We're Not Cut Out to Be Lovers, Volume 1

by Kou Hirokawa (Author/Illustrator), Emelia Baum (Editor), Dylan Jekels (Translator)

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...?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yaoi, Boys Love, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Queer

176 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2025

Reviews

[fatherofdragons113 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kumazawa is sexy as hell.

[Gaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly wholesome and sweet!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a pleasant surprise. I was going to call it a great one-shot, but apparently there's a second volume? That quite honestly doesn't feel necessary, but I hope it's good and isn't just dragging things out or creating stupid drama.

I just loved the overall tone of this. Kumazawa is an auto mechanic who lives next door to a very extroverted, loud youtuber who seems to record his streams for hours on end right after Kumazawa gets home from work and is trying to unwind for the day. Apartment walls are thin, and I know full well how easy it is to hear absolutely everything from the people next door, and to know way more about their lives than they realize you do...

Unlike me, Kumazawa finally snaps and stomps over to ask his neighbor to please be a little bit quieter. Koichi, it turns out, is both handsome and very adorable. He's funny and sweet and surprisingly naive, considering his streams are mostly him telling people how to be cool and suave like him, especially in their dating lives.

He cheerfully tries to befriend Kumazawa and offer him advice, so Kumazawa, in irritation, dares him to show how great he is at all the things he talks about to his 300,000 viewers...for instance, kissing. He doesn't expect Koichi to take him up on it, or for the kiss to be so good for both of them.

Their relationship, from there, is actually handled very nicely. For two months, Koichi keeps showing up with pizza and beer and ice cream and just his company, in general, hanging out with Kumazawa every night and not going back to his own apartment until Kumazawa kisses him or shows him some other sort of attention. Tokyopop's content warnings list dubious/coercive consent, but that's...extreme and not really what's going on here.

Kumazawa, despite his gruff appearance and that first aggressive kiss, is actually very gentle and cautious with Koichi. I laughed a lot at his attempt to trick Koichi out the door the first time he shows up and demands another kiss, and they continue that sort of playful dynamic, where they genuinely enjoy their time together, and Kumazawa slowly takes Koichi up on his requests, while trying very hard to not go too far (with a straight guy who's just experimenting) or to fall too hard himself.

It turns out that Kumazawa had a fairly serious boyfriend whom he'd really cared about, and who'd cheated on him and crashed his car. Despite that, his main thought was gratitude that his ex wasn't harmed in the accident. Those are the little moments that make Koichi...who's realizing that he's not all that straight...get more and more attached to him.

Kumazawa, meanwhile, has started watching Koichi's streams - the edited ones that show up online, not the hours of rambling and reshoots he'd been doing in the evenings by himself - and finding more things to like about his loud but sweet neighbor. Koichi even realizes on his own that he shouldn't have used his first kiss with Kumazawa as stream fodder and deleted that video once he started to spend more time with him.

I guess it could be nice to see more of how their relationship develops over time, especially if we see more of them hanging out with friends or coworkers, etc. (And maybe more of the truth about Koichi's not so suave past?) Koichi's coworkers already know about Kumazawa and the fact that they live together now, so this really did feel like a complete story and a good stopping point.

[alex :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

these two have potential, for sure. this first volume had a lot to do with the push and pull and finding out their feelings for one another rather than romance. i did enjoy how possessive kumazawa became towards the end, and koichi was just a cutie overall with how clingy he was throughout the story. this would’ve been a 4 star had there of been more romance, but i guess that’ll be something to look forward to in vol. 2!

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

I saw someone in my timeline reading this one and I went and saw that it was on sale as digital so I had to grab it too. I ended up reading it right away because I loved the sound of neighbors where one is a grumpy mechanic and the other is a sunshine streamer. Now I totally have to get a print copy because I see myself rereading this so many times. I NEED VOLUME TWO TOO!!!

One of my favorite tropes is grumpy x sunshine and I feel like We're Not Cut Out to Be Lovers does it so well. The grumpy side of this ship barely has any friends, goes to work, comes back to his empty apartment, makes dinner, and goes about this day. But then his loud sunshine neighbor begins filming his videos and he gets kinda annoyed by it so he goes over there to tell him to stop shouting lmao but then THEY END UP KISSING INSTEAD. Oh there's a lil bit of longing and "I hope he feels the same way" vibes knowing they both do but think the other one doesn't (LOVE THIS TROPE!).

It was such a good first volume and I need more stories like this one - it's definitely my type of romance ✨

[L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I ADORED this.

I knew I would, or at least I was hoping I would, just based on the cover alone -- the aesthetics are right up my alley -- and I was not disappointed!!

First and foremost, the art is stunning. I am a huge fan of retro art styles, and Hirokawa's style is just so delightful to look at; it's a perfect blend of modern and an almost like 60s-80s anime art style, and I just love it. Every panel just was a delight to my eyes, especially the ones with Koichi in them because god he is just such a perfect cutie.

Setting the art aside, I loved the flow and pacing of the story -- it felt longer than it really was due to the mangaka's use of transitions and steady pacing of each scene, and while it could have ended up feeling stagnant, it really worked for me. The slow build of their relationship felt natural and inevitable, which is what I want from a romance story.

If I could have any complaint, it would be that I would have loved to see more of Kumazawa's personality sprinkled into the story earlier. I love possessive love (to an extent) and seeing that creep in at the end was a pleasant surprise, but also a surprise that could have been foreshadowed earlier. We get little glimpses of it with the metaphorical string snapping, but I read that more as his patience or self control rather than possessiveness. He's so cool, collected, and calm with everything, even his ex, that it almost feels out of place for him to have this streak in him -- but it also makes me excited to think that Koichi specifically makes him feel this way. Ahhh, I really want to read the next volume ASAP.

[Peppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so soft for these two!!!
Kumazawa and Koichi's relationship builds slow and steady in the best way (even tho the started kind of backwards lol), not a single unnecessary drama bomb, no annoying miscommunication tropes, just two adults being emotionally available and surprisingly playful with each other. Like…it's mature without being boring, y’know?

One of my favorite parts is how they express love and commitment without even saying the actual words. It’s subtle but it hits hard, feels more real that way. I won’t spoil it but the moment they just get each other? Ugh, it made my heart do little flips!!

The humor is light but so effective, I kept catching myself grinning at random panels. It’s that kind of gentle comedy that doesn't feel forced but still makes you feel good. Also, the art is super clean and expressive, and their chemistry is just... really damn nice to watch unfold.

It doesn’t say “the end” yet, so I’m already impatient for volume 2!!

[⭐️]

i was fairly annoyed at the streamer, it just somehow felt…off to me—like it was forced? he seemed quite childish and annoying. the other guy was fine but i think it needed more angst? i dunno.. i will definitely try to reread in a couple of months but i don’t think i’ll continue this series.

i didn’t rate it because i want to give this another go, but it took me 2 days to get through it. i usually blitz through mangas in one sitting.

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

la couverture est absolument magnifique ! j'adore. le chara design est également hyper satisfaisant et plaisant.
l'histoire m'a agréablement surprise.. au début je me suis dit "oulah" mais au fur et à mesure c'était de plus sympa et la fin était vraiment mignonne. il me tarde de voir la suite !!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Original Review 4/22/2025*
Original Rating: 3.5*

This was so cute and I liked a lot about it. The story just didn't feel as strong as I would've liked. It was just missing that oomph to make me really love it.

*Reread 5/30/2025*
I feel like I'm obligated to up my rating to a full 4 star because I keep wanting to reread this. Idk what it is, but I flipped through this a few times since I read it the first time and then finally decided to do a full reread. I can't explain it! I still stand by my original review, but idk. Maybe it's the art?

[Lainy122 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I misread the blurb for this one, and thought 'streamer' meant like, camboy streamer not Youtube streamer - so this ended up being a lot more innocent than I expected lol
This was a cute. Not much to the story, but the characters were fun and the artwork was great.

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

mc is sOOOOO SLY (idk if it's unconscious) i have to praise the ml's patience

[Zephorah Dove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 3.5 for me. Love the story of a straight turning squiggly due to curiosity.
I really liked the set up and execution of the neighbors-to-lovers but the ending felt a tad rushed with them suddenly living together. It's only volume 1, so I hope volume 2 gives us more of their relationship pre moving in together. Our ML is hella possessive so I wonder if that shows up in their day to day?
Also, liked having a lot of consent in volume. No traumatizing scenes that made me question my morals.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are tropes I love, and then there are micro tropes I love. Since the latter is more specific, when I find something that checks those boxes for me it becomes something special. This was cute and funny, but it's the combination pairing of sunshine character and what I can only call Daddy Dom that made this a thoroughly wonderful read. I adored it.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/6 stars Very cute honestly. I like both of them. A little inexperienced but very friendly streamer and a grumpy antisocial mechanic who likes to tame brats. The consent was beautiful, the talking about feelings and expectations was chefs kiss, and it was nice art. Surprised this isn't just a one shot but happy to read volume two!

[romi · Rating 2 out of 5]

lo lei pq kemuri lo va a publicar y le tenia fe MUCHA pero como me aburre cuando pasa todo tan rápido y me resumen meses de convivencia a DOS PANELES top 3 mejores maneras de cagar una historia (me lo voy a comprar igual)

[nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

kouichi discovering tinder through his stream chat is kinda funny to me

[Jace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*/5* This was super fun😁

[ToBooksWithLuv · Rating 4 out of 5]

los gajes de tener un vecino youtuber

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bratty annoying uke >>>>>>
I thought this was cute!!! Especially the cover and character designs. I liked how the characters had some subtle intricacies you don’t really see that often, like Koichi being a little bit rude and unorthodox, and Kumazawa pushing him away more often than not, but taking interest in him in his own way. I feel like their pasts — Koichi being completely inexperienced but very social, and Kumazawa having been cheated on and wronged in the past — really inform their characters and personalities, which makes them feel real and fleshed out. Their “friends with benefits” dynamic and still not really even being sure what, exactly, they are by the end, feels fitting for them. Overall, this was a decent and cute little yaoi. I enjoyed it!

[noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awww they’re soo cute

[Lucsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We're Not Cut Out to be Lovers" grabbed my attention with its cover and how much it reminded me of "My Noons and Midnights are for You", which I recently read and became my favourite manga ever.

Similarly to "Noons", one of the mcs is an online content creator, albeit a much smaller one, who still had a normal job at a clothing store. While I did enjoy Koichi, it was Kumazawa and his job as a mechanic that made me fall in love with this book, because I only now noticed that I had never read a manga where both characters were working class, much less where one of the characters had a blue-collar job.

I loved Koichi and his youthful joy, but it was Kumazawa, a more experienced and stuck-in-his-ways character who had been cheated on in his previous relationship, that made me fall in love with this book. (I'm sorry, that was the only part of this story that was beyond belief. People who look like that don't get cheated on.)

Kumazawa is a character with a lot of self-respect and who sticks to his morals when it comes to respecting Koichi and not taking advantage of him, but also by not wanting to get involved with someone who considers themselves straight, when he knows he isn't and knows what he wants in life.

The only reason this book isn't a five-star is that there was an intimate scene where alcohol was used to muddy the waters when it was absolutely unnecessary, in a scene that would have been so much better if both characters had been sober. And then, as the cherry on the ish Sundae, Kumazawa said that Koichi looked thirteen.

Japan! WHY are you like this??????

Everything else, absolutely everything else, was perfection. I always like it when romantic books portray safe intimacy by showing characters using contraceptives. The art was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen: it made the cover and endpapers I had loved so much pale in comparison.

Both characters were complex, and neither one of them was stereotyped, even if it would have been easy to do so with Koichi. Kumazawa's possessiveness when he finally claimed Koichi was better than I could have ever predicted. The only thing that man didn't do was growl.

This was one of the cutest manga I ever read, touching on some emotional themes while still being comforting.

Thank you to Edelweiss, TokyoPop and LoveLove for this DRC.

[Mariána K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: somewhat explicit, BL.

I just really liked this one. The dynamics in relationship between the couple that develops over the volume is quite lovely. There's some insecurities and inexperience at play along with a good dose of tolerance and curiosity. There's just something charming about the way they interact, really good on screen chemistry. Not much story, but what is there is interesting. There's enough development for the characters going on that you actually get a feel for them, it's one of those cases of the adult scenes complimenting the story instead of the story being an excuse for together for adult scenes.

I'm not really reading these books because I want the adult scenes, I'm reading them because I have found that in the BL genre you find some really truly beautiful love stories. Because they tend to have the more adult content, they tend to also pull together the full romance in a satisfying manner. When I come across one such as this where the characters are properly developed and you get to really feel the growth of their relationship I find myself thrilled. I'm glad to see that there's going to be a second volume coming out in a month. I think that one is the final volume but I am looking forward to seeing a little bit more of this couple being happy together. Maybe we'll get a little more story, but even if it's just more slice of life where they're being a happy couple I think that's still good vibes.

