Say I Love You, Vol. 3

好きっていいなよ [Suki tte Ii na yo] #3

by Kanae Hazuki

Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either a boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures the most popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Contemporary, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Comics

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2009

About the author

かなえ 葉月 is a manga artist and writer.

• Name in native language: 葉月かなえ
• Birthday: September 1980
• Blood Type: B
Twitter username: @kanaehazuki

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not me slowly falling in love with this series!!! What is going on?!?

[Bookaholic (reads every mortal thing) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I...need help. And sleep.

Definitely sleep.

Goodnight, people. Although it's killing me not to start the next volume, I must restrain myself. It's not good for the brain (<-- the only reason I don't read anything after 12)

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first part, I was annoyed with Aiko. >:( She's too focused on Yamato even though she already know that he already got Mei. She looked past Masashi (not sure if it's really his name. Kinda forgot. lol. :P) who really likes her a lot, chubby or not. He accepts her fully. And I really love how at the end of the Chapter, it's Mei's advice that makes them all okay. :)

I totally love Nagi! :) She's cute and talented. On Chapter 11. OMG. Valentine's Day is so epic in Japan. I mean, it's really celebrated that much. Where girls buy or made chocolates for the guys they like. And that's when confessions usually were made.

I feel like crying when Yamato ate the chocolate Mei made. OMG. I don't know but it's really sweet. dammit. I mean not the cake, I mean, of course it's sweet, it's chocolate. The gesture is sweet. You'll know when you read it. :)

Sometimes it's annoying that people said things like "They look so perfect with each other" even though the guy got a girlfriend and it's not the girl they were talking about. >:( And what's hateful is that people didn't care if the girlfriend is within hearing distance. Duh. >:(

Dammit... Dammit. This volume is a bit long. LOL. Not yet finished with the volume although I already rated it and reviewing it as I deemed fit. :P OMG.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Finally decided to drop this series. It treats women so badly. Very disappointed.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still love our main couple, but there is SO MUCH UNNECESSARY DRAMA in this particular Volume! I love the interactions with his sister very much. The girls throwing themselves at our boy are getting old though.

[Bookarune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enfin la lecture du tome 3!

J'ai beaucoup apprécié le passage avec la petite soeur de Yamato même si elle a des mots parfois blessants.
L'histoire avance plutôt bien avec l'apparition du personnage de Megumi. Je me souviens qu'il y a quelques années, je ne pouvais pas la voir. Une telle hypocrisie me donnait des maux de ventre. Mais maintenant ça passe un petit peu mieux. C'est sans doute le fait qu'une fois adulte, on prend du recul et on se dit "ah mais j'ai déjà dû faire ça moi aussi".

J'attends de voir comment évolue cette nouvelle rivalité!

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still say the art in this looks positively bizarre at times, but otherwise the characters are growing on me. About the only complaint I have left (other than anatomy issues) is the fact that just about every female character introduced is a shameless boyfriend stealer. I know I don't go around trying to steal other people's boyfriends, and I don't know anyone who actually does.

[mandinmandin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was getting boring and I couldn't see a plot here, but I'll keep reading anyway!

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely too mature for my library's teen section. But I'll probably keep reading it for my own amusement, because I just want to know what happens.

[Jemailyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4☆

When almost all the ladies in your country want to steal your uberpopular boyfriend. I remember how I hated Megumi in this series. Until the ending actually. 😈😈😈

[Aatika · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cute seeing mei fall in love with yamato. he’s so nice and patient with her too

[Signe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

It’s fine! Not going to be a new favorite, I think, but I’m definitely in it enough to finish.

[Beckiezra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, I could just really do without the more adult parts of this manga. The characters are interesting and likable and the drawings are fine (not really one for backgrounds though I'm noticing), I'm enjoying getting to know more about the characters' families and background (very little, we're three volumes and at least 6 months of dating in, no meeting any parents? His little sister is sweet though.) and seeing the relationship develop, but they waste more time than I like on the physical aspects of relationships, especially in other characters. I don't need to see Masashi and Aiko spending time together that way, but then again I can't say it doesn't move the plot forward because I don't actually know where the plot might be going in this series. I can only assume it will end abruptly once they have sex since that's what all the side stories are about. I suppose that Aiko storyline was a shout out to the sexually empowered woman who knows what she wants and doesn't need to date in the traditional way to be happy? The Hayakawa story last time was to remind men that they can never truly be happy without the love of a devoted woman?

