The art style is perfection, which is to be expected by Haruka Mitsui and with a story that begins so solemnly ten years into the future, sets a perfect stage to tackle the insanity of 2020 while also telling a love story that I can only hope has a happy ending for the characters involved. Though I hope that it doesn't rely heavily on a love triangle for the sake of confusion and miscommunication between characters, or dissolves into the dissolution of a longtime friendship, the first volume does seem to foreshadow that not everything remains as happy as it once was.

That's nothing new for a shoujo manga, however, and doesn't deter me from wanting to know how much their story will shift and change in upcoming volumes.

'Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with you' is a shojo that follows the teenage years of Mizuha, a 17-year-old girl, who is friends with four boys since her childhood. Their friendship is strong and beautiful but, when one of them, Kizuki, confesses his feelings to Mizuha, something changes in the group. If Mizuha is sure not to love him, Kizuki swears that he will do everything to make her fall in love with him. And for that, he doesn't plan to involve the boys and put their friendship at stake.

I liked this manga. I wouldn't say it has become a favourite, but I appreciated the story. I think it was because I could relate a lot to Mizuha, how she doesn't directly understand her own feelings and also that she wants to create her manga, her own stories. Also, I found her very mature, which is sometimes hard to find in shojos since they mostly treat the stories of young girls.

For once, I believe it's the boys that I wasn't fond of. They were a lot, but our focus was more directed towards Kizuki during this first manga. I thought he was a bit childish sometimes, which could correspond to his teenage years or so. But one time, Kizuki is the cute type, following Mizuha like a dog, and another time, he becomes the sexy and dangerous predator that traps her behind a wall. There is no in-between.

So I'd be very interested to see where the story goes and how the characters are developed throughout the future mangas, especially Aira, whom we get the point of view several times without knowing particularly his intentions or thoughts. I hope, however, that the story won't turn up to be the four boys being head over heels for Mizuha because I think it would eventually disappoint me.

I would definitely recommend this shojo to every shojo lover. It's an enjoyable story, and the drawings are absolutely beautiful (but I wasn't surprised by that since I already knew Haruka Mitsui's style).

Thank you so much Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read this manga!

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You, Volume 1 by Haruka Mitsui is an absolutely adorable shojo manga that will appeal to fans of high school love stories! Seventeen year-old Mizuha is friends with four handsome boys, and they've all been friends for over 10 years. Mizuha sees them all as friends / brothers though, definitely not romantic interests. When one of her longtime friends Kizuki asks her out on a date, Mizuha is shocked. She definitely did not see this coming! Is it possible for the two of them to be more than friends?

Overall, Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You, Volume 1 will make you reminisce about first love, or it would make the perfect read for high-schoolers who are the protagonists' ages. One highlight of this book is the artwork. The art is excellent, and the characters are well-drawn. I recommend this book for fans of Free, the anime about swimming, since Kizuki is a swimmer. Another highlight of this manga is the major cliffhanger at the end of this book. I wasn't expecting that at all, and I can't wait until Volume 2 comes out so that I can see what happens next. If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of shojo manga, I highly recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!

3/5 A decent high school shoujo manga but this would've been a 2-star book for me if it didn't have the art.

I was given access to an early arc pdf of this book so my review is for that.

If this wasn't great or anything new which is kind of expected with shoujo. The only thing different about this manga was that this was set during the pandemic which they only brought up like three times. They weren't wearing mask or anything but just some school events got canceled so it wasn't really that big of a difference from other shoujo. The storyline is basically a girl surrounded by guys that semi like her and one of them likes her enough to tell her. The issue I had with this is that they have all been friends since childhood and she sees them as brothers and I ain't about that family love no matter how popular it gets. The ending wasn't great and you probably would just be annoyed at it like me unless you're like thirteen and don't mind characters developing feelings in two seconds even though they didn't like that character. They also had the "I'll make you see me as a man" trope in this, so ew, you're 16/17 please stop and go back to swim practice lmao. I wish they would've gone more into her trauma response and the event that caused it (was a very small part and not descriptive at all so I don't think a trigger warning is necessary) because that scene was my favorite and the only time I wasn't mad at that character for the way he was behaving towards her.

Besides the storyline being meh mostly the artwork was beautiful. So I know I'm a huge sucker for artwork and most manga's get an additional star rating for it because I hate being harsh on them but trust me this one deserves it I swear! I couldn't really tell the blondes apart though so I guess there is a small fault in the artwork but it was probably just me being dumb. An issue I did have with this visually is the font size and I don't know if it's just the pdf that has an issue with that. I had to scale it up to be quite a bit bigger than manga pages usually are and that isn't going to be something a physical copy reader can do so that's something to keep in mind if you're interested in this.

I think that was everything I wanted to say about this manga so yay a semi "long' review from me! I recommend this to teens but also not at the same time because of the actions from the love interests so I guess read at your own risk, sorry lol I'm not being very helpful. I know as a teen I loved that toxic shit but it did cause me to get into quite a few bad relationships even though I'm not very interested in romance for myself (demi/aro). I will always read anything Kodansha puts up on NetGalley because some of my favorites are printed by them but this was definitely not something I would read again, I might consider continuing it for more reviews but it's not something I would reread or purchase for myself and my manga wall thanks you because I am running out of space lmao.

Disclaimer: I was given access to a digital ar copy of this from Kodansha and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES I TOOK WHILE READING THIS, they are in order and pretty much just repeat everything I talked about but I wanted to keep them here since I may have forgotten something.
-Font is a little small on the pdf and I've already zoomed in to the point it's bigger than the physical pages would be.
-Multiple times already stated that they're like siblings and I ain't about that family romance.
-A pandemic setting which is odd because they aren't wearing masks and the only thing bad that's happened is some of their sports and school activities were canceled what?.
- :( page 90 made me super uncomfy lol I hate when they have the "I'll make you see me as a man" trope.
-Okay I usually hate when characters are scared of rain/thunder but that scene was so cute so I will accept it lmao.
-The ending was very meh, it's supposed to be a dramatic cliffhanger but I feel like anyone over thirteen wouldn't be all that affected by it because it kind of just annoyed me. Also, why are almost all the blondes assholes lmao? I also couldn't tell them apart so oops.

