I Don't Know How to Love

by Yu Machio

Aimi may be popular, but the fact that he’s trashy is known by everyone―even himself! He’ll go out with anyone as long as he’s not tied down to just one person. But now, he’s dating Kaede, a very convenient underclassman who doesn’t ask for anything and doesn't say anything unnecessary. But isn’t it strange that Kaede’s attitude doesn’t change even when he sees Aimi kissing a sex friend? Thrown off by this, Aimi starts to become possessive of Kaede. However, his feelings don’t seem to be reaching Kaede at all…

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yaoi, Boys Love, LGBT, Japanese Literature, Comics Manga

176 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[Your opinion isn't good but I · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special, but it is a single volume so I suppose I could grant it some leeway. You came for the premise and you get the premise—that kind of thing. I still think it could use maybe one more chapter, for Kaede's POV if nothing else.

[alex :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

the way this had so much potential ughh! the main characters basically knew nothing about each other and barely hung out, but all of a sudden they love one another in the end? it really made no sense as to why aimi fell in love, especially since he treated this relationship like he did with the others. i get the jealousy part and admitting feelings, but to say kaede is the person aimi lloves is kinda crazy. also, it was weird how some girl wanted to get with aimi, but no drama came from it. yes aimi had his conditions and kaede was happy to follow them, but some angst could’ve gone a long way. i just wish there were more scenes of their relationship so i can actually believe that they lived happily ever after :/

[Peppa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this trope had so much potential but ended up feeling like every other bland playboy-redemption story… not worth reading at all.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

This was a very cute one shot with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic that masks how much these two are actually just loveable dummies. It felt very rushed at the end, and I definitely needed more from it, but it was enjoyable.

[Daesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Playboy falls in love! I wish there was more relationship bulding, but they were cute.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me lo he pasado bien, sí, pero no he conectado con la historia tanto como me hubiera gustado.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there could’ve been more moments between the two main characters for me to believe that they were in love. The premise was cute though. I do like a playboy falling in love and falling hard lol

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

*proceeds to give a big hug to kaede. because i wouldn't be as strong as him*

[Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
the art style was cute and i did find it comedic but the love story felt very surface level and they knew nothing about each other. it’s one thing for a normal romance manga to be one volume and feel rushed, but they make a point of it that they barely spend time together despite the fact that they’re meant to be dating. yet the mc still develops feelings for him? i feel like they could have him still feeling odd at first but then him later developing feelings after they actually spent quality time together and got to talk about themselves with each other which we didn’t get at all besides the fact that the mc listened to music by the same artist as the love interest’s younger brother

[⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ i absolutely agree with all the other reviews that this had so much potential. I feel like it went into depth with jealousy and angst and even a third act breakup it would have been total chefs kiss. I know u cant jam in heaps of stuff in a one shot manga volume, but it was kind of like instalove???? I wish it was defs fleshed out more.

The art is SO CUTE! I adore this art style 5/5 stars there for the cute characters.

[ベッカ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh such endearing awkwardness 🥹 wish it was longer tho!

[Nayli · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 // Love works in mysterious ways. No me convenció completamente, aunque fueron muy lindos, falto paneles verdaderamente de amor

[Mr No · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I want more of these!

[Fraaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so cute please

[Bea Tris · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10

[romi · Rating 3 out of 5]

QUE BUEN MANGA LOCO EL MEJOR TROPE DEL MUNDO CHAU LOS AMO GRACIAS POR TODO PERDÓN POR TAN POCO

[✮Octjillery✮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like 2.5 stars.

To be fair, I can't stand a playboy--don't have any desire to interact with real ones, don't want them to be a main character in something I'm reading/watching/whatever, and they're usually my least favorite love interest in a visual novel/otoge--but I KEPTTTT getting ads for this from those pay-by-chapter sites and it seemed like it was a single volume...so I found it on Kindle and gave it a shot, thinking there had to at least be some cute moments in a quick before-bed read.

I can respect Aimi's conditions, if a partner is willing to go along with them. I obviously never would, and I would be like the other people thinking he's scummy viewing it from the outside, but if someone agrees to that, that's their choice.

Aimi getting jealous and annoyed by Kaede actually being the only one to ever respect those conditions feels realistic. Contradictory, but realistic. He has his conditions, Kaede respects them and abides by them and expects nothing special from Aimi, and this makes Aimi wonder whether Kaede even really likes him.

Where it kind of falls apart is when his friends explain that this means he likes Kaede. Sure, some people do need that clarity that only talking through a situation with friends provides, but he and Kaede had barely spent any time together. It's not that it's abnormal to hang out with someone twice and start to feel something for them or anything--it's that he's spent his entire dating life accepting anyone as his significant other if they ask, while he has strings-free sex with other people, and has never actually liked anyone. Kaede is cute and sweet and seems like a really good dude, so it's also not like it doesn't make sense for someone to like him, but Aimi's realization of his feelings stems almost entirely from his awareness that Kaede doesn't overstep the conditions and boundaries put in place at the start.

