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今日、恋をはじめます [Kyō, Koi wo Hajimemasu] #1
今日、恋をはじめます（１）【期間限定 無料お試し版】 今日、恋をはじめます【期間限定 無料お試し版】 (フラワーコミックス)
※2014年8月20日14:59:59までの期間限定無料お試し版です。2014年8月21日以降はご利用できなくなります。キャンペーン期間終了後もお楽しみいただくには、通常版（有料）をご利用ください。
妹の髪をかわいくしてあげるのが大好きなつばき。でも、自分にはオシャレなんて似合わない…。高校の入学式の日、最低最悪のロン毛男・京汰（きょうた）と隣の席になったつばき。ひどいコトを言われて、思わずハサミで京汰の髪を切っちゃった★「責任とって体で払え」って言われたけど、どーすればいいの！？
妹の髪をかわいくしてあげるのが大好きなつばき。でも、自分にはオシャレなんて似合わない…。高校の入学式の日、最低最悪のロン毛男・京汰（きょうた）と隣の席になったつばき。ひどいコトを言われて、思わずハサミで京汰の髪を切っちゃった★「責任とって体で払え」って言われたけど、どーすればいいの！？
2 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
70 people are currently reading
3136 people want to read
About the author
Kanan Minami
82 books243 followersKanan Minami (水波風南) is a shōjo manga artist. She is best known for Honey x Honey Drops, which has been licensed in multiple languages and adapted as an original video animation (OVA). Her current series, Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu, is a bestseller that regularly appears on the Tohan comics charts. She writes mainly for Shōjo Comic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
July 18, 2013
Okay... So the guy makes the girl feel bad about herself, forcefully kisses her, and even molested her. But don't worry. THIS IS ONLY HOW THEIR LOVE BEGINS!
August 5, 2015
1,5 stars
Full Manga Review
I’ve been re-reading this manga for like two past days and boy am I pissed?
AM I PISSED?
YOU BET I AM PISSED!!
Somebody invent a time machine so that I can go back to past to ask myself why the fuck I enjoyed this piece of shit? I want to rip out the volumes and use them as rags to clean the floor.
I dont know where to begin. I used to love this manga to death! I remember really liking the storyline in the beginning. I remember being so excited for each chapter update. The characters were cute together and everything was fine and dandy and I wanted to see main character happy.
Theeeeeen, in later chapters suddenly all of the cliche drama popped up. It was just drama after drama after drama. I got so annoyed with it. I decided to drop this manga for a while. Best desicion of my life (regarding to mangas.DUH.)! For a while. Theen suddenly I decided to re-read it ‘cause you know, I had nothing to read (lies), I was bored out of mind (probably) and I like torturing myself (definitely).
This is such a cliche manga. When you are reading it you’re like ‘oh no there it is again ... The never ending drama..." -.- Its like a soap opera with one silly or nerve-wracking drama after another. There are times where it makes me wanna falcon punch both of them & some other pretty annoying characters -_-
(I wish I was kidding. I am not. Bear with me.)
Tsubaki aka the unpopular, out of date/old fashion styled girl is the main girl. She is shallow, too naive and coward, and has totally no self-esteem. She cant even stand up for herself. She is so unberable she even slides off the the main guy not treating her right in the beginning. She also makes a big deal of basically everything. You just can't help but feel sorry for Kyota, as he must be mature enough for both of them (and to think how he was in the beginning wow, just wow, awesome character development!).
While she shows an occasional backbone, she does spend most of her time obsessing over her insecurities and sniveling. I understand that she didn't date anyone before or that she was feeling insecure but UGHHH she was doubting him for every little thing! She never trusted him instead she always trusted others. That's one of the things that bothers me on main female character.
As for male I kinda like how he grows through manga. How he changes for her but he also pretty much was in control of their relationship since he practically has Tsubaki in the palm of his hand so umm, I am not fan of those kinda of mangas or main love interests anymore?
(I HAVE A TASTE NOW. THANK GOD.)
Plus, he was such a douchebag in the beginning. And the middle. And..well, he kinda changed later, I’ll give him that; he actually grows up but in the beginning this time I was like:
No matter how handsome and gorgeous and smart and charismatic the perpetrator, their relationship started with sexual assault and harassment (the threat/blackmail/forcibly kissing her etc.) Sure, I do like the manga eventually does pretty good job at turning the bad boy player into a one-woman boyfriend but nothing can justify some of the bad things he has done to her.
To me, it's important that my man respects me as I do him and that we can share everything with each other without feeling insecure about it. I feel that there is so little communication between Kyouta and Tsubaki which explains all their misunderstandings. Relationships can of course differ, but I can honestly say that I would lose sanity if I ever would go through as much drama as this couple.
This whole manga is basically just Tsubaki doubting herself and Kyouta having to build up her self esteem again. Which causes the manga to repetitive, with just different scenarios.
Hey, at least he grows up.
Does Tsubaki ever grow up? YES… BUT IT TAKES TOO MUCH FUCKING TIME. It's only been the last few chapters that I've come to think of her as anything more than a needy puppy. Finally what started out as absolutely repulsive characters have evolved to characters that I can genuinely relate to. I can tell that Tsubaki has grown significantly. She has found a dream, and with the support of those around her, has set her eyes toward that dream. However, that's only for last quarter of the manga (maybe even less). For most of the manga she's your typical naive lovesick-idiot and it's the type of character that I utterly despise (finally, after countles of manga volumes I have read.)
Tsubaki is a total idiot, my friends. Giving up almost anything for a guy. Even thought of studying the same that Kyouta was aiming for just so she could follow him everywhere. Too selfless and that's BS. She also always thinks she's the problem for everything and tries to end things, it just makes me mad. Women should learn to love themselves first/more than loving their BFs.
Plus, I dislike how the author is obsessed with making rape or near rape experiences happen and then have the characters brush the incidences off like nothing took place.
Hell no! It's a disgrace to rape victims everywhere since she's giving off the ideal that rape doesn't affect the victim and that the crime isn't such a big deal.
OVERALL;
The first time I read it: OMG the art is beuatiful
Couple of years later: WTF have I just re-read?
Some things are better left in the past.
*sigh*
At least, this is bearable compare to Honey x Honey. Now, that's what I call pure torture...I'm gonna re-read it anyway cause I'm me. I like re-reading stuff and realizing how much my taste sucked.
