今、恋をしています。 2 [Ima, Koi Wo Shite Imasu 2]

今、恋をしています [Ima, Koi wo Shite Imasu] #2

by Ayuko Hatta, 八田鮎子

毎分毎秒、ドキドキさせられてるんだよ？　
見た目は怖いけど超優しい柳生くんと付き合い始めたさとみ。お互いのことをあまり知らずに付き合い始めたふたりだけど、まっすぐに気持ちを伝えあって只今「彼氏彼女」としてステップアップ中。夏休みの海、ドキドキお家デート、初めてのお泊り…真摯で男らしい柳生くんにさとみの心臓はもう限界…!?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Contemporary, Shojo, Young Adult, Slice Of Life, Graphic Novels

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2020

About the author

Also known as 八田 鮎子

Reviews

[Zahira⚡️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one though his sister DID NOT pass the check vibe.

I don’t like her one bit.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh y’all! This is so freaking cute. So many laugh out loud moments. His little sister is a piece of work and her obsession with him through me off, but I get that idea of feeling replaced. It’s a tough adjustment for her especially being in middle school when she’s probably already going though a lot of different changes. I can’t say much else about this volume but I’m enjoying my read!

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

”On the heels of a failed infatuation in middle school, Satomi Mizusawa starts high school resolved to go all in when it comes to romance. She's fallen for Yagyu, a boy from her school who saved her from a groper on the train. She almost loses her nerve in pursuing him because of his cold demeanor, but she discovers that underneath it all, he really is just as charming as he looks! Because of Yagyu's sincerity, Satomi confesses her feelings for him, and they become boyfriend and girlfriend.” 🩷

Will Mizusawa find bumps in the road of her new-found relationship with Yagyu when she finds herself meeting his ex-girlfriend and his sister?

[Rouh || رُوح · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If the two of us can become stronger, there might be trials, they won't be tribulations."

"That I'm sure about."

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of boring, not going to lie. The only real conflict came at the end with the sister-character, and it was WAAAAY over the top. I'm guessing it's call bro-con if brother to sister obsession is call sis-con? Whatever it's called, it was too much and tanked any desire I had of reading the next one in the series.

Honestly, after reading the first one, I wasn't sure any further books would have the right balance of drama to keep a reader's interest. The first book would have been perfect all on it's own. I guess series are the thing now, so more was required.

It's not bad, the artwork is pretty and the story is typical love story, only with an OTT kid sister who wants her brother's attention all for herself.

I'm going to go with a weak 3 stars. Not going to say avoid, it wasn't bad, but the kid sister character didn't do anything for me. If you like HS love stories with an OTT character, this is the series for you.

My thanks to NetGalley and Viz Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

[lissete · Rating 2 out of 5]

what's up with authors always feeling the need to add in a brother/sister complex character?? it's so unnecessary and gross.... and why does no one call them out for how gross they're being? just like it's a silly little quirk and something to challenge... like what??? it wasn't even interesting.. yagyu's sister is just clingy and annoying as sh!t. yagyu was the only sane one in calling her out on her BS after she threw that tantrum...

i'm hoping this is the last volume with that.. i really like satomi and yagyu's relationship so i really want to continue reading this, but if yagyu's sister keeps coming up with her brother complex i'll have to drop the series...

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't an exciting or dramatic series -- for teens, they're pretty in tune with their own feelings an talk honestly about their relationship. I really like that this is showing a healthy romance rather than drama! The conflicts are minor are realistic: friends or siblings who don't like your new SO, self-consciousness about wearing swimsuits, a flirty ex, cooking failures.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated Review 8/9/22: I loved this volume so much more the second time! I forgot how incredibly sweet Satomi and Yagyu are! Also Juri was a total hoot! LOL! I enjoyed her a lot more on page and found myself feeling all the feels in this reread! Truly glad I reread it (even though it was unplanned LOL) as it makes excited for my preorders since I have the rest of the series pre-ordered! I need more Satomi and Yagyu!! (Also the art is absolutely gorgeous!! Forgot how pretty it was!)

Original Review 4/14/22: Cute volume!

Absolutely LOVED the beginning and end, but wasn’t fond of two of the chapters centering around Juri. I felt she created unnecessary drama and we haven’t had a whole lot of that previously so was hoping we wouldn’t get that in the second one.

