Koi wa Misoji wo Sugite kara

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As the title indicates, Love is for those Over 30 is a Mature, Ecchi, Romance, Slice of Life dealing with the issues of love transcending an age gap; however these issues are so minor, they may fail to arouse your interest.

Sakura Uehara is a hardworking OL (office lady) who’s done nothing but work her ass off, ever since leaving high school, which has left little to no time to forge any romantic relationships. Soon into the story (well a bit too soon) she becomes well acquainted with the new office employee named Yuu Yamada, who’s fresh out of college and in need of some guidance. ... Despite their age difference they unsurprisingly develop a relationship and they live happily ever after… the end. Now the problem with the story is that it’s too much of a slice of life, with nothing out of the ordinary happening to spice up the romance. It’s just like reading yourself living your own boring life; if you could pry yourself away from a computer long enough to get a job and find a partner. The story is simply about the capable but inexperienced couple, in love, doing what most adult couples do and they do it a lot.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said all that because I’ve pretty much spoilt the entire 6 chapters to anyone who’s interested… oh well… now unto the characters, who are a delightful bunch. Well as delightful as a bunch of 20-30 year old office workers can be. Although it’s really only Sakura & Yuu that you need to care about, since the other characters get as much attention as my dead goldfish. The pair may have some good chemistry with each other but the same cannot be said about their development.

Nevertheless one good thing has developed and that’s Ryuta Amazume’s artistic skill. The artwork is the real stunner of this manga and it’s amazing how much the mangaka has improved over the years. Now not only is he able to draw realistic characters, with similar designs from his other works, but he’s able to portray the style of the said characters from the particular outfits he gives them.

Yet in the end this is a shallow attempt at a good romance, which is sadly overshadowed by tits & ass. It looks gorgeous but is extremely shallow. Themes like the office working environment and the mild stigma around relationship age gaps are barely touched upon, whereas too much emphasis is on the sex. If that’s all you’re looking for, then you’ll come out feeling satisfied but it sure as hell wouldn’t satisfy any of you hardcore romance lovers.

So first off this turned out to be WAYYY more porny than I was expecting. This is not necessarily a problem, it just wasn't what I was expecting nor what I picked up this manga for. Oh well.

Anyway, that aside, this one is a case of "it should have worked for me but it doesn't". And I think I know why--it's boring. The art is actually solid to quite good; our female lead's expressive faces are especially well-done; and the character they are expressing is reasonably well-sketched and engaging (if somewhat boneheaded and contrary sometimes). She seems real, to the point that she's sometimes ... unlikable, and sometimes self-sabotaging, if far too often self-deceptive.

But the story just doesn't seem to go anywhere. (Also the ending is just... awful.) I went in hoping I would finally get an engaging story about adult life (getting a little tired of protagonists in high school or below) but instead it just largely seemed to echo the repetitiveness of real life in a corporate workplace, complete with its arbitrary injustices, dangerous social politics, and awkward secrets. With cuts to lots and lots of (apparently good) sex. Between not actually getting to enjoy the (apparently good) sex myself through the medium of print, but also not wanting to go back to the exhausting corporate minefield, I was left with nowhere really to go, and no real excitement to look forward to.

For a work that engages with similar themes but through much more compelling character moments and a more developed plot, consider Dame na watashi ni koishite kudasai/Please Love the Useless Me.