Status Updates From Love Bullet, Vol. 1

obsessed with this page and the violence of it. the image of koharu shooting aki point blank in the head is STRIKING. in a way, she’s killing a version of her by giving her the push to move on and find new love in sakura. love and grief are two sides of the same coin and they can both feel as visceral as a gunshot wound. and so can acceptance

and here come the tears!!!
“see you later” instead of “farewell” bc koharu is now committed to doing her job as a cupid and eventually being reincarnated instead of just wasting away. bc even though they missed their chance, they’re both irreversibly changed by the potential of it. they’re walking away and moving on but never forgetting what they meant to each other

HEY I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA BE LIGHTHEARTED AND CUTE AND FUN WHY THE FUCK AM I TEARING UP
so this first mission is gonna be koharu helping aki move on from her at the same time that koharu herself is attempting to accept her new reality. they’re both grieving what could’ve been and unknowingly helping each other heal from that regret and pain and loss OW

wow okay this manga knows exactly what questions i have and is answering them immediately sjxnsmxmskdk love the imagery of the crosswalk for this explanation. koharu is permanently severed from her life with aki. no matter what she does, she will never cross back to the same side of the street as her, she missed her chance, they exist in different times now. fucking heartbreaking

oh. well. i got my wish but at what fucking cost
so hypothetically if koharu got enough good karma to be reincarnated would she go back to being the age she was when she died or would she age up 5 years plus however long it takes her to accrue the karma? i’m wondering if aki/koharu is the eventual endgame or if this is a very blunt and tragic sign for koharu (and me) to move on and let go of what could’ve been

what a gorgeously tragic two page match cut WOW
so at first i thought maybe koharu genuinely wasn’t interested in romance for herself but it seems more like she just focused so much of her energy outwards that she never got the chance to even consider it for herself. she only just realized she wanted to fall in love as she DIED. i need to know what aki is up to now is she okay is she happy is she still grieving

“are you okay?” AS SHE HERSELF IS IMPALED??????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????? if that doesn’t sum up her entire life and death in one panel oh my god. FUCK this is devastating i hope this entire manga is koharu’s journey of learning about her own wants and desires even if she can’t actually fall in love as a cupid. or maybe accepting herself as aro? i’m not sure yet but my heart breaks for her and aki

i did not think we’d get koharu’s backstory so soon but it’s already breaking my heart. i wonder if she’ll be assigned to aki in present day…..that would be gut wrenching

okay so this is definitely one where i’m gonna be hung up on logistics in the beginning but the way i understand it so far is that the bullets are evoking infatuation, and if that feeling isn’t actively nurtured and reciprocated, then it’ll fade at some point. like the couple they accidentally shot will likely still get a divorce, it’s just delayed for now

THIS IS SO CUTE OUCH and they really wasted no time with introducing and normalizing the queerness right off the bat huh
it’s kind of remarkable to see it be such a non-issue, like duh hina is bi and could easily fall for either daito or aoi, moving on. love the vibe already

OH??? OH IM ALREADY SO IN
what a fucking cool concept and not at all what i was expecting!!! i guess i had no ideas as to what the lore of the cupids would be but them being semi-reincarnated in this purgatory bc they died young is SO interesting and i already can’t wait to learn more about each of the main characters and idek their names yet

literally no idea what to expect from this besides it being GL!!!! idk how explicit the queerness will be so i’m keeping my hopes low for now but the art style and aesthetic looks super cool so i’m excited to see what it’s all about