Kimi no Sekai ni Koi wa Nai
Is Love the Answer?

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Have you ever felt you were “not normal” or simply just didn’t fit in? There are around 7 billion people yet you have no one to “love” or “be loved” by anyone just because you don’t have the so called normal life which comes naturally to everyone around you. You can’t seem to understand what exactly “love” is that so many appear to know naturally yet have no idea since majority of them break away from one another. Have you ever pondered upon whether you might be asexual? Or even gender neutral? Yet you feel you don’t seem to fit in with any of the ... gender labels out there. Yes, you’re going through a huge identity crisis and nothing out there can help you since you feel you’re a bit of everything yet not anything. So what and who exactly are you?

Similar is the case with Chika, who felt she was an alien since she couldn’t just fit in. She is asked out by someone she got along with but was grossed out when that dude pushed her down on the first day. She is forced by others perspective that she just hasn’t found “her one” and once she does things will fall into place. Honestly, we all think about having that one who we will cross paths with someday. But what if there’s no one like that :-) such is the journey of chika who goes to college and after interactions with a psychology professor and taking quizzes etc to get to know herself finds that she may be asexual afterall.

Now that’s not all to it. The manga gets into both psychological and philosophical realm. You will see characters having a Socratic dialogue regarding the difference between romantic and sexual attraction, thereby, what constitutes cheating - is it just touching someone else’s hand or kissing/sex with someone other than partner…this further takes us to the root question what exactly is love? What defines love? Turns out everyone has a different definition of love or actually even sexual orientations and so on. So how are we to judge who we are - is it what we think of ourself or is it what others think of ourselves, that is, if I see myself as an asexual but my friend’s projection of me is not asexual does that make me one or not?

The manga also briefly dives into different spectrums of asexuality, for example - what if you don’t feel (sexually/romantically) attracted to people yet you feel some sort of feelings, for say, fictional characters or even celebs, which may be just platonic (or maybe not) but you still don’t see yourself ever getting down on with them like ever. Would you still be an asexual or not?

So these are the basic themes dealt in merely 6 chapters of the manga which is so fascinating because I’ve never read a manga like this before. Also it’s clear how the mangaka was writing from personal experience because it really hits the unvoiced part of the like minded readers.

I’ll definitely recommend literally everyone to check out out because it is a must read!

(What does it mean to “like” someone?)

Having thrown into the complicated world of a romantic relationship, a young girl gets washed over by an overwhelming dreaded feeling. Is this what it means to “like” someone? Will things really get better after a few kisses?

(If I learn to like someone, will I be like everyone else?)

“Is Love The Answer” is a manga that questions. As someone who always felt like she’s an alien, Chika is determined to ask those questions and demand a clear answer on what it means to love. Is love truly the answer? If it is, then how can she figure out a ... way to be “normal” just like everyone else?

The story closely follows Chika’s journey. Through her perspective, we get to explore and learn about the complexities and various set of hindrances that comes with different sexualities. It asks us to look a little closer at ourselves and the concepts of love that we’ve surrounded ourselves with. It’s a story that requires openness and an incredible level of understanding, which, I think, is something the manga has successfully achieved.

Isaki’s writing here is sentimental. It asks for us to look at ourselves a little closer. It asks us to question the things we’ve deemed as “normal” and what does it really mean for something to be considered as a norm. Even for those within the LGBTQ+ community, it asks us to dismantle certain ideas that we’ve confined ourselves into.

I appreciate the manga highlights nonconformity and fluidity in various identities. Despite its short length, it manages to do so poignantly in every chapter. As the story emphasizes over and over again, there is no definitive answer to things. You decide what life you want to life, what makes you happy. Although the manga does read mostly as an educational exploration of these ideas, I still think it is an incredibly important read.

It is short and it is most definitely sweet.

This was an amazing manga. Was it the best manga you'll ever read? Probably not. At times the art was a little wonky, and sometimes the dialogue/interactions felt forced, but for overall storytelling, I rate this manga a 9/10.

While not all ace/aro people will have the same experiences I found that "Is Love the Answer" was incredibly faithful to my personal experiences as an aroace person and the experiences of other aroace people who I've interacted with. The story hit painfully close to home. It didn't describe some caricature of asexuality, it described it accurately with all of the good and ugly parts.

I ... recommend this manga to anyone unsure whether they are ace or aro, but overall I recommend this manga to everyone. This manga was so informative that I wished I could have just given out copies of it to everyone I know so that they could better understand asexuality, especially given how few people even know of or accept asexuality.

WOW!!
I feel like I'm getting called out here.

I have never seen a manga that covers the topic of asexuality. Honestly, we need more of them. As an asexual, I related to Chika. Feeling like you are broken just because you don't see people in a sexual manner. That hit really closed to home for me. Everything Chika went through; I had gone through it as well. It's nice to see that other people have the same problems too. I was honestly jealous that Chika had this crazy support system. I wish I had that.

The big thing that I really appreciated was ... that they explained what asexuality was and that it was a spectrum and an umbrella term. I feel like every time asexual is brought up in other media it's explained rather poorly and simplified. When in reality, asexuality is a lot more complicated than not wanting sex. Being able to learn more about yourself and what asexual means to you is a huge, big step and it was really nice to see that.