Full Manga Review
I’ve been re-reading this manga for like two past days and boy am I pissed?
AM I PISSED?
YOU BET I AM PISSED!!
Somebody invent a time machine so that I can go back to past to ask myself why the fuck I enjoyed this piece of shit? I want to rip out the volumes and use them as rags to clean the floor.
I dont know where to begin. I used to love this manga to death! I remember really liking the storyline in the beginning. I remember being so excited for each chapter update. The characters were cute together and everything was fine and dandy and I wanted to see main character happy.
Theeeeeen, in later chapters suddenly all of the cliche drama popped up. It was just drama after drama after drama. I got so annoyed with it. I decided to drop this manga for a while. Best desicion of my life (regarding to mangas.DUH.)! For a while. Theen suddenly I decided to re-read it ‘cause you know, I had nothing to read (lies), I was bored out of mind (probably) and I like torturing myself (definitely).
This is such a cliche manga. When you are reading it you’re like ‘oh no there it is again ... The never ending drama..." -.- Its like a soap opera with one silly or nerve-wracking drama after another. There are times where it makes me wanna falcon punch both of them & some other pretty annoying characters -_-
(I wish I was kidding. I am not. Bear with me.)
Tsubaki aka the unpopular, out of date/old fashion styled girl is the main girl. She is shallow, too naive and coward, and has totally no self-esteem. She cant even stand up for herself. She is so unberable she even slides off the the main guy not treating her right in the beginning. She also makes a big deal of basically everything. You just can't help but feel sorry for Kyota, as he must be mature enough for both of them (and to think how he was in the beginning wow, just wow, awesome character development!).
While she shows an occasional backbone, she does spend most of her time obsessing over her insecurities and sniveling. I understand that she didn't date anyone before or that she was feeling insecure but UGHHH she was doubting him for every little thing! She never trusted him instead she always trusted others. That's one of the things that bothers me on main female character.
As for male I kinda like how he grows through manga. How he changes for her but he also pretty much was in control of their relationship since he practically has Tsubaki in the palm of his hand so umm, I am not fan of those kinda of mangas or main love interests anymore?
(I HAVE A TASTE NOW. THANK GOD.)
Plus, he was such a douchebag in the beginning. And the middle. And..well, he kinda changed later, I’ll give him that; he actually grows up but in the beginning this time I was like:
No matter how handsome and gorgeous and smart and charismatic the perpetrator, their relationship started with sexual assault and harassment (the threat/blackmail/forcibly kissing her etc.) Sure, I do like the manga eventually does pretty good job at turning the bad boy player into a one-woman boyfriend but nothing can justify some of the bad things he has done to her.
To me, it's important that my man respects me as I do him and that we can share everything with each other without feeling insecure about it. I feel that there is so little communication between Kyouta and Tsubaki which explains all their misunderstandings. Relationships can of course differ, but I can honestly say that I would lose sanity if I ever would go through as much drama as this couple.
This whole manga is basically just Tsubaki doubting herself and Kyouta having to build up her self esteem again. Which causes the manga to repetitive, with just different scenarios.
Hey, at least he grows up.
Does Tsubaki ever grow up? YES… BUT IT TAKES TOO MUCH FUCKING TIME. It's only been the last few chapters that I've come to think of her as anything more than a needy puppy. Finally what started out as absolutely repulsive characters have evolved to characters that I can genuinely relate to. I can tell that Tsubaki has grown significantly. She has found a dream, and with the support of those around her, has set her eyes toward that dream. However, that's only for last quarter of the manga (maybe even less). For most of the manga she's your typical naive lovesick-idiot and it's the type of character that I utterly despise (finally, after countles of manga volumes I have read.)
Tsubaki is a total idiot, my friends. Giving up almost anything for a guy. Even thought of studying the same that Kyouta was aiming for just so she could follow him everywhere. Too selfless and that's BS. She also always thinks she's the problem for everything and tries to end things, it just makes me mad. Women should learn to love themselves first/more than loving their BFs.
Plus, I dislike how the author is obsessed with making rape or near rape experiences happen and then have the characters brush the incidences off like nothing took place.
Hell no! It's a disgrace to rape victims everywhere since she's giving off the ideal that rape doesn't affect the victim and that the crime isn't such a big deal.
OVERALL;
The first time I read it: OMG the art is beuatiful
Couple of years later: WTF have I just re-read?
Some things are better left in the past.
*sigh*
At least, this is bearable compare to Honey x Honey. Now, that's what I call pure torture...I'm gonna re-read it anyway cause I'm me. I like re-reading stuff and realizing how much my taste sucked.
July 9, 2014
I tried to like this, but the characters just pissed me off so much.
Tsubaki (girl) is the typical Mary Sue, letting Tsubaki (guy) forcefully kiss her and attempt to rape her. But, instead of doing the mindful thing of running as far away as possible, she just stands there and takes it (or she cries).
Tsubaki (guy), well you can imagine I wasn't a fan.
Seriously, there's one chapter where she breaks up with him, and he immediately acts like a fucking toolbag and hits on girls RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. I wanted to slap his face a dozen times for that scene alone.
2/5 The manga is a typical romantic drama--it has "romance" and plenty of drama.
Tsubaki (girl) is the typical Mary Sue, letting Tsubaki (guy) forcefully kiss her and attempt to rape her. But, instead of doing the mindful thing of running as far away as possible, she just stands there and takes it (or she cries).
Tsubaki (guy), well you can imagine I wasn't a fan.
Seriously, there's one chapter where she breaks up with him, and he immediately acts like a fucking toolbag and hits on girls RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. I wanted to slap his face a dozen times for that scene alone.
2/5 The manga is a typical romantic drama--it has "romance" and plenty of drama.
August 2, 2017
Da fuuu did I just read?
In a typical Shojo manga, many heroines tend to think of the love interest's behaviour as sexual harassment and they call them a pervert and what not. They're not really, the heroine is just shy and modest, not used to a relationship. But in this one THE HERO REALLY IS A F***** PERVERT RAPIST MOLESTER. I was uncomfortable the whole time because Tsubaki was almost raped and constantly getting groped and later she's sitting in her room wondering how she fell in love with such a horrible guy. And he is horrible.
I'm sure he gets a bit better as the story progresses and starts to fall for her for real, but I can't stomach it any longer. Partway through the second volume, but I don't think I can finish it.
