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

by Kumosoku

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

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2026

Reviews

[phoenix *ੈ✩‧₊˚]

✧ Genre: Graphic Novel • Gay Romance
✧ Tropes: Childhood Friends to Lovers • Yearning • Slice of Life
✧ Rating: 2.5/5 ★
✧ Spice: None

✧ Thoughts:
Hm. Not really sure what to say about this one. Since this is Slice of Life, I didn't expect much going into this one, but there really wasn't much happening. It was rather boring. The story felt flat to me. The plot wasn't bad, but it was nothing special either.

I would say the romance was cute, but I found it more okay. I couldn't connect to the characters, and I didn't see much chemistry between them. I couldn't really feel the love, like it was more told than shown. I am told about the yearning, but I don't feel it. I really liked the ending tho, it was very sweet and heartwarming, and I might give the second volume a chance.

❝ Of course, it's your choice.
Choose me. ❞

I really liked the illustrations, but I found the speech bubbles confusing sometimes. I couldn't always tell who was the one talking. But the panels itself are very pretty illustrated.

✧ Thanks to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
✧ Publication Date: 30th June, 2026

[B (mostly-offline)]

4 stars 🌟

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. This doesn't affect my opinion, rating or review. Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha and the author for the ARC.

What a cute story. I really liked the romance and the characters. I wasn't a very big fan of the illustrations, as its not my personal art style, but the plot in general was very fun. Would recommend, definitely worth reading if you are looking for something short and sweet.

Publication Date: 30th June, 2026



#Book 85 of 2026.
#Book 16 for Pride Month June 2026- Rep: Gay MC .


Review written on 12th June, 2026.

DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

[Holly Gonzalez]

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.

[Lyss]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

What If I Said, “I Love You” follows childhood best friends Kazuho and Tokio. Over time a distance has grown between them, one Kazuho put there on purpose to avoid revealing his feelings for his best friend. Everything is going to plan until one day Kazuho falls asleep in class and is given a piggyback ride from none other than Tokio. This act of kindness between friends accidentally reveals Kazuho’s feelings. Could this love be mutual, or is Kazuho doomed to yearn for his best friend forever?

Is this a stereotypical story of falling in love with your best friend? Yes. Did I eat it up like it was the first time anyone had ever written that trope? Absolutely yes.

I’m a sucker for friends to lovers stories and this fed my obsession perfectly. I like it when queer stories don’t rely heavily on homophobia or internalized homophobia to prolong the eventual confession between characters. Gay people deserve sickly sweet predictable love stories just as much as straight people and this volume was as sweet as maple syrup.

Plot aside the art style is absolutely gorgeous. The expressions displayed are eye catching and there’s a certain glitter of love in Kazuho and Tokio’s eyes that I absolutely adore. The character designs aren’t anything special but the expressions used make them feel like completely unique characters and I find that helped immerse me in the story.

From one gay yearner to another, I love you, Kazuho and I adore this story.

Thank you Kodansha and NetGalley for the eArc!

[Lola]

i really loved this, i’m very excited to see where the series will go. i’m not used to a faster paced love story in the previous bls i’ve read, so this was a change but i really enjoyed the feel of it, childhood friends and school combination. i’ll be impatiently waiting for the next volume :’)

[Bibliothecat]

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.

[Yvan Ngo]

It was a quick and easy read. However, with how it ended, I wonder how their story will progress in the next volumes.

Free earc provided by Netgalley and Kodansha Comics.

[Carly (carly_reads_queer)]

A beautifully drawn, sweet, and emotion filled start to a new manga series.

In this volume we meet Kazuho, who’s pining for his best friend, and as his feelings grow, making him more nervous, distance begins to stretch between them. Meanwhile Tokio, his best friend, is none the wiser.

This was a stunningly brought to life manga with tension, mild angst, and a sweet start to a budding romance. It was the perfect way to meet these two characters, understand the depth of their connection since childhood, and root for them to find a happily ever after. I look forward to the next volume!

What you’ll get:
•BL Manga
•Childhood Best Friends to More
•Piggyback Rides
•Pining
•Growing Apart
•Love Confessions
•First Love
•Ongoing series

[Sai Lee]

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!

[My Fairytale Days]

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿: readers who enjoy sweet BL manga, childhood best friends, awkward confessions, and gentle romances where the real story begins after the feelings are finally spoken aloud.

