At first, I thought this was going to be like Orange or Those Summer Days because of the 2030 start to the beginning of the story, but so far it doesn't appear to have any time travel.

I like that the main character has a bunch of dude friends and only one (maybe two) of them are romantically interested in her. I am a long-standing proponent of "opposite sexes can be friends". I like that this series so far examines the impact the pandemic has had on high schoolers as most books set in and around 2020-21 either ignore it or act like it isn't/didn't happen. Finally, I like that we know from the intro that she does become a mangaka but isn't quiet there yet in high school. Prodigy stories are nice and have a place, but I like to see characters start out okay and get great - luckily for me, this is common in anime.

I liked the romance aspect of it. I think there was a little lost in the translation, but the future jump and COVID aspects were timely and interesting to read about. Manga romance is my favorite. Not sure if I'll nominate this one for Mavs yet or not.

Thank you so much to the publishing company, Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with a copy!!!

Kodansha Comics never fail to deliver the cutest shoujo mangas <3

I love this one so much! I’m so excited to add this to my manga pile. The childhood friend to lovers trope is one of my favourites and this one did not disappoint. The illustrations are on point. And the storyline is not too cheesy. It’s just the perfect amount of fluff. I can’t wait to see how the story will progress. After that cliffhanger you bet I’ll be picking up the second one ASAP.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You., Volume 1 by Haruka Mitsui was a modern shoujo about a high school girl, Mizuho, and her four childhood boy friends, with a sprinkling of real life COVID in there. The pacing felt pretty rushed to what I'm used to in shoujo, but I didn't dislike it. I'm gonna need to read more to really get a distinct feel for some of the characters. Art was great as always.

Enjoyed this graphic novel. Would continue this series to see what happens. Not much else, just a good graphic novel that got my attention.

simply a cute shoujo manga, it features the younger boy x older girl trope though the age gap isn't prominent at all. very sweet<3

This was such a cute read!!! I cannot wait for the next volume to come out!

The manga is set during the pandemic or the start of it in 2020. Mizuho just turned 17 and on her birthday, she confesses her feelings to her senior but was then rejected. To make this day worst, her father and her best friends forgot that today is her birthday! It couldn’t have gotten any worst!!!

But then, Kizuki, one of her childhood friends, kisses her and confesses his feelings for her?!! What will Mizuki do?

This is the first manga I’ve read set during the pandemic and I’m soooo excited to read more about the characters and how they coped as they juggle with their feelings, friendships, studies, and more!!!

A high school romance shojo manga that takes place during the beginnings of a pandemic. We start out in 2030 and it's Mizuha's birthday and she's having a bad day. Flash back to high school summer 2020, when she was in a tight knit group of childhood friends, all good looking boys. When one of them confesses to her, you can see that the friend group's dynamics are starting to change. School activities, clubs and festivals are cancelled due to this mysterious illness that's going around, and since these are such an important part of the high school experience, I'm really interested to see how this is handled. I can't wait for the next volume!

When I get the chance to devour a manga, I go hard. This volume was absolutely beautiful! I devoured it as I'm sitting in virtual jury duty and I cannot recommend it enough.

The start of the book was so controversial that I was shocked from the get-go. It's also a sports romance with a best friend to lover trope, which is always different for me. The entire manga gave me goosebumps and I'll be diving into the next volume ASAP.

"Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" is a story of the youth and internal growth of five childhood friends who were raised together in a small neighborhood and this first volume only begins to unravel their characters.

Thank you, NetGalley for an e-book for an honest review!

Sweet manga. Classic miscommunication and friends to lovers. Reminded me of my love mix up and you’re my cutie.

Mizuha is the only girl in their group of 5 friends. They have been best friends for 10 years. On her 17th birthday, one of them decides to tell her that he would like to be her boyfriend. Mizuha doesn't know how to feel about this and spends the whole story going back and fourth about her feelings. Sports romance. Friends to lovers.

The art is just breath taking. Will probably read the next one to se what happens, but wasn't a fan about how quickly everything happened. Overall, this was a solid manga.

I don't know how I feel about this one. Whilst I enjoyed the art style and the main character I felt that some parts of this story where a bit all over the place.

First of all, this is written as a flashback to 2020 and the pandemic however there are no real signs that these characters are living during that time. There is no social distancing, no masks and no lockdowns as such. The author incorporated the pandemic into storylines but just didn't continue with it in other aspects.

