Doomed with an unrequited love, all she can do is throw it away... But is such a thing really possible? · Waifora

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Name: Doomed with an unrequited love, all she can do is throw it away... But is such a thing really possible?
Item: If I Could Reach You
Rating: 70
Author: SoulBlade17

This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the manga I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment and thus are subjective. This review will be spoiler free, however there will be an analysis section which will have spoilers. TL;DR will be at the bottom.Additionally I read this manga in Japanese and as such since I am still learning Japanese I may have misunderstood or missed some details in the manga. If you find any mistakes please point them out to me.

Introduction

If I Could Reach You by tMnR details the story of Uta, a high school girl who has ended up developing feelings for her older brother's wife. A love doomed from the beginning, Uta must grapple with her unrequited feelings whilst exploring what it means for the relationship between her brother and his wife - exploring heartache and the different types of love people can hold.

Plot
This manga sure has a strong hook. A doomed, forbidden love with the protagonist's sister in law? I could only guess at how it would end. I was immersed into thinking about the potential conclusions this romance could reach; would the two come together in a problematic relationship, or would Uta find some way to move on from her feelings? It is this very curiosity that drove me to keep reading the story.

As expected, the unrequited love Uta holds in often focused on throughout the story, detailing the anguish it inflicts upon Uta and the difficulty she faces in trying to throw away the feelings of love. Initially going into this manga I was worried as to how the morally questionable relationship between a minor and an adult would be handled - namely would it brush over the issues of such a relationship and perhaps even endorse it. Luckily however this was not the case, instead the plot examined the hardships of holding love for someone that you know that they cannot ever reciprocate which is not something I have not come across in any other story that I have read.

As pointed out by lilybian's comment, the story explores "Uta's romantic love (恋) for Kaoru" and Kaoru's desire for an "affectionate love (愛) between sisters" which adds another layer of hardship to their relationship. This difference in desired love drives some of the obstacles Uta and Kaoru face in maintaining their relationship, leaving the readers questioning just what the resolution will be with the incompatible forms of love. Will one form of love win out, or will they be driven apart, even if they ultimately both want to be by each other's side; just for different reasons?

On top of this, the manga examines the family life between Kaoru, Uta, and Reichi and what kind of life follows after marriage. Clashing with the expectations of the love that comes with marriage is Reichi's commitment to work and resulting abscence from his relationship with Kaoru and the presumption that as a married couple they should be spending romantic momements together. Building off the previous theme of the difference of love between Kaoru and Uta, the love explored between Kaoru and Reichi focuses in on more the title marriage brings - along with expectation and desire for romance that may not always be fulfilled.

Although the themes I discussed above kept me thoroughly engaged with the manga, I was not without greivances with how it was handled. Most of it has to do with the latter half of the manga as well as its ending, so the following will have full spoilers for the story.

Spoiler, click to view

The ending and its additional epilogue chapter (which for some reason did not appear to be in the copy of the manga that I bought) exacerbated the issues with how the central conflict of the story was handled. Despite 7 volumes of chapters to go through and not facing pacing issues, somehow by the end the problems presented in the story fail to reach a satisfying conclusion.

The chapters near the end is where the story starts to feel quite rushed, emphasised by the two time skips by the final two chapters. Whilst the resolution of Kaoru and Reichi divorcing was not an issue (and I think it was a sensible conclusion to reach with how the story framed their relationship by the end after it was revealed the reasons behind why they got married), Kaoru developing romantic feelings suddenly in the epilogue chapter felt so abrupt. As mentioned before one of the key themes the plot explored was the sisterly love Kaoru had for Uta and how that clashed with the romantic feelings Uta held. However, with this ending it just makes it feel like the romantic love came out of nowhere and that there was not much point to the anguish that came from the differences in their love. I cannot help that the chapter was made as fanservice for those who were wishing for more Yuri romance in the story and potentially the author chose to do it when they were both adults so that the relationship would not be problematic by that point. I would not have had an issue with this if there had been build up for Kaoru developing romantic feelings for Uta, but perhaps the author felt that was a line that they could not cross whilst Uta was a minor. In any case, this had the potential to add more interesting elements to how this would have conflicted with her marriage and how she might have pursued those feelings when she suspected Reichi of cheating.

There were also other more minor things like a lot of Konatsu's character not getting much exploration despite it being teased at the beginning.

Indeed, the forbiddenness behind Uta and Kaoru's relationship is something that made me keep reading as I simply just wanted to know how it would end. Before I tended to avoid Yuri that depicted problematic relationships but now... I can see the appeal in them. Rather than endorsing such relationships, these stories can explore the unique obstacles and questions they raise, offering something that a 'regular' romance cannot.