I did like Yamato having some issues with the relationship not meeting his needs for affection (since he's always gone after her for no apparent reason and she's been less willing to do things he enjoys like socializing with others) and Mei finally getting it that she maybe needs to put a little effort into a relationship if she wants it to stay strong. Her raging jealousy at just seeing him with another girl was a bit unreasonable, but many things in manga can seem unreasonable and I just chalk it up to cultural differences.

[✿ K.B ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was all lovey-dovey kind!

Mei became friends with Yamato's sister and now gets help in baking, for Valentine's day is coming soon. Mei is bad at baking or cooking. Aiko has overcome her insecurities and now is trying to become a good, straight forward girl. Am amateur model enters in their life bringing many problems with her. DRAMA! Next volume the transferred model creates havoc in Mei Tachibana and Yamato Kurosawa's life.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumped this up to a four for two reasons - one, it actually treats sex as a thing that exists on a day to day basis and addresses the general horniness of teenagers. Second, I admire the chutzpah to wrap up your romantic rival storyline in record speed just to spend the rest of the volume setting up a different one altogether.

Mei’s got zero experience and she’s insecure and these facts both clearly inform her character actions over the course of this volume. Given how many volumes this series goes for, I hope it doesn’t keep that notion forever, but right now it’s making for good writing.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!! Why can't stupid girls just leave him alone. He's said he has a girlfriend that he loves very much. Why can't you back off and let them be happy together. I don't give an F if you're a "model@ and if your better suited to him and thus deserve him more. Your a pathetic spoiled cry-baby.... Hmph!!! Rant over for now.

[Tiffany Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume. I really am digging this series and love to see how the characters develop. As usual for Shojo manga this volume has a chapter for Valentine's Day. It also leaves off on a cliff hanger so I need to get volume 4 as soon as possible. XD

Warning this volume does contain some adult scenes in it. Probably recommended for 16+ readers.

[Luna Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short review will be repeated on every single volume. Previously, it sat at four stars; I was young and into dumb shit.

Because it was trendy to like books where the popular guy gets with the nerdy girl, I liked this back then. Now, I’m so over these tropes. He’s not even that great. Hell, just about everyone sucks here.

[lobelyys · Rating 3 out of 5]

the whole “girls trying to get with the guy who has a girlfriend and disrespecting her” thing is getting old and annoying, and it’s only for the jealousy factor, but i remember that this “arc” (lol) made me cry so hard when i read it the first time

[Alya Atiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Suki-Tte Ii Na Yo a.k.a Say I Love You

❝A light read filled with positive messages.❞

(The rating and review are conclusion for all of the volumes excluding the synopsis. Beware of spoiler.)

《 Plot 》
The pace of the story is good. Although there are 18 volumes all over, it doesn’t make you lose interest in it. The story starts by introducing Mei who's a bully victim. She doesn’t have any friends because she always distances herself from people. This is because she has been betrayed by her friends back in the middle school. Ever since then, she never trusts people anymore. However, she begins to change when she gets to know Yamato. Yamato is a popular guy that has many friends and is wayyy too friendly with girls. He starts to approach Mei when she kicked him because of some misunderstanding that happened. Yamato pursues Mei every day which eventually leads them being together. The story starts to develop from there and it’s being told from Mei’s POV.

《 Characters 》
❐ Mei Tachibana, the heroine
When Mei starts falling in love with Yamato, she feels scared of showing everything to him. I can relate to that a lot because you don't know how things will be so it's scary. There are other moments that I can relate to but I won't tell you to avoid spoiler.

At one point, Mei begins to change herself by engaging more with people around her. That's what makes her strong and kind girl. She is very observant of people around her and tries to help them the best she can. I love her character development.

❐ Yamato Kurosawa, the hero
Yamato is a typical cool who is popular for his kindness. Despite being a cool popular guy, he still has his own flaws. There are some issues that he struggles with but didn't let people see him in that way. I wouldn't really picture him as a really good guy. He has his flaw but he learns to change little by little.

《 Pros & Cons 》
☑ Realistic & healthy relationship
↳ There are several couples born in this comic and each of them shows what relationship is likely to be in real life especially Mei’s relationship. If you have been in a relationship, several situations that happened will make you go “Omg, I went through that too!”. On top of that, most of them are in a healthy relationship making it enjoyable to read.

