What If I Said, "I Love You"? 1

by Kumosoku

Genres: Manga, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

176 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 30, 2026

Reviews

[Holly Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this one, but I am definitely curious to see where the series goes from here.

The love confession was really sweet, and I loved the idea of two childhood best friends finally admitting their feelings. However, I do wish there had been a bit more build up leading to that moment. We’re told they’ve both been secretly in love with each other for years, but it all felt like it happened a little too quickly.

Even so, I’m still excited to continue the series and see how the story develops, especially now that the characters have taken the leap into a new relationship.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for volume one.

Many thanks to Kodansha comics for the eARC via Netgalley.

Childhood friends Kazuho and Tokio were always close. Now that they are older, Kazuho finds that his feelings are more than friendship but he is scared and wonders how Tokio would react if he'd ever confess his feelings.

This was about as basic as it could get. It's not my favourite art but it's fine - it's quite soft and easy to follow. There is nothing wrong with the plot or characters whatsoever, but it also doesn't really have anything that makes it stand out. This also felt as if it could have been a standalone, or rather, what happened in volume one is what I would have expected to happen over the course of the series. If I hadn't known it's an ongoing series, I would have believed this to be a standard BL standalone that felt somewhat rushed and as a result lacked both in substance and heart.

Ultimately, I found this a little bland. I was really unsure what to rate it as again, there's nothing wrong with it. I think people who particularly enjoy friends to lovers might get something out of this. Personally I shan't continue the series as it didn't hold my attention well enough.

[Sai Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

ah this was a cutsy high school love story, this has minimal angst & would make as a great palette cleanser between heavier series, I’ll be picking up vol 2 whenever it’s out <3

thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[❄ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly expected more. It's not super bad but even with the simple premise, a guy having a crush on his childhood friend and struggling to deal with his feelings, I really wanted it to have a better execution.

My issue was that the story felt rushed. The first couple of chapters were great, things were going organically, until it started accelerating and it felt jarring to the point that I felt confused during the climax. Since this had more than one volume, I expected the story to go slower, especially when it came to ML's feelings. I really wish it had done so because the potential is there.

Despite that, the general idea was fine. I think what I loved the most about this manga was the artstyle, it's very pretty and even if it's sort of the standard, it felt like it fit the story nicely. The cover is gorgeous. The characters' designs were adorable and they match well together. The yearning moments were good too.

I'm a sucker for the childhood friends trope so I'm glad I picked this up. Overall, I think it was an okay first volume and I'm hoping that the next ones are better. It has the material to explore more about their relationship and the hardships they may encounter later.

-I received a copy of this book for free through NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.

Tags: BL manga, multiple volumes, yearning/pining, not-so-unrequited love, childhood friends, very light angst, fluff, jealousy.

[Bonnie among the pages and chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: Oddly attached to one baby gay’s crisis over being in love with his best friend. No plot, just panic, yearning, and emotional damage. (4 🌟)

This felt way too short to exist as a standalone volume. Honestly, I wish all three volumes had been released together because this reads less like a complete first installment and more like someone cut the emotional support manga in half right as I got attached.

That said… I devoured this in under an hour.
The premise itself is nothing revolutionary. It’s essentially one boy internally spiraling over his feelings for his childhood best friend for 170-ish pages. But the execution? Weirdly effective. The yearning is yearning. The anxiety feels painfully authentic. Every awkward interaction felt like watching a live reenactment of “what if he hates me forever because I blinked weird.”

The art is genuinely gorgeous too. Soft, expressive, emotional, and perfect for this kind of intimate, low-stakes-but-high-emotional-tension story.

Do I wish we got more progression? Yes. Do I wish we at least got a kiss after all that emotional suffering? Also yes. But despite being aggressively plotless, it completely sold me on these characters and now I’m stuck waiting for volume two like a Victorian woman staring dramatically out a rainy window.

Very soft. Very angsty. Peak baby gay panic.

[Jack Goff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a lovely book.

I love a good yearning story. I relate so much to having these confusing feelings crop up as a young adult and not knowing what to do with them. This can be especially difficult when said feelings are for a friend that you’ve grown up with. Do you tell them how you feel and risk ruining the friendship? Or do you keep them to yourself and try to go on with your friendship as you have been? That is the big question our main character has to answer for himself. To tell or not to tell?