In a typical Shojo manga, many heroines tend to think of the love interest's behaviour as sexual harassment and they call them a pervert and what not. They're not really, the heroine is just shy and modest, not used to a relationship. But in this one THE HERO REALLY IS A F***** PERVERT RAPIST MOLESTER. I was uncomfortable the whole time because Tsubaki was almost raped and constantly getting groped and later she's sitting in her room wondering how she fell in love with such a horrible guy. And he is horrible.
I'm sure he gets a bit better as the story progresses and starts to fall for her for real, but I can't stomach it any longer. Partway through the second volume, but I don't think I can finish it.
September 8, 2015
This manga. Ugh.
[entire review is ridden with spoilers probably, so read at your own risk]
This is so damn frustrating. Dysfunctional relationships in a nutshell.
[entire review is ridden with spoilers probably, so read at your own risk]
This is so damn frustrating. Dysfunctional relationships in a nutshell.
September 29, 2016
I can't believe I read all 15 volumes of this manga. There are some cute moments in later volumes, which is why I give this series 2 stars, but I hate the MCs and the plot. Had I used my don't-quit mantra on something useful other than reading this book, I would have gotten somewhere. Now, all I've got is a headache and an urge to lecture young girls to strengthen their spine and stay away from creeps like the male MC.
December 31, 2016
It's the shit shojo all over again!
Abusive love interest and more! NOPE
Abusive love interest and more! NOPE
October 26, 2021
As with all my manga reviews, this is an overview of the entire series and may contain spoilers of varying degrees as a result.
This manga series, whose Japanese title 今日、恋をはじめます (Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu) translates to "Today, Love Begins" (again, not sure why no one ever translates these things when it's pretty straightforward...) is a mid 2000s slice-of-life shoujo romance that covers sixteen total volumes, focusing on the love between a straight-laced girl and a popular bad boy.
It's overall pretty standard shoujo romance stuff by an author who, prior to this series, had done several series that were decently successful (though, I would argue they were all worse than this one).
My feelings on this series have gone around in a circle. The first time I read it years ago as a young teenager, I loved it, then when I was a bit older, I saw its flaws and disliked it--quite a lot. But after my most recent read, I find it's actually an okay read.
Between my last read and this most recent one (which was done for the purpose of reviewing the whole series, as is my custom, so my memory of everything is fresh and any misremembering from age/bias is diminished), quite a few years had past, so, naturally, because I remember disliking it from the last time I dove in, I went into this reread with low expectations. Despite having a general memory of the story, a lot had actually been lost to time, which surprised me.
Starting out, this series is a bit rough and its where the majority of its flaws are.
Both the main characters have pretty poor personalities. I can't say if this was intentional as a means to start them off low so that their growth would be more pronounced or if it's merely bad writing that vanished as the author improved naturally with practice. I'm leaning towards the latter, as after just a handful of chapters, both characters worst traits soften considerably or vanish entirely.
Tsubaki starts out as one of those people who is highly judgemental and superior, finding fault in everyone around her who isn't like her, yet is also simultaneously self-deprecating, envious, and insecure to the point of being irritating.
It's very in line with how Not Like Other Girl or "Pick Me" style characters are; they feel left out and inadequate, usually are envious of a particular type of person (in Tsubaki's case, her popular, pretty little sister and her social butterfly of a best friend), so to compensate for failing to be that way themselves, they go hard in the other direction, acting like the qualities they do have are actually the superior qualities to have and that the people who lack these things are the one who are actually inferior.
Although I wouldn't say Tsubaki is your typical Pick Me Girl, that kind of character gives you an idea of the contradictory nature of Tsubaki's early attitude in the series: she thinks everyone is beneath her for not being straight-laced like she is, yet she has no true self-confidence/self-love and constantly bemoans how she wishes she were like other girls and had the things they have.
While I can sympathize with Tsubaki's social awkwardness, her desire for real friendship, and her struggles to fit in with her peers (as I I did personally go through a period where I thought of myself as Not Like Other Girls as a way to try to compensate for my insecurities and feelings of inadequacy by elevating myself through the only qualities I had), Tsubaki's characterization doesn't quite nail her superiority complex as... well, as sympathetic. Rather, she comes off as two-faced and shallow, belittling her peers based on mere observation, while also woefully desiring their acceptance and admiration.
Kyouta, as well, starts out roughly as a generic and uninteresting "popular, hot bad boy" who is also the smartest boy in the school and, for the dumbest reason, plays games with girls' feelings--to the point that he's well known for it.
The general crux we're given is that Kyouta refuses to settle down and have a serious girlfriend, instead opting to seduce every girl he can so that when/if the girl falls in love with him and confesses serious feelings, he can end their relationship and break her heart.
Why is that? As I said, it's for the dumbest reason.
He refuses to have serious relationships with girls because, I'm not joking, two adult women who he knew when he was a child (one was a school nurse and the other his mom, who only did this because her marriage to Kyouta's father was incredibly abusive) had adulterous affairs in their marriages, which made him believe that all women must be horrible, selfish, cruel creatures who will undoubtedly betray, hurt, and abandon the men who love them.
Basically, Kyouta, as a little boy, decided to internalize these women's infidelity as a deep betrayal that he took personally and concluded that, not only are all women terrible, but that he's fully justified in deliberately seducing and breaking the hearts of unrelated girls before they have a chance to break his, and it's literally all because two people he knew as a child, who happened to be women, cheated on their male partners.
Uh. Yikes.
It's not even done with all that much nuance or depth. Kyouta... very easily gives up this idea of women being terrible and unworthy of seriously loving/dating.
Like, after Tsubaki learns about the root of his misogyny and confronts him like, "Hey, I'm not or your mom or that nurse, so why are you taking out your feelings of them towards me and all women who had nothing to do with those incidents?" he literally mulls it over for a few seconds and goes, "Oh, yeah, Tsubaki isn't like my mom or the school nurse who I somehow feel betrayed me personally by being unfaithful to their male partners. I can date her then!"
That's it. That's the end of that character flaw. His growth in that regard is over. There's no epiphany where he realizes he was just taking out his irrational feelings on innocent girls. There's no realization he was being really misogynistic. There's no grasping that he was lashing out stupidly because he was being a pissbaby about the realization that anyone in any human relationship he has whom he loves and is vulnerable with may choose to hurt/deceive/use/betray him...
No, he just, admits Tsubaki is right and proceeds to date her. "Oh, yeah, I know you'd never hurt me, Tsubaki." Like bro... your actions up until this point do NOT support that being a truthful statement.
But, I digress.
It's also at the very beginning that both Tsubaki and Kyouta assault one another to varying degrees.
Kyouta pulls on Tsubaki's hair when she ignores his question (as by now she's formed the opinion that he's terrible because he doesn't meet her straight-lace standards). She cuts his hair in retaliation because she's irritated by the fact that it's long. He then tries to extort money out of her by threatening to report her for cutting his hair, only to then say she doesn't have to pay if she uses her body, insinuating he wants sexual favors. She then agrees to "use her body", not understanding what he meant, and cuts more of his hair to finish what she started, giving him a shorter, more conservative style that she personally finds more attractive. He then finally grabs her, forces a kiss, and steals her uniform neck ribbon (which bothers her a lot because she is afraid of committing school dress code violations).
After this point, Kyouta tries to force Tsubaki to accept going on a date with him because he wants to make her the new target of his "get girl to like me then reject her when she falls in love with me" game and makes a moves on her sexually (though he stops when she doesn't want to continue) and it's through their interactions from this point on that the two of them truly fall in love and start a legitimate relationship.
Somehow, I remember this series having more instances of sexual assault as perpetrated by the love interest, but generally, nothing that transpires between Kyouta and Tsubaki is what I'd flag as bad or sexual assault. When Kyouta makes an advance on Tsubaki and consent isn't given or is withdrawn, he stops. The exception, of course, is that first kiss that he forced on Tsubaki without her consent.
I think probably the worst thing Kyouta does in their relationship as a whole is withhold physical affection from Tsubaki when she expresses a desire to not have sex with him before marriage or do anything beyond kissing.
He basically tells her "that is selfish of you to not want to be more intimate with me; my body's desires don't operate on your schedule" which is implying that Tsubaki, as a result of kindling his lust through kissing/hugging/petting, should be willing to satisfy his sexual desires and give up her desire for celibacy because it's inconvenient for him to become aroused through displays of physical affection and not find gratification with her when that occurs.
This, of course, is really awful, as it boils down to Kyouta feeling owed sex from her. His desire to be sexually gratified with the aid of her body/actions isn't more important than her feeling comfortable with what she's doing with her body, which isn't okay--no one is owed another person's body, no one is owed sex with another person. Blue-balls are not a real thing and are not a valid reason for trying to force your partner to have sex by withholding affection.
It does, thankfully, eventually become rectified, with Kyouta expressing a willingness to go at Tsubaki's pace and not pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to, so I won't harp on it too much, since it's shown as a obstacle they overcome and are better for having endured, but I just wish there had been a bigger emphasis on "me respecting what you want to do with your own body is more important than the desires I have for your body."
To be honest, while the two of them say and do things that aren't always the best choices, they surprisingly are able to overcome them and never cross over that line of no return--there's no action that I'd say they are forever condemned over and can't be forgiven for.
For example, a lot of their conflicts go like this: Tsubaki has a moment of jealousy/insecurity and makes a somewhat unrealistic demand of Kyouta during this. Kyouta, wanting to keep the peace and prove to Tsubaki that she has no reason to worry/doubt/fear, takes some action to appease that demand, despite it being unrealistic. Tsubaki then realizes she was being childish/insecure/etc., usually after witnessing how Kyouta is suffering in some way as a result of her demand. She and Kyouta then reconcile after talking over their feelings and reaffirming them, which generally erases Tsubaki's previous doubts/jealousies/etc.
That's actually a pretty good depiction of how relationships go, especially new ones that are trying to find their footing. Both Tsubaki and Kyouta aren't super versed in romantic relationships, so I think most of the drama that occurs is to better showcase how chaotic and uncertain and daunting it can be to handle a romance and balance the needs and wants of the relationship and one's partner with one's own needs and wants.
To be honest, the thing in this particular series that riled me up the most was the little sister saying things like "You aren't satisfying your boyfriend's sexual appetite? You're the worst. You deserve it if he cheats on your or ends the relationship." and I'm like, that's a nasty, toxic mindset to have.
As I said above, no one is "owed" sex in a relationship because sex is something that involves the sharing of one's body and a person's body and what they do with it is purely their own business. Also, it's super emotionally unhealthy for a girl to feel like she has to have sex or be sexually alluring in order to keep her partner from betraying her trust by cheating.
That kind of thinking pushes this narrative that girls have this obligation to be super sexually alluring to keep their male partners so interested they don't consider cheating and that if their guy does cheat, it's not that he's betraying the girl he promised to be faithful to when they started dating and being dishonorable for breaking his word, it's that she failed to keep his attention and fulfill his needs through sex appeal and sexual acts.
That's an absolutely sad and horrible way to think because it's not true and also even when girls break down and try to keep a partner by being that way, it seldom actually prevents cheating if their partner was predisposed to cheating to begin with.
Sakura is probably the most toxic character and I have always hated her. She's on the same wavelength as Akane from Hot Gimmick, Vol. 1, who was an utter brat and terrible sister for a large part of the story.
As for what Tsubaki and Kyouta ultimately do and say, I wouldn't peg any of it as particularly problematic or bad. In fact, their desire to communicate better and figure out their goals and to overcome their own flaws is pretty well depicted.
All in all, the story is actually pretty fun to read and has worthwhile character growth. In terms of the story development, one area I feel wasn't done well is the characters' relationships with their parents (which were made out to be super vital; like, their moms both were massive in the creation of a lot of their personal and relationship problems). These things weren't explored or utilized beyond being convenient at the moment when parent conflict was needed, so their resolution was unsatisfying and unwarranted. Mostly, the plot threads were cleanly wrapped up in the easiest, weakest way.
Still, the series was, overall, meant to be a fun, easy slice-of-life romance for older teen girls, and I believe it accomplished that. Compared to a lot of other series attempting the same, I have to say that this one performed a lot better.
Of course, this is a somewhat rare exception for this author. I believe there are at least three of her other series that are pretty problematic.
As for triggers/warnings about this series: there is an attempted rape by random bad guys, Tsubaki is attacked by one of the side characters who was going to assault her but couldn't go through with it, and Kyouta and Tsubaki have several sex scenes (though they're not graphic, just a few images of heavy kissing without clothes that doesn't show anything really).
For me, the art isn't anything ugly, but the huge eyes and some of the artists stylistic choices just didn't work for me. I think this incarnation of her style is a lot prettier than what she was doing in earlier work, which looks quite a bit different, and I appreciate the detail put forth in a lot of it, but ultimately the characters all come across as looking super similar with girls being incredibly round/cutesy and all the guys being weirdly more angular and looking like each other with different haircuts/colors.
I'm glad I gave it another read as an adult. Despite this not being an exceptional manga, compared to a lot of what I have read, it performs better in terms of character, story, and the messages it wishes to convey about relationships, love, self-image, and the future.
This manga series, whose Japanese title 今日、恋をはじめます (Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu) translates to "Today, Love Begins" (again, not sure why no one ever translates these things when it's pretty straightforward...) is a mid 2000s slice-of-life shoujo romance that covers sixteen total volumes, focusing on the love between a straight-laced girl and a popular bad boy.
It's overall pretty standard shoujo romance stuff by an author who, prior to this series, had done several series that were decently successful (though, I would argue they were all worse than this one).
My feelings on this series have gone around in a circle. The first time I read it years ago as a young teenager, I loved it, then when I was a bit older, I saw its flaws and disliked it--quite a lot. But after my most recent read, I find it's actually an okay read.
Between my last read and this most recent one (which was done for the purpose of reviewing the whole series, as is my custom, so my memory of everything is fresh and any misremembering from age/bias is diminished), quite a few years had past, so, naturally, because I remember disliking it from the last time I dove in, I went into this reread with low expectations. Despite having a general memory of the story, a lot had actually been lost to time, which surprised me.
Starting out, this series is a bit rough and its where the majority of its flaws are.
Both the main characters have pretty poor personalities. I can't say if this was intentional as a means to start them off low so that their growth would be more pronounced or if it's merely bad writing that vanished as the author improved naturally with practice. I'm leaning towards the latter, as after just a handful of chapters, both characters worst traits soften considerably or vanish entirely.
Tsubaki starts out as one of those people who is highly judgemental and superior, finding fault in everyone around her who isn't like her, yet is also simultaneously self-deprecating, envious, and insecure to the point of being irritating.
It's very in line with how Not Like Other Girl or "Pick Me" style characters are; they feel left out and inadequate, usually are envious of a particular type of person (in Tsubaki's case, her popular, pretty little sister and her social butterfly of a best friend), so to compensate for failing to be that way themselves, they go hard in the other direction, acting like the qualities they do have are actually the superior qualities to have and that the people who lack these things are the one who are actually inferior.
Although I wouldn't say Tsubaki is your typical Pick Me Girl, that kind of character gives you an idea of the contradictory nature of Tsubaki's early attitude in the series: she thinks everyone is beneath her for not being straight-laced like she is, yet she has no true self-confidence/self-love and constantly bemoans how she wishes she were like other girls and had the things they have.
While I can sympathize with Tsubaki's social awkwardness, her desire for real friendship, and her struggles to fit in with her peers (as I I did personally go through a period where I thought of myself as Not Like Other Girls as a way to try to compensate for my insecurities and feelings of inadequacy by elevating myself through the only qualities I had), Tsubaki's characterization doesn't quite nail her superiority complex as... well, as sympathetic. Rather, she comes off as two-faced and shallow, belittling her peers based on mere observation, while also woefully desiring their acceptance and admiration.
Kyouta, as well, starts out roughly as a generic and uninteresting "popular, hot bad boy" who is also the smartest boy in the school and, for the dumbest reason, plays games with girls' feelings--to the point that he's well known for it.
The general crux we're given is that Kyouta refuses to settle down and have a serious girlfriend, instead opting to seduce every girl he can so that when/if the girl falls in love with him and confesses serious feelings, he can end their relationship and break her heart.
Why is that? As I said, it's for the dumbest reason.
He refuses to have serious relationships with girls because, I'm not joking, two adult women who he knew when he was a child (one was a school nurse and the other his mom, who only did this because her marriage to Kyouta's father was incredibly abusive) had adulterous affairs in their marriages, which made him believe that all women must be horrible, selfish, cruel creatures who will undoubtedly betray, hurt, and abandon the men who love them.
Basically, Kyouta, as a little boy, decided to internalize these women's infidelity as a deep betrayal that he took personally and concluded that, not only are all women terrible, but that he's fully justified in deliberately seducing and breaking the hearts of unrelated girls before they have a chance to break his, and it's literally all because two people he knew as a child, who happened to be women, cheated on their male partners.
Uh. Yikes.
It's not even done with all that much nuance or depth. Kyouta... very easily gives up this idea of women being terrible and unworthy of seriously loving/dating.
Like, after Tsubaki learns about the root of his misogyny and confronts him like, "Hey, I'm not or your mom or that nurse, so why are you taking out your feelings of them towards me and all women who had nothing to do with those incidents?" he literally mulls it over for a few seconds and goes, "Oh, yeah, Tsubaki isn't like my mom or the school nurse who I somehow feel betrayed me personally by being unfaithful to their male partners. I can date her then!"
That's it. That's the end of that character flaw. His growth in that regard is over. There's no epiphany where he realizes he was just taking out his irrational feelings on innocent girls. There's no realization he was being really misogynistic. There's no grasping that he was lashing out stupidly because he was being a pissbaby about the realization that anyone in any human relationship he has whom he loves and is vulnerable with may choose to hurt/deceive/use/betray him...
No, he just, admits Tsubaki is right and proceeds to date her. "Oh, yeah, I know you'd never hurt me, Tsubaki." Like bro... your actions up until this point do NOT support that being a truthful statement.
But, I digress.
It's also at the very beginning that both Tsubaki and Kyouta assault one another to varying degrees.
Kyouta pulls on Tsubaki's hair when she ignores his question (as by now she's formed the opinion that he's terrible because he doesn't meet her straight-lace standards). She cuts his hair in retaliation because she's irritated by the fact that it's long. He then tries to extort money out of her by threatening to report her for cutting his hair, only to then say she doesn't have to pay if she uses her body, insinuating he wants sexual favors. She then agrees to "use her body", not understanding what he meant, and cuts more of his hair to finish what she started, giving him a shorter, more conservative style that she personally finds more attractive. He then finally grabs her, forces a kiss, and steals her uniform neck ribbon (which bothers her a lot because she is afraid of committing school dress code violations).
