Koishita node Cast shitemita
I Fell in Love So I'm Streaming It

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art 7/10 - decent art, clean, gets the job done.
dialogue 6.5/10 - well written and translated.
enjoyment 9.5/10 - it was a very good read.
characters 7.5/10 - developed and written very well, though cliche and tropey sometimes. well, i dont have any qualms with it. MC's development on the romantic side is rather lackluster though. the characters have decent depths but not every characters get all of their development in fully, yet.
plot 7/10 - terrificly good pacing, interesting events pop up one after another, doesnt fall into making fillers. decent.
story 5/10 - tbh its rather complicated. and i feel like it ... didnt utilize the streaming part to maximum, and is cliche and falls into tropes. ah well.

overall 7.1/10, recommended.

Lots of people seem to be focussing on how uninspiring the characters are or how unenjoyable the story is, but I like to think that this manga comes with some positives too.

For starters, with the serialisation date being relatively new (2019), the entire concept of a "manga about streamers" hasn't really been done before. The story is simple and straight to the point, with the manga being dragged along by character arcs rather than narrative ones, hence why readers can see a more slice-of-life inspired chapter structure in this proclaimed "romance comedy".

Speaking of the characters, though they are the driving force they do have ... their own drawbacks, such as being relatively shallow at the beginning and falling into basic stereotypes - then again, that's just your average romcom, isn't it? As time goes on you slowly get to see more personal developments and as of the most recent chapter (47), there seems to be a shift of focus to the psyche and thought process of streamers.

In terms of the artwork, there really isn't much to complain about. The panels are all clean and occasionally contain singular coloured panels to highlight any and all important parts of the chapter. The character designs are nothing special but their streamer personas definitely draw inspiration from the streamers of today, though with a bit more exaggerated flair.

If you want to read something relevant now more than ever, and done so in a lighthearted and relatively cheery/easygoing manner, this is the manga for you.

---------THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE---------

Koishita node Cast shitemita, five years of publication in Ganma! and 96 chapters. Written by female mangaka Tama Azuma, Koishita is her second published manga to my knowledge. She also wrote Yumekui from 2014 to 2018. From 2021 to 2024 she also did VTuber wa Mana Naranai! For the Ultra Jump. The manga only lasted 4 volumes and 27 chapters; I’m wondering if two mangas at the same time was a bit too much for her.

So, what is Koishita about? Yuu Inuzuka face inspires terror to the others, he can’t smile normally (never done before you might think). As he ... tries to restart his social life in high school, he shares a dorm with 5 people: Hakua Arisuwaga, Yuzuko Jimi, Sora Takane, Saotome Souta and Aruvina Satou. They all have a secret: they are live streamers. Inuzuka was a streamer but something happened and he stopped, hence why the whole « fresh start ».

I’m cool with suspending my disbelief. All 5 streamers aren’t aware that they all break the dorm rules by doing so and they don’t know each one of them is a streamer. Obviously, you could argue that they make so much noise, they have to know (which will be a huge running gag). Especially Hakua since she’s literally screaming all the time. But like I said, I don’t mind, it’s fiction.

This is where the manga lost itself: the theme isn’t part of the story; it’s just a pretext so start a story. In the end, Koishita just uses every single common trope you can find in any romance manga and the livestreaming part doesn’t add anything to enhance the story. It’s absolutely just a pretext so deliver the same storyline you can find in any generic romance manga. And it’s really fast. I feel like everything about livestreaming goes out the window really fast, I never felt I was reading something unique. Just generic.

It goes the same way for the characters. There’s nothing much to say, they all play a type of personage with little to no real psychology behind their own problems. I’m especially astonished on how the reason behind Inuzuka quitting livestreaming is not even a really big thing. It’s the freaking synopsis and I legit cannot remember precisely why he stopped. Incredible, quickly swept under the carpet.
As the story goes on, the manga is just a poor-made harem. I feel bad for Vina and Souta, the two boys besides Yuu. They’re bland man. Even with the gimmick Vina brings to the table, it’s just bland, you don’t care about whatever happens to them. Sure, they both got some little story arcs but there’s not enough to empathize with either one. Jimi and Takane are fine (even tough Takane absolutely disappears towards the end) but it’s not a revolution nor well-written characters.

About the art… whatever, I guess? The artstyle of Tama Azuma does suits characters like Jimi and Takane but I don’t really feel like it was a good match for everybody else. I don’t know, the backgrounds weren’t existent most of the time, the decoupage was alright at best. Average overall.

Bear in mind, I’m a sucker for romances. It’s by far my favorite theme, hence why I found myself reading things like Koishita node Cast shitemita. I don’t think it’s a good manga, it’s quickly boring, you don’t sympathize with the personages, blandness all over the place. I don’t get it.
I’m cool with people liking the manga, everybody has their own taste after all but I’m not going to recommend you to read this. Look elsewhere.