Too Bad, I'm in Love!, Tome 1

地球のおわりは恋のはじまり [Chikyuu no Owari wa Koi no Hajimari] #1

by Taamo (Drawings)

Mahiru, depuis toujours comparée à sa jumelle unanimement jugée plus mignonne, s'interdit d'être heureuse. En effet, cette élève de seconde très négative est persuadée que tout bonheur qui lui arrive s'accompagne forcément d'un malheur en retour. Aussi est-elle complètement déboussolée lorsque, dès la rentrée, son beau et mystérieux camarade de classe Aoi lui fait une profonde déclaration d'amour...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Young Adult, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Contemporary, Comics

184 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 13, 2016

About the author

Japanese name: タアモ

Reviews

[Phoenix2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taamo san has done it again!! What a cute story!! I really loved the leading lady and the romance is really sweet. Plus, the art is top notch. I also love how the characters have so many layers and they are not just school kids who fall in love.

[✦ Maica ✦]

This is a really cute story with adorable characters. And although Moriya was cold to Mahiru, I think they'll get along fine in the end. Aoi's dinasaur lunch box was hilarious as well. I would die laughing if I saw that in real life. Ginga and Aoi's friendship was adorable. He's so protective of Aoi. It's like reading BL LOL. I'm really interested to see how this story will play out especially since it seems to have a strong family element weaved in the story.

[Dani(elle) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wife: I really hope it is about a girl who is so much of a disaster she doesn't trust happiness and not literally apocalyptic.

Me: it is!

Wife: So, you relate?

Me: yes!

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this was super cute!

My heart ached quite a bit for our main girl because it was hard seeing how much she has crushed her own hope time and time again and that a guy would genuinely like her for her. But hurrah to Aoi because he definitely made sure she KNEW he liked her and ONLY her at numerous points in this story! (I was quite proud of Mahiru by the end!)

I was actually surprised about certain things that happened by the end, though I never once felt anything was rushed. It was refreshing and definitely hope since this is a short series, that the focus will remain on these two growing closer and becoming a couple WITHOUT any interferences from potential love rivals.

Definitely very curious as to how this series unfolds and will have to come back to it!

[Seobin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whole series review: I wanted to give this volume a 1 star because I didn't like it, which was the accurate description, but well, my one stars are to those that are truly terrible, and this didn't deserve that much criticsism. It's about a girl who loses out to her twin sister in talent, ability, and attractiveness(which is weird because they share the same face). She gets confessed by a hot guy who turns out to be serious. The girl's sister, eventually falls in love with the guy, who is clueless and tries to present to his girlfriend that he is getting along with her family. Meanwhile, the hot guy's friend likes the unlucky girl and confesses. The whole series was *shakes head*. I was very troubled that people hated the girl's sister. In my opinion, the main heroine should have worked harder instead of running away. The girl's sister tried her best to excel and it wasn't her fault that she was more attractive than a low-esteemed and cowardly sister. She confessed to her sister's boyfriend, yes, but she got dumped and confessed because she thought it was a better option; to be honest with her feelings. She wasn't trying to seduce the guy or take her sister's boyfriend. She was trying to come clean. Why everybody think that she's a hypocrite, I have no idea. In my opinion, the main couple deserves each other. The guy's clueless and the girl cowardly but they both care for each other... This is a mess, seriously. The only people likable was the cool girl and Ginga.

Edit(after 2018 re-reading): Never mind. I'm just going to give this volume one star. The heroine's cowardly and awkward ways are inexcusable.

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2023
Kindle edition
KU manga

This was a new one and it was frickin adorable. Bittersweet but adorable. High school setting with Mahiru the 'uglier' twin stuck in her sister's shadow. I'm not sure about the sister at the moment, there wasn't much say about her thoughts although there was the searching and getting hurt. It was more outside interference and opinion that made her who she was.

The good luck bad luck thing was interesting. It was a little funny how happily she accepted insults. The origami was awesome. I'd love to be able to make a dragon. I doubt I can still make the jumping frog now. The guy was sweet and patient. Clearly something going on with him but for now sweet. Candyfloss.

[kyky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5


this girl is a literal disaster. me too homeslice. me too. i relate to her on a spiritual level

[Kadi P · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But I don’t care. Let the world come to an end. I don’t care.”

A solidly cute and enjoyable manga that was truly a breath of fresh air.

For someone who is as much of a negative Nelly as I am, it was fantastic to see a protagonist relishing the negative and giving it her own spin in an ironically positive way that didn’t come across as disingenuous or sickly sweet.

And I always loathe characters who are their own barrier to romance when they are the only barrier, but what I loved about this manga was that whilst the protagonist was her own barrier to the romance, she had a very valid and interesting reason for it. Her actively avoiding positive interactions created a fun dynamic between her and the love interest who constantly popped up like a Jack in the box.

What was also nice was that the love interest seemed dynamic too. There was some obvious hinting as to his backstory which will no doubt be revealed in vol 2.

It was interesting to learn in the author’s notes at the back that the manga was supposed to be called “The End of the Earth is the Beginning of Love”. I think the actual title as it is now is much more effective, but I always love to read the author’s notes on translation and other little tidbits mangakas always add to the end of a manga. It always shows such care and thought into making the Japanese culture understandable to foreign readers and it’s something to really appreciate.

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming story of insecurity & true love.

This is a story about two twins, one perfect, and the other less so—or so she thinks. What will she do when a boy wants to date her and not her sister? Will she believe him? Can she? I picked up this series for my daughter. I’m trying to wean her off paranormal romance as her only reading subject, and I thought this would be a good candidate. The art is adorable. I especially enjoy the beautiful, exotic eyes on the main love interests. I can’t relate with the main character’s particular brand of insecurity, but I can relate with her earnestness. Her humorous paranoia is a perfect bookend to the boy’s eternal optimism. This volume focuses on the main two characters, and only tangentially introduces a supporting cast, and instead drops hints about mysteries to be revealed. The pacing is perfect, and we begin to learn more about their individual hang ups by the end of the volume. I believe my daughter is going to love this.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars of cuteness

[Sarina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hat mich jetzt nicht überzeugt, dass ich den nächsten Band haben muss

[Hailee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable! I can relate to the main character (also a twin) and the romance and art are both well done. I will be continuing the series! 4 stars.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It's cute but kind of bland too. But the whole series is on KU, so I might just binge and see where it's going.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Taamo series but fourth overall thanks to her oneshot Anthology collections. I would recommend buying the series instead of reading it through a library's Hoopla as comparing the Kindle sample it had much higher resolution while the Hoopla one must've resolutioned it poorly since the screentones get that criss-cross pattern which sadly changes the art and look a lot with how much screentones there are.
This was such a great beginning that cements the relationship between Mahiru Yanase and Aoi Satomi as well as Mahiru's internal struggle that seems to all coalesce into a theme of getting over one's self-confidence issues and to stop seeing things in terms of good/bad and getting out a certain mindset I myself have struggled with.
Just like Atsumori kun we got a ✨️twerpy queen✨️ as a female lead in Mahiru Yanase. She reminds me a lot pre-therapy and Lexapro. She's always waiting for the shoe to drop and for her luck to run out. Everything is a balance where anything good is just gonna lead to something bad coming. Shes also got a good amount of self confidence issues. I'm excited to see how those both develop and change as the story continues. It was neat to see the female lead Mahiru herself as the obstacle in the romance. It's her own lack of self confidence that someone could truly like her over another as well as her fear of good only bring bad.
Aoi Satomi as male lead is fun. He's a little odd and definitely lacks a bit of self-control with his forward and slightly indulgent actions but it's a fun foil to the very self-controlled Mahiru. We also get a bit of emotional anchor with something clearly being up with his family and first meeting with Mahiru years ago.
A really key scene that stood out to me was the scene in chapter 1 with the rain and sakura blossoms. It felt like it was hinting that Aoi will try and help her get out of that good-bad dichotomy in seeing the beauty in the rain and the fun in when the gust of wind drenches them in dew from tree leaves.
So far the series has got a good sense of comedy from Mahiru's internal dialogue and freaking out as good things happen, general flustering and her self confidence self talk springs up. You really get into her head space thanks to Taamo’s writing but you also get to see the issue with it so you both relate and laugh at the situation (in a friendly way like Hahaha oh Mahiru).

