Mizuki, Cover Art, Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi, Bessatsu Friend, Kodansha.
Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi – Information
Author of Story: Sora Mizuki
Chapter Count: 2 volumes, 8 chapters
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Bullying, blackmail
- Nonconsensual advances
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.
The Story of Our Unlikely Love – Plot Summary
While I typically read the really sweet, fluffy, and wholesome mangas; I also occasionally like something a bit more unique. Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi (or The Story of Our Unlikely Love in English) definitely fits that bill!
While this romance shoujo is actually pretty wholesome, it has a male lead named Haruka Kisaragi who is much pushier than most. Like, literally pushy and also kind of a jerk. However, the heroine of this story, Chihiro Hiyoshi, actually sees the good in him. She realizes the true intentions behind his behavior, and even learns a bit of a life lesson from him.
Chihiro is the representative of her class who is heavily relied on. She is asked to do tasks by her classmates, by clubs, and even by her teacher. Kisaragi, on the other hand, is the problem child who skips class and doesn’t participate in class events.
However, their worlds change once Chihiro starts to get involved in Kisaragi’s life, thus beginning our fun opposites-attract love story!
Why I Enjoyed Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi
Maybe it’s because I love tsundere characters or maybe I’m just unbothered by some manga tropes, but I liked the personality of the male lead in Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi. It is a very different type than your usual fluffy shoujo with a sweet, gentle character.
Because the sweet, perfect, nice-boy persona is used very often, it was pretty fun to read a story with a male lead that has a different vibe.
Mizuki, Volume 1 Cover Art, The Story of Our Unlikely Love, Kodansha.
Kisaragi is a very unsocial, unbothered guy who finds everything to be a pain in the neck to deal with. School, people, physical activity, you name it; he will find a way to skip out!
However, when the busy class representative Chihiro gets involved with him, he starts to show kindness in his own unique way. I also like this male lead character’s personality because it shows a bit of representation for the introverts out there. Not everyone is a social butterfly who wants to take a big part of school activities, and that’s fine too.
I also love opposites attract tropes and Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi does exactly that. Typically I enjoy this trope either because the characters’ conflicting personalities end up complimenting each other well (and make up for what the other lacks) or they end up having much more in common than they realize.
I really like the chemistry between Chihiro and Kisaragi, and how their interactions end up being mutually beneficial.
Kisaragi is rightfully misunderstood by his classmates, considering how he skips class and doesn’t make an effort to be friends with anyone. However, he has a softness that is only revealed to Chihiro.
She understands him best, and he helps her behind-the-scenes under the guise that he’s a bad apple. It’s very endearing, and makes the story have a wholesome undertone to the pushy romance.
This romance is easy to binge, and also only focuses on the main two characters. This is great for readers who want a quick, to-the-point romance that doesn’t include side stories for supporting characters.
If you aren’t looking for a in-depth slow burn and instead want to see the heroine quickly fall in love, Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi is perfect! If you end up liking this shoujo manga, you should also check out The More You Chew, The Sweeter It Gets! It has a similar vibe, with a bubbly heroine and a introverted male lead.
Although there are only 8 chapters to this story, the author does a great job with the pacing of the plot. It doesn’t feel too rushed and the timing of the events feels normal.
It feels completed even with a short number of chapters, and doesn’t have an unnecessary amount of drama, either. Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi also has engaging characters and no side-tracking tropes (such as love triangles, childhood friend, etc). Overall, it’s a pretty easy, laid-back, and bingeable read!
Any Cons?
The main con of Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi is pretty obvious. I’ll admit I was a bit conflicted on choosing to recommend this manga, because in reality the male lead is very problematic. He would be a huge red flag considering how he treats the heroine of this story physically.
I feel like mangas often have characters like this who make advances onto girls without much consent being present, and just because it’s a common trope doesn’t really make it okay or anything. However, I’ll admit that with the large amount of manga I’ve read in my lifetime, I’m pretty desensitized to it.
At the very least, our heroine either rejects him sternly or even clearly enjoys it (if she was written to be distressed, I would have dropped this series so fast). Either way, if you hate this kind of trope, here is your warning!
Mizuki, Volume 2 Cover Art, The Story of Our Unlikely Love, Kodansha.
Also, the side characters or background characters (who were mostly the main two’s classmates) are really annoying in Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi. They are pretty judgmental and needy. This isn’t a big con, but there are almost no supporting characters in this manga who weren’t absolutely horrible.
Lastly, the plot of this manga isn’t entirely unique or different from other shoujos; and with only 8 chapters, it would be hard to drastically differentiate the story. I know some readers get tired of reading mangas with similar plots. It is a little cliche; however, I still enjoyed it (and I like cliches) so I wanted to recommend it!
I will admit though, the story could have been even better and more developed if it was longer. It has lots of potential for a longer manga series!
Final Thoughts
If you’re okay with some unique character personalities, then Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi can be a quick and easy completed series to enjoy with a fun opposites attract trope. It is a cute high school romance story that ends up being much more wholesome than you’d expect at first look!
And for impatient readers who want the relationship to progress quickly, this fast-paced short story shows a decent amount of romance to meet your reading preferences.
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: Mizuki, Sora. Kimi Ga Kirai Na Koi No Hanashi (The Story of Our Unlikely Love), Kodansha, 2020.