☑ Positive messages
↳ It touches the issue of bully and friendship. Although Mei has been bullied, she doesn’t retaliate at those who had betrayed her back then. It also shows that life is more wonderful with loyal companions being by your side.

☒ The art drawn
↳ It’s not that the art are bad or anything. It’s just not really my cup of tea. I noticed that the art was changing slightly as the volume continues on. It got better in my opinion.

《 Extras 》
My favourite manga! I keep going back to this whenever I feel like reading something light and fun. This is my first manga that I read when I first started to read comic. I was so happy when I found out this comic had completed in English version. These are several quotes that I love from this story.

“Nothing makes a girlfriend more insecure than a boyfriend who's kind to everyone.”

“No matter how beautiful you are, when you're dating someone, all of your flaws come out.”

“If you want to move forward, sometimes, you can't keep doing things the way you've always done them. That peace of mind ruins you and hurts people.”

“You can get stronger by loving others and letting them love you.”

⚝ Who should read? ⚝
❥ Enjoy high school story.
❥ Love friendship theme story.
❥ Can tolerate typical “famous guy” falls for “unpopular girl”.

✎ Synopsis Volume 3
Mei's relationship with Yamato are going strong. However, there's a rival who think she deserve Yamato better. What will Mei do?

[78sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Band 1 und 2 habe ich geliebt. Der Einstieg in diesen band fand ich etwas holprig. Zum einen gefiel mir der Zeichenstil dieses mal nicht so gut wie ich ihn noch in Erinnerung hatte. Es gab zwar wieder einige schöne Zeichnungen – vor allem die mit mehreren Charakteren zusammen, aber einige Nahaufnahmen fand ich nicht so gelungen.
Die Story dagegen hat mich wieder voll überzeugt. Ich mag dieses Erste-Große-Liebe Drama mit den sehr individuellen Charakteren. Die weibliche Prota wird zwar zunehmend etwas selbstbewusste, leidet aber trotzdem noch stark an Selbstzweifeln. Dies wirkt sich natürlich besonders aus, wenn hier gerade zwei Konkurrentinnen mit ihr um ihren Freund buhlen. Der ist allerdings ein unglaublich toller Charakter. Ich würde sogar soweit gehen, dass er mein Lieblings-Mangacharakter überhaupt ist. Er liebt Mei und versucht ihr dies immer wieder zu zeigen. Er freut sich über kleine Liebesbeweise von ihr und hilft ihr selbstbewusster zu werden. Aber auch miese Charaktere fehlen hier nicht. Ich habe selten einen so unsympathischen Charakter kennengelernt wie Aiko. Ich finde sie einfach schrecklich. Alles in allem war es wieder ein tolles Leseerlebnis und ich freue mich schon auf den nächsten Band. Als netten Bonus gab es noch zwei MatchMe Karten zum Manga. Negativ muss ich aber noch erwähnen, dass die Mangas dieser Reihe sehr dünn für ihren Preis sind.

4,6 von 5 Sternen

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like in the last two volumes we get Mei going through high school meeting a person and then sorta mouthpiecing for the author to tell a lesson. AND I LOVE IT! In the second half it does look to maybe transition into romance more which I’m more eh about.
Like I predicted we do get some more humanization and clarification on Aiko. While it was good it still doesn't really clarify on her bullying but oh well that wasn't the main part of her story. That was moreso the moving on and loving yourself that relying on others (through her attachment to Yamato who first appreciated her for her).
Then we get a cute chapter with Yamato's little sister who's like a mini Mei. It does a good job of establishing how far Mei has come and has some good dialogue and ruminating on the theme of pushing yourself and not limiting yourself or closing yourself off. Considering the rather sudden 6 month timeskip from last volume it also helps show how far Mei has gone.
With the second half it seems like it’s gonna dive into Mei and Yamato’s relationship with Mei’s frustration and handling of new emotions as she sees Yamato modeling all cutesy with Megumi . So far I haven’t been the biggest fan of them but only because they haven’t really clicked with me yet. They’re a fun duo but their relationship just hasn’t given me anything yet. Maybe if they transition to romance more I’ll get that. I do hope we still get the human drama that explores young adult issues though as I’ve been loving how Hazuki writes that.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this volume very much I cannot give it 5 stars because there were things that I did not like and that made me uncomfortable. This is very mature for a YA series. It deals with topics such as sex which can go into detail and it actually shows some of the characters in the nude which made me uncomfortable because they are high school students and I actually was not expecting to see that. The anime does tackle the topic of sex but it does not show anything which is why I was surprised while reading. This a very old series and there are some scenes that are a bit sexist which I didn't like also I was not comfortable with some of the art being as graphic as it was. There is also a lot of body shaming and I cannot stand how obsessed a lot of these girls are with Yamato and how they do not care that he has a girlfriend. It is not a perfect series and it definitely has some issues but I still really love it because it does have some good lessons about friendships, love, and life in general.