Some stories need a little patience before they find their rhythm, and this was one of them for me.

The opening chapters spend a lot of time in busy school conversations, flashbacks, and everyday chatter, and I struggled to work out who the story was really following. With so many people appearing so quickly, I never quite found my footing at first.

Once the focus shifted to Kazuho and his growing awareness of his feelings, though, everything clicked into place. I really liked that this wasn't a story built on years of obvious longing. Instead, it felt like two childhood best friends who had always been completely comfortable together, only now beginning to realise their feelings might be something more.

Watching Kazuho work up the courage to confess was genuinely sweet, and the confession landed exactly where it should have. By the final pages I was smiling, completely rooting for them, and already hoping Volume 2 lets us enjoy all the adorable first dates and relationship moments that come afterwards.

This won't become a book trophy for me, but it did grow into a genuinely sweet read. I'm curious enough to see where the series goes next, and that's probably the biggest compliment I can give a first volume.

✨ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱:
• A believable childhood friendship that naturally grew into something more.
• A wonderfully sweet confession and satisfying ending.
• A romance that left me wanting to spend more time with these characters.

🌧️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱:
• The opening chapters felt busy and a little difficult to settle into.
• I struggled to work out who the story was following before the romance took centre stage.
• I would have loved more time getting to know the boys as individuals before the relationship developed.

🎨 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
The artwork is clean, expressive, and easy to follow, fitting the gentle tone of the story perfectly. It may not be the most visually striking manga I've read, but it captures the warmth of the friendship and the awkwardness of first love beautifully. The expressions do a lovely job carrying the emotions, especially during the confession and final chapters.

⭐⭐⭐ / 5

A little thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this manga. All thoughts, feelings, and bookish ramblings are entirely my own. 📖✨

[K]

90% of this was great; the ending was too abrupt for the pacing. It doesn't detract from the rest of the story, but since this is an ongoing series (or at least has a couple more volumes), there was no reason to cram a resolution into the last few pages.

And it does feel crammed; the author's note said they had to "course correct" to reach a happy ending, so perhaps it was initially a one-shot that got expanded to more after the initial reception was good?

It's just that the yearning is so, so good.

It's not a new setup by any means - a guy in love with his childhood best friend, who's touchy-feely and affectionate with him but in a straight bros kind of way - but it was presented really effectively. In contrast to Strobe in the Dark , which tried best friends pining but struggled to understand its own emotions, this one just got how it feels to long for someone without wanting to mess up an existing relationship.

Kazuho and Tokio have been joined at the hip since childhood, and have remained close enough that their classmates tease them about it, in a harmless way. The problem is, Kazuho has gradually realized that his love for Tokio goes beyond friendship, and there's no real indication that Tokio feels the same.

When things finally boil over and Kazuho confesses his feelings, Tokio's reaction is...maybe not his worst nightmare, but pretty close. He's not unkind...he doesn't even say anything. But he stares at Kazuho with so much shock that Kazuho understands instantly that his feelings weren't even close to being reciprocated. So he flees.

The pining from there continues to be wonderful, with Tokio eventually tracking Kazuho down and making him face his own confession. He has no idea how to respond, but Kazuho is his best friend, and he's always loved him as a friend, so he wants to try to understand his feelings better.

Which is all fantastic...but then the return confession felt like it came too quickly. Tokio hadn't had time to work through his own feelings and to truly be in love with Kazuho in turn.

I'm interested to see how the other volumes go, and if there will be more discussion once there's the space to continue exploring how they really feel about each other, and the complications of turning a friendship into dating.

[Kristina Butke]

This is a painfully sweet story of a love that’s been unrequited for a long time, and how the closeness of friendship brings these feelings to a head.

Kazuho is in love with his childhood friend, Tokio. They had an incredible closeness growing up, where they were openly playful with each other, but now that they’re in high school, they’ve cooled off a bit, although Tokio openly admits to missing how things used to be.

There’s a reason Kazuho isn’t keen on Tokio being so physically playful with him…Kazuho has been holding a torch for Tokio, and it’s getting more and more difficult for him to be around Tokio when he’s harboring romantic feelings for him.

