ただれた恋にはいたしません！[Tadareta Koi ni wa Itashimasen!]

by Shoko Rakuta, らくたしょうこ

「それ セックスするときに使うやつだよ」

記念すべき一人暮らし初日。
地方から上京してきた大学生の恭平（きょうへい）は、隣に住むただれた遊び人・高良（たから）と最悪の出会いを果たす。
田舎者だとからかわれ、都会人の高良に苦手意識を募らせていたが、ある日ひょんなことから部屋に上がることに。
高良のもてなしに、少しずつ警戒心を解き始めた恭平は、無造作に置かれたお菓子の袋に手を伸ばす――。

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

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2022

Reviews

[Henk · Rating 2 out of 5]

An appealing art style can't compensate a run of the mill plot and characterisation, especially when the main character seems just to breeze through all kind of harassment into the arms of the very source of a lot of the boundary crossing

I'm Looking for Serious Love! has an appealing art style and cute story, but in my view is marred by a lot of involuntary groping and even spiking of drinks.
Kyouhei Miyazawa moves into an apartment in Tokyo (kind of an utopia in premise already) to attend college and meets cool guy Tomohiro Takara who is just breaking up with a one night stand.
Soon he pranks Kyouhei (who is too gullible to be believable) by giving him strawberry flavoured condoms when the former asks for candy. That all borders on asshole despite also being hilarious from a certain angle, but then we move into sexual harassment much territory. Apparently as long as there is no penetration anything goes seemingly, even worse when a spiking of drinks leads to someone being carried over a back home, all wasted.

Things get even more icky when a childhood friend pops up out of the blue, we get confessions of childhood sexual exploration and we end up with someone almost being blackmailed with unwittingly recorded sexual video footage. Everything is seemingly accepted without much of a beat by the main character, apparently an overdoses of a pure heart does that to one...

The personalities of the characters are very thin, I could not tell you whatever of them is supposed to study, what family Tomohiro comes from, what their hobbies are or aspirations after graduation.
Boys love comics with a cool douche guy turning out to have a heart of gold and a softhearted innocent love interest are 13 in a dozen, and need something special (not overly much involuntary sexual innuendos and more, please) to differentiate themselves and rise above the genre in my view. 1.5 stars rounded up due to the art style.

[Shannara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should preface this with, I absolutely adore a little reluctant romance and there’s a lot of that going on here... This is super cute and I really enjoyed the humor. The characters were just funny and cute. Kyouhei is just too adorable and I love how hesitant he is. Then there’s Takara and he’s the complete opposite, confident and take charge. They balance each other well.

Don’t even get me started on Granny!! She’s hilarious!! The art is good too, and the characters don’t all look alike, which can sometimes happen. There are some explicit scenes, so if that bothers you then you better steer clear. Otherwise, I highly recommend this to those who love lgbtqia+ manga!! This one is light, funny, and oh so cute!!

Thanks so much to MetGalley, Tokyopop, and Shoko Rakuta for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!!

[Maisha Farzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

↠ BL. Enemies to loves. Opposites attract.



Kyouhei is a young man, born and raised in the countryside. He has never resided in a city. So, when he moves to Tokyo to attend college, everything feels very foreign to feel. As he's struggling to cope up with the city life, he discovers that his next door neighbour is a massive jerk. Takara is a playboy and a arrogant jerk. He keeps calling Kyouhei a country bumpkin and teases him repeatedly.

Kyouhei hates Takara but also finds him very attractive. One day, Takara makes a move on him. Kyouhei wants to take him up on the offer but he's not looking for a one night stand. He's looking for SERIOUS LOVE.


"I'm Looking for Serious Love" is a light and very entertaining manga to read. I found it incredulously funny and humorous. Both of the main characters are extremely cute and lovable. They are completely polar opposites which made their interactions and banter even more amusing. Kyouhei is hesitant and socially awkward where Takara is full of confidence. They balance each other well.

The romance is very adorable. The starting of it, is a bit messy. But later on, I loved the romance very very much. It was cute, hot and swoony. There are some explicit scenes. That may bother some poeple. So, I am giving you a heads up.

The art style is just gorgeous. I loved how simple yet detailed it is.

I am not sure if this manga will get a sequel or not. But I really do want more of it. There are some contents and dialogues which could have been better. Still, overall I really liked it. Highly recommended if you love Yaoi.

«────── « ◇ ☆ ◇ » ──────»

Thanks to Net-Galley and publishers for providing me an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley for providing me an arc of this manga.

I did not like this at all sadly enough.

