Megumi Morino, Volume 11 Cover, Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai, Kodansha.
A Condition Called Love – Information
Author of Story: Megumi Morino
Chapter Count: 18 volumes, 72 digital chapters + bonus chapter
Status: Completed in Japanese at 19 volumes, English ongoing
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Abandonment
- Obsessive / controlling partner
- Bullying
- Trauma
- Mentioning of mature topics
- Death, loss of loved ones
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
A Condition Called Love – Plot Summary
A Condition Called Love (also known as Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai in Japanese) starts off with an adorable female lead, Hotaru, talking with her friend about love after they witness a rather dramatic public breakup involving a schoolmate!
This young main character isn’t really interested in love or dating, and therefore doesn’t really understand it all. Much to her surprise, she is confessed to by the very same guy who just experienced a break up!
Hananoi-kun, the guy in question, seems very eager to find the one he is destined to be with. He is the popular pretty-boy in school, but is quickly rejected by Hotaru. However, he still tries to get to know her more afterwards and they later decide to trial-date (trial-dating trope lovers, this one’s for you).
Why I Enjoyed A Condition Called Love
My impression of A Condition Called Love is overall very positive, although it took some time to confirm that opinion. It sort of tricks you by giving off wholesome, cute shoujo vibes at first, but then unloads more and more drama later on.
It definitely keeps things interesting with intense characters and lots of backstory. These characters are not perfect, and that’s the main reason I enjoyed this story!
The main female lead is meant to be plain and simple, but I really love her design and character. She’s so cute, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a passionate love for food. She’s also very emotionally mature when it comes to communication and understanding others.
The male lead in A Condition Called Love kind of gave slightly ditsy but doting-boyfriend energy at first. He’s a handsome character who wants to do anything to make his crush happy: Even changing his appearance or going very out of his way for someone he just met.
However, as more is revealed you begin to get creeped out by his character a bit. He tries a little too hard and cares a little too much for Hotaru. His character seems very desperate for love, and I felt kind of bad for him (and scared of him), especially at the beginning of this story.
He falls for Hotaru pretty quickly; by chapter two we establish he’s definitely a bit eccentric in terms of dating. Not only did he confess to Hotaru very shortly after meeting her, but he’s also very dedicated and borderline obsessive; obviously having his own lessons to learn about dating.
Megumi Morino, Volume 4 Cover, Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai, Kodansha.
I honestly got yandere vibes from him at times (he has a uniquely cold and scary personality towards others), but at least he’s not mean to the female lead or anything super gross like that. I know you’re probably thinking “So why exactly did you enjoy A Condition Called Love, again?” but just keep reading!
Although the way I describe his character might not sound super positive, it is nice to have a male lead with a unique personality. Sometimes the male lead characters who are just “the kind boy who was nice to the female lead” get a bit boring after a while.
Finally, a character with depth and faults! The title of this manga, A Condition Called Love, is actually very suitable once you learn more about Hananoi.
Although Hananoi gives some weird vibes at first, we slowly get a better look into his life and why he’s so attached to Hotaru. His true intentions become more clear, and we get to see a sweet and wholesome love grow between him and Hotaru. He has a ton of character growth, which is very satisfying to see.
I also love that the female lead in A Condition Called Love figures out how to match his energy in her own way, and they start off their trial-dating on the right foot. I appreciate that she isn’t easily being swept off her feet but instead learns how to understand what dating is like and why it’s fun.
She doesn’t act all embarrassed or nervous about simple things, and is actually great at taking steps into dating activities. She tries to take the lead and do her part in the relationship!
Hotaru also isn’t stupid. She’s very aware of Hananoi’s strange tendencies, and actually takes action to help him work off his obsessiveness and anxiety. I like to see that our female lead in A Condition Called Love is smart enough to know her partner is a bit eccentric and doesn’t pretend to not notice.
Instead, she communicates effectively and helps work together with him to correct unhealthy behaviors and to achieve a successful, honest relationship.
The main characters in A Condition Called Love also communicate well and take things at an appropriate pace for their age. I really love their sweet, slow romance! They have lots of firsts together and overall it’s really cute.
They slowly learn more about each over and grow closer as they move through each school semester. Some mature topics are mentioned, but in a rather healthy way that’s fitting for the ages of these characters.
I say this manga is sweet and wholesome, but there’s surprisingly a lot more drama in this story than I expected; so if you’re into shoujo mangas with more dramatic plots and mysterious character backstories, you’re in for a treat. Lots of unexpected things happen, but they really hook you into the story.
Another great aspect of A Condition Called Love is that even though a second male lead is introduced, he is so respectful. He doesn’t try to sabotage the main couple, and simply wants the one he likes to be happy. It is so relieving to see a love rival with common sense and a mature respect for others.
The manga shows how he struggles with his feelings for the female lead, but he is one of the least annoying second-leads I’ve ever seen. Definitely a well-written side character!
Even better, this love rival and Hananoi have a realistic relationship and interactions. They aren’t besties; they fight as two rivals should (within the confinements of social norms).
But they also act like real people who learn to understand the other person, even if they don’t become friends. I was always a bit confused with how often shoujos make rivals in love become super close friends. A Condition Called Love takes a different approach.
Any Cons?