Tokio notices things getting a little more awkward or Kazuho sometimes reacting or overreacting to his playfulness. Whenever the two get close like how they used to be (bonking each other in passing, or leaning up against each other to do homework, or falling asleep on each other on the train), other people take notice and make comments that seem to bother Kazuho only (“are they….” or “didn’t mean to interrupt cuddle time”). Kazuho is worried that confessing will ruin their friendship and more.

But it’s getting harder and harder for Kazuho to hold back, especially when Tokio is so encouraging about Kazuho sharing whatever’s been bothering him.

There is a moment of tension after the two are rained on and they take shelter. When Tokio encourages Kazuho to share what’s on his mind, Kazuho can’t hold back anything anymore. It’s not a full confession, but pretty darn close, and even Tokio picks up on how romantic the scene has become.

Tokio point-blank asks Kazuho if he is in love with him, which freaks Kazuho out so much that he flees the scene.

I’m not going to go further into the plot, but just know that with all romances, there is an HEA that feels earned and a sense of relief knowing that everything is out in the open and love prevails.

This is a sweet, quiet BL of childhood friends who have become something more, but something true and honest at the same time. To watch these two finally get together is a wonderful thing, and I look forward to the story continuing in Volume 2.

[Zath]

While the plot is not overly complex, I enjoyed that this slice of life highlighted the physical connection between friends. Boys jostle, headbutt, and playfully punch each other's backs, and it was nice to see that in a manga for a change since there usually is no physical contact until the romance unfolds.

The whole foundation of this manga is the friendship between Kazuho and Tokio, which we see showcased, but nothing really shows us where these romantic feelings of Kazuho’s are coming from. We’re told he loves his best friend, but besides the line, “I think I do have feelings for him”, we are not shown any significant depth to these feelings or the moment he realizes that his friendship has turned into more. This is usually a big moment for friends to lovers stories, and it’s missing. I think the story might have fared better if it had slowed down its pacing and showed us more meaningful moments to build up the characters' relationship with each other.

The lovely art style compliments the light-hearted story. The blushes, awkwardness, and trepidation of the characters is drawn with care to elevate those emotions in this manga.

If you like to read childhood friends to lovers and low-stakes slice of life manga, you will enjoy the first volume of What If I Said, "I Love You"?.

Read my full review at nostalgiadepartment.com

A copy of this manga was provided for an ARC Reader Review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Natalie]

This was so sweet and wholesome 🥺💖 Be still my heart!

In this manga, we follow Kazuho and Tokio who are childhood best friends currently attending the same high school. From a young age, both boys have been inseparable and physically affectionate with one another. For Kazuho, however, the affection he feels towards Tokio has deepened into love. He's so in love that he's started to act awkwardly whenever he's around Tokio. Kazuho is terrified of confessing his feelings, and it starts to put a strain on their relationship as Tokio tries to figure out what's going on with him.

At the start of the volume, I wasn't entirely sure if I would enjoy it. We're kind of thrown into the story haphazardly and have to figure out the dynamic between the characters as we go along. If I'm honest, I would have loved it if this took a bit longer to give us a love confession because I felt like I was just starting to get a grasp on our main characters and what their relationship is like when their relationship then progresses.

Regardless, I still found the story incredibly cute. The awkward moments between Kazuho and Tokio were adorable. They made me feel all mushy inside. Just the way they looked at each other and touched each other showed how meaningful they are to one another. I found the artwork easily conveyed how the characters felt. I can appreciate that 👌🏼

I look forward to reading the sequel! Hopefully the pace slows down a bit, so we can see more of the intricacies of their relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC of this manga.

[Sam]

My Selling Pitch:
A YA slice of life gay romance graphic novel.

On my do not read list

Pre-reading:
Last graphic due for a bit.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
How do you maneuver someone into a piggyback ride while they’re unconscious? Be so for real.

No homo, bro, it’s just contact sports.

I actually can’t with men like you can casually touch your friends (with their consent) without it being gay. Also just be gay. Only the worst kind of people care.

I don’t like the font changes in this book. I know they mean it to be tone, but it makes it really hard to identify who’s speaking.

Not a choose me!

Post-reading:
Girl, nothing happens. It’s 150 pages of a one sided yearning stare. Men working through their emotional constipation and internalized homophobia is never gonna do it for me. You love your best friend? You’re supposed to.