[Snail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahiru’s anxiety felt a little overwhelming and tiresome at times, but I guess maybe that means it’s a good portrayal of anxiety. I also appreciate that she wasn’t so locked into her fears that she didn’t change or try new things. The shojo-kiss came too soon for a real life relationship, in my book, but through the lens of the typical shojo manga worldview, chapter 3 or 4 was a slow burn! So that’s fine.

I couldn’t really decide if Mahiru is inconsistent as a character, or if she’s complex... as inconsistency is a common trait in real people, but is often less desired in characters written for manga. I admire the fact that she apparently doesn’t hate her sister, and that her sister doesn’t seem to hate her. (Refreshing change after reading so much Ikoku Nikki!)


I liked the writing as there were a number of turns of phrases I don’t expect to see in work translated from Japanese, and phrases that I myself probably wouldn’t think to use when translating J>E. Makes me want to check out the original to see if the author also used interesting Japanese. I kind of suspect that it’s the translator’s voice in English coming through in most of these cases.

Speaking of which, the translator used a direct translation of the original Japanese title in the footnotes for the book: “The End of the Earth is the Beginning of Love”. I feel like this is a way better title than “I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World” in that it feels far more positive, whereas the latter feels more like it focuses on Mahiru’s anxieties. However, it’s also interesting that the two titles seem to go hand-in-hand; although I complain about long titles in the isekai genre, if they’re going to change the title in translation anyway, then I’d like to see the full title be:

“I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World
(Subtitle:) The End of the World is the Beginning of Love”
...maybe?

The art I find really charming, so I would probably keep reading even if the story disappoints. I hope Mahiru will continue to grow as a person, and learn to love and respect herself. Fingers crossed!

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Checks and Balances

I have to say I really feel sorry for unpopular twin and main female character of this story, Mahiru because she so strongly believes for every good thing that happens to her something just as horrible or worse is right around the corner so she has become a little masochistic, but not in a sexual way, every time someone scorns her when things start going well. Then suddenly a new boy at school has noticed her and tries to get closer making her worried that if she is allowed to truly be happy the backlash could possibly destroy the world. Thus our heroine must try to avoid being swept off her feet to save all mankind but how long before she can resist the allure of something as comforting as love? Guess you'll have to read to see. :)

This is a fun rom com with a typical anxiety driven story like many of the stories about people unable to reach out to others for one reason or another but slowly learn how to open up. Now whether or not Mahiru is really cursed I cannot tell you but I can some potentially darker story lines coming up that I am sure will require a person as kind as Mahiru to rise to the challenge.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strongest first issue of Taamo's work and perhaps my favorite of all her work so far (Disclaimer: I haven't finished reading House of The Sun) I'm in Love and It's the End of the World Vol. 1 is shoujo goodness that really gets the immediacy across when falling in love for the first time and being doubtful and without a clue. The main female lead here is a twin actually--what a pleasant surprise who is the less popular, less loved half who has gotten used to being in her sister's shadow. On her first day of high school she meets a boy--yes, yes but follow me: a beautiful boy who could be friends with anyone else but wants to get to know her more. This is a solid first volume of young people not wanting to get their hopes up but wanting more in life and trying to ease out of the boex they (and the people around them in society) have placed themselves in. The art is significantly better than what I read and saw in House of The Sun and Atsumori-kun's Bride-to-Be. This is the volume you read as your gateway to Taamo's work.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm in Love and It's the End of the World by Taamo
⭐⭐⭐/5

Mahiru and Mayo are twins. Unfortunately for Mahiru, people only seem to think of Mayo as cute. She's popular, always has boyfriends, and the boy Mahiru had a crush on fell for her sister instead. Mahiru goes through life depressed and lonely at being compared to her sister, until she meets Aoi and everything changes. Now Mahiru wonders if she can be happy too, or if the world is really ending.

