement
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Hikaeme ni Ittemo, Kore wa Ai
Love, That's an Understatement
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