Kazune Kawahara says anyone can find love.

Takeo Goda is a giant guy with a giant heart. But it seems the ladies only have eyes for his good-looking best friend, Sunakawa. Use to being on the sidelines, Takeo simply stands tall and accepts his fate of being forever alone… in the romance department that is. However, that all changes when he saves a girl named Yamato from a harasser on the train. It is in that moment that his love life takes an incredible turn. Takeo can hardly believe his luck! But with his best friend Sunakawa around, does Takeo even stand a chance?

Ladies, don’t judge a book by its cover. This manga is cute, funny, heartwarming, and is hard to put down. When you think shojo manga, you think of a typical male with a charming personality. This manga actually goes outside of that. Takeo is a big (and I mean big), strong teenager with a sweet, caring personality (albeit, a bit dense). He loves helping out his friends, family, and random strangers when they need help and he’s looking for love.

Yamato is not your average teen that falls head over heels for the first cute guy she sees. No, rather she is an adorable girl who loves to bake sweets, especially for Takeo. After he saved her from a harasser on the train, Yamato had fallen in love with him. Love at first sight is a beautiful thing and she spends most of the first issue trying to show Takeo that she wants to be with him. Unfortunately, he is too dense to see that. Can’t really blame him though. Throughout his life all his love interests had fallen for his best friend, Sunakawa.

Now don’t get the wrong idea. Takeo and Sunakawa’s friendships is really strong. Sunakawa has always looked out for him. Even though he seems to be a cold person that doesn’t really care for anything but studying, he really cares for Takeo. It is the reason why he always helps him out when Takeo needs advice. Even when Takeo doesn’t need help, Sunakawa is always there for him. It just shows how strong their friendship is after knowing each other for 10 years.

I love how this story tells us that not all hot guys are the protagonist and get the cute girl. Nice guys who may not be picture perfect get a chance too. To me the art fits just fine with the story. Honestly, it did throw me off the first time because it was different but in the end I had come to love it. I highly recommend this as a read especially if you’re looking for a quick reading. Now it’s still early in the manga with only three volumes available, so lets follow Takeo and Yamato’s relationship as it slowly develops throughout the series.

My Love Story gets a 5 out of 5

+ More original take on shojo manga

+ Great theme of friendship between Takeo and Sunakawa

+ More relatable narrative on aspects of love and attraction

But that’s not all! My Love Story is now an anime and will be released this spring in April. Hope you guys are as excited as I am.

Sherita M. is a contributing Editor for Teh Lunchbox Publications and she love zombies!! Follow us on facebook (Teh Lunchbox Publications) and on twitter@tehlunchboxpub.