I did not like that all the horrible things that the main character went through in this manga where just kind of brushed over. They did not address how the main character felt experiencing all this traumatic stuff. I mean the dude got sexually assaulted multiple times and they barely acknowledge it?? The people who sexually assaulted him get away with it?? One of them even ends up as his boyfriend?? Why??

I think partially the reason why he ended up forgiving those guys who hurt him because he thinks it wasn't actually assault. The main character seems to think that just because there was no penetration, that there was no assault, which just isn't true. I hate how both their actions get brushed off. I really hate it.

"There's nothing worse than a guy who takes advantage of others." is literally the line that the "love interest" says as he takes advantage of the main character... Like dude.

Anyway to conclude my review. I sincerely hope the main character is okay after all of that and gets the therapy he probably desperately needs. I feel so bad for him. Let's hope that if there is gonna be a second volume of this, the love interest is nice and sweet to him and spoils him to death. That's the least that kid deserves.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

CW: Discussion of non-consent and spiked drinks

There are some major issues with this book, the first being some hiccups in the translation and localization that make some of the lines awkward to read. For example, a character from this city is continually referred to as a "city-slicker" which strikes me as a very outdated term. Certain cultural touchstones are not properly explained, either. For example, one food item is simply referred to as "fried dough," leaving me with no clue as to which Japanese food is being talked about. One character from Kansai talks about how people stereotype him as a comedian, without any context provided as to why Kansai is considered a center of comedy in Japan.

Secondly, both plot and characterization feel extremely flimsy. There's not much substance to hold on to in this book, not even any particular chemistry between the main two characters. Everything feels surface level. There aren't even enough interesting gimmicks to keep me wanting to read more. The concept behind the book is that a boy from the country and a boy from the city fall in love, but that dynamic isn't explored in any interesting or meaningful way.

And, finally, the sex scenes are a major detriment to this book. This book contains multiple scenes of Takara touching Kyouhei while Kyouhei is either resisting or heavily intoxicated after drinking a spiked juice. All the while, Takara and Kyouhei both seem to write these instances off as not assault because Takara didn't penetrate Kyouhei. Takara even insists that he would "never" assault someone, while touching an intoxicated Kyouhei. The fact that Kyouhei was given a spiked drink is also brushed aside as a simple plot device, rather than addressed as a potentially traumatic event. Unfortunately, scenes of non-consent are still prevalent in the Boys Love manga genre, but that doesn't excuse it.

Overall, there is very little to redeem this book. Most of it was simply boring, with the sex scenes being particularly difficult to stomach. I only gave this book two stars because: 1) The art style was very nice, so I consider that a redeeming quality, and 2) I reserve one-star ratings for books that I truly despise, whereas this book merely felt boring and misguided.

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

Edit: The rape elements got worse as I continued to read, so I'm changing my rating to one star.

[Marl Masa · Rating 1 out of 5]

why was everyone in this manga essentially a rapist

[L Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t very good either. I liked both of the main characters and thought that given enough time they could’ve formed a believable relationship that made sense. However, as it was written, I really didn’t understand what they saw in each other. From Tomohiro's pov Miyazawa wasn’t a likable person at all. He came to Tokyo with all these preconceived ideas of what “city folk” were like and was totally ready to read negativity into everything Tomohiro did. He refused to listen to his advice (even though he was the one without any experience) and continued to be prickly toward him even after he helped him get through what appeared to be an accidental ingestion of some sort of date rape drug.

Thinking that Miyazawa is cute when he’s turned on is not enough to overlook his terrible personality. Having said that, Miyazawa did help him get rid of bugs around his apartment and, with Murachin’s help, he was starting to realize that maybe he was being a little too judgmental when it came to Tomohiro so the foundation for a believable shift in his personality was there but everything took place so quickly that I was never able to see how that played out.

The whole thing with Yuuta was completely unnecessary. And to be honest, even with what happened, I saw more relationship potential between those two than I did with our MCs. At least they had something for a relationship to actually build on. And don’t even get me started on that ending. It was so unsatisfying. Even after they decided to be together, Miyazawa was just as prickly as he was in the beginning. I just didn’t get why they were together.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️ it was fine I guess

[rory (jess' version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

the art style is really good, but it does not compensate for its lack of intriguing plot and well-thought (or at least bare minimum good) characterization

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so good! What do you call it, such guilty pleasure. Tsundere Kyouhei is just so adorable. I laughed at how high and mighty Takara appeared to be but in fact would tremble at the sight of insects. But wasn't it cute when ate that treat to prove what Kyouhei meant to him?

Such adorable and funny characters, my heart is melting. But, I needed more.