I do think that this was a good volume in the sense that we see that our main characters are NOT perfect. Yagyu definitely seemed to be in volume one (which I had no qualms about LOL), but we see that he does have a weakness. Even Satomi!

So it was nice seeing them I think in a different element, even though I’m bummed I didn’t love this volume quite as much as the first. I absolutely adored the first two chapters though! It carried over everything I loved in the first one! (I even had some secondhand blushing! LOL!)

It was just when Juri came on page…

The ending leaves me hopeful that the series will “get back” to what I loved so much in the first one. Granted, this wasn’t a “bad” volume. I just didn’t quite love it as much as the first one.

*(I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I despise the possessive younger sister trope so much.

Other than that taking up half the volume the rest was kind of bland. I don't get why such boring shoujo manga keep getting licensed and printed in English lately when a lot more exciting ones exist that have more going on than just a simple romance. I much prefer shoujo manga that have a plot that isn't just centred around a romance. I don't want to read something that is just a check box of tropes which Ima Koi is quickly becoming.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a decided improvement from volume one, this second book in the shoujo romance series Ima Koi features our hero and heroine slowly growing closer. Yagyu is charmingly respectful of Satomi - when he invites her to spend the night, he's clear that he just wants to spend more time with her and isn't trying to push her into anything she's not ready for. He's also an excellent counterbalance to this volume's villain, his too-clingy younger sister Juri. Juri is the sort of unhinged little sister who can ruin a volume in a blink, so to see Yagyu just take her mania in stride and calmly tell her off when she goes to far goes a long way towards making her a less irritating character. She's still annoying as all get-out, but his mature handling of the situation lets us see her for the brat she is rather than framing her as an actual threat. (And her attempts to scare Satomi off are pretty great. I, too, would be thrilled if a giant snake was suddenly draped around my neck rather than freaked out.) In fact, Tenma is more of an issue with his overtly sexist comments than Juri, and that's saying something.

There's also one of the greatest cooking panels I've seen in a while, which I would be remiss not to mention. Suffice it to say that Yagyu has clearly not cracked many eggs...at least the way he's supposed to.

All in all, this is still kind of bland, but now it's pleasantly bland. That's actually kind of nice, every now and then, isn't it?

[may ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

bro im on the 4th volume already i dont have time to log these in 😭

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

sibling complexes in mangas can be WILD

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Disappointed with this volume. I hate the sibling complex trope so much. It's so annoying!! I just hate when there's a sibling that is so obsessed with their brother/sister being in a relationship that they try to interfere because they're "theirs" and no one will take them away blah blah blah especially when there isn't too much of a difference between the sibling ages or the interfering sibling is older. Like when its a baby/toddler/elementary school sibling it could be cute. But this girl is what? one year below him. Irritating. Satomi handled it really well though. She's great and Yagyu is as unfazed as always. Honestly I would've rated this lower just because too much of this volume involved the sister, but there were a couple of cute moments between Yagyu and Satomi that boost it up.

Here's hoping the sister doesn't really pop up too much in future volumes. I really like this couple and their interactions so I want to continue liking this series, but I'm nervous now.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

To avoid being the absolute blandest shojo manga ever, some obstacles are introduced this time around in the forms of an ex and a family member. But they are the most minor of speed bumps in a series that seems like it could conclude anytime by simply writing "The End" after any given chapter yet somehow has seven more volumes after this.

I have one more from the library, but unless a time traveling dragon clone shows up in it, I do believe it will be the last one for me.

[court ౨ৎ librarycutie · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story and relationship between Satomi and Yagyu is really cute but in this volume we meet the very annoying, clingy, obsessed with her brother, little sister of Yagyu and it’s annoying she’s the one causing conflict, but cute story!

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm not sure how I feel about this series???
The art is good. The characters aren’t the worst (except you Juri). I’m just….bored????

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as great as the first volume.

I loved how he could tell how she was feeling by certain movement clues. The obligatory beach scene this early on was a bit shocking but fun. I just couldn’t get behind the little sister with a brother complex story.

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed a lot in this volume. These two are so cute. And I cannot get enough of the little sister, she's a hoot.

