Love Agency - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - Coward

[Nefy224]

I'm also like " What Akasaka Aka's cooking?! What is this?! This is so plainly boring" And then I read the last pages and I know this is gonna be good. I really like Akasaka Aka's writing so I'm gonna read this all.

 

[Embient]

For a second there I thought that Seki is aware of Mari using the services of the agency.
Honestly didn't really hook me, but this is just the first chapter, anything can change, I believe in Aka. I hope they will refrain from just saying and doing exactly what the agency says more and more as time goes on.

 

[HHx4xHH]

I wonder if this agency is somehow set up by miyuki, ishihami and lino.

Cause you know the troubles they had to go through to be honest with themselves.

 

[claudio_rolna]

Isn't it too Kaguya like? and I'm sure this was the exact same setting of a manhwa/webtoon I used to read.. I'll give it another 5 read but I sure expected more from Aka. Both Kaguya and OnK had strong starts

 

[Weoooo]

Girl advice girl is suspicious. There is no nerd who doesn't see a hot villainess as the highest value target.

 

[frankieMuniez]

Guys. It’s the first chapter. Let’s slow down and give it a minute before we determine if it’s a crime against god.

 

[Kamui]

There has to be something more to this than the set up. Otherwise thing thing will die pretty fast. This kind of plot could carry a shitty movie romcom, but it can't carry a long serialized manga.

 

[Labba]

Weird as it may sound, I'm getting the feeling this first chapter was... rather empty. Which I know is a strange thing to say when the premise is this convoluted (it's not the most complex thing ever, but there are already many moving parts and quite a few lies already set in place); and yet, despite all of this, there is something about this world, about the script and even the art that gives off that vibe to me.

The fact that a large portion of the setup was explained via narration plays a big role in this: so far I feel like I've been told who these characters are more than I have seen them act accordingly. And even what we've been told is nothing strikingly original, to the point this reads and feels more like an introductory manga you'd recommend to someone new to the world of Japanese comics than the third major work of an already famous author with a huge audience to satisfy. There's also no strong hook whatsoever: Kaguya-sama's characters were charming right off the bat and Oshi no Ko had the strong emotional pull right at the beginning, whereas this manga just offers an already-seen premise with a light twist at the end, featuring two protagonists who have done nothing to pique my curiosity yet.

And finally, while I do appreciate the art and I think the artist did a great job on the character designs, I can't help but notice how... generic it all looks. This ‘mammoth school boasting 3,000 students’ is a generic white block in a very underwhelming panel, and the panels themselves are often very large and feel empty even when there is a background. Just look at the library, which is an endless sequence of identical white books lined up one next to another: you can use digital assets if you're drawing on Clip Studio Paint, but you should still make sure the end result is not this visually uninteresting. Also, the more I look at bunny-hoodie girl in the last couple pages, the more I think of Yurea's first appearance in Ore no Genjitsu wa Ren’ai Game?, and that's not a good sign when a major character in a manga immediately makes me think of another character from a different work.

But maybe I'm just being too hasty, and Aka wants to take things slowly this time. If that's the case, then maybe this is exactly the type of first chapter that we were meant to see. For this reason, this is only 50% of a full review: I'll wait at least until the second chapter is released, then I should be able to decide whether this is really for me or not.

 

[flak]

literally love is war

 

[BobBob]

This is a lot tropier than I expected. Maybe Aka just wants to kick back and goof off.

 

[feratul]

bruh, this is just straight up ChatGPT how to get close to your crush...

 

[TNT261]

Good question. The apparent leads are basically trying to advance under false pretenses, and their coaches are accomplices in these frauds. This story has no Good Guys.

I might expect the coaches to be hero and heroine in their own romance, but the male coach has been drawn to be repulsive.