And about the graphics! I like Shoko's art, 100% Swoon! Takara and Kyouhei's visuals are just to die for! I like that the way Shouko drew the love scenes aren't too much for my eyes. You didn't make me skip it, so good job. I'm just really sensitive with other author's extreme takes in love scenes.

So, yea, I need every manga Shouko created. So, I'm going to hunt them down!

Oi, fujoshis! You have to see this one!

01/08/22

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Tokyopop, for the advance reading copy of the manga.

I really like the dialogue presentation and the art sequence.

However, I would have loved the manga much better if the issue of consent is given more importance at the beginning of the story. I would have liked the characters more if there was more character development and more wholesome interaction between the main characters.

The first volume is fairly easy and enjoyable to read. Short and real young adult vibes throughout.

I hope I get to read the next volume soon and I am expecting more wholesome character development and a better plot for the same.

[olivia]

As much as I wanted to like this manga, it fell extremely flat from the get-go. This story is your typical yaoi, with main characters Kyouhei (a boy who knows next to nothing about the city and is just now finding a place for his own) and Takara (a playboy that seems like he wouldn’t know how to be a decent person if he tried) becoming next-door neighbors. Due to their forced close proximity, they grow closer, despite Kyouhei’s attempts to keep Takara away.

Now, I am all for a good enemies to lovers trope, but when it includes sexual assault and dubious consent I am going to have to draw the line. In the first half of the book there are three total instances where Kyouhei is assaulted. THREE. In about 100 pages, give or take. Only one of these times didn’t involve Takara. That’s right, the other two assaults were performed by the love interest himself. If dubious consent is your thing, then this book should be a blast for you, but in all honesty I can’t stand it, and it is almost entirely what made me stop reading. Other reasons I had for disliking it included the just generic personalities of the characters. When will the time come for authors to put away the overused trope of “innocent boy that almost reminds you of a literal child and the guy who cannot wait to ruin that innocence” away. It’s tiring.

The art style is the one thing I’ll give this book. It’s nothing special, but it’s cute.

Overall, this manga was a trainwreck unless you have a very VERY specific taste in tropes. I couldn’t get behind it, and it sucks that I read it for as long as I did, just holding onto the hope that it would get better when it never did.

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

[Gabriele | QueerBookdom · Rating 2 out of 5]

DRC provided by TOKYOPOP, LOVE x LOVE via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: queer protagonist and secondary characters.

Content Warning: violence, attempted rape, classism.

I'm Looking for Serious Love! by Shoko Rakuta is a contemporary manga centring the blooming relationship between a timid eighteen-year-old country boy who just moved to Tokyo and his next-door neighbour who happens to be his senior at university as well.

It has been quite some time since I last read a manga, so when I got accepted for this one, I was happy. My interest piqued firstly, and mostly, because of the art style. When it comes to manga, I am always visuals first and story later. I cannot manage to read a good story with artworks I do not enjoy, but the opposite is feasible. Sadly, this story was only passable (a tad cliché and I am not okay with how boundaries were crossed) and the drawings were the one compelling selling point. Still, I hope I get to review more manga in the future because I missed the medium.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick review for a quick read. Ehhhh, this was 2.5 stars at best for me, and probably because I've read a number of stories with m/m yaoi dynamics that were more immersive with the character dynamic and weren't as heavy on the more problematic elements. There are a number of non-consensual interactions here, so take the trigger warnings seriously, all.

The main pairing was one that I liked. Kyouhei arrives to attend college in Tokyo from the country. That's a recurring punchline considering it showcases how he really doesn't know much about the city or life there. He moves next door to someone who seems like the city neighbor from Hell (Takara). Takara comes across as your usual playboy, sleeps with anything that moves, but has a deeply ingrained fear of bugs (I feel you at least on that, my dude.).

Of course this leads to them finding out that they have feelings for each other in some close encounters that are both their doing and not. I can definitely understand uncomfortable reactions to this manga based on the dynamics here - especially when the "best friend" shows up and another scene where poor Kyouhei ends up drunk by accident (per a spiked drink that was not meant for him, yikes). I didn't like it here either and it bummed me out because there were things that could have been done to create drama without going there. The story ends up bringing them together that has them fumbling through their feelings and their "first time", but for the way it ended, I feel like this has been done better and more fulfilling with other couples with their same dynamic.

For the side characters, Kyouhei's granny is adorable and I liked her a lot. I also liked Murachin, who was pretty much the quiet character meant to subtly drop bits of wisdom and support while also not so subtly make snide, funny remarks to Kyouhei's over the top reactions. It was a quick read and well drawn, cute in moments, but it could have been much better.