The story was so sweet. I was tearing up while reading it. I felt this story in my chest. It was so good.

The art? Beautiful. What a spectacular use of halftones. I really need to try this for my own art because it always looks -so- good. I’ve seen some videos of people using the halftone sheets, and I am so afraid that my perfectionism would make it really hard for me to do. But man it looks so good, and in this manga specifically, they are used frequently and it looks so, so nice. It makes me want to try.

I can’t wait to see where this story goes. I am rooting for these guys.

Thanks so much to Kodansha and Netgalley for the DRC!!

[Astrophel R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for an arc. All opinions are my own.

★ Rating: 4/5
Genre: Romance
Are There Gay People in this?*: ✅

This one's for the yearners!!

I loved this, it was super cute. Kazuho is a really endearing protagonist and I found myself connecting to him easily. I wasn't as interested in the love interest, Tokio, but he was still a really nice guy, and I liked their relationship dynamic. The art style was super pretty and the character designs were all recognizable even though everyone looked like a normal person.

With that being said, while I am usually a slow burn lover, I feel like there is so much yearning in this that it would struggle to hold my interest for more volumes. Therefore, while I did really enjoy this volume, I will not be continuing the series.

* I count a book as including gay people if any of the main or secondary characters are implicitly or explicitly queer or trans. This does not necessarily mean the protagonist is queer or that there is a queer romance

[E (manga_runner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

-childhood friends to lovers
- bl, wholesome

The series focuses mainly on Kazuho and his unrequited love with his childhood best friend Tokio. After a slip up of a confession, the ball is now in Tokio's court.
While the description makes it sound like they grow apart in high school, personally it doesn't feel that much has changed besides their heights and Tokio not carrying Kazuho around as often. Or at least until the confession, then there is a little avoidance on Kazuho's end. However, I will agree that if you liked Summer of You; Love on the Horizon, and Sasaki and Miyano you may like to give this one a try.

I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like there is something missing that could have bumped it to a 5 star. I do like the fact that Tokio took Kazuho's confession seriously, was honestly thinking it over, and didn't push him away. Kazuho on the other hand was trying to accept whatever the answer was going to be, even if it might end with him having a broken heart.

The first volume does move slightly fast, but it ended where the next volume can progress their relationship. So I'm interested to see where the series leads us.

[niam · Rating 3 out of 5]

what if i said, "i love you"? introduces kazuho and tokio with an immediate shift from past to present in the form of a cute and uncomplicated childhood memory transitioning into one painfully similar but markedly weightier, which is a good representation of the first volume as a whole. there's this constant emphasis on their childhood bond as contrasted with the current one-sided distance as kazuho struggles to come to terms with his feelings and all of their possibly devastating implications, and as such it's an effective exploration of all the things one would expect him to experience - are these feelings strange or hopeless? is it selfish to want tokio all for himself? what would tokio think of him if he knew? - and although nothing novel or unique, it still works. that being said, the story does struggle a bit from its honing in on kazuho's perspective, leading to a lack of oomph with tokio's own moments since we aren't as privy to its basis. overall, it's still a fun iteration of a classic trope that you can't go wrong with <3

[Verena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this novel before release in exchange for a honest review.

Unfortunately, this did very little for me. It is an easy read with beautiful art, but other than that it felt very flat to me. It took me about halfway through the novel to be able to remember our main characters names, and the love our main character (I already forgot his name even though I finished the book like half an hour ago) felt for Tokio didn't really show on page. He continued to say how he loves Tokio, but since we start the novel at a point where our main character is seconds away (in real time) from confessing, you don't really get to see the love and what sparked it. Yeah, they used to give each other piggy-back rides, okay, sure, but what else? The remainder of the novel is about Tokio's reaction to this confession, which... we didn't really see anything of either. We just saw our main character being anxious about it for a couple pages.

This one wasn't for me unfortunately, but I appreciate being given the opportunity to read it.

[Meagan McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this manga go an honest review!

