A Condition Called Love, Vol. 1 (2024)

It's probably not a good sign when your reaction to the romance in a romance book is "Oh my god, girl, run away!!!"

Sadly, that is precisely what I found myself thinking repeatedly over the course of this one. Hotaru is a great character, and I can completely understand her discomfort (and her friends' discomfort) at her lack of interest in romance, but rather than get involved with Hananoi, I wanted her to realize that maybe it just wasn't her thing. Instead she ignores all of the many warning signs that there's something seriously off with the guy, falling into a relationship with him because he manipulates her emotionally.

Morino tries to imply that Hananoi has become this way because he's been neglected by his parents. Unfortunately she doesn't go far enough with that. Jun Yuzuki managed to pull it off in The Prince's Black Poison because she dedicated more time to the issue; also that series uses comedy to mitigate the issues of its damaged lead.

Long story short, there's something seriously creepy about this book made worse by the fact that the author clearly thinks it's romantic. If that's not your thing, steer clear.

No, no, no, no, no. No. This story is a perfectly charming and lighthearted romp as a young girl learns what love truly feels like.

Too bad about that male lead. Really, really too bad. This guy is five seconds away from killing Hotaru so she can’t ever leave him. He starts off fine for maybe ten pages and then he comes on too strong and never stops. His responses to everything range from cringeworthy to wholly inappropriate.

If you said a serial killer had taken him out offscreen and was now wearing his skin, I would completely buy this as a plausible explanation of his behaviour. Even the art gives him dead eyes half the time. Jokes about having a Hotaru shrine, couples’ end points being buried next to one another. This guy has so many warning flags he could be doing semaphore at the Amity Island beach.

And it kills me because Hotaru deserves better both story wise and boyfriend wise. She’s great, she has a really good shojo heroine personality, she’s trying so hard... and this is what she gets? No way.

The biggest jerk in any other story is a lot easier to take than this dead-eyed creep. I just could not get past it.

Vol 1- 4 stars
The art style is literally the cutest thing! This is stinking adorable. Getting slight yandere vibes from him, which is a bit concerning, but I do have to say how cute this is else wise. I'm going to live vivaciously through them as I binge the next volumes. (edit to add that I binged six volumes in 2.5 hours. Ooops.)

Content-
1 unfinished what the, 2 god, 1 thank God, 1 “please God” (in a kind of prayer but it stems more from embarrassment), 1 crap, a few hot/hottie;
A few mentions of shrines; (Adding that I think it was this volume where we learn about a mean prank played on our FL in middle school involving her hair.);
Mentions of kisses, kissing, & kissing someone to see if you like them; Mentions of having someone’s permission before you touch them & hand holding; The Main Couple go over to his house alone and he comments that most girls would think a guy has romantic ulterior motives if he tried to get her alone with him (but Hotaru isn’t concerned and the thought didn’t enter her head until he mentioned it); Hotaru asks him to kiss her to see if she likes him in that way (which ends up with two almost kisses and him pinning her to the ground); Dating, dates, boyfriends/girlfriends, falling in love & such is the main focus & discussed often.

3.5* for the series so far (8 volumes)

I’ve read some reviews crying « Red Flag » because of Hananoi’s creepy vibe. Let’s keep our head together shall we ? I won’t deny Hananoi is first portrayed as a control freak with heavy insecurities and that he feels creepy at first but maybe we shall keep in mind this is a shoujo, eh ? I mean, what are the odds he finally reveals himself being a serial killer gutting out everybody standing in his way to get Hotaru’s heart ?
Pretty low, eh ?

So, with that in mind let’s see what we got here. A condition… has all the cheesy aspects of teenage romance with its adorably cute main female character (Hotaru), its kinda mysterious main male character (Hananoi) and its nice supporting cast of friends.
The main interest is actually Hananoi’s (apparently) creepy vibe. His insecurities, despite his cool appearance-they are explained later in the series-are quite understandable and if they lead to uncalled-for behavior toward others they mainly hurt himself. He knows and suffers from it and it’s obviously with the support of Hotaru’s genuine love that he’ll have a chance to open up and let go. On the other hand Hotaru seems to be your average naive blushing teen but she maintains a very refreshingly active and positive attitude that’ll no doubt heal the wounds of poor Hananoi.