Overall score: 2.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm Looking for Serious Love! got lucky in the sense that I read it close to even worse BL standalones as there's really not much good to say about this one. That being said, part of it is my own fault; had I looked at the cover more closely, a bunch of condoms rarely is a good sign for a standalone manga. Despite their bad history, I was quite pleased to see Tokyopop US start publishing again - so far I have only read a few of their BL releases and they are all quite deceptively sleazy with cute covers.

Anyhow, our MC Kyouhei is a country bumpkin who has just moved to Tokyo - a common enough trope. But I felt it was extremely overdone, like I find it hard to imagine that in contemporary times people make that big of a deal if someone's from the countryside. There wasn't really much development between him and his neighbour love interest. Some teasing and banter but at no point did I feel any real chemistry between them.

And then there are so many dodgy characters attempting assault not only on the MC but also side characters. There are spiked drinks and just direct assault and it all kind of gets brushed under the rug with little more than a slap on the hand. While the main love interest also started out with some questionable actions, one of the few saving graces is that he stands up and calls out this behaviour.

The art is really pretty which is a shame but alas, standalones are always a risk and it seems even more so BL titles from Tokyopop US. Readable if you're a die hard BL fan but I generally wouldn't recommend - pick a longer series or just a better standalone. Stay By My Side After the Rain is, while not the best, a decent longer series by the same author which you could gran instead.

[Celine Ong · Rating 1 out of 5]

"there's nothing worse than a guy who takes advantage of others." says the guy who takes advantage of others

cw: dubcon, spiked drinks

[Daesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and cute! But it missed something that would make me rate it 5 stars, Idk is just a feeling..

[Dinnu Reads Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this manga through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So it was yaoi in its full glory…I didn’t quite expect it to be this mature but hey, we’re all grown-ups here…😋
I liked some of the characters, especially granny and the granny-like friend. 🥰
I also don’t mind smut when it’s actually sexy and not toxic. It was hotly drawn but it was problematic. The consent was most of the time hazy and at one point it even was due to roofies…Consent is everything and hesitation means you should wait with your advances…🙄

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

CW: Dubious consent, Attempted sexual assault (of a side character)

This was one of my favorite reads from last month! We follow two college students who are neighbors. One is from the country and shy, while the other is a womanizing scaredy-cat. I thought their relationship was really cute. It does have some heavy content I wasn't expecting, but it was handled as well as it could be. The characters have remorse for what they do. I really loved this, and hope we get more from this artist in the future.

[Gladis · Rating 4 out of 5]

יש לנו פה קומדיה רומנטית מתוקה ממש!

קאיוהי גדל באזוריים הכפריים של יפן והוא מחליט לעבור לגור לבד בעיר הגדולה והוא תמים, נאיבי, וההפך המוחלט מהשכן שלו טאקארה

טאקארה הוא גבר עירוני, פלייבוי מוחצן ואין לשניהם הרבה במשותף ומערכת היחסים שלהם נעה בין שנאה לחברות בצורה קומית עד לרגע שטאקארה עושה מהלך וקאיוהי לא מצליח להוציא את זה מהראש, מה הוא מוצא בילד הרע שגר ממול? ואולי הם לא כל כך שונים כמו שחשבו

מערכת היחסים בניהים התפתחה בקצב טוב ואהבתי את הרגעיים המצחיקים שלהם כמו גם את הרגעים הרומנטיים והיה גם קצת ספייס שהיה בול במקום

מנגה מקסימה קלילה ומהנה למי שואהב קומדיה רומנטית ומשונאים לאוהבים

[Isaiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

To see a full review check it out here.

Another story where sexual assault is seen as love. I have been spoiled by so much of the newer BL stuff that this felt like I was reading an old school yaoi again.

[Scientist's Reading World | Hugo Lapa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am happy to see some male male romance being published especially a Yaoi with some sex scenes defiantly not for kids! I think one thing that bother me was the lack of consent that sometimes manga have in this case he does not stop with no or ask if he can touch or be more intimate i understand it was part of the plot of him being drugged but still i think it could be handle in other way but overall i really like the characters the city/countryside

[Fen'Harel · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I thank Netgalley for the ARC, I was completely blindsided by how gross this book was going to be.
I had an expectation that anything that came from Tokyopop would be friendly, nice and a really cute read. The cover sure reflects that with the nice art and fun design. But after reading not only had I changed my mind, I would warn people off even thinking about reading this book.
One of my biggest issues was the amount of sexual assault they managed to cram into one small manga book that took me about half an hour to read. I'm not going to act like it added to the plot - it was simply disgusting. First, his neighbour sexually assaults him, then someone at a party is slipping drugs into everyone's drinks which once again leads to his neighbour sexually assaulting him, and then his friend from the country visits him who... also sexually assaults him.
It was like a Series of Unfortunate Events but with sexual assault and we were somehow meant to find a romance story mixed in here somewhere??
Now, I'm not someone who disagrees with the topic being brought up, but what I disagreed with was how it was used to further a 'romance' plot and how creeps are treated after.
For example, the guy at the party spiking the drink was used to create a sexual scene between the two protagonists (which was just super uncomfortable because one of them was DRUGGED). Then the country friend comes and attempts to rape the protagonist and they find out he's set up cameras in the protagonists house because... content? After this, for some reason the rapist gets to go to a fun concert with the victim's grandma because he 'looks sad and this will cheer him up' and the neighbour is like 'let's be boyfriends' because... creeps get rewarded and normalised in this book?
Not only was it a super gross read, but it normalises the idea that gay characters are predatory. That the 'nice guy' he chooses had put him in awful situations where he has to accept whatever this man is going to do with him because his other option is an even worse predatory man. Congratulations on the homophobic trope.
I expected much more from Tokyopop which has created some of my favourite mangas, but I'm honestly shocked at what I read and rethinking whether or not I'll trust this company for my reading from now on.

[Ekene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been so good but there were too many red flag moments for me

[IvyInThePages · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 leaves out of 5
Characters: 1.5/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Story: 1.5 /5
Writing: 0.5/5
Genre: Boys Love (Yaoi)/Romance
Type: Manga
Worth?: Eeehhh

WARNING VERY 18+!!

I want to thank the publishers and Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. I think anyone who has read my past reviews know I am brutally honest with my reads. What I got from reading the description is not entirely what I got in this book. Yes it does touch base on what it says but what I thought would be a slow burn more than one in the series turned out to be one quickie and go.

Could this have been a cute, realistic, and loving manga series? Yes, but what Shoko gave was borderline rape and when I finished I just felt dirty. I don't know anyone who would be okay with someone whacking them off when they are drunk and when the best friend came over he had recorded the guy and basically raped him to... only for the main guy to forgive him.

I don't know why this is getting such high rating and seeing it makes me concerned. The only reason this got a 2 star was because the cover was so nice. I am really disappointed in this author and in this book.

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[Destiny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley for letting me read and review this!

Yaoi/spicy

Kyouhei moves to the big city for college and his next door neighbor is this f@;& boy and recently set his sight on kyouhei.

I knew going in was most likely going to be yaoi I however did not expect the explicitness of some of it. I did find the story line to be cute and charming. I would’ve enjoy it a lot more if it was alittle less graphic but other than that I liked it!

[Curious Madra · Rating 4 out of 5]

So adorable and funny when he mistakened the condom as a sweet xD

[Elley Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga is HOT. *fans self* Like, if you're buying it in a physical bookstore it's going to come wrapped in plastic hot, haha. I also really liked the storyline. Kyouhei moves to the big city from the country, and he's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it. When he meets his playboy next door neighbor, it's enemies at first sight. But wait! There's more to his senpai Takara than it first appears...

The chemistry between Kyouhei and Takara is so great. VERY steamy but also sweet and sort of innocent at the same time. I love Kyouhei's reluctant change to the big city, and the friendship he builds with fellow country-boy (sorry, I don't remember your name, friendly side character!) Kyouhei's buddy and his granny are a total hoot! I would read a manga about them going to concerts - if that's all the manga was I'd be happy, haha!

A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.

Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: We have a hate to love relationship between a guy coming from the countryside moving to tokyo and a guy having always lived in the city. Many typical yaoi tropes in there, so nothing really new. Also I read this manga a few times before requesting already so I knew the story. But it's still cute, simple, fast to read. I finished a streak of exam days today and this was just easy to read and calming. Also I like when the uke/bottom is a cute, small guy so when they hug you get the feeling of the seme/top acting as a guard. Espcecially in light and kinda fast stories like these where we don't get a lot of deep relationship developement. Also they're the kind of teasing each other couple, which I think is really cute (also my relationships never work like that). Yeah so average story but it gave me what I usually desire when reading yaoi just for fun, smut and fluff.
4/5

Art: The art was simple and average I would say. Not extremely detailed or remarkable characters or artstyle. The quality of the digital version was sadly slightly bad. I was able to read smaller comments because the were too blurry. Also it was dertailed enough to enjoy all the scenes.
3.5/5