This is the type of romance series I love; ones with little to no tedious back-and-forth drama, plenty of fluffy moments that make me go 'aww,' endearing characters, and a comfy, wholesome plot, "My Love Story!!" had everything I carved for in a good romance, being down-to-earth and cutesy.

It begins off with the larger-than-life main character Takeo graduating from middle school and tearfully bidding farewell to the friends he met along the way. The series showcases one of its many strengths already, showing Takeo being a warm-hearted social butterfly surrounded by good bros and I love this. He could've easily been a solitary guy who "no one understands" like so many other mediocre romcoms, but no! He's a lovable guy who draws everyone to him, other than the girls, that is. That trait is reserved for his pretty boy childhood friend Sunakawa, whom he affectionally calls Suna.

They've been hanging out for so long, Takeo innocently forgot the reason they were even friends to begin with, given how seemingly different they were. Takeo is an absolute unit of a lad, towering over most grown men at 15, and that's more realistic than you would think. Some kids are just built like that. Footballer Romelu Lukaku was bigger than a match official during his youth, the official, a grown man in his 50s and Romelu, a teenager at 13. His mama even had to bring his passport to his U-13 games to prove his age because he already looked 19, so yeah.

They ARE kids out there that are just naturally big and powerful.

Suna, on the other hand, is your average good-looking pretty boy. This proves to be disadvantageous for Takeo as all the shallow girls that he likes end up liking his bestie Suna instead, though Suna shoots them all down, leaving them in bits. It's then beautifully revealed all those girls that Takeo liked who asked Suna were badmouthing him behind his back, hence why he was shooting them down.

It paints Suna as so wonderfully and endearingly loyal to Takeo that it warms my heart.
Right after, we get Rinko's heartfelt confession as she confides in Suna, exclaiming how she loves Takeo. Poor Takeo was rejected so many times by shallow bitches, he mentally prepared and convinced himself Rinko liked Suna and not him, resoluting to be her cheerleader. The series doesn't linger on this for long and Rinko and Takeo cement their relationship early doors, embarking on wholesome adventures.

If I have one thing I didn't like about the series, it would be the last two episodes. For some bizarre reason, the writers chose to introduce a mock-rival character that late in the game even though it was clear as day he had never stood a chance in hell of stealing Rinko's affections from Takeo. He came across as obnoxious and deluded, creepily convincing himself Rinko had feelings for him just because she was nice to him. A big, 21-year-old man like him trying to move to a high schooler, and no, just because the age of consent was 13 does not mean adults can get with minors. (That's a terrible misconception that needs to die. It (unfortunately) only gave kids the license to legally sleep with other kids their age, not the permit to sleep with adults. If a 30-year-old were seen kissing a high schooler, they would still be given funny looks.)

He stormed out of the bakery (where he and Rinko worked) upon discovering Takeo was Rinko's boyfriend and RUDELY demanded he "give her" to him. Who the fuck did the guy think he was? Entitled piece of shit. It was even more frustrating how passive Takeo was about it despite the fact he could've and should've decked him out. He was twice the guy's size and known for his near-inhuman strength, after all. Ugh.

So, that dropped my rating down from the perfect 10 it should've been to a 9.1. Despite the stupid final arc, it was a lovely series I'd highly recommend if you're in the mood for some good, wholesome romance.

Takeo - It's interesting to note that his character archetype is usually reserved for sidekicks, not the main character. It lends the series an air of diversity that I just love. It takes my breath away watching his herculean inhuman feats of might. One of my favourite scenes came from an episode where Takeo met Rinko's formerly bitchy friends, learning the hard way that they weren't hanging with Rinko because they were nice; they were hanging out with her because she was nice. They judged Takeo on his looks because he's so big and has massive lips. Despite overhearing this with Rinko, he never feels angered or wronged. Instead, he was more concerned with how Rinko felt seeing such a nasty side to her friends, who, in fairness, immediately felt guilty when they realized Rinko had overheard everything they had to say about her beloved.

There's a happy end to this story. As the building erupts into flames, trapping Rinko's friends inside, Takeo selflessly runs inside to save them and gets trapped underneath falling debris. Without a way out, he accepted his death, just hoping Rinko would be happy with her friends saved, until his phone rang and he answered it to hear Sunakawa's voice, telling him Rinko was close to jumping in after him. Hearing her cries in the background gave him the strength to power through his entrapment, flinging everything off of him to leap out of a window. It was such an inspiring moment, embellished perfectly with sombre music transitioning exquisitely into uplifting.
It's a beautiful scene you can find on the link below to my tweet.

It's very refreshing to see a strong, well-liked main character for once rather than the anti-social weaklings we usually get in these kinds of stories. And he's not a Gary-Stu either. He's extremely dense and often needs to be told something directly and he's insecure after being rejected by the shallow girls that liked his girls.
All in all, he's a fantastic well-rounded character.

Yamato Rinko – Much simpler and troupey than her hubby, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. She embodies much of the innocence and cuteness of the series and I love her for that. And in fairness, she carries the bulk of the relationship and all but kick-started it herself. As previously mentioned, poor Takeo was insecure and pessimistic over his chances of getting with the pretty girl, even after he saved her from a train groper, sparking her interest in him. In his mind, she was only hanging around them to get closer to his best friend and not him. Even when Rinko “accidentally” left her phone in his bedroom when she came around to thank him for saving her or when she specifically asked him to meet her alone without Sunakawa, he assumed she wanted advice bridging the gap between her and Sunakawa.
Fortunately, this doesn’t stretch on for long (only 3 to 4 episodes, a small fraction of the show’s duration) as with the assistance of Sunakawa she’s quickly able to communicate her feelings in a direct manner even Takeo couldn’t deny. After that, the series was just about them and their cosy romance, filling the ambient air with their innocence. She’s not the most unique character ever written but she sees the beauty and best qualities in Takeo where others don’t and that – for me – makes her truly special.

Sunakawa Makoto – He’s just the best. Even in a series like this one, it doesn’t neglect to develop an endearing friendship between the main character and his sidekick. Sunakawa is that true friend anyone would love to have. He easily could’ve been a playboy, but he doesn’t care. His interest is chilling with his bestie and ensuring he’s happy and if someone talks smack behind his back and then of course he won’t want to be with her. This recontextualized everything we knew about him up to that point, turning him from what looked like a generic heartthrob to a wonderful, loyal best friend and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

The art style and animation are both superb, lending vibes from an old-school anime like Lovely Complex but updated to fit today’s modern standards. It’s a perfect blend of nostalgia and present-day animation and I’m here for it. The animation fills the screen with plenty of sparkly, see-through bubbles, gleaming eyes and pink backdrops, really giving the series its cutesy aesthetic. Many cuddles and kisses go to Hattori Yuuta and the rest of the animation team for how pleasing on the eye My Love Story came out.

Score – Sengoku Kazunari, Watanabe Kazuhiro, Ookuma Akira, Urakami Yasuyuki and Shouji Masahiro also deserve massive credit for creating a fabulous ambience and score that embellished the look and feel of the series that the animation team were going for, making soundtracks that were beautifully melancholic, inspiring and comedic.

In conclusion: My Love Story!! is another successful title under the belt of Madhouse, composing a heart-pounding score with beautiful visuals accompanying it. If you’re like me, someone who wants a romance without all the needless back-and-forth drama, then watch My Love Story!!. It perfectly manages to tell a compelling tale of love without unnecessarily fabricating drama (for the most part), all the while giving us likeable characters that I’m sure you would enjoy.

Final score - 91/100