Romance

We all experience them at some point in our lives. It could be in the form of a parasocial nature like the things we've seen on screen, or it could be from someone we deeped close to at one point in our lives. It could be a classmate, a person we met once, or it could be someone who we befriended for a very long time. In this manga’s instance, a best friend. As the days go by, when the usual mundane stuff you shared towards to get by, your feelings towards this person start to change and in turn, you'll get to see this person differently. With that revelation, you start to worry with various kinds of intrusive negative thoughts that make it seem like it's the end of the world. The seemingly endless nights of worrying after countless efforts of persuading have started to wear off and you might have second doubts with what you're trying to pursue, but you keep convincing yourself that one day everything will pay off.

This is the topic that “I Want to end this Love Game” tackles. It's a story about Yukiya Asagi and Miku Sakura who are High School students dealing with their feelings towards each other but do not have the courage to confess due to their own various reasons. In this manga, we will follow these characters traversing through the obstacles they have set out for themselves. How did this manga hold up?

The Manga has its sad undertones and the feelings of loneliness sprinkled around in its story especially with the moments where they long for each other with the distance they created from each other even when it's just a walk away. The desperation towards grabbing each other to the point where they have these moments where we as readers almost convinced ourselves that this is it, but their inner insecurities held it back. But even with all of that, this manga takes more of a lighthearted approach while balancing its sad undertones with romantic moments that can make you blush while reading. The moments in this series are often wholesome with sweets sprinkled all over along with the addicting factors while reading page by page. This is added by the dynamics of of Asagi and Sakura which is witty and down-to-earth where you feel like these characters can exist in real life combined with their inner conflicting dynamics that can be annoying and a head scratcher when reading, but would eventually understand especially with the range of their age.

As for the progression of the manga, this slaps you in with full blown romance without fiddling with side stories that are plagued with dragging romance mangas. It took 20 chapters in which you can see side characters appear and become a main focal point of the series. This manga is a full blown progressive romance that's prioritizing with our Main leads which is a good thing. However, there are moments in the series where it does feel repetitive or situations where it's clear that they have progressed forward but the characters seemed oblivious about it, but it manages to be interesting and gripping to the reader all throughout.

Let's get this thing out of the way too. By the moment you've read the synopsis and a couple of chapters of the series, you will immediately think that “oh, this is just a Kaguya-Sama Clone” and for that person, I would say that this is definitely a Kaguya-sama clone. For the record, taking tropes from a famous series is not a bad thing as long as you use the concept in a brilliant yet your own unique flavour into it, in which this series did. In comparison, Kaguya-sama focuses more on its comedic side with a side of melancholy and tackling multiple characters simultaneously, whereas this Manga focuses more on its melancholic side with a side of comedy, with moments being grounded with realism compared to Kaguya-sama’s over-the-top charm.

This manga will not surpass the critical or commercial success of Kaguya-sama, and it's okay. You can enjoy the series for what it is, and with assurance that this series is definitely not a Kaguya-sama clone, but at the same time knowing that the common trope of these two mangas can absolutely work outside with its niche given by the talent of storytelling behind it.

By the time I have written this Review (on July 10, 2024), there are about 51 chapters out. If you are a romance junkie seeking the highs of Kaguya-sama, or wanting to consume a genuine romance manga without some of the brain rot gags and dragging side stories and actually just focuses on its melancholic yet wholesome story it presented and fully committed to it 50 chapters on, this is a perfect series for you. ***