After this point, Kyouta tries to force Tsubaki to accept going on a date with him because he wants to make her the new target of his "get girl to like me then reject her when she falls in love with me" game and makes a moves on her sexually (though he stops when she doesn't want to continue) and it's through their interactions from this point on that the two of them truly fall in love and start a legitimate relationship.
Somehow, I remember this series having more instances of sexual assault as perpetrated by the love interest, but generally, nothing that transpires between Kyouta and Tsubaki is what I'd flag as bad or sexual assault. When Kyouta makes an advance on Tsubaki and consent isn't given or is withdrawn, he stops. The exception, of course, is that first kiss that he forced on Tsubaki without her consent.
I think probably the worst thing Kyouta does in their relationship as a whole is withhold physical affection from Tsubaki when she expresses a desire to not have sex with him before marriage or do anything beyond kissing.
He basically tells her "that is selfish of you to not want to be more intimate with me; my body's desires don't operate on your schedule" which is implying that Tsubaki, as a result of kindling his lust through kissing/hugging/petting, should be willing to satisfy his sexual desires and give up her desire for celibacy because it's inconvenient for him to become aroused through displays of physical affection and not find gratification with her when that occurs.
This, of course, is really awful, as it boils down to Kyouta feeling owed sex from her. His desire to be sexually gratified with the aid of her body/actions isn't more important than her feeling comfortable with what she's doing with her body, which isn't okay--no one is owed another person's body, no one is owed sex with another person. Blue-balls are not a real thing and are not a valid reason for trying to force your partner to have sex by withholding affection.
It does, thankfully, eventually become rectified, with Kyouta expressing a willingness to go at Tsubaki's pace and not pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to, so I won't harp on it too much, since it's shown as a obstacle they overcome and are better for having endured, but I just wish there had been a bigger emphasis on "me respecting what you want to do with your own body is more important than the desires I have for your body."
To be honest, while the two of them say and do things that aren't always the best choices, they surprisingly are able to overcome them and never cross over that line of no return--there's no action that I'd say they are forever condemned over and can't be forgiven for.
For example, a lot of their conflicts go like this: Tsubaki has a moment of jealousy/insecurity and makes a somewhat unrealistic demand of Kyouta during this. Kyouta, wanting to keep the peace and prove to Tsubaki that she has no reason to worry/doubt/fear, takes some action to appease that demand, despite it being unrealistic. Tsubaki then realizes she was being childish/insecure/etc., usually after witnessing how Kyouta is suffering in some way as a result of her demand. She and Kyouta then reconcile after talking over their feelings and reaffirming them, which generally erases Tsubaki's previous doubts/jealousies/etc.
That's actually a pretty good depiction of how relationships go, especially new ones that are trying to find their footing. Both Tsubaki and Kyouta aren't super versed in romantic relationships, so I think most of the drama that occurs is to better showcase how chaotic and uncertain and daunting it can be to handle a romance and balance the needs and wants of the relationship and one's partner with one's own needs and wants.
To be honest, the thing in this particular series that riled me up the most was the little sister saying things like "You aren't satisfying your boyfriend's sexual appetite? You're the worst. You deserve it if he cheats on your or ends the relationship." and I'm like, that's a nasty, toxic mindset to have.
As I said above, no one is "owed" sex in a relationship because sex is something that involves the sharing of one's body and a person's body and what they do with it is purely their own business. Also, it's super emotionally unhealthy for a girl to feel like she has to have sex or be sexually alluring in order to keep her partner from betraying her trust by cheating.
That kind of thinking pushes this narrative that girls have this obligation to be super sexually alluring to keep their male partners so interested they don't consider cheating and that if their guy does cheat, it's not that he's betraying the girl he promised to be faithful to when they started dating and being dishonorable for breaking his word, it's that she failed to keep his attention and fulfill his needs through sex appeal and sexual acts.
That's an absolutely sad and horrible way to think because it's not true and also even when girls break down and try to keep a partner by being that way, it seldom actually prevents cheating if their partner was predisposed to cheating to begin with.
Sakura is probably the most toxic character and I have always hated her. She's on the same wavelength as Akane from Hot Gimmick, Vol. 1, who was an utter brat and terrible sister for a large part of the story.
As for what Tsubaki and Kyouta ultimately do and say, I wouldn't peg any of it as particularly problematic or bad. In fact, their desire to communicate better and figure out their goals and to overcome their own flaws is pretty well depicted.
All in all, the story is actually pretty fun to read and has worthwhile character growth. In terms of the story development, one area I feel wasn't done well is the characters' relationships with their parents (which were made out to be super vital; like, their moms both were massive in the creation of a lot of their personal and relationship problems). These things weren't explored or utilized beyond being convenient at the moment when parent conflict was needed, so their resolution was unsatisfying and unwarranted. Mostly, the plot threads were cleanly wrapped up in the easiest, weakest way.
Still, the series was, overall, meant to be a fun, easy slice-of-life romance for older teen girls, and I believe it accomplished that. Compared to a lot of other series attempting the same, I have to say that this one performed a lot better.
Of course, this is a somewhat rare exception for this author. I believe there are at least three of her other series that are pretty problematic.
As for triggers/warnings about this series: there is an attempted rape by random bad guys, Tsubaki is attacked by one of the side characters who was going to assault her but couldn't go through with it, and Kyouta and Tsubaki have several sex scenes (though they're not graphic, just a few images of heavy kissing without clothes that doesn't show anything really).
For me, the art isn't anything ugly, but the huge eyes and some of the artists stylistic choices just didn't work for me. I think this incarnation of her style is a lot prettier than what she was doing in earlier work, which looks quite a bit different, and I appreciate the detail put forth in a lot of it, but ultimately the characters all come across as looking super similar with girls being incredibly round/cutesy and all the guys being weirdly more angular and looking like each other with different haircuts/colors.
I'm glad I gave it another read as an adult. Despite this not being an exceptional manga, compared to a lot of what I have read, it performs better in terms of character, story, and the messages it wishes to convey about relationships, love, self-image, and the future.
February 10, 2012
The series started out okay until the middle volumes, where the female protagonist's whining became utterly unbearable, even for avid fan of shoujo manga like me. I mean, there should be some development for the female protagonist too.
Dropping it now, just can't read it anymore after stomaching 30 to 40 something chapters.
Dropping it now, just can't read it anymore after stomaching 30 to 40 something chapters.
January 4, 2016
Why is practically every romantic relationship in teen books - be it manga or regular books or poems or whatever - so abusive and unhealthy? Since when did our society start finding abusive relationships so attractive and alluring? Why? What happened? What is happening? Please, someone, put an end to this. Please. Please. I don't know why this is happening but this is the fifth story I've rated today with a horribly abusive relationship and it is just bothering and hurting me. I am so afraid that this has become the norm and that people are finding these sorts of relationships good and romantic and attractive. This is not okay.
The male lead molests, sexually and verbally harasses, manipulates, and controls the female lead repeatedly. He tries to force her into sleeping with him, threatens and blackmails her...and she forgives him and falls in love with him, without blinking an eye.
This. is. not. okay.
THIS IS NEVER OKAY OMG SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US
The male lead molests, sexually and verbally harasses, manipulates, and controls the female lead repeatedly. He tries to force her into sleeping with him, threatens and blackmails her...and she forgives him and falls in love with him, without blinking an eye.
This. is. not. okay.
THIS IS NEVER OKAY OMG SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US
August 16, 2016
This was the second time that I read this manga and yet I still can't get enough of it.
Tsubaki and Kyouta is just a perfect couple. I loved how much they grew, both individually and as a couple. I admit that I cringed to a few problems that they went through but I'm happy that they were able to push through it and became stronger than ever. I loved their devotion and faith to each other and just everything about their romance.
All in all, this manga is probably one of my favorites, ever. I'm sure I'll go back and read their story over and over again in the future.
*Review of the whole manga.*
Tsubaki and Kyouta is just a perfect couple. I loved how much they grew, both individually and as a couple. I admit that I cringed to a few problems that they went through but I'm happy that they were able to push through it and became stronger than ever. I loved their devotion and faith to each other and just everything about their romance.
All in all, this manga is probably one of my favorites, ever. I'm sure I'll go back and read their story over and over again in the future.
*Review of the whole manga.*
September 12, 2012
It just wasn't my type. I got bored and moved on to another manga. Sorry to those who actually like this manga. Oh, and it already has an OVA for it. Didn't watch it though.
May 23, 2021
Wtf did i just read?! 🤬🤬🤬🤬
April 1, 2023
I remember reading this manga. To be completely honest, I don't remember it starting like this, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I do like the main girl, but the other characters are not it.
April 1, 2021
Leído todos los tomos
April 7, 2015
Overall rating for the manga series: 1.5 stars.
The extra .5 star is for Kyouta who actually changed in the course of the series. I think I wasted my time reading this and I finished it just for the sake of finishing it because the story infuriates me like no other. Especially in the beginning. The male MC is jerk and the female MC is so frakin' annoying! And the situations they're in and how they responded to whatever is happening are irritating. I keep hoping that it will get better because how did this manga become so popular if the story is like this? This type of shoujo manga is the worst. In the end though, Kyouta did change but Tsubaki is beyond hope. She's still annoying as ever. I really wish I wouldn't meet someone like her.
The extra .5 star is for Kyouta who actually changed in the course of the series. I think I wasted my time reading this and I finished it just for the sake of finishing it because the story infuriates me like no other. Especially in the beginning. The male MC is jerk and the female MC is so frakin' annoying! And the situations they're in and how they responded to whatever is happening are irritating. I keep hoping that it will get better because how did this manga become so popular if the story is like this? This type of shoujo manga is the worst. In the end though, Kyouta did change but Tsubaki is beyond hope. She's still annoying as ever. I really wish I wouldn't meet someone like her.
November 24, 2015
I wasn't entirely drawn into this.
I didn't quite understand the whole cutting his hair thing and him deciding then to want to date her but at the same time I wouldn't mind continuing on for a few volumes to see where it goes.
I wasn't as into the artwork as well but maybe that's because it's only my second look at a manga comic after finishing off my lovely Blue Spring Ride series, which I loved.
Off to start volume 2.
I didn't quite understand the whole cutting his hair thing and him deciding then to want to date her but at the same time I wouldn't mind continuing on for a few volumes to see where it goes.
I wasn't as into the artwork as well but maybe that's because it's only my second look at a manga comic after finishing off my lovely Blue Spring Ride series, which I loved.
Off to start volume 2.
March 8, 2011
This manga is okay I tried reading twice but it got so boring so I will not be continuing.
August 20, 2017
Ich verstehe die Wertungen hier auf Goodreads für diesen Manga überhaupt nicht. Die Charaktere sind mega unsympathisch und schrecklich oberflächlich. Eigentlich kann einem die Prota die ganze Zeit nur leid tun. Dann ist sie aber auch noch so naiv und dumm, dass sie mir schon wieder nicht mehr leid tun kann. Die 1,4 Sterne kriegt es von mir für den Zeichenstil, der ganz niedlich war.
April 20, 2018
Tsubaki is so common girl and I could understand her feeling. I thought my looking was like her when I was a high school student. I was surprised at that Kyota Tsubaki had same name as her. He was crasy!!haha He is really popular with girls. That’s why he looked arrogant and I’m not a big fan of person like him. However, his face is a little handsome.....:-o
January 17, 2021
I've read this manga a while ago online and am so happy I got it as a paperback version now. It is such a cute story and I loved reading it. As it's been a while ago since I've read it and I only remember the basic main facts it's just like reading a new book. 😊💕
May 11, 2018
I enjoyed to read this book. I like character of Hibino Tsubaki and it is normal love story. But I thought movie ver is more interesting than manga so I recommend to watch the movie after reading this manga.
July 21, 2018
This mange has impacts. My first impression was "surprise". And picture is so cute. It's very realistic.
October 11, 2021
How did this get such high rating? 🤢
July 21, 2018
I think this manga is for young girls because the setting and story is the ideal situation for them. The begging is very ordinary.