The art is fine but nothing special. I found the speech bubbles kind of hard to read, and I really disliked how the font would change throughout the book. I know it was trying to signal tone shifts, but it made it really difficult to figure out who was speaking.

Maybe if you like quiet slice of life coming-of-age stories, you’d find this peaceful. I need plot.

Who should read this:
Slice of life queer romance fans

Ideal reading time:
Anytime

Do I want to reread this:
No

Would I buy this:
No

Similar books:
* Flip Flip Slowly by Mame Ohtako-manga, slice of life, queer romance, family drama

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Bonnie among the pages and chaos]

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.

[Alissa]

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC of this book. What follows is my honest review.
Release date: June 30th

What if i sad ‘I love you?’ is a cute high school romance manga about two childhood friends where the main character has developed a crush and is now struggling with the awkwardness of balancing friendship and his feelings.

The plot is pretty straightforward - there’s the sudden uncertainty of how to behave given that now physical contact feels more meaningful than casual and the awkwardness of overanalysing the other’s behaviour and how they might react if they found out about your feelings. These days i would typically be bored or irritated by such dilemmas now that they’re not really an issue for me. However, the awkward tension was depicted so well in this that it put me right back into that space of remembering how all consuming those feelings could be as a teen. I think that’s sometimes the power of visual media over written as the art in this did such a good job of depicting how the main character was feeling.

We also get a lovely fireworks on the beach scene which is always a cute and fun setting for teen romance.

Also i notice there is a second and a third volume slated to be released but this doesn’t end on a cliffhanger and i felt content to stop at this point as while the story was cute it didn’t offer quite enough to hook me beyond this volume.

[Kellie]

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest opinion!

What If I Said 'I Love You?' follows two childhood friends, Kazuho and Tokio, whose close bond slowly becomes complicated when Kazuho realizes he has romantic feelings for Tokio. After accidentally confessing those feelings, the dynamic between them quickly becomes awkward.

As someone open to reading BL manga, this initially appealed to me because of its childhood-friends-to-lovers premise and soft art style. The illustrations were well done, and the overall tone felt light and approachable. However, I struggled to emotionally connect with the relationship between Kazuho and Tokio. While the manga repeatedly tells readers that they are extremely close, we rarely get to actually see meaningful moments between them beyond other characters teasing their closeness. I would have liked more scenes of them spending time together naturally, as it would have helped make their emotional bond feel more convincing.

The pacing also felt somewhat rushed, especially toward the ending of the first volume. Certain emotional decisions seemed to happen very quickly, and I personally felt the story needed more buildup for those moments to land emotionally. Overall, this felt like a decent casual BL read with appealing artwork, but I think stronger character development and more shared interactions between the leads would have made the romance much more impactful.

[Asper]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with an eARC copy of this manga.

Just a heads up: I'd recommend picking this up once Volume 2 is out. There's a lot we don't get to see in the first volume, and while the pacing can feel quite fast, I genuinely think their relationship is only just getting started.

That said, if you're looking for something fluffy, sweet, and adorable, with just a hint of heartbreaking honesty (in the best way), I think you'll really enjoy this one.

What If I Said "I Love You"? is a love story between two childhood friends that begins with a one-sided crush and slowly blossoms into a romance that maybe wasn't so impossible after all.

From the get-go, you can tell the two characters, Kazuho and Tokio, know each other inside and out. Which makes their relationship feel really natural. I don't want to spoil anything, but one thing I really love was that the characters are so emotionally vulnerable with each other, and they have a healthy communication style that most couples would envy.

The ending made me yearn for more, and I'm excited to see how their relationship progresses from here. I really do recommend giving this manga a chance... but like I said, maybe wait until Volume 2 is out so you can jump straight into the next part.

[Esme The Bookworm]

This was a cute and enjoyable BL manga with lovely artwork and a sweet childhood friends-to-lovers premise.

The story follows two childhood friends now navigating high school, with one of them struggling to decide whether confessing his feelings is worth the risk of potentially changing their friendship. Much of the volume focuses on longing, uncertainty, and the fear of losing someone important by being honest about how you feel.

I enjoyed the art style and found the characters easy to root for. The emotional tension kept me invested throughout, and I especially enjoyed the yearning and unrequited love aspects of the story. Watching the characters navigate their feelings while trying to preserve a friendship they both value made for a heartfelt and engaging read.