I’m not accustomed enough with the genre to say if that’s already been dealt with countless times before. From my small experience it’s interesting to see the male character trying to deal with his problems supported by his girlfriend rather than the other way round. I won’t say the plot is amazing or anything but it’s entertaining enough, with nice characters, a bit of comedy and good art to boot.

I'm loving all the new shoujo coming out. They're adorable and I always need more in my life! Thank you to Dija for always talking about this manga, because it made me want to read it. When I found out Kodansha was publishing it, I wanted the release date to arrive so I COULD READ IT FINALLY. THE WAIT WAS AAAAAH. But finally, your girl got it and read it... and yup, it's so cute and wholesome. I AM IN LOVE.

This romance manga is set in high school and has a girl who really doesn't think about love or dating. But then one day she helps out this guy from her school just because, you know? She felt a little bit bad for him because she was there when his gf broke up with him in public lmao, so she helped him out. But she never imagined what the next day would bring. HE ASKS HER OUT RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF HER CLASSROOM. HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER NAME LOLOLOL. He's very much all about love. He wants someone to take care of and who cares for him. He's so sweet but sometimes very intense but you know what... he's the cutest.

I desperately want the next volume!!!! I know this manga is going to hit every spot I love. IT ALSO HAS LIKE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE??? She's so tiny and he's tall. I'm heart eyes all over this story and characters. It's the perfect rom-com.

"There's no one in the world who'd be better off without love."

My heart is a giant puddle of melted feelings right now! Excuse me while I try to put it back together so I can write this review…

WOW! This first volume was totally worth all the hype! I went in completely blind and let myself get swept up in all the consistent love I had seen for this couple and preordered it without even reading what it was about!

And let me just say, these characters completely took over in sweeping me off my feet with this shoujo romance!!

I really really liked Hotaru right from the start! While this story is completely different then Ima Koi, I did find it similar in the sense that both our heroines are completely oblivious as to what to do in a relationship. I found it very refreshing once again to follow a heroine who really has no idea what she should do as a girlfriend and thought it *amazing* in how Hananoi encouraged her to just be herself. That she doesn't need to change who she is to be more "girlfriendy" and that he doesn't expect her to change herself for him. Again, totally amazing and very much loved seeing that unfold in this volume!

Hananoi is a very interesting character! While he is very adamant that Hotaru need not change who she is for his sake, I got the strong impression that Hananoi does change who he is for her? In fact, I would go as far as to say that he definitely feels he needs to *earn* her love, which is interesting because I haven't seen a shojo hero like that, but it also makes me really really sad for him. I'm thankful that Hotaru has been VERY encouraging that he need not change either and to do the things that make him happy (as well as look out for his own well-being).

The art in this volume is absolutely stunning! The detail of the eyes was mind-blowing and definitely sat and stared at a few panels because WOW! Beautiful beautiful art!

Overall, I very much loved this volume!! It was a total delight to read and definitely will be picking up more volumes in this series! I hope that these two continue to grow closer together!

Sweet HS shojo romance with an underpinning of creepy from the MC H. I love Love LOVE the MC h. She’s sooooo sweet and cute, but the MC H…I’ll try another volume and see if he’s as bad as the foreshadowing is hinting at.

4, please don’t jump the shark, stars.

(Number 1 of 37 from the Kodansha Amazon sale)

*More like 3.5 stars than 3.*

A manga with gorgeous art and a love story centred on two distinctive characters.

What was interesting about this manga was the contrast between the love interests. The protagonist Hotaru was sweet and naive whilst the male love interest Hananoi was intense to the extent that some of what he said could be considered creepy. But I feel as though some of the weird things he said were slipped in there for comedic effect and that at his core Hananoi is not actually as serial killer-esque as some of his comments suggest. Granted, he did fall for Hotaru at an alarmingly fast rate, but she’s such a sweet and cute girl that it’s not as bizarre as every other character in this manga makes out. No, Hananoi clearly did have some issues as suggested by the glimpse of his home life that was shown, but mostly he just seemed like a very intense and devoted boyfriend.

