Chihiro, Volume 7 Cover Art, Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu, Magaret Comics, Shueisha.
Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu – Information
Author of Story: Hiro Chihiro
Chapter Count: 72 chapters + Epilogue
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Death, loss of loved ones
- Abandonment
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.
Plot Summary
Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu (Also meaning “the reason why two people fall in love” in English) is a cute yet drama-filled shoujo. The story is about first year high school student Urara Andou who, after an incident on the public train, meets an attractive second year student and immediately is drawn to him due to his kindness.
This second year, Aiji Okaniwa, has a handsome face and kind demeanor. After having her first crush previously go unrevealed and filled with regret, she decides to pursue her feelings this time around for this upperclassmen.
However, her senpai’s childhood friend Misono Jun, who also happens to be her classmate, tells her to stay away from Aiji and to give up on her feelings. This, however, doesn’t stop Urara!
This high school romance shoujo has interesting characters, lots of drama, and fun twists. This story will give you second and even third lead syndrome, so prepare yourself for conflicted feelings and lots of fun when reading this manga!
Why I Enjoyed Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu
Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu focuses on a girl exploring romance and experiencing the ups and downs of love during her high school years. The drama in this manga is very suspenseful.
I especially loved the romantic scenes in this shoujo, as it keeps you wondering who the main character will choose as the right person for her. When the final relationship succeeds, it just feels so rewarding and very sweet. Every part of this series was exciting, and we can see growth in many of the characters.
I love the different male leads we get to meet in this manga. We get to see each suitor’s unique style and personality. I especially like how forward some of these characters are, and how they actually start to take action properly and much quicker than most characters do in shoujo.
The art style is also very nice; I like how different all the main leads look from each other. It makes them feel much more individualized, and the way each person pursues their crush is different, too. This also makes it a bit hard to choose who to root for!!
Don’t misunderstand however; Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu isn’t necessarily a harem manga. Our main lead does have more than one person develop feelings for her, but it doesn’t come off the way a harem trope usually does.
Chihiro, Volume 9 Cover Art, Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu, Magaret Comics, Shueisha.
In terms of the romance scenes and character designs, the art style is very cute and soft. It feels romantic and light, as shoujos often do. I also love the promotional arts for Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu in Margaret Comics magazine; they are all so gorgeous and adorable. Even the art for the chapter title pages are especially cute and well done in this series!
The characters are also really well written in this series. They are still immature of course, since they are high school students; but they all still have enjoyable and engaging personalities. Our main lead Urara doesn’t have the “super dumb heroine” vibe while she is pursuing love in this manga’s plot (although she is just a bit dense).
She is pretty well aware of her own feelings and how her actions affect those around her. She doesn’t act overly shy or oblivious to romance even while she is learning about new feelings.
Our male leads are also pretty refreshing. They don’t beat around the bush, and pursue their crush with admirable determination. Although we have multiple male leads, they all have different ways of approaching and pursuing love. All these different personalities makes it exciting!
My personal favorite part of this manga is that the final relationship is the one I rooted for from the beginning, haha! I actually really like the chemistry of the final relationship, so I was pretty happy with the ending of this manga. Choose your ship wisely!
Any Cons?
There are a few tropes in Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu that may bother some readers, so here are the warnings!
Firstly, this is another shoujo where more than one handsome guy falls for the main lead for no apparent reason (don’t get me wrong, Urara is cute, but they barely know her to be honest).
But it’s a shoujo, so this didn’t bother me too much since romance is the main point of this series and especially since the drama was fun. I don’t have a preference for the number of suitors in a manga, but if you are a reader who prefers romance with one obvious relationship, this manga may not be your cup of tea.
For the same reason that the male leads fall for the female lead, she also seems to fall in love a bit easily without really knowing much about the other person.
I think this could be avoided if the series was longer and delved even more into the lives and personalities of the characters; but with 72 chapters, the drama and romance was still really enjoyable in Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu.
There is also one character that will make you pretty upset by their actions, but I personally like when authors write a character to not be perfect.
Chihiro, Volume 8 Cover Art, Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu, Magaret Comics, Shueisha.
Everyone struggles and makes mistakes, so I sort of liked this character’s arc. However, they will make you so frustrated haha! On the bright side, this character’s shortcomings actually help support the story and expose other characters’ personalities more, so it actually makes a nice plot stepping stone.
Another smaller con that I noticed is that some characters sort of disappear from the story for the most part, once the main relationship is realized. This is definitely to keep the focus on the main romance, but it felt a little weird to not see the other characters again until much later.
Lastly, within 72 chapters, the romance is a little on the slow side as our main character meets multiple suitors and slowly develops her feelings. If you prefer fast paced romance, this one might make you a bit impatient.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu was really cute, fluffy, and exciting. The art style is very beautiful, and the male leads were well-written and fun to learn more about.
I love the romance that our cute female lead gets to experience, and I especially appreciated the epilogue that the author includes at the end of the series. Check out this manga and share your thoughts below!
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: Chihiro, Hiro. Futari de Koi wo Suru Riyuu, Magaret Comics, Shueisha, 2018.
