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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Nice art but terrible content. I guess I should have realized based on the cover that the main character would have no personality or story other than her s*xuality, but it was still a disappointment. It was incredibly boring and repetitive to read about her learning the terms for s*xuality and then wondering which one fits her, as if the label matters. All of the events of the book are about s*xuality, and all of the characters are defined by their s*xuality and nothing else. No one has any other personality traits or hobbies, among the main characters. I find it hard to believe that a teen in modern Japan would never google whether other people don't experience s*xual attraction. And I have a serious problem with the book she reads to first learn about asexuality, which is apparently a real-life book. The main character has gone 18 years without any gender dysphoria, and yet immediately based on the suggestion of a book, begins questioning her gender and decides she's genderqueer. I found this social contagion very disturbing. That kind of pro-trans content distracts from the central issue of s*xuality. One of the first events in the book is the main character being s*xually assaulted (it stops before anything happens, so it isn't graphic), and yet a character suggesting that this event may have contributed to her not having s*xual or romantic feelings is treated as a bad guy. The main character doesn't tell her friends or family what happens, and she never seeks out mental health help for what happened. The same "bad-guy" character also suggests that labelling herself asexual and aromantic might limit her and discourage her from pursuing a relationship if she does have feelings for someone someday (since it would be incongruous with the identity she has picked), and this is totally ignored in the book as well! The obsession with labels is off-putting, and the characters "choose" an identity instead of labelling themselves objectively. For example, there is a character who claims to be gay but reveals later he is attracted to men and women but pretends to not be attracted to women. Some concerning stuff is glossed over, like the gay character dating an adult as a child, and still being with that older man now that he is in college; p*dophilia isn't brought up as a concern at all. The fujoshi character drew child p*rn in high school but cut off contact with her family rather than stop. And the main character is pushy, rude and annoying. She forcibly inserts herself into people's lives, even when they make it clear they want her to stop. It's implied that she has had trouble fitting in since early childhood and has pretended to be someone she isn't to fit in. Social anxiety and autism are never mentioned as possible issues. It's unsurprising that she chose psychology as her major, since she has mental health issues to deal with; she never says anything about choosing her major because it's what she wants to do for her career. I guess I should have known better than to hope for an actually good story, but I was still disappointed. I didn't like any of the characters and felt there was no real story here.
emotional
hopeful
informative
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
i love my friend for gifting this to me
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a struggle for me because I really do love it but it’s also just,,, not very well-crafted. There’s a lot of telling and not showing (which may be a matter of time constraints as opposed to authorial quality, which sucks but is pretty common in the manga industry) and a lot of the side characters don’t rly leave that big of an impression. That being said though, the value of this book as a piece of own-voices fiction cannot be overstated and it brings up a lot of things that even rly well-intentioned or well-done queer stories overlook. Just seeing a piece of fiction acknowledge these experiences at all is rly nice. I think it takes a lot of self-reflection on the author’s part to explain so succinctly what can be such a complicated and personal experience, which I admire. I also rly like how much this book emphasizes the importance of queer community and having queer friends bc as a queer person myself I relate to that a lot (and also seeing fictional LGBT characters interact in any capacity always sparks joy for me lololol). Yeah idk this book has some pretty major flaws but it means a lot to me so I don’t care 🤪
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really appreciated the Asexual spectrum representation. Chika's story and struggles are very much accurate. A pretty informative read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
inspiring
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to NetGalley for providing the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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This is not the first time I'm reading this manga, nor it is the last time. If I had to sum all of my thoughts in one word it would be Important. This story is important, the message in it is important. You'll learn so much while reading Is Love the Answer? and still it doesn't distract you from the story itself. And what a story it is! One of the best books about finding oneself I've read... Finding out who you are is hard, trying to figure out what is going on when you're part of gender and/or sexual minority can be difficult, devastating even. And these feelings are so well portrayed in this manga!
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Just read it, please. It might open your eyes, you might even learn something about yourself or about asexuality a even if you know it all... you'll get to enjoy incredible story with lovely characters ❤️. And it's worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia