Koisuru Metronome is a manga spin-off of the Saenai Herine no Sodekata light novel series (which has had two anime seasons and has a movie coming out in the fall of 2019). Koisuru Metronome stars Utaha Kasumigaoka from the main series, with Aki Tomoya, the MC from the main series, becoming her editor. This manga exists in an alternative universe where the main events of the Light Novel and the anime never happened, and is strictly for those who are Utaha fans. The manga has great art and well-defined characters, but ultimately has a rushed ending that compromises the story.

Koisuru Metronome takes place after Utaha has finished writing her first light novel series, ‘Koisuru Metronome’. Aki is hired on to be her editor, and helps her on her new series ‘Pure Love Hectopascal’. In Koisuru Metronome, Utaha is the only girl that is after Aki, removing the harem element that the anime series have. The illustrator to Utaha’s new light novel, Sagara Mayu, is introduced in the third volume of the manga. Sagara adds extra personality to the manga, with her ‘cute’ style clashing with Utaha’s ‘mature’ style.

The main strength of the Saekano series is that all of the main characters are rememberable and worth way more than the sum of the tropes they convey. Koisuru Metronome is no different than the Saekano anime. The main difference it that Utaha now gets the spotlight for herself, unlike in the anime where she has to fight with two others for screen time. Sagara is only featured in this manga, but she also has her own charm that’s unique to herself. None of the characters in this manga are dull and cookie-cutter, unlike in many other similar series.

With all of that being said, the manga’s story becomes less interesting in the second half when it is becomes noticeable that it is being rushed. The time skips between the chapters become larger and the plot becomes hard to follow. The ending, while having what every Utaha fan would want, is a cop-out and won’t leave readers satisfied. It’s like the mangaka of was told on short notice that the manga was ending soon. It would make sense, as the light novel series ended the year before (2017) and there was nothing else of the series being released at the time. It’s still very disappointing though since the mangaka had a very clear vision of what he wanted to do with the manga. I don’t know if the abrupt ending was due to the manga being canceled or due to general deadlines, but nevertheless it’s heartbreaking to see.

Koisuru Metronome is a definite read for those who’ve finished watching the Saekano anime. The art is magnificent, and the characters are unique. The story takes a nosedive near the end, but it’s still worth the read if you like Utaha.