Hello hello. Anyone in the mood for a silly romance manga? This was a first for me, so I did my best to keep an open mind and enjoy We're Not Cut Out to Be Lovers, Volume 1, by Kou Hirokawa, and translated by Dylan Jekels. If you like grumpy x sunshine relationships, but still with a dose of reality, make sure you grab a copy. Thanks to the publisher for the copy to review!
- Print Length: 176 pages.
- Publisher: TokyoPop.
- Publication Date: April 22, 2025.
- Genres: Contemporary, Drama, Gay, Manga, Romance.
- Rating: 4/5 stars.
A large, animal-like mechanic x a Shiba Inu-like streamer!Introducing the noisy neighbor of your nightmares: a Youtuber.It's been six months since broody auto-mechanic Kumazawa moved in next door to Koichi, a streamer who claims to be an expert on love. After one too many loud recordings, Kumazawa finally snaps and shows up at Koichi's door... only to shut him up with a passionate kiss!Kumazawa has no interest in pursuing a straight guy, but Koichi stops by night after night and won't leave until he's "satisfied." Coming off the heels of a traumatic breakup in which his partner cheated, Kumazawa is convinced he and Koichi won't work out, but Koichi is determined to persuade him otherwise. Can a physical relationship between two people who are totally NOT "meant to be" turn into something real...?
This was a different read for me because I don't usually get grumpy x sunshine pairings, so this one took me a while. However, it presents the reality of streamers and content creators: not everything is real, not even the persona you see on the screen. There was a dose of reality with Koichi when he started a sort of confessional live with his followers that I enjoyed a lot because of this.
In any case, the dynamic is what you would expect from this type of pairing. It wasn't the best for me, but I still liked how funny some of the scenes were along with the push and pull between them. There was some real chemistry between them, not to mention that the ending was fitting; it had some dark romance, a new side of Kumazawa that I liked a lot.
Now, because I'm not familiar with the trope, I didn't enjoy some of the scenes. There were times when Koichi seemed to be too pushy, sometimes even tone deaf of abusive towards his then-neighbor. This took me out of the reading time and time again, so it was a push and pull between the story and me as well. I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to work with this trope, so that's just my impression as someone not familiar with it. Take it with a grain of salt if you like those stories.
All in all, We're Not Cut Out to Be Lovers, Volume 1 is a cute manga that made me smile more than once. I liked how the characters evolved while still remaining themselves, a good portrait of growing together and that no couple starts perfect. There is a new volume, so I will definitely take a look at it to see how things go for these two because they've grown on me. Grab a copy, smile, enjoy, and tell me what you think.
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