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

These protagonists have such honest conversations with each other. They fully ask questions like ‘how can we stay together forever’ - that would kind of freak me out a first trip to the zoo! 😛

[Kendall Mayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read for Yagyu 😍🤤

[Jess - The Hexed Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 really. These are fine. I probably will only pick them up when doing readathons.

[Rereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, Satomi is probably my new fave shoujo romance protagonist purely for how she handles Juri. She's just like, "look, I tried to be nice to you, I tried to reason with you, you're being a rotten little shit, fuck you" and I love it. Also, this volume gets MASSIVE brownie points for being one of, if not the only, series to handle the "little sister is attached to older brother" trope well. Not only does Juri herself acknowledge that she can't have the same relationship with Yagyu since they're siblings, but Yagyu himself says, "that's just how siblings are. Get over it," and now Yagyu is my new fave shoujo romance love interest because FUCKING THANK YOU for saying that!!

So yeah, this is probably my new fave romance series and I love it. I can only hope and pray it continues to maintain this stellar quality throughout its run.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this volume before the official English release thanks to online translated scans.
It was really interesting to meet Yagyuu-kun’s ex-girlfriend and younger sister. I actually liked seeing the ex-girlfriend and want to see more of her, whereas I didn’t like his younger sister. I feel like the ex-girlfriend could’ve potentially become a friend for Mizusawa but instead she got a future sister-in-law with an unhealthy brother complex.

[flavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

unlike the first volume, i read this one online and i still wish to continue to collect this series :>
i did prefer the first volume, but regardless this one did not disappoint and i enjoyed it so much !! the art-style is soft and wonderful, the plot is very nice and i like the characters (even if yagyuu's sister is a mess).
this was a pleasant read and i am eager to read the third volume :>

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's just something so sweet and nostalgic about a good shoujo manga.

Cute protagonist? Check. Handsome male lead? Check. Open and honest communication between our leads? Check.

It's a sweet, feel-good manga so far.

[Trinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

the little sister is annoying lol

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Alright, this one got me, I’m in for the long haul now

[Laura✧˚ · . · Rating 2 out of 5]

“If the two of us can become stronger there might be trials, but they won’t be tribulations”.
This volume was.. interesting. We get to see Satomi, spending some time with her boyfriend Yagyu during summer holidays and we get to see his ex-gf from middle school. I like how he handled the situation when she asked for his number, and how he reassured Satomi about her being his top priority.
The only thing that i didn’t like is the stuff with his little sister. I found that to be dramatic and all over the plot. I understood her insecurities about losing her brother, but she was too annoying and unrealistic. She tried to poison Satomi at the zoo and did everything in her power to ruin their relationship. Yagyu’s secret seemed like a big deal and in the end, it was just him, being afraid of dogs because one bite him when he was a little kid and it took him two weeks to heal. Okay?. Anyways, the final confrontation between satomi and the sister was good. I think she did a good job pointing out how, despite her being in a relationship, the sibling bond would prevail but at times i wanted to see more backbone from Satomi.
It was a quick, fun read i guess but the plot was a little bit all over the place and strange.

[Brandee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, this is my first manga series. I would say this was about a 3.5 for me, just like #1.
Like book 1, there is something about the narrative that seems sort of bland but that might be the translation. That being said though, this book does feature teens talking in an open and honest way which you don't often see with characters in this age group.

Just like the first book, this book is gorgeous! I like that this one has them on summer break because we get to see their adventures outside of school. The two of them are SO ADORABLE!!

However, holy guacaomole! His little sister honestly seems bipolar...like it is all acting but she can change emotions within a split second. But Satomi is not going to go without a fight and I LOVE seeing this side of her character. It felt like one of those cartoons where you are trying to trap or annoy a character but they just walk right past and aren't even fazed. Really enjoyed the addition of her character.

I hope in book 3 we get to see more of Satomi and Yagyu's friends like we saw in book one.
Still going to continue with the series, even just for the cuteness of these characters!

[Gabriele | QueerBookdom · Rating 2 out of 5]

DRC provided by VIZ Media via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: Japanese protagonists, secondary and tertiary characters.

Content Warning: misogyny, anxiety.

Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love, Vol. 2 is a fluffy contemporary manga starring a short, sweet, young high-schooler and the tall boy she falls for, during the summer break.

My first assessment of the manga was correct and it just is not for me.