[Autumn L · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Kumazawa neighbor keeps getting loud one day, he snaps to go confront them. Once he starts talking with his neighbor Koichi. Things start to turn a different direction after they started talking about Koichi streaming videos. A little kid happened to be so much more. Kumazawa has always come off cold or depressed. But he really isn’t and he does show his true self to Koichi. And I like the fact that he lets Koichi into his life little by little. Koichi comes off as loud and too much for people. But he has such a bright and outgoing personality. That makes him good at his job for streaming and for working at the clothing store. What I like about him is how he doesn’t freak out when he kisses Kumazawa. I like the fact that he was able to understand his own feelings and go after what he wanted. Both together are opposite of each other. I do like the fact that their opposites because it is a grumpy sunshine relationship. And I love the fact, they accept each other in their flaws. The art style to me was pretty. And I also love the storyline. Because the story just makes you want to learn so much more about these two in the relationship moving forward.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is nearly a classical case of opposites attracting. Kumazawa doesn't meet his new neighbor until he's been living there for six months, listening to him streaming the entire time. The last thing he expected when he finally breaks down and asks him to keep down the volume is an obvious physical attraction with Koichi. Koichi has only been with women before, and his streaming videos are all about being a hot guy and how to get a girl - not exactly anything that fits in with this sudden attraction to his new neighbor. Koichi is overly friendly and more than a little determined to learn just what makes Kumazawa so "good." It's hilarious how Koichi's co-workers define their relationship at the end, yet it seems that neither of the boys are all that interested in labels themselves so long as they are both on the same page. Originally thought to be a one shot, it was surprising to see that there is a sequel coming out next month. Not entirely sure where they'll go with it, so will have to wait and see what is in store.

[Charlotte Ertryckx · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5! This was really cute! I enjoyed getting to know both characters, though it did stay quite surface level. I wish we got a bit deeper into both their pasts, then maybe I would have felt more emotionally invested in these guys getting together. They are very different, but it does seem like they complement each other very well, a true grumpy x sunshine pairing.

One thing that bothered me a little bit was how unclear the transitions between days and locations were. They happened quite abruptly at times and disrupted the flow of the story a little bit. Same thing goes for flashbacks and daydreams, it wasn't always immediately clear that that's what they were.

Overall a sweet story that stands well on its own. I did see a page here on goodreads for a second volume? So if/when that comes out, I'll be sure to look out for it as it may dive a little deeper and answer some of the questions I still have :)

[Leila ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un manga con un muy lindo dibujo y una historia entretenida. La traducción de Kemuri mejoró una banca en comparación con la atrocidad que fue la de Sanctify, Vol. 1, pero necesitan contratar a un editor urgente (o cambiar al que tienen si así fuera) porque la cantidad de errores ortográficos que hay para 250 páginas... smh. Habiendo dicho eso, leí este tomo en una fila para la firma de libros de una autora en la Feria del libro and let me just say... cada vez que pasaba la página se me caía la gota de sudor del TEMOR a lo que podría haber (y CON RAZÓN kjjjj gays de mierda dejen de coger todo el tiempo !!! piensen en la gente que lee estas cosas en público !!!)

Ya aprendí mi lección. La próxima me llevo un shoujo lmao.

3.5 de 5 estrellas.

[Cassie Renais · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is so-so. There's nothing bad about it, but the plot is a little underbaked because the characters' motivations are unclear; Kumazawa seems especially poorly fleshed out. We're told that he's an auto-mechanic, but it doesn't seem to matter to the story. He seems to exist just to be very sexy. Which is fine. But then why can't they just be lovers?! They both clearly want to. There's no major complication/conflict to overcome. They don't seem to hate each other and have to come to terms with their feelings. The only problem seems to be that Koichi is 'straight', apparently, yet he's the one coming on more strongly. So anyway, I found it a bit frustrating because the characters didn't act in ways that made them feel like real people to me.

But overall, it's still a cute story, and it's well drawn, so if you're not too fussy it's fun and easy to read.

[Hannah Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the amount of detail about the characters, i think it was just enough for a first volume. The story was great and felt really real. I hope when/if there will be a second volume to continue on the story and let it progress not let it fall flat. I really wanna get to know more about the man characters and hopefully their friends/other people they know and how they interact with them. Really great story no notes!

[Felix The Pirate Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Can't Fix These Feelings" hat mir für einen BL-Manga wirklich gut gefallen. Er hat mich gut unterhalten und die Gefühle und Gedanken der Protagonisten kamen durchaus bei mir an. Nur die Beziehung der beiden hätte etwas knisternder und tiefgreifender sein können.

Dennoch war es für einen Einzelband ein wirklich guter BL, den ich gern gelesen habe. Bei Gelegenheit werde ich sicher gern wieder zu einem Werk des Mangaka greifen. :)