For those of us who are asexual I highly recommend this manga. It existing to see asexuality represented in a positive way.
Even if you're not an Ace I would still recommend it. The story and characters are extremely well done. Also, this manga will make you smile. =)

There is literally only one bone I have to pick with this manga. I don't love that it opens with the main character's first relationship being an abusive one. By all means, that's something that should be discussed. I think there's even a conversation to be had about whether being desperate to fit in when you're questioning your sexuality makes a person more likely to fall for someone who's overly controlling, forceful, etc. But I would have preferred that storyline delegated to one of the minor characters' backstories. That it's the scene that opens the manga... I just feel like it perpetuates a stereotype.

Otherwise, ... this was a really great, quick little read. It does a great job of showcasing how asexuality and aromanticism isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. I happen to identify very closely with Chika-- how she sees herself and views relationships, so I connected with this one right away. But it also offered so many other perspectives and wasn't afraid to delve into the possibility that Chika herself wasn't perfect. There's a scene where the professor she befriends calls her out for judging a lifestyle one of her new friends is aspiring to, and she basically tells her flat-out, "You don't get to decide what should or shouldn't make another person happy." That even when you've been fighting that battle your whole life, you can still be guilty of making assumptions about other people.

That said, I don't want to give the impression that this manga ever came across as being preachy, because that really wasn't the case. If anything, it felt like a celebration of differences. The friendships she forms once she starts building her confidence could be complicated at times, but overall made me feel warm and fuzzy. It's an uplifting tale. As much about connecting with others as it is finding yourself.

I thought that this manga was just..okay. When I heard it was about an aroace character, that got me excited to read it. But I can only say im sort of..disappointed? The characters felt quite bland, and it bothered me that Chika mentioned that asexual people can still fall in love, yet throughout the rest of the manga aromanticism and asexuality are still treated as the same thing. They're not. The title is "Is Love The Answer?" but she's an asexual woman. In general the manga felt very surface level and bland, the characters aren't developed on a lot, and it doesn't feel like they ... had a great place to develop from in the first place. I often found myself getting bored, especially throughout the later parts of the manga.

At the same time though, not every manga has to be incredibly deep. So I think this manga works well for someone who just wants a bit of basic escapism and representation. But even though the entire manga is about asexuality, it feels like the rep for it wasn't done well at all.

It’s incredible and crazy how much I relate to each of the characters views, even though they’re so different.
The author’s amazing. I feel like they interviewed me before making the manga and then made a character out of each of my opinions, lol.

Although it was a bit cliche at times, and started with the toxic hetero trope, overall the representation is great. You can tell the author did lots of research.
It’s not that the protagonist simply concludes that she’s ace, but the fluidity of sexuality also is explained. That asexuality is an umbrella term and that there are so many different kinds of labels underneath ... it, and everyone feels different about it.
Aro/Ace identity is probably the only one section of attraction that is so unique to each person. It’s not like being homosexual where it’s just, “oh yea i only like the same gender”, but really is much more complicated. Some still feel sexual attraction, but don’t act on it; some pleasure themselves, but wouldn’t want to have sex with someone else; others really don’t feel any attraction; some want to feel that way but can’t; and so much more. Which the author also digs into.
It’s also probably the only time I’ve seen a gay character (in manga) mention bisexuality. Oh and there’s also an agender character. <3

There’s unlabeled representation as well.
You feel that label might fit you, but also not. You don’t want a label, you just want to be “you”.
I’ve said it so many times already, and it’s nice to finally see another likeminded person (the author/character).

DESIRE FOR AFFIRMATION STEMS FROM THE NEGLECTION OF ONE'S SELF

The concept of romance which dazzles around the eyes of an adolescent in hope of an ideal high school life accompanied by an relentless anticipation and an unexpected introspection.

'Is Love the Answer" or locally known as 'Kimi no Sekai wa Nai is a one-shot manga by Isaki Uta who have also created other works tackling with similar themes of asexuality in adolescents and people around them.

The story is somewhat promising with its profound concept of promoting asexuality in the mind of its readers but fails in many prospects to make it a success. The story follows ... Chika Hanai, an college student who wasn't able to fathom the concept of romance throughout her high school life constantly hoping for validation but as she starts college, she finds people who finally understand her and a psychology teacher who is on the same boat as hers which eventually lead to her long awaited affirmation with identifying her condition of not feeling romantic attraction towards other people as 'asexuality'.

One of the reasons why this manga fails in its promising theme is the lack of character development which is usually bounded to occur in the one-shot formats. The characters in this manga are heavily stereotyped to their archetypes which makes it rather blend and lackluster which isn't stopped at the characters. The idea of 'asexuality' and 'romance' are heavily stereotyped which makes any prospects for a deep understanding of its core theme unlikely. The manga tries to connect the idea of LGBTQ and Asexuality together which are technically two really different concepts.

The manga explores the themes of unrequited love, identity, self discovery, desire for acceptance, intimacy and so on.
What makes this manga unenjoyable is its recurring cliched themes and blend characters which can be ignored to some extent if you are looking for some nice change of pace with a short story about an obscure theme in animanga that may appeal to romance manga fans. The artwork is somewhat mediocre still not bad.

In conclusion, Is love the answer? is a manga which lacks direction for its themes it has tried to navigate.