I don't think it's because I'm burned out on romance/slice of life mangas, but this one just felt lackluster. It is a shojo manga, but it still felt extra juvenile to me. The conflicts were the same as all the others in this genre, and I just felt myself getting through it to get through it. It was cute and sweet, but I'm glad it was short too. I don't think I'd recommend it unless you are out of other options. I liked it, but not that much.

[Helene Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a a bit unusual. I didn’t expect the serious storyline, and the manga touches on mental illness and discusses a few sad topics, such as bullying and anxiety, while slowly developing the love story. It felt more like a Netflix show than a manga—which was quite interesting to read. Sadly, the transitions were a bit confusing and the panels/scenes weren’t as clear as they should have been. I particularly remember a scene with the main character’s mum, which I had to read twice to actually understand what was going on. All in all, this series is probably a grower and I’ll try to read the next volumes soon.

[Jennifer]

Adorable artwork and quirky characters, what I expect from Taamo. Mahiru is overly superstitious and self conscious, but for good reason. Though I really don’t understand the “duck” thing from the school play. What did sh3 do wrong? And….she and her sister are identical as far as I can tell.

I can’t decide if Mayo is as nice as Mahiru believes - it’s a bit much if she’s oblivious of the effect she has had on her sister. And it seems odd that the only guy Mahiru likes happens to fall for her sister after only talking to her once. But Taamo characters tend to be fairly wholesome in general, so maybe she’s just that dense?

[MrsHReadsALot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh no!!

This girl is way too cute!!! So pessimistic about life and love and I totally relate girl! Being in someone else’s shadow isn’t any fun. And if that other person is just super adorable and sweet, where’s the window I’m jumping. But, but Mahiro is so cute!!!! And Aoi does have great taste in girls. I need to know what his secret is. I think it might have something to do with his mom. Is she dead? Is he running a household now? Also, I’m sure Mahiro’s parents are nice, but sheesh, seems like they have a favorite daughter. Can’t wait to jump on volume two!!! Love this mangaka!!!

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5*

This was too much! I was just looking for a cute and short manga series to read (so many of the ones on my TBR are 10 volumes or more!), but I wasn't expecting to have my heart being simultaneously wrenched by sad backstories, and healed by the sweetest and most wholesome guy I've seen in a long time.

The way he's so adamant about befriending her, and following her pace is so adorable, it makes me want to cry. The whole "Did I finally get the permission to be your friend?" I'm just DEAD from that.

I guess I just really needed a soft boy story after all of the edgy broken ones I've been reading about lmao.

Can't wait to see the sweetness continue in volume 2!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & Sweet

This manga is pretty simple, but I enjoyed it. The so-called ugly duckling twin goes to a new school and finds a new life for herself. Its biggest flaw is a common one in manga - the 'plain' character is practically identical to the gorgeous one.

However, I liked the manga because the main characters are good, the art decent, and I'm interested in the story. Worth a try.

[Sonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read Taamo's other series House of the Sun before and remember enjoying that, so I was glad to find this series on Kindle Unlimited. The storyline is rather basic, but the characters are kind of cute. Judging off of the first volume, I don't think this series will be as strong as House of the Sun, but since there's only five volumes in this series, I think I will finish it. I hope this series isn't too repetitive, as I got kind of tired of Mahiru's character by the end of this volume.

[Forthright . · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahiru isn't as pretty or popular as her younger twin, and she's used to any stroke of good luck being followed by bad to balance it out. So when her handsome classmate claims to like her, Mahiru is sure the counterbalance is going to be world-ending.

A cute (and reluctant) high school romance.

[Kailey Wicked · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is there even to say about this? I enjoyed it, but I did find the protagonist to be a little annoying, so that's what made it 4-stars for me. Otherwise, it was a pretty solid read for me and I'm planning to read Vol. 2!

[Delie Dell Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like most shojo, hs themed manga, the story revolves around loving and accepting one self, and simple quiet girl- popular handsome cute guy love story.

Its fluffy and cute and there is character development in all the characters. :)

[Satta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Really cute story! So funny tho i expected this to be a romance with a sci-fi setting 🤣🤣 not me thinking the world was actually gonna end! When I realised there wont be any world-ending events, I settled into the story. Very cute and i can relate to the Mahiru

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute.