Kore wa Koi no Hanashi

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Since it's been a long time Kore wa Koi no Hanashi was last reviewed, I feel like an update was overdue. I cannot guarantee giving an unbiased review, however, I am quite sincere in my assessment of this manga. Now that I finished reading it, I can say with absolute confidence that Kore wa Koi no Hanashi found its place in the top of my all-time favorites. This manga received various comments and a lot of critique. Some argue that a romantic relationship between characters with such a huge age gap is bizarre and indecent. But I can assure you, there is nothing indecent about ... this manga. It is a heartfelt story about humans, family, friendship and love. It is also a story about all the things that change with time and the things that remain unchanged. It is truly amazing.

Story: 10
The story is perfect. Yes, it is a drama, and there are moments to shed a tear over and feel a painful squeeze in your heart. But there are also moments to smile about, moments to feel happy for, moments to feel connected to the characters. The only thing one can complain about is the sudden jump (actually several jumps) a couple of years forward, but it has been quite skillfully executed each time so it didn't disturb the story's pacing. I am content with the ending as well. It wasn't rushed or forced, despite the fast-forward jumps. It was the most logical and beautiful end.

Art: 9
Personally, I enjoyed the character art. Faces and expressions were done quite well, especially for all of the main characters. But a little more detail in the backgrounds wouldn't have hurt. There is room for improvement.

Character: 9
Although I have no complains about the overall character development, I'm not giving a max score because I feel like there were still a few things that could have been done for Haruka's parents.

Enjoyment: 10
I don't think I have to explain myself here. You can tell from the first two paragraphs of this review that I enjoyed Kore wa Koi no Hanashi a lot.
I would recommend it to anyone who is feeling lost and lonely at times, who is in a standstill and doesn't know how to move forward. Despite being dramatic, this story is also pure hope, warmth and growth.

Um! Where should I start?...after all, it was flagged as "not recommended" by many users. Actually, they are not wrong by their point of view, I, however, disagree with them on it being a "not recommended" manga. If you're reading age-gap genre, and have come across this gem, by all means, go ahead and give it a try then judge it.

Coming on to my "thoughts/point-of-view" about this manga...
Actually, it is my 1st "re-read" of this manga. I had read it, for the first time, when I was a teenager and was reading whatever mangas I got my hands on the internet. That time, I was ... not in the habit of making judgements or thoughts about any stories or characters. It was my exclusive and favourite time pass. I had almost forgotten most of its plot-line until I decided to start reading mangas again, properly and seriously. Even though, most of its story-line was hazy, it had always been there with its great presence, in the back of my mind. And, I'll never forget the heart-wrenching and bittersweet feeling that my teenage-self got after finishing it. That's why, I decided to re-read it after all this time and to re-connect with the teenage me.

Here's the review after my "re-reading" session:
For the first three chapters, I kept thinking what on earth was I used to read as a teenager and I almost put it "on-hold". But I kept reading it, nonetheless, to respect my teenager-self. First of all, according to my knowledge, the story is unique for it is being about an author and a child, given the time it was published. After story, comes the pace! The pace of the story-line moves swiftly like a kite in the windy sky. This story is a gem with its major characters' development which I loved the most. You have to be patient with each character and their thought-process. You would get irritated with them, sometimes...sometimes, you would realize their misery and feel their despair. Most of all, each character is striving to become better version of themselves throughout the entire story. No matter what, it shows the reality of struggles that the adult world faces, everyday, to confront each of their own feelings...and, what it is like to struggle with the life-long childhood scars and finding the solace among their loved ones. The importance of family and the essence of few but good friends in life...everything is there to experience apart from the main plot. Alongside, it also shows the too-short yet sweet innocence of childhood that passes in a blink of an eye. However, it also deals with some heavy, concerning and triggering issue such as group suicide/family suicide, and the trauma one faces after going through it. Or, should I say getting dragged through it forcibly? If the above mentioned things are your cup of tea then please hurry and start reading it. Don't waste your time anymore than this!!!
One of MAJOR CONCERNS that most future readers might have had...is about their age-gap, right? Some of the previous reviewers and my readers across the internet, especially, new and younger readers, are calling it disgusting and what not. However, my fellow readers, I would say, first of all, there's NO ROMANCE between an adult and an underage here, so rest assured. Second, I would just like to tell MY THOUGHTS regarding the age-gap issue, by quoting a special line of the manga itself, "BUT IT'S OKAY EVERY NOW AND THEN, RIGHT? TO DEPICT AN OLD MAN WHO LEARNS WHAT REAL HAPPINESS IS...AND THINGS LIKE LOVE STORIES."

~See you in another manga world. Happy Reading!!! \_(^u^)_/

This series is the love story about a 31 year old man and a 10 year old girl. Yes i too tilted my head 45 degrees. The main character is an author and the main heroine is this aloof girl who wants to save this cat. She can't keep it at home due to family issues so the guy allows her to take of the cat in his yard.

Now age gap romances have been done before. Its not really a unique idea. What is more rare though is that she's 10 years old. Funny thing is i think the author did a passable job ... in making the romance enjoyable. Now i don't think the author did a phenomenal job or anything. Like i didn't think that only those 2 could end up together. But in regards to the romance including the hard part of the 21 year old age gap. I thought it fine. The only type it really irked me was when he made moves on her when she was 13. Yeah......

The problem lies elsewhere. The characters more like. The main character is kind of a dick and i understand why. Considering his past i understand thats why he allowed her to stay. He knows how hard it is to live alone and doesn't want that for her either. I liked the character development of wanting to get out of traumatic experiences. I think the author applied really well. For not just the main character but the main heroine as well.

The series just in general is not that great. Like you would expect more from a series like this. In a sense i guess it does do more. Being an age gap story already means you have to try harder if you want the audience to accept that relationship. In a sense the author succeeds but thats it. Thats how far the author got. It does the mininum of what you would expect out of a good series and thats just not good enough.

Their are other issues like the glasses guy. He was entertaining, than his side story is revealed and he is just this asshole. Other characters are also pretty medicore to bad. Their aren't that many memorable moments. The series is just kind of a mess. Their plots opened up and yet never expanded on. Like whats the glasses relationship with his family. How is the chick that took care of the MMC in his young days and other stuff. A lot of these are opened up to be this big things and yet are just never talked about ever again.

I wanna congratulate for being able to make a age gap series with such a large gap without it feeling creepy (most of the time). I will also berate the author for making medicore characters, unlikable love traingles and a very weird time lapses. The time skips were also odd. I get they were necessary but the author could've done a way better job.

You know their are series out there that did the age gap romance much worse but they were also much better series like Ran and the gray world. Kinda disturbing main romance but otherwise a very solid series. Otoyomegatari is an age gap romance of 8 years with a 12 year old boy and it is a such a phonomenal manga that it practically beats the shit out of every other romance series out there. It might be a bit unfair to compare kore wa koi no hanashi to one of the best romance series created but its the best example i can think of with an age gap.

TLDR: Age gap was fine everything else was meh and thats not good enough. 4/10