First off, the art is beautiful and the way they drew yearning was making me feel so many emotions. I was surprised that I reached the end. I was so wrapped up in Tokio and Kazuho's story.

Them being childhood friends really brings in the scenes where you can see the intimacy and closeness that has been cultivated only through years of their friendship and having an understanding of each other since they were young..

Some of the transitions were clever, and there were multiple spreads that had me looking twice because of how beautiful or cute they were! This art style is soft, it's beautiful and I didn't want it to end.

Overall, This volume is satisfying and leaves me wanting more, I cant wait to see where the next volume progresses with these two! This is such a beautiful, read that had me feeling all of the emotions our main character felt; anxious, worry, love, and jealousy.

[TAbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgally for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I’ve been struggling with a reading slump, so when I saw this cover, I thought it might be exactly what I needed to help pull me out. I was ready to swoon!
I absolutely loved the art style. While I didn’t find myself swooning, I definitely enjoyed the art and found certain panels really cute.
Unfortunately, this story fell a little flat to me. It could be the reading slump, or simply the fact that as I’m no longer a teenager the general setting was boring for me. But what bothered me the most was the overall lack of depth and the plot lacked, what I felt, were important details.
As someone who doesn’t read a lot of manga, I also found the organization of the text to be a bit confusing. I lay that at the foot of my lack of skill, but something I thought worth mentioning is non-manga readers are looking for this to be a gateway into a new type of story.

[Visionary Druid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kazuho and Tokio have always been close friends. As they enter high school, everything shifts. Kazuho realizes his feelings for Tokio are romantic, not platonic. He worries how Tokio might react if he learns the truth, so he begins to distance himself. Will Kazuho find the courage to confess his feelings? And what will Tokio’s answer be?
I am still on the fence about this manga. The storyline just did not invoke much interest in me. I would have liked a little more on Tokio’s point-of-view. It would have allowed the story to flow a little better and to allow readers to connect with him better. It felt one sided, like everything centered around Kazuho.
Volume One reads more like a one-shot. So, I am curious yet not so curious, what the mangaka plans for the next volume. And for readers who like the steamy, raunchy sex scenes will be disappointed. It is mostly Kazuho agonizing over his feelings and yearning for Tokio. His angst that it will be unrequited.

[james · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for the e-ARC!

"What If I Said, 'I Love You'?" is a sweet childhood friends to lovers BL with many gentle moments and nicely designed characters.

I love how Tokio wears glasses, he is easily distinguishable and I always love characters with glasses. Of course Kazuho is cute too!

Taking advantage of the childhood friends angle, there are scenes in which you can see the intimacy and closeness that has been cultivated only through years of friendship and building understanding eachother.

Some of the transitions were quite clever, and there were multiple spreads that had me looking twice because of how beautiful or cute they were!

This volume is satisfying but still leaves us wanting to know more about the progression of their relationship and perhaps some of the side characters as well! Which is perfect!

Overall a solid entry into the realm of childhood friends to lovers BL! I can't wait to read the next volume when it comes out!

[Siina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What If I Said, "I Love You"? is a cute and simple BL manga about yearning. The main characters are Kazuho and Tokio, who are childhood friends and very close yet still. They are in high school now and mostly we are inside Kazuho's head and see and feel his inner person falling harder for Tokio. Hardly anything happens, which was wonderful. The feelings are out there right before the reader and the guys are credible and quite adult-like even. Also, they are very much teenagers at the same time. This combination was a nice call. Kazuho's feelings soon spill in a quiet way and I liked how Tokio handled them. It's interesting to see where this will go, I'd like to see them grown up to be adults even.

The art looks very nice and the characters have facial expressions and the feelings show everywhere. It seems there are four books already. I really liked the atmosphere and overall this was a refreshing manga altogether. I've come to like simplicity and credibility - this has both.

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kodansha is really coming out with some bangers this year. I'm happy because honestly I've been reading BL for years now and the space has definitely become oversaturated with stories that have no depth to them and rely too heavily on smut. This is one of those stories that is based on emotion, bittersweetness, and takes time to build itself up. I really appreciate that. Our main character is fairly insecure and I wish we learned more about him as a person in this volume, but hopefully we will get more of that in future ones. For now it mainly focused on the way he sees his best friend, who is super enigmatic and everyone magnetizes to him because of it. There's only so long the mc can hold in his feelings, but what if it messes up their friendship? The art style is really pretty and soft in this one, the characters are cute together, and I'm excited to see how the story progresses.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy to review 💜

[Alex Drzewiecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this manga.

Heyyy. This is was so sweet. I feel like this one could really resonate with queer people. At least, it did for me. It's a lot less flirty and coupley than what a lot of queer manga can be, amd a lot more focused on the internal struggle of a young person figuring out one's own feelings, struggling to know if these feelings are "okay," and finally, struggling to decide if you should confess these feelings or if it would be better to keep them hidden in fear of ruining a very dear friendship.

Because of this, it may feel slower to some readers. But the focus on internal emotions and thoughts really felt impactful when taking the time to put yourself in the character's shoes. It honestly hit me pretty personally.

I very very much want to read more volumes.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Kumosoku, for a copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review!

Final Verdict: 4.0 stars!

I have to say, I'm a sucker for friends-to-lovers!

This is an incredibly sweet manga surrounding the tale of an LGBTQ+ youth as he struggles to understand his feelings for his childhood friend. I deeply appreciate the direction the story went! The author knew exactly what kind of story they wanted to tell, and while I do feel that the pacing was a little fast at times, I do think they were able to get across the feeling of yearning they were going for. I'm incredibly curious to see where the story goes from here, because this gave all the impressions that it could have been a one-shot. Happy to see there will be more because there are a lot of ways the characters and world can be expanded on!

[coury · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Thank you Kodansha Comics for this ARC on NetGalley! I absolutely love this manga volume. Katakura and Kazuho’s relationship progression was very engaging to watch. Their relationship dynamic has the same sort of sweet gentleness that reminds me of the Japanese film “Silent Love” but also the Netflix series “From Me to You” and “Heartstopper.” I liked the scenes they had together and the angst that followed Kazuho’s love confession. My heart was emotionally invested and ached when he felt like he wasn't worthy of Katakura and avoided him. I think my rating was only lowered because it felt a little disjointed to follow some scenes and timelines and speech bubbles, though perhaps I'll get used to it in the next volumes. I'm very intrigued to see how their relationship progresses after the love confession. I also really enjoy seeing the author’s comments in between chapters.

[Dana | Rainbow Romance Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this manga is basically one boy gathering the courage to confess his feelings to his best friend, and then awaiting his answer in return. It aims for yearning and wholesomeness, but there’s just something missing for me.

This had some cute moments, and beautifully drawn panels. I enjoyed the little snippets of Kazuho and Tokio’s friendship in the past, but I feel that their relationship in the present could have used some more work. I didn’t really know anything about them or their personalities, and the side characters also felt underdeveloped. At times I found the flow of the story jumbled and the dialogue hard to follow too.

Overall, a nice story, but just not a stand-out for me personally.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha comics for the ARC!

[jude ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the eARC!!

SO CUTE! SO MUCH YEARNING! I loved this oh my god! I really loved how the main character's own feelings realization was through his yearning, specifically wanting to be physically close to his best friend and how that's different in their teen years than when they were kids. The panels throughout the manga that showed them in the past vs present were so well done and this artists really knows how to frame the story well! The pacing was also really well done and left me satisfied in the end but WANTING THE NEXT VOLUME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I want to see how these two characters interact next, especially when it comes to the world around them! And how they treat each other! AH!

[Lucsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect read for fans of Heartstopper that love their YA romances full of yearning, and appropriate for all ages.

The story follows two boys who have been close since childhood, and how their friendship is put into question when one of them realises that he has romantic feelings for the other and gives us an insight into his inner turmoil and the courage it took to open up about his feelings to his crush.

Seeing two young boys being physically affectionate as friends, having such love and respect for each other, and giving each other space and time to come to terms with the changes in their relationship, was lovely to see, and I hope I get the chance to read the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this DRC.