Characters

"She's in love with her sister-in-law." A succinct character summary for sure, but it encapsulates the key conflict Uta faces and hence a central facet to her character. Seeing her struggle with her unrequited love and trying to overcome it makes her a fascinating character, I found myself hoping for her to reach a solution in one way or another but with the sort of predicament she finds herself in it makes it hard for one to fathom just what the best outcome is for her.

The target of Uta's love, Kaoru desires a completely different form of love from Uta. Initially the story focuses in on Uta's conflict with her crush towards Kaoru however as the plot progresses Kaoru's character is further explored, examining what drives her relationship with Uta as well as her deep seated fears. In tandem with this deepening of her character we gain a better understanding of Kaoru and she becomes more than just Uta's crush.

As Uta's brother and Kaoru's husband Reichi inadvertently finds himself at the centre of Kaoru and Uta's precarious 'love'. Although Reichi usually takes the backseat with Kaoru and Uta being the main focus of the story, he still remains a prominent side character throughout the manga. Reichi's inclusion allows for the exploration of familial/marital roles and expectations and how this can clash with work duties. Later on, he too opens up the examination of his type of 'love'. One thing I appreciate is that he is not constructed as someone with no irredeemable qualities as this can be done as an excuse for the character to be thrown aside with no reservations to allow for the 'desired' couple to get together.

Likened to a cat, Kuroe often acts as someone Uta can voice her concerns to. Kuroe fulfills a role often seen in a variety of manga, the close friend of the protagonist that allows them to speak of their problems and help enable their growth or find a resolution. Whilst she more or less fulfills this role - with a dash of a snarky personality - she too gets her own arc tied with the following character:

A side character introduced a little later in the story, Miyabi is closely tied to Kuroe's character development. Most of the events that transpire with Miyabi concern her relationship with Kuroe which if I were to talk about it in detail would result in spoilers. I can say at least that Kuroe and Miyabi's relationship was a redeeming quality to the manga, potentially satiating the reader's desire for some Yuri romance in a manga that otherwise does not have much of.

Spoiler, click to view

By the end of the manga Miyabi and Kuroe's relationship is the most cleanly completed parts of the story. Initially when their relationship was starting I thought that Kuroe was simply someone ill suited for romantic relationships but Miyabi allowed for her to grow and show more endearing qualities in herself which made for various wholesome moments that were greatly appreciated.

Konatsu stands out for her views on the importance of sexual compatibility in relatonships, once again introducing a new type of 'love' to the story. Konatsu's type of 'love' is vasty different to the ones previously mentioned and with how her character was introduced I was fascinated with how she might play a role in the story. However, she suffers from unmet potential, there was so much that could have been done with her character but unfortunately by the end not much is done with her. I would have definitely loved to see more on the conflict between her type of 'love' compared with the others, would her stance remain the same or waver in sight of the relationships around her?

Art

The strongest aspect of the art for me was its ability to deeply emphasise the internal struggles the characters are facing via not only their facial expressions but also with the scene constructions. Even if the characters could not express their anguish in words, it was all too visible on their faces making it feel all the more human. The art was also utilised to subtly convey the themes of the story, one notable example is the framing and focus of the wedding rings that Kaoru and Reichi wear.

Conclusion and TL;DR

This is a manga that had so much potential with its premise. Unfortunately by the end the manga fails to meet up to its potential with its unresolved plot points and rushed ending which only leaves me in anguish with what the manga could have been. And yet despite that... I cannot bring myself to dislike the manga. Despite its shortcomings it kept me well engaged throughout the time I was reading it and its initial premise (even if by the end it is not satisfyingly resolved) still had many great moments and made it stand out from the other Yuri I have read. The reception on this manga appears to be quite divisive, it is clear that some people laud this manga as evident by the other review for this manga present on this website. At the end of the day I can recommend this to anyone who would be fine with a manga that has less of a focus on Yuri romance and the initial premise of the story interests them. In summary: - Uta's unrequited love makes for a thoroughly engaging story that leaves the reader questioning just how it will end - with no clear answer. - The different types of 'love' is a central theme to the overall narrative, with each character presenting questions as to what love means to them. - However, by the end the plot suffers from rushed or incomplete resolutions that can sour the entire narrative. - The story is accompanied by art that emphasises the emotional conflict each of the characters go through.

This brings us to the end of my review. I hope you were able to get something out of it, even if you do not necessarily agree with what I said. If you would like to give feedback or just say something in relation to my review, feel free to send me a message.