Yeah when the female coach was revealed I thought it would end up that both coaches get with each other (because if they're guiding the leads this much they're the ones dating not the leads) and then the leads would be forced to be themselves and realize they like each other for who they are (and this would need to happen pretty soon in universe like if more than a month passed with them actually succeeding to date with this facade I'd question how they could repair the relationship). Alternatively I though maybe each of the leads get with the other's coach (because again that's apparently who they're dating) because I thought the female coach could be high school age.

I guess the first possibility I thought of could still happen and the way the male coach was drawn could be subversion (which this could be an instantly interesting and thought provoking and body positive piece if the plot pulls one over on who the main couple is and gives the male coach some love). That's assuming they're both adults (I'm pretty confident the male coach is but the female coach could go either way). The other option would be too gross if the coaches are adults.

I am honestly just super curious in the thought process behind how the male coach was drawn vs the female coach. The way the female coach was revealed also seemed to suggest she'd be more important later on but the male coach just felt thrown in at the last minute. This is just thinking outloud but I wonder how they scored the job. Were they scouted for having super healthy relationships or being popular? Did they just see an ad and interview explaining how much experience they had with dating? Did it not matter and it turns out they've just been given manuals this whole time and love and romance are completely dead?

 

[UnohanaYachiru]

As this series is running simultaneously to the Oshi no Ko Manga, I am eager to see one of them being referenced in the other. I could see Akasaka using the more popular one, Oshi no Ko, to indirectly advertise this mew manga, as probably not too many people know about it yet

 

[UnohanaYachiru]

The premise is... interesting, but kinda overly convoluted and honestly it's just not something I'd want to follow. It's a little cute but in terms of romance what's the point if both leads are creating this much of a facade? They won't be able to keep up any of these lies in the long run and it can't really be said they fall for each other then (and like they're so drastically different than without the coaches). It's a little cute I guess. But unless they resolve it in 5 chapters or less I don't see it working for a long term series (if this were real life this style of coaching would be only marketed to boost confidence and teach social skills and the person they're tested on would be a one night stand at best which isn't super interesting to read/watch in a romance).

Also holistically there's a lot problematic about this. Its a cultural thing, but I'm really not on board with the idea of "half-japanese" for otherwise full citizens of Japan (and the country specifically doesn't allow for dual citizenship). There's also a lot of dangerous assumptions being made about both men and woman here. A lot of which could have been avoided. And the idea of a high school rom-com built on adults feeding answers to minors on how to act and what to do through an ear piece just leaves me feeling icky.

Hmmm, I can totally see your criticism, but knowing this is Aka Akasaka, I highly doubt it’ll play out like some regular ass romcom. To the first point: it is indeed pretty anticlimactic and unromantic to have basically two gamers monitoring the actions and thoughts of two students regarding love. But I do believe that this will soon change, especially regarding the fact that there is, in Mari ‘s case, so much surveillance. We have the pen camera, we have the controlled chat and the microphone. I could very well see this becoming more of a criticism against social media, beauty standards and the extreme influence of technology on our lives instead of just a romance manga. To your second point: I am sure it’s somehow gonna be revealed that at least Kon is a high schooler herself, we’ve had enough manga with high school students acting in such roles. If not, then yes, it’d be pretty weird to have two adults advising minors in love…

 

[burningfighter95]

This feels like a generic romcom I would leave in my bookmarks and never read past 10 chapters.

Honestly tho I wonder if this is going to be better than it seems at first, I expect nothing less from Akasaka

 

[RogerZero]

healthy relationships always begin with lots of lying.

 

[hanzolord]

Love is WAR: Winter-Nanase-Sama?

 

[GameyMGD]

Aww I thought these puppets are God or Angel. They’re just puppets I suppose.

 

[Eija]

ah, a danish phrase when we were told shes half-swedish. clearly this a galaxy brain joke about her swedish parent being from malmö or something and not just aka being ignorant

 

[Keplite]

recognized akasaka aka by the kaguya-style storytelling, ive reached godhood
also why a new series when onk is still on-going lol, guy is sabotaging his own sleep