Obviously, based on my first paragraph, I was not exactly the target audience for this particular trope, but I was overlooking that and just trying to read it as an "unlikely" love story or something. I just don't think anything of note happened to really make me believe Aimi has actual feelings for Kaede. They could have used a few more "dates" or outings to make it believable. Maybe even a little angst, but I was kinda glad there wasn't any. I know you can't expect a lot out of a one-volume manga, but I think it's possible to have done more with the process of Aimi figuring out love.

I will say that what Aimi says toward the end, about sex with someone you love feeling way better, was cute, and made me warm to him more as a character. And I'm also really glad that there wasn't any real drama over the one friend-with-benefits girl who actually liked Aimi.

[Zephorah Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise and the individual characters were interesting and cute but I found myself struggling to have any believability in their relationship. Aimi seems like someone who wants to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to his relationship with Kaede.

If more backstory and more of them not awkwardly staring at the other was involved, I think their chemistry would be more apparent. If this does get a spin-off, I really hope for more details about them together and maybe them both fumbling through this first love.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Edelweiss for the DRC. I love stories where characters do a complete 180 throughout so it truly tickled me to see Aimi pressed about the same things he called others clingy for. Karma is sweet.

[Asja · Rating 3 out of 5]

В цілому манга цікава та смішна, трішки реверсивної психології, але не можна сказати, що навмисно. Аімі зустрічається з будь-ким, лиш би були згодні на відкриті стосунки. Другий готовий на все, але я б не сказала, що його бажання зустрічатися насправді від закоханості. Таке враження, що він створив собі кумира в голові і не набридає, а у Аімі від цього ламається шаблон і сам Аімі, який навпаки форсує стосунки до іншої точки.
Ідея мені сподобалась, мальовка також, але це маленький однотомник, тому розвиток сюжету поспішний. Хоча манга мені сподобалась, але це буквально півгодинки похихотіти. Хотілось би мякшого розвитку, хотілось би плавності, хотілось би більше сторінок, але, але

[Lovality · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly pretty good. I didn't realize it wasn't a series and was just one book, but I honestly don't mind. There's nothing I can really say is bad about it. It was pretty straightforward with what the main characters thought about each other and then how it ends up changing throughout the story (not trying to spoil too much). I thought there were going to be a lot of complications between the main characters, but there wasn't. Even though I love me a good bit of drama, it was easily resolved and didn't drag on for like three chapters. I'll definitely reread this book. Thank you for making it Yu Machio!

[bela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not great but also not bad? Just a lukewarm read
Sure, I do love when a "nonchalant" character starts being confused and reflects on their feelings for someone they thought they'd never like! But here, aimi's feelings were not explored enough, which made his connection with kaede seem shallow and rushed.
I admit that I'm cutting some slack for this because more than two months pass between the first and the fifth (and last) chapter, so it IS going to feel a little rushed. Maybe if it was a serialization their relationship could be explored more in depth.

[Cas ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a stupidly cute two idiots in love story (where one idiot takes a little longer to get there and the other one is just happy to be there) lol and more wholesome than I was expecting. It would’ve been a five star read if it had been a little longer / there had been more to their relationship after the confession. I wanted to see Aimi deal with his feelings more & Kaede to get to experience being his actual boyfriend. They’re cute.

[farah!! · Rating 2 out of 5]

appreciated the concept, but didnt like the execution. ik know the seme’s “idgaf, do what you like” attitude and the uke’s “ok, sure thing! i’ll do that” attitude is the whole point of the story but i just found the seme kind of annoying and the uke somewhat one dimensional 😭

i did enjoy the seme realizing that he liked the uke enough to be bothered when the uke does exactly what he made him promise to do before they ‘dated’ but that wasn’t enough to redeem this manga for me

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this manga. I think it is super sweet and I love Aimi. He is a real shit at the beginning, but I love his arc. I don't really have much of an opinion of Kaede though. He isn't overly developed. The romance itself isn't really anything that great, though. Most of the focus is on Aimi learning to care for others and really liked seeing him grow and change.

[Angie☺️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premises were good. I like the characters. I just wish it was a bit more longer so we could have more of them together and getting to know each other. It was cute I just need it more to believe in their “relationship”

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga wasn’t too memorable. I like the main couple’s dynamic a bit but it seemed more focused on Aimi that Kaede at several points. I wish this volume had a bit more chapters to show more of Kaede and a bit of his perspective during the story.

[Chamera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how you do a one shot and even with the one spicy scene it felt so wholesome. No cringe, no awkward age gap, the characters are both consenting adults and the pacing was good. The story isn’t complex but was done so well. 💗

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was cute! A bit rushed towards the end with the side stories only making up for it barely. I just wished we could've seen the couple acted more like a couple (and I know why we didn't but a longer epilogue would've been appreciated!)

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up because I like the art a lot

I didn't connect with any of the characters or the romance they were supposedly having. It just felt like one character wore the other one down unintentionally and now they're all lovey dovey.

[Camille Crak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vraiment très très cute ❤️❤️