The protagonist’s naïveté was also played up for comedic effect, although it took its a toll on the plot and lead to long rambling monologues in the vein of “what is love? I didn’t know love could be like this. Love, love, love, love, love...”—you get the point. If you paid a pound for every time the word love appeared in this manga you’d be broke by the end, even if you have a lot of spare change!

But then again, if you’re reading this then romance is what you came for. And complain as you might about the intensity of the male love interest, you can’t say this manga didn’t deliver on the romance. It gave us sweet and slow starts as well as a hint of a suddenly passionate moment, an idea of what could be in store in later volumes and a lovely ending.

✨ 𝐀 𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓:
Hinase Hotaru, a high school freshman, has always been unsure about love. When she finds Hananoi-kun alone in the snow after a breakup, she casually offers her umbrella. But when he unexpectedly asks her out the next day, she senses her life is on the brink of a major shift.

✨ 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓:
Well, I hadn't planned on diving back into manga since I was taking a break to focus on my novels. But while browsing Kindle Unlimited, I was pleasantly surprised to find free manga available for download. I decided to give it a shot out of curiosity, and from the moment I started reading, I was hooked. The story of Hananoi-kun, the charming guy, quickly falling for Hinase Hotaru, the ordinary girl, grabbed my attention from the first page to the last. Now, I can’t wait to read the next volume.

✨ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
📌 SHOJO
📌 CONTEMPORARY
📌 ROMANCE
📌 SLICE OF LIFE
📌 NO SPICE

I read a digital copy of this book.

That Hananoi-kun is really gentle, that he gives it everything he's got that sometimes he gives too much and he ends up doing weird things, that he likes books, that he is good at teaching others, that when he walks, he does it at the same speed as me.

I'm not even sure where to begin with this one.

Basically, Hotaru is your average run of the mill 16-year-old. She isn't anything special. Except, the most popular boy at school is obsessed with her. After she puts her umbrella over him in the snow out of kindness, he is determined to make her fall in love with him, but she isn't convinced she ever will fall in love. She agrees to date him on a trial basis, they have until Christmas Eve to see how things will go, will Hananoi convince Hotaru he is worth loving?

Red flag city. I don't know if this level of obsession is normal in manga romances, I'm not particularly well versed in them, but I found it really off-putting. I get that Hananoi's intentions are good but the whole waiting for two hours in the morning and searching in the middle of the night in the snow for a hair clip and his inability to let Hotaru do anything for him. It just felt a bit weird. I might continue with this series at a later date but for now, it wasn't really for me.

Un día lluvioso de invierno, Hotaru le prestó a Hananoi, un chico de la clase de al lado al que acababan de dar calabazas, su paraguas, y poco después este se le declaró, y ella decide darle una oportunidad. Hotaru siempre ha pensado que el amor era algo que no podía sucederle a ella, ya que nunca se enamoró, pero tampoco sentía que le faltara nada, y las continuas muestras de afecto por parte de Hananoi la dejan bastante desconcertada... pero ¿también feliz?

Ay, pues la verdad es que ha sido muy cuqui, pero también tanto cariño por parte de Hananoi tan repentinamente resulta un tanto ¿extraño? Tengo sentimientos encontrados, la verdad, está demasiado enamorado, si lo podemos decir así, pero aun así la verdad es que la historia y su relación resulta de lo más adorable.

El personaje de Hotaru es una auténtica preciosidad: me encanta su forma de ser, y cómo se esfuerza por hacer feliz a todo el mundo, aunque me da pena que también se olvide de sí misma, espero que veamos en su evolución cómo va aprendiendo a ponerse en primer lugar. Por la parte de Hananoi, como digo... tengo mucha intriga, no sé si habrá algún significado oculto detrás de su actitud.

Reseña completa: http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202...

As much as the art is beautiful, the ML is pretty much of a constantly jealous twat even if he’s supposed to be “a gentleman” to the FL. Seriously Hotaru it’s sometimes rather best not to be with him at all, he’s just a control freak!