June 13, 2016
This manga is bad content in general. The art is good. But jesus christ the plot and characters are a mess. The heroine is a weak, pathetic girl with very low self esteem. So low she forgives this jack-ass rapist and all the bullies in her school. She even believes to have fallen in love with this pervert because he "saved" her once or twice with the Cultural festival deal. But he only saved her after she went along with his blackmail and threats to go out with him. This manga only works because the "love interest" is handsome, persuasive, and charismatic. The heroine is blinded by his good looks and decides to forget all the bad things he's done to her and even praises him; for example: "he's so good at leading people". That may be so in one standpoint, but in reality that affirmation of yours is false. He only captures all the classes' attention as a representative because he's hot (the girls) and because he's a popular jock with the guys and has been in that school for a couple of years since he knows everyone's names and the stuff they possess (shown when he starts giving ideas how to make a cheap cultural festival). The heroine does try to break under the perverts spell but fails ultimately in the end, which makes me want to rip my hair off. Girls! Stand up for yourselves! If a guy touches you without permission that doesn't make him an attractive man because the bad boy trope is not the way to go! Rape is not okay no matter how hot and beautiful the person committing it is. Stay away from deadly plants no matter how delicious they smell, how appealing they are, or how comforting they make you feel- you don't need the company of a beautiful creature (who's only pretty on the outside but is nasty af on the inside and awful cruel all the adjectives that describe a despicable person who would go ahead w/ bullying, blackmail, and rape) to make you happy. You need you and your beautiful self to be happy. Peace and love everyone, be kind to one another and be safe.
September 18, 2014
How did I fall in love with this #manga I am not even sure. I just opened it and fall for it from the first sight. This is what they call a #love from the first sight.
Tsubaki is a high school girl who love to style the #hair of her smaller sister but never style her own hair because she things it doesn't suet her. She looks like from the #Showa era where she is old fashioned and a hard working student.
Kyouta is a popular dude (like always every manga have these kind of character). He is much intelligent than her. In the first day he made a bet on her that she will fall in #love with him. However, it ended up that he fall for her.
The first time they saw each other, they bullied Tsubaki she even cut his hair and when he tried to punish her. He asked for 50.000 YEN or she should repay him by her body. She is so oblivious that she said yes thinking that he meant that she cut his hair.
Oh Kyouta is also known for being a player.
This manga is one of my favorites now
Tsubaki is a high school girl who love to style the #hair of her smaller sister but never style her own hair because she things it doesn't suet her. She looks like from the #Showa era where she is old fashioned and a hard working student.
Kyouta is a popular dude (like always every manga have these kind of character). He is much intelligent than her. In the first day he made a bet on her that she will fall in #love with him. However, it ended up that he fall for her.
The first time they saw each other, they bullied Tsubaki she even cut his hair and when he tried to punish her. He asked for 50.000 YEN or she should repay him by her body. She is so oblivious that she said yes thinking that he meant that she cut his hair.
Oh Kyouta is also known for being a player.
This manga is one of my favorites now
January 3, 2013
I'm only about 6 volumes in and so far I'm shocked that this hasn't been picked up by an English publisher. It's cute, it's already completed, and best of all, the story is rather good.
This is a typical manga plot: geeky girl (who is really a hottie but doesn't know it) meets popular hot guy, the two date but have various problems standing in their way. In a very tenuous way it's similar to Kare Kano in that both of them are overachievers, the guy has a bunch of personal demons relating to his family, etc. I wouldn't say it's the same, but there's enough here to where I occasionally thought that this would appeal to readers of that series.
Overall this is pretty nice. Art is good, story is good- there is really a lot here that will appeal to a wide audience. Listen up English publishers: you need to make this available in the states!
This is a typical manga plot: geeky girl (who is really a hottie but doesn't know it) meets popular hot guy, the two date but have various problems standing in their way. In a very tenuous way it's similar to Kare Kano in that both of them are overachievers, the guy has a bunch of personal demons relating to his family, etc. I wouldn't say it's the same, but there's enough here to where I occasionally thought that this would appeal to readers of that series.
Overall this is pretty nice. Art is good, story is good- there is really a lot here that will appeal to a wide audience. Listen up English publishers: you need to make this available in the states!
July 24, 2019
There's no other way to put it.
The male main character is a dickhead.
Thus the low review. I tried giving it a chance and reading further chapters, but no. He keeps on treating the heroine like crap, but she looooooves him because he's sometimes nice! And part of the time, he's being 'nice' by getting her out of situations he caused.
Oh how I hate him.
I was curious to see where it went, but I can't read any further because it makes me so mad. Because everything will be swept aside because the poor wittle 'hero' has a saaaaaad paaaaaaaast. Cry me a river. Did a woman huuuuuuuuurt the wittle baby? OH ALRIGHT THEN. FEEL FREE TO MISTREAT ALL WOMEN!! THAT MAKES IT OKAY!!!!!
...yeah, he can rot.
I liked the heroine well enough, but not enough to continue with THE DUMPSTER FIRE OF A LOVE INTEREST.
I don't recommend.
The male main character is a dickhead.
Thus the low review. I tried giving it a chance and reading further chapters, but no. He keeps on treating the heroine like crap, but she looooooves him because he's sometimes nice! And part of the time, he's being 'nice' by getting her out of situations he caused.
Oh how I hate him.
I was curious to see where it went, but I can't read any further because it makes me so mad. Because everything will be swept aside because the poor wittle 'hero' has a saaaaaad paaaaaaaast. Cry me a river. Did a woman huuuuuuuuurt the wittle baby? OH ALRIGHT THEN. FEEL FREE TO MISTREAT ALL WOMEN!! THAT MAKES IT OKAY!!!!!
...yeah, he can rot.
I liked the heroine well enough, but not enough to continue with THE DUMPSTER FIRE OF A LOVE INTEREST.
I don't recommend.
October 4, 2016
I sure hope young girls aren't seeing this as a healthy relationship because oh my god the love interest is actually molesting her, being forceful and constantly moving too fast for her comfort. The main character is immature and weak and clumsy and horribly stupid, and the love interest is a total asshole (but it's okay because he's pretty and has a 'tragic' backstory). But still the love interest is more bearable than the naive, annoying main character.
What is up with this 'guy forces himself onto a girl until she falls for him' trope? If anyone is reading this for dating tips or whatever, please treat this manga as more of a representation of what to AVOID.
Why do I bother with shoujo manga anymore...
What is up with this 'guy forces himself onto a girl until she falls for him' trope? If anyone is reading this for dating tips or whatever, please treat this manga as more of a representation of what to AVOID.
Why do I bother with shoujo manga anymore...
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