When reading Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You Volume 1 I was struck by the beautiful art that filled the pages. This book was truly beautiful. Making the book fun to read along with an absolutely adorable storyline. If you like friends to lovers this book is definitely for you. With a slow-burn love triangle and a confused damsel in distress, this book takes you on a fun journey through Mizuha's love life.

Despite the cute art and light romance plot, I feel like "Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You" has some issues that made me enjoy it a bit less than I usually would with a shoujo. I can't complain about clichés because I do enjoy them - childhood friends, multiple love interests, dead mom, generic high-school setting and all that -, but I feel like the pacing was a lot off for a first volume.

We're told the heroine is close to 4 boys from the start, but despite a few lines we don't see them all together much, since every chapter here is a repetition of Love Interest 1 being like "I'll make you like me!" and Heroine slowly falling for him because he's charming and all that. And all that with little interaction with the other characters. I think it would've been better if the heroine at least resisted a bit instead of just letting everything happen around her and accepting things super quick.

The art looks a bit off sometimes, like the characters don't look very right? But it's not something that throws off the experience completely. It's nice enough for the vibes of the story.

I'll probably try reading more because even with issues I do enjoy cute romances, so. It's just not something very groundbreaking or new.

A cute story with beautifully drawn art! Mizuha reflects back on the special days of school with her four best friends: their lives, adventures, and love stories amid the changes caused by the pandemic. Since this is only the first volume, these chapters primarily set up the story and characters without getting very far in the development of either. But there are indications of deep characters, complex relationships, and sweet friendships and love to come. I expect great things from the continuing volumes of this story and am excited to read them!

Story: It has been a while since I've read a lot of Shoujo and I'm not exactly the age group this manga is meant for. But the story pulled me back to when I couldn't stop reading shoujo manga. It is fun to have felt a bit like being 14 again, getting all sucked up into these messy love stories that actually are so unrealisitic. I am a bit afraid to go on with this book as it didn't really mention in the description that this will turn out to be a reversed harem, which with at least 4 guys seeming to have a crush on her, it is. This way there's a bunch of people going to get hurt which kind of always makes it hard to read these stories. But still the cliffhanger on this volume makes me want to pick up the next one in a heartbeat (sadly I need to wait til it releases...). Also I like that the author actually fitted the pandemic into her work. At the first mention I would have loved the pandemic to be actually called by its name and to not just be called a 'weird illness'. But later in the manga it was mentioned in a less unrealisitic way. I simply don't see anybody describing covid with 'weird' these days.
Overall the characters are pretty generic. I am not surprised by this and I honestly don't think Shoujo is something to read if you're looking for the most original idea. Though I would have wished for a bit more character developement on the senpai, considering the ending of this volume. But I really liked the way the friendship between all these guys worked.
The Story of this volume is a 4/5.

Art: The artstyle is pretty, not too different from many other shoujo manga but the characters are distinguishable and the guys are hot and the girl is cute. I also like the small chibi pun scenes. As with the story it was on the good but generic side, so also a 4/5.

A sweet pandemic high school friends to lovers, GIMME!
Sweetly drawn and beginning with a 2030 version of the MC, looking back on her high school life in 2020, it had a group of friends, one girl and four boys living their lives in a pandemic and the hardships of it. (I hope it dives into it for future volumes)

I am not sure if the other male friends are also going to be in love with her or want the pair together and stop being a nuisance, but I'm hoping for maybe one to also be in love or for them all to be friends because it would be very refreshing!

ALSO, HOW DARE SENPAI SAY THAT AT THE END?! I AM GONNA FIGHT HIM! HE KNEW AND STILL DID IT!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You, Volume 1 was beautifully drawn and set up a lot of important elements that will hopefully be explored in later volumes. The main story is a recollection of events from Mizuha Nishino's high school days 10 years prior.

It's Mizuha's 17th birthday, but it hasn't been going well. Her dad forgot, and her longtime crush turns her down. But then one of Mizuha's childhood friends confesses to her and forces her to reconsider her feelings and what a change in relationship could mean for the two of them.

The pacing was little quick, and but the way the story that was set up left enough hanging that I'm interested in picking up the next volume.

Art and Story: Haruka Mitsui
Translation: Melissa Chiam/amimaru
Lettering: Juan Marcos Rivera/amimaru

AHH I knew by the title right away that this manga was going to ruin me. And it did. Mizuho confesses her love to her crush but he rejects her harshly. As she is trying to console herself, her childhood friend confesses his love other and now she can't stop thinking about him! The art in this manga is beautiful. There so many beautiful boys to make you drool. Mizuho is a very relatable character. She grew up with a groups boy so they are like brothers to her. It's /weird/ to consider a brother as something more but she can't stop staring at Kizuki after he shared his love with her and showed her intimate moments of kindness and small acts of love. Aside from the love story, Mizuho is trying to be a manga artist but her storylines are average according to her teacher. She needs to experience a real love story to inspire her before she can write a good manga but she is at a loss. How is she supposed to get inspired when her crush won't even acknowledge her?
THE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END. Omg I am so excited for this manga. It hurts me that I know I have to wait a long time for the next. I am so excited for this story and the beautiful characters to realize their love for each other and goals in life. I like how inklings of the pandemic is scattered in the story making it SO MUCH more real. This is a MUST READ if you are a fan of romance and manga.