Ce premier tome est ADORABLE! J'ai senti mon petit coeur se réchauffer tout du long! J'ai tellement hâte de découvrir la suite!!

It's was so cute, I can't stop smiling <3

i think she's demiromantic?!

Hotaru is a sweet young girl who does something nice for popular classmate Hananoi. When Hananoi shocks her by asking her out, she at first says no. Hotaru has never been interested in dating or love. But after a few more encounters, they decide to trial date, to see if Hotaru can discover the feeling of love.

I loved the artwork. The characters are both very sweet, and the style of the artwork really captured that. Both characters were very drawn very cute!

My biggest gripe with this is that Hananoi seemed very stalker-y/obsessed with Hotaru. I'm just really unclear what the author was going for, because sometimes Hananoi was very sweet and thoughtful, and other times he was over-obsessed, and I can't tell if this is going to turn into a sweet love story or a stalker story. I also feel like Hotaru reads as aromantic and Hananoi is kind of forcing her to try and find love due to his persistence. I couldn't get a good read on where this story is going to go, and I will not pick up the next volumes because of this.

This story is definitely aimed at teens, but I'm not sure I'd suggest it due to the fact that I wouldn't want teens thinking Hananoi's actions are acceptable (too stalker-y and obsessive as previously mentioned).

3/5 stars because the artwork is great, but I can't gauge where the story is going

My pet peeve in any book, manga or otherwise, is false advertising. If the synopsis on the back of the cover does not match the content inside the book, I feel like I got ripped off.

This manga would have you believe it's a cute, fluffy, high school romance. IT'S NOT! It's actually about a super creepy stalker! And I would have been happy to read "Joe Goldberg: the Manga," if it had been advertised as such, but the lying synopsis earns this manga one star and I'm not continuing it.

The girl in this story has no interest in romance. The idea of having a boyfriend never even crosses her mind. She's just a kind person who offers a stranger her umbrella, and that's when she inadvertently picks up a stalker.

So the guy she offers her umbrella to is super hot and popular at school. But he has a secret: he's a creep. The type to fall immediately "in love" with any random girl who pays him attention, until she figures out how obsessive he is and dumps him. This guy waves ALL the red flags. The main character simply shared her umbrella, and the next day he shows up in her classroom to make his "love confession" in front of everyone. She turns him down - having, again, ZERO interest in boys - but he shows up in front of school at the end of the day, waiting to walk her home, anyway. He won't take no for an answer, so she agrees they can hang out until Christmas Eve and see if her feelings change towards him.

The boy is honest, at least, about his intentions. He tells the girl he is "intense" and "crazy." She admits she finds him "tenacious" and "extreme." Suddenly this guy is everywhere she is. He stands outside her house for literal HOURS every morning so he can be sure to walk to her to school. He hovers and eavesdrops when she's with her friends and then records information about her to use later. He stalks her to a family event he was not invited to, and insists she leave with him instead.

He has no real personality or interests of his own. The second they start their trial date, he starts changing everything about himself to try and fit into some ideal guy just based on what he *thinks* she would like. He gets rid of his earrings and cuts off his long hair, even though she never asked him to. He's never real, never really "himself."

His actions and words are both constantly creepy and over-the-top. This is her first "romance" so she asks what girlfriends and boyfriends are actually supposed to do together. His response is, "Be buried together." O.O She looks at her phone and he's blown it up with like 15 missed calls in the last 30 seconds. She loses a hair pin and he spends the night at school, digging through the snow to try and find it. She suggests they make a list of fun things to do together, like trying new food. He writes "MAKE YOU MINE" but then hides the paper so she won't see it. He sees another boy simply talking to her and his face looks like MURDER. I fear for that guy in coming volumes.

If you want a light-hearted, fluffy, sweet romance, this ain't it.

If you want to watch a teenage serial killer in-the-making...enjoy!!!

ahhhh I LOVED this manga!

But first! If definitely has some elements that you need to leave to fiction as the reader. The hero is over the top - like way obsessed. And I LOVE that in romance. But in regards to real life red flags, there are a few. If you aren't in the mood for some stalker-ish, obsessed, over the top hero behavior I would pass this one by. Some lean ins to a co-dependent relationship developing. The hero doesn't do anything harmful, but he's very, very over the top.

Anyway, now that content warnings are out of the way - I just want to say how much I totally adored this novel. The art was delightful. I loved the mains so far. I looooove the relationship dynamics. I love how the hero is all about the heroine and pleasing her. There were so many scenes in this one that just made my heart pitter patter in the best way.

The note of the hero's wants in the relationship.

The simple drawing of him placing his hand over hers.

The almost kiss. The almost kiss!!!

Argh I'm totally going to be looking for more from this series. Really loved this!

So so so so cute

Can't wait for the anime 🥹

Ha sido la mar de cuqui, aunque el comportamiendo de él me parece entre misterioso y turbio? Tengo muchas ganas de seguir descubriendo su relación.

This manga is a beautiful love story of a probable- demiromantic girl named Hotaru. What really works with this story is the realism; the characters, emotions, and situations (for the most part) are true to life. Yes, Hananoi-kun is a bit impulsive, but the characters react in an honest way that makes them seem fully fleshed out.

The story does have a few trope-y scenes, but they are handled in such a way that it seems natural. Obviously this is a fiction work, but it seems to stay away from typical over the top-ness of a lot of anime and manga that really made it enjoyable for someone like me, who can find that approach a bit much.

Hotaru and Hananoi-kun genuinely have a sweet relationship, with no oversexualizing or creepyness going on. They're two teenagers trying to figure out their relationship, and though I was apprehensive about the "trial" dating, I find myself really looking forward to the next book.

i tried the first chapter back when it was first being translated and quit because the puppy dog archetype didn’t really do it for me. i gave my heart away to the tsunderes a long time ago. but then i saw a youtube video in my recommended about how this was good so here i am giving it another shot. pretty sure it’s been a few years since i first tried it actually. gosh.

scratch puppy dog. he definitely gives borderline yandere.

so far, i like the main character and have high hopes for the remainder of the series!

august 3, 2022

Hotaro doesn't believe she's capable of falling in love, so when the cute, but incredibly weird guy from the class down the hall falls in love with her at first sight all Hotaro wants to do is run away. But she reluctantly agrees to be his girlfriend on a trail basis because maybe falling in love wouldn't be so bad after all.

This was a cute little high school romance. The art is adorable, and even though you couldn't make a more cliche manga if you tried, I still enjoyed it.

I do have one tiny complaint regarding Hananoi. He's kinda creepy for most of the manga. He's more obsessed than in love and everything he does borders on stalking. In the end, I find I enjoyed his character, but I was more than halfway through before I decided that it was probably less Stalking and more that he simply lacks social skills.

Overall, it's a super cute high love story with likable characters, so I'd definitely recommend it.

As always, thanks to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for the eArc!

This review spans volumes 1 to 8

Oh, this is adorable! Sometimes, slice-of-life high school shoujo manga can be pretty problematic for one reason or another. This on the other hand? There's a lot of reflection, introspection, and Taking Things Slow, all of which I utterly love! I can't wait to read more of it!

this was a bit too scary for my taste ???? the dude is clearly going through something (HES CRAZZYYYY AND ITS FREAKING ME OUT) :/ but Shoujo MLs are usually all “going through something” in a way …….. [and living alone for some reason !]
But i had fun …. i will be reading the next two volumes and we will see ig !

So, there are a lot of red flags in this book that I'm hoping will lead to some character growth but could be left unquestioned and therefore creepy. With that said, there is a lot that's done right too. It's going to be a gamble for most audiences I think.

The art is this manga is *gorgeous,* and I love the female lead, but I really am not so sure how I feel about the male love interest?? I may read the next volume to see if learning more about him explains his intensity, but he’s a little unsettling at times…

Un manga hyper cute qui fait sourire. Un peu cringe sur les bords mais sans prise de tête !

THEY R SO CUTEEE

wasn’t my fav, might keep reading