The story at times felt a bit repetitive and i found myself wanting something new to happen.

Overall, a cute read but I don't think I'll be picking up the rest of this series sadly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Somewhat stereotypical manga high-school romance where the MC h has multiple male friends, some of whom are interested in her as more than a friend and she is clueless about it.

The artwork is very pretty, though it is difficult for me to tell the four boys apart at times.

The only thing different about this high-school "spring of my life" series is it's a flashback from 2030 to 2020, so the illness is mentioned as causing things to be cancelled, like school trips and sports competitions. However, no one is wearing masks or practicing social distancing, so it doesn't ring quite true.

Also, for me anyway, it's still too soon. I think maybe in the future, after things are finally over and back to some semblance of normalcy, then I can read something where the Pandemic makes an appearance and be ok with it. Right now, that wound is still gaping open and not even close to healing.

3, solid if slightly uncomfortable for me, stars.

Super adorable!! I really enjoyed this best friend trope romance and the illustrations match the story so perfectly.

I love starting a new manga series and this was no exception. Loved the characters and the setup. It reminded me a lot of earlier series with the style and feel. This gave me major Mamalade Boy vibes. Would definitely recommend and I can't wait to read the next volume!

What a sweet story about a group of friends growing up and realizing that as they get older, feelings might be shifting from platonic to romantic.

I loved all the banter between friends and all of these with all of them! I hope we get to know more about the other boys beyond Kizuki especially since I kind of saw a bit of tension potentially brewing. The relationship developing between Kizuki and Mizuha was also super cute and I can’t wait to see how it goes in future volumes! Especially after that cliffhanger!

There’s an interesting beginning to the volume too, set 10 years after the events of the rest of the story so I am intrigued to see what that is about. Overall, a solid and sweet volume that I’d recommend to anyone who likes a friend group, romance and a high school setting!

3/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

As usual when it comes to manga, I will focus on the art style and this one has the shojo manga vibe that I like. I'm sure most of us can't resist to look at all the good-looking characters because they are such an eye candy! I think this is also an important factor for some readers to pick up a manga and this one delivers it well!

The story revolves around a girl named Mizuha with her 4 childhood friends, all guys (cough) as one of them realizes that he has feelings for the female lead. The male lead, Kizuki is called as a 'baby' in their group of friends and I find it really charming (and cute) that he tried to look cool in front of Mizuha. But, I don't like that he's a bit pushy, the way he tries to force Mizuha to fall in love with him though I know he's just trying to express his feelings to her.

The story also feels repetitive and lacks depth in other characters as there's not much flashbacks on their childhood. For now, we only now how close Kizuki and Mizuha when they were children, but I'd like to see more of the side characters. Shin attracts me the most, with his physical appearance and quiet personality. The author mentioned in the initial character design sketches that she'll draw his true feelings soon, which is the reason why I'm looking forward to read the next volume!

For readers who enjoy shojo manga with childhood friends to lovers trope, check out this manga! Bless your eyes with the beautiful artwork and gorgeous characters!

The start to this shojo series was great! It's not often I get a win on my first read of the year, but that sure happened with this one!

We are following a young woman who grew up with 4 boys. She has a crush on a 3rd year at school. When his final swim meet gets cancelled due to the pandemic, she tells him not to lose hope, and confesses her feelings. One of her childhood friends is also on the swim team, and tells him to back off. He thinks of her as a woman, and he's going to make it known to her.

He starts to, and she is warming up to the childhood friend. What she doesn't expect is *SPOILERS NOT GOING TO SAY IT HERE*

I am incredibly excited to keep going with the series!

For the moment, this manga is quite basic. It works, but it’s no fireworks.
We have Mizuha who is friend with four handsome boys. Of course, one (at least) of them is in love with her. For his defence, this friend is quite direct and asks her out so I enjoyed this determined side of him. Overall, it is cute and the characters are likeable. It is the first manga that I read where the covid-19 pandemic is a part of it, cancelling events and everything (except masks). I will read the next volume because it makes me smile and I like the characters.
I recommend to people looking for a cute but not extraordinary romance.
3/5

This is the first manga I've read that explicitly references COVID, which is interesting, but the mangaka also only goes halfway. I don't know that it fully captures just HOW traumatic this time period was (and is) for young people, which makes it feel disjointed. There's also no mask wearing, which just feels... irresponsible, even if it's because the mangaka wanted to have artistic freedom.