It’s pretty obvious from the start of A Condition Called Love that Hananoi has some attachment issues and an obsessive personality. I mentioned earlier that he gave me yandere vibes and kind of creeped me out at first (haha).
There is also more information later revealed that makes his character seem even worse. Like, lots of scary personality traits of being controlling when it comes to dating.
However, because of these negative points we are able to see just how much Hananoi grows and improves as a person and partner for Hotaru. While it does make the reader worry about the male lead’s mental health and intentions a bit, I think this adds a lot of character growth and development to A Condition Called Love that we don’t always get to see as readers.
These characters have more depth and real personality traits that make them more interesting throughout the story.
Hananoi definitely gave off some vibes that will likely freak out some readers (and they should, honestly) but it’s the growth and change in this character that makes this story as good as it is.
But because this aspect of his character is kind of freaky and may prompt discomfort for some readers, I’m mentioning it here in the cons, even though I do like this aspect overall (it’s essential to the story, after all… without this aspect, the manga would be rather bland and less unique).
Another con in A Condition Called Love is that there are two side characters each with their own crushes that involve age gaps. The first being only a three-year age gap; but it’s still a college student falling for a high school student… which just feels kinda weird. These two characters individually are amazing and lovable, but I don’t think there needs to be a romance between them.
The second being a high school student that has feelings for a teacher, which is a manga trope I despise. I really hate how so many mangakas choose to portray these kinds of relationships; even if they are not end-game, it is still not okay and feels inappropriate.
Megumi Morino, Volume 6 Cover, Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai, Kodansha.
The teacher-student situation could have been played off as a student with a silly crush, which would have been fine (youths can’t always see the issue with it), but in my opinion the teacher doesn’t set enough boundaries or reject the student hard enough.
I wouldn’t say he is targeting her necessarily, but he also isn’t setting boundaries as strictly as I think necessary. For that reason I consider that side-story the worst con of A Condition Called Love.
(Warning: small spoilers in this paragraph) The writing implies that they’ll wait to date when the student is older, but that doesn’t change the fact that the teacher acknowledges the student from a young age. I personally don’t enjoy these types of age gaps.
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
To be honest, throughout the beginning of A Condition Called Love, I was side-eying Hananoi for his obsessive desire for love. Especially since he went for someone so fresh to dating, and he had literally just experienced a break-up.
But it doesn’t really cause any crazy issues, and they actually communicate very effectively in this manga! Not to mention, we get some backstory later that makes Hananoi much less strange. They actually knew each other from primary school after all, which makes Hananoi slightly less weird for asking her out.
It becomes clear with his parents being absent and other past experiences, Hananoi-kun is just looking to give all his love to someone who will accept it and not leave him!
He definitely has a fear of being alone or left by those who love him. This is especially made clear by his sad memories of growing up alone, losing a friend, and his efforts to fill the hole in his heart through dating.
But even all his early relationships were superficial, because he didn’t actually love the girls he dated.
I love the chapter where Hananoi tells Hotaru about his previous relationships and they share a more passionate kiss; it really just shows how Hananoi feels actual love for Hotaru and wants to share a deeper (while still appropriate) connection with her.
I also appreciate that Hotaru is a smart and mature girl who is not afraid to experience her firsts and grow in her relationship with Hananoi!
It’s also nice to see how mature the main characters are in A Condition Called Love, while still having the personality traits that high schoolers should. They are responsible enough to take their relationship at a slow and consensual pace, but still have that shyness and desire to be closer with their partner.
We can especially see this youthfulness in Hananoi, since he worked hard while his parents were away and was able to understand that his parents were good people (therefore, he didn’t hate them).
Yet we still see how their absence affected him as a child and as a young, growing person; with a bit of anxiety and lots of clinginess as a result.
I also enjoyed the strong emotions from the bullying backstory in A Condition Called Love; both from the beginning conflict to the ending regrets and apologies.
I’m glad that this portion of the story was not written to be just a misunderstanding that made the characters look bad, but instead actually showed real negative feelings and actions taken by the characters. It just adds more depth to their personalities.
The main characters in shoujos are often written to be perfect people who make only the occasional, small mistakes; it was exciting to see the characters in A Condition Called Love written with big mistakes and negative feelings, like real people actually act.
They learn from it over time and grow as individuals. Not to mention that these characters are so young, yet learn how to express their feelings effectively.
Overall, I think these characterizations just show how well the author of A Condition Called Love is capable of writing interesting characters with depth to their personalities and individual stories. Realistic, non-perfect characters that you grow to love!
The story overall has very mature themes even in its high-school age setting, and was a delight to read. If you enjoy shoujos with darker or more mature themes and plots, you should also check out Studio Cabana.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this story and the characters in A Condition Called Love were very interesting. This is not your typical fluffy shoujo; it has drama, and characters with lots of faults, mistakes, sad backstories, and tons of growth.
I was so interested to see how these unique characters would pull through and support a healthy relationship, and honestly stayed hooked throughout every chapter. While this manga has its own bumps and trials, it ends up being a very sweet story in the end.
Definitely give it a try, and tell me what you think of this wild ride of a shoujo!
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Megumi Morino, Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai (A Condition Called Love). Kodansha, 2020.