[luz · Rating 4 out of 5]

not the most original premise, but this still really worked for me. the mangaka took advantage of manga being a visual medium & put so much emotion into the art. with the text being relatively sparse, the bulk of the storytelling lies in every gesture & expression. the yearning was so palpable through the screen. i really, really loved how the panels were framed. there was this cinematic quality to it that made me love reading every page. i'd say my only gripe plotwise would be tokio's confession in the last chapter. while i do think he already liked kazuho from the beginning (imo, he was just oblivious to it), i think it would've been better if it were a bit tentative.

[Zaidee · Rating 4 out of 5]

These sweet and silly boys are adorable! Though I would've liked a little more information about Kazuho and Tokio as individuals, I did like that the dynamic is established quickly and we aren't strung along in too much angst. It will be interesting to see how things develop for these two in subsequent issues. There is plenty of potential to dive deeper in terms of navigating new feelings for a long time friend, the question of whether to tell friends in common, and just high school shenanigans in general! The art is fresh is enjoyable, particularly the watercolor pieces in between chapters and on the cover.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the digital ARC!

[Lanie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tokio and Kazuho have been best friends for years, always together, whether it was at school or playing at the park. Now, they are high schoolers, though and Kazuho's feelings have evolved past friendship and into something more romantic. Unfortunately, he's afraid that if he tells Tokio that will be the end to everything, yet he knows he has to tell him before his feelings get in between them.

Just two adorable best friends who just happen to be in love. Honestly, so far it's not much deeper than that. That being said, it will absolutely give you the warm fuzzies so I would totally recommend it for a really quick pick me up.

Thanks NetGalley and Kodansha for the eArc!

[reese ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Childhood friends, Tokio and Kazuho, are both still close friends in high school. After some self-reflection, Kazuho realizes that his feelings towards Tokio are more than just friendship.

--

What If I Said, “I Love You?” (Volume 1) was a good introduction to Tokio and Kazuho. I was able to see their dynamic together, both as friends and as potential partners. The art was really good, and I loved how easy the story was to follow. It followed the usual formula for high school romances, and there was nothing that particularly stood out to me enough to point out in this review.

However, I felt that this volume was rushed. The first chapter had a nice pace, but the following chapters felt like whiplash because of how rushed they were. I feel like yearning usually comes from the delicious slow burn of the couple gradually realizing their feelings for each other, but that was not evident in this volume. Maybe it was a stylistic choice, so I decided to give it some grace and will probably read the next volume to see where the story is headed.

Thank you to Kumosoku, Kodansha Comics, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. What If I Said, “I Love You?” (Volume 1) will be released on June 30, 2026.

[Dorothee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid slice of life manga that explores exactly what the title suggests. Full of yearning and anxiety surrounding confessing to a best friend. There were some really nice moments within the day to day school life of the two students but not much time spent on developing them as individual characters. Beyond the feelings they have for each other, it was difficult to define them as people. I imagine that happens more in the subsequent volumes which I would definitely read. Overall a sweet quick read.

Thank you to Kumosoku, Kodansha Comics, and Netgalley for this e-ARC. The above contains my honest review and thoughts.

[Blingy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have much to say about this manga unfortunately. It didn't offer much up to begin with. We know nothing about our 2 main characters other than Kazuho being in love with Tokio. We go through this dance of confess or not, but we all know what happens. There is just no characterization other than Kazuho loves Tokio and has been childhood best friends and Tokio being a complete mystery. If you are looking for a cute confession story with tropes like high school love, and friends to lovers, this will be a cute quick read. It does not offer anything other than that.

[Jacob Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for this ARC!

This books is sweet. It's a story of romantic yearning between two childhood friends. One doesn't want to speak his feelings from the fear that it will ruin the friendship between the two of them. Honestly, this book contains the full beginning/middle/end of that journey, so I'm surprised that it isn't just a one-off stand-alone story. I'm sure there will be added drama as the series continues, but I feel that I got a solid resolution to their journeys at the end of the book.

[Keturah Sergeant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was completely adorable and beautifully drawn. A short story of deep friendship, a crush, a confession, a wait. A boy terrified to ruin his friendship with his best friend, but unable to keep his distance, constantly re-evaluating their connection and struggling with what a confession could mean. It's not instant, they both need time to think on things and reflect, there are moments when all seems lost and they are barely communicating, but the truth is laid bare and the ending is so sweet.