If I had one criticism, it would be that I would have liked more time spent exploring the emotional tension and uncertainty between the characters. I enjoyed that aspect of the story so much that I found myself wanting a little more of it before things began to move forward.

Overall, this was a sweet and charming first volume that left me curious to see where the relationship goes next. I’ll definitely be picking up volume two to see how the story develops.

[Moth]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for this ARC copy of ‘What If I Said, “I Love You’ by Kumosoku!

Rating – 4 stars

What is it – A cute BL slice of life manga with a sweet tone and art style to match


What is it really – A refreshing, shorter look at a relationship that leans away from typical BL love triangle set-ups

‘What If I Said, “I Love You", is about as close to perfect for the opening of a BL series as you can get – with a charming main character who feels down to earth and lovable, and a love interest that doesn’t feel like they will fall into the ‘will they, won’t they’ vibes you get in other, longer series. I enjoy this, as I tend to prefer my romance a little more straightforward the older I get, and so its nice to see something that might focus more on a healthy relationship, rather than presenting a harem of options for our main protagonist.

The art style is sweet, with a warmth to it that feels very much rooted in early 2000’s romantic anime and manga visuals, and overall is a very warm and comforting book to read.
The only reason it isn’t rated higher is because it didn’t go into a huge amount of depth and I felt I would have liked a bit more insight into the characters before I could get fully invested.

[Jack Goff]

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 AKA Beeneedssleep]

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)]

-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.

[ꕥ Miky ꕥ]

Being a friends-to-lovers BL manga while also adding it into the slice-of-life category, the volume starts and ends with the sweet confession between two boys, Kazuho and Tokio, which are always in each other's vicinity but never sure about the other one's feelings.

I must say that I absolutely loved the art, and the relationship between our two MCs was really cute. But I must say that the story would've benefited more if, instead if starting with the confession, it would've started with diving deeper into the characters, and slowly drive the story to the point of the declaration of love. If it was a one-shot (which honestly I was expecting it to be), then I would've made perfect sense, but with the manga being a series I'm afraid that the slow approach would've been necessary. Other than that, I will dive into the next volumes when they appear cause I do want to see where the boys' story goes. They are beautiful together, and the cozy vibes make it perfect for a summer read.

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

[ivanareadsalot]

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was a super quick, lighthearted read, with two affectionate besties eventually finding their way to their puppy-love HEA. The flow was a bit disjointed though, and this read more YA than anything, but it was still cute.

I did feel for Kazuho, who was really anxious throughout most of this, as he was trying to keep his feelings for his bff on the dl. But eventually Kazuho made his feelings for Tokio clear, and his best friend returned his affections at the end.

But it waaaaaaas touch and go for a minute there, because Tokio was VERY popular and everyone wanted to hang out and/or date him. So Kazuho had to be very brave, which I admire because it's not easy to risk destroying a wonderful friendship by confessing feelings that may not be the most welcomed. Fortunately, Kazuho and Tokio were both soft, lovely dudes, and I'm happy this ended with a lot of love exchanged between them, and a future of a whole lot of their easy, cuddly affection which was always their thing!

[Shatiel]

Ho semplicemente adorato questo manga BL.
Disegni delicati, ma precisi e non troppo femminili.
Entrambi i personaggi son ben definiti in ogni pagina e le loro espressioni riescono a trasmettere tutta una serie di emozioni.
Ho adorato la situazione che si è creata tra loro perchè è estremamente realistica. Conosco bene quel desiderio di essere ricambiati, ma il terrore di aprire bocca e dire quello che si prova per paura di essere respinti.
Sono davvero curiosa di vedere come continuerà la storia, perchè mi ha già conquistata!

Grazie Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggerlo in anteprima!

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I simply loved this BL manga.
The drawings are delicate, yet precise and not too feminine.
Both characters are well-defined on every page, and their expressions convey a whole range of emotions.
I loved the situation that developed between them because it was extremely realistic. I know that desire to be reciprocated, but the terror of opening your mouth and expressing your feelings for fear of rejection.
I'm really curious to see how the story continues, because it's already captivated me!

Thank you, Netgalley, for letting me read it first!

[niam]

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]

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]

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.