[Elizabeth Thorne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally dont write 6 this series has gotten so bad I will not be continuing it. All the female characters have the same face, just different hair. All they talk about is boys and relationships. All they care about it what guys think of them. I dont know what age it's gearing to. it has too much sexual content and bad role models for younger readers and not enough plots and character development for older readers. When there is a problem, the characters dont do anything to work it out or talk about it.

Don't even get me started on the art style. Like I already said, all the female characters are a copy & paste with a different hairstyle. There is no real background art. Most of the time, its characters are in an empty white space. All of the characters look like slender man! everyone is all arms and legs with freaky long torsos. They all look unhealthy and not how manga are normally drawn. This is also a reason why it's not okay for young readers.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fav moments of this volume:
-Yamato gushing over his new kitten
-The guy with the Mongolian spot on his ass getting chewed out by Mei
-Mei saying she loves Yamato
-Mei bonding with Yamato’s little sister
-Asami telling Mei that she’s getting “wet” LOL I love how this series isn’t afraid of sex. It’s part of your teenage years… Discovering love and sex for the first time! All normal!

Not so fav moments:
-Megumi not giving a crap about Yamato having a girlfriend, just wanted him too
-Megumi wanting to “see if Yamato’s girlfriend is even good enough for him”
-Megumi transferring to their school and being FAKE AS HELL
-Megumi inviting Yamato to model so she can put her hands all over him!!!
-Megumi, Megumi,Megumi!!!!!!

[Soobie is expired · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sembra che la trama sia: adesso arriva un'altra bella ragazza che cerca di rubare Yamato a Mei, che deve difendersi. Solo che lei, con quella poca personalità che si ritrova, risolve tutto parlando... Lei ha esperienza di sofferenza e sa...

Bah, se si continua così, sarà una lettura lunghissima...

I disegni non sono i miei preferiti e i personaggi femminili di questa serie non mi piacciono. Aiko pensa solo e unicamente a Yamato, la nuova arrivata fa tanto la santerellina ma sembra una vipera... L'unica che si salva sembra essere la sorellina di Yamato, anche lei con un passato tragicamente tragico alle spalle!

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75*

Ahhh, what an improvement from the last volume! The focus was (mostly) on Mei, and her relationships, and it was so much more enjoyable to read. Not to mention that fact that we're actually starting to get to know our main heroine. It also helps that we're finally getting to the point where I don't explicitly know what's going to happen every chapter (because of the anime), so there's some suspense! The more I see of Yamato, the more I really like him as a character, and a male lead. He's shown himself to be a very kind and thoughtful person, and it's always a nice thing to see in a romance series. Can't wait to see how the drama unfolds in volume 4!!

[isrhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I don’t think I’ve read more than 2 volumes in a day (mainly bc I usually have other stuff to do) but today I just read all three volumes lol!

For some reason the reoccurring issues are nothing new but the way it’s executed— its definitely cliche (lol) but it’s somehow also remains fresh and enjoyable in a way that makes me realize I’ve read 3 volumes and am about to start the fourth haha.

I think this might be where the anime ended but I’m not quite sure but I’ve read all that I remember seeing in the manga so !! Hopefully this gets better!!

[Azia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series for the core themes but it can be a bit TOO much at times. This volume had more drama than was necessary and there are some scenes that are arguably too explicit for a teen audience. Also, the trope of all the girls trying to pursue a popular boy who's already in a relationship is very tired. I was worried about the younger sister having a brother complex, but it's not as bad as some others I've read and the result of her relationship with Mei turned out to be the sweetest part of the volume