Konya, Kimi ni Ai ni Iku, by Kaori

> Manga > Konya, Kimi ni Ai ni Iku, by Kaori
  • Title: Konya, Kimi ni Ai ni Iku
  • Author: Kaori
  • Publisher (JP): Shogakukan
  • Imprint: Flower Comics
  • Year: 2008
  • ISBN (JP): 978-4-09-131859-6
  • Licensed in North America?: No
  • Also Known As:
  • Publisher (US):
  • ISBN (US):
  • Anime Version? No
  • Live Action? No

Hm, I admit, I actually passed this manga up several times when shopping for new books. The cover seemed a bit too…. loud for me. Look at those bright colors. Seriously, if I saw a couple walking together in clothes like that, I would probably run away in horror. It is so mismatched and florescent. However, I finally caved in because I remembered that I have enjoyed some other series by this author. I bravely decided to ignore the garish cover 🙂 This turns out to be a fairly cute story. I am not too fond of some of the art in this book though. While the eyes are really pretty, the way the characters and their clothing are drawn seems so sloppy to me. I think maybe the author made too much of an effort to make the characters look stylish, and they just ended up looking a bit silly.

Anyway, this is the story of Yorika, an average girl who, like so many shoujo manga heroines, has a crush on a popular guy at her school. Shiiba-sempai is gorgeous, friendly, and good at soccer. Yorika has such a big crushon him, all she can do is watch him from afar. She gets a big break one day when he hits her with a soccer ball by mistake, and she gets to actually TALK to him when he apologizes to her. WOW! He is so amazing up close! This is great!

But her fortune takes a turn when her parents announce they are moving to London for a year! Wait, what?! This is so sudden! There is no way Yorika can go to London with them, not when things are going so great with Shiiba-sempai! Her only course of action is to find a place to stay and let her parents leave without her. She signs up for a roomshare program where she will split an apartment with someone else. Her parents worry about her, but Yorika assures them that she will be fine!

Or maybe not. When she goes to move in to her new apartment, she is horrified to discover that the person she is sharing it with is…. a GUY! Hey, this isn’t how it was supposed to work! Who is this guy? She can’t live here… it doesn’t matter that he is hot (of course!) or younger than her (he doesn’t look it). His name is Yutaka, and he has the same bizarre fashion sense as Yorika. He is outgoing and friendly, and not worried at all about sharing the apartment with her. Her freakout over his presence amuses him very much.

What is Yorika to do? She doesn’t have anywhere to go, so she will have to live with this guy… perhaps she can keep it a secret…. wait, is that Yutaka at her school?! He is a student there too?! No way! He must not tell anyone about their living arrangements! And what about Shiiba-sempai? He can’t find out, that would ruin everything!

It doesn’t take long for Yutaka to realize Yorika has a ginormous crush on Shiiba-sempai. He plays along when she introduces him as her cousin. But there is something about Shiiba-sempai that Yutaka doesn’t like. He seems familiar somehow…

This story is fun. In spite of the frightening fashions he wears, Yutaka is an adorable character. He always acts full confidence and very teasing, but there are some nice moments where we can see that he may not be as impartial or unruffled as he appears. The relationship that grows between Yutaka and Yorika as they live together is sweet. Yorika can be clueless sometimes, but for once I don’t think it is really her fault. There are people around her who are not telling the truth.

I am glad I picked up this book. It’s a nice little story, and I look forward to the next volume.

8 thoughts on “Konya, Kimi ni Ai ni Iku, by Kaori

    1. I don’t know the exact title in English. As for reading it online, the series has not been licensed or translated into English yet, but I think Osuwari team may be working on it. I don’t really keep track if things have been translated or not. Your best bet is to try googling the series title. Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *