**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Love, That's an Understatement, Vol. 1 by Fujimomo was such a great manga volume. OMGness I loved this. This is like an edgier version of Honey So Sweet and I am here for it. The story follows a slightly uptight star student who has trouble accepting help. She crosses paths with a delinquent, helping him out and suddenly he starts showing up everywhere on his motorcycle trying to pay her back, and she ends up meeting his friends along the way. A very cute and fun shojo romance manga with a delinquent twist.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC of this book.

In this first volumen, Fujimomo introduces the reader to the two main characters Amakawa Risa and Ohira Zen, who met after Zen has been on a fight and Risa lends him a helping hand. The premiss of the manga is based on Risa’s self-imposed self-sufficiency, meaning she does not want to ask for anyone’s help or be in debt with anyone. This very prominent character trait is challenged by Zen, who is stubborn and very willing to help Risa when she finds herself in a pickle.

Although I am well past my high school years, this light hearted shoujo made empathise with the heroin, seeing how I too do not like to be dependent on others, and transported me back to when I myself was in high school. Moreover, the story was very easy to follow and the additional characters were not overwhelming as the action is mainly focused on the heroin and the love interest.

It has to be mentioned that I usually am very picky when it comes to art-style in comics and mangas. In this case, the art-style is very appealing and fits in with how Japanese comics are bing styled nowadays, with soft lines and a focus on the main characters.

Truly, this manga is easy to read and will for sure scratch the itch if you want to read a light hearted romance with, probably, some future angst and a nice art-style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

The one minor hang-up I have about this story is the abrupt changes in tone. It flips between comedy, drama, and romance. Those elements normally can go well together, but somehow they don't quite mesh in this first novel. Hopefully, it will smooth it and eventually blend together in later volumes. This is incredibly minor though, and I really do think it will be fine once the series has gotten its footing. Also, I do really like how the main character, Risa Amakawa, is written! She's very relatable and I feel like a lot of only children who had to be independent from a young age can relate to her. While she comes off as cold and standoffish to most people, secretly she's a caring girl who's just very anxious and awkward. Her manner of speaking is something that's both hilarious and charming. She's very blunt and says everything in a very straightforward manner. Though this sometimes causes misunderstanding, which she then later stresses over and internally beats herself up over. The character of Zen Ohira feels a bit stereotypical and bland at first. Oh, a flirty delinquent who is interested in the female lead because she was nice to him once. Totally haven't seen that a million times before. But as the graphic novel progresses, you see that he's actually interested in Risa because of the disconnect between her actions and her words. He appears to be the first person who actually noticed her mannerisms are actually a mask, and he wants to see past it and see the real Risa hiding behind. The novel starts with them being a bit at odds with each other, but the end makes it feel like the beginning of a long slow-burn romance. The art is excellent, but that goes without saying. The artist is known for their excellent art style, and their skill clearly shows in this series as well. I look forward to reading the second volume!

3.5 Sterne. Ganz süß, ich mag die Dynamik der beiden Hauptcharaktere und es waren ein paar Szenen dabei, wo ich einfach lächeln musste. Ich hätte es bestimmt noch mehr mögen können, wenn ich es nicht gerade jetzt gelesen hätte, weil die Umstände momentan nicht so optimal sind. Ich bin noch nicht sicher, ob ich die Reihe weiterlesen werde - mal schauen!