Danica Davidson
March 27, 2022 
Ima Koi is an endearing high school romance. Satomi is in her first year of high school, and when she was in middle school, she was too shy to reveal her feelings to the boy she liked. One day while riding the train to school, some creep gets inappropriate with her, and a boy from her high school comes in and protects her. She doesn’t know who he is, but recognizes the school uniform. He’s six feet tall, so she thinks he must be an upperclassman.
So when she sees him at school, she thanks him for his help. He shrugs it off, the cool, untouchable guy that he is. You know the type in shojo manga. Of course he helped her. He’d help anyone in that situation. He doesn’t view it as a big deal.
But Satomi understands what a big deal it is, and eventually gets up the courage to ask him out. Much to her surprise, he agrees. It’s her first time dating, and the manga does a good job at showing the awkwardness and uncertainty that can come with this situation. It turns out the boy, Yagyu, is in her class, despite his height, and the two begin hanging out more, including to study. Satomi hopes she can get him to like her as much as she likes him.
The relationship moves gradually and organically. While some aspects of the story show the realistic awkwardness of a new relationship, it also goes into fantasy elements. I don’t mean fantasy like high fantasy, I mean that Yagyu is so perfect in so many ways, he’s from many women’s fantasies. At first he seems too cool and distant, but then he gets closer and friendlier and knows how to say all the right things.
Ima Koi feels like a pretty standard shojo manga in the sense it’s not exactly breaking into new territory, but it doesn’t feel trite or redundant at all. The creator, Ayuko Hatta, has been making manga for a while, and she’s good at her storytelling, her character development, and her flow. As an extra bonus, there are a few author notes as sidebars throughout the book, so we can get to know a little more about the creator and her work. (She comments that she misses these notes in manga, as they aren’t as popular as they used to be, and many fans would agree with her.)
The characters are likable, they have their own personalities, and it’s nice to see Satomi and Yagyu develop a relationship. If you like romance manga, odds are you’ll like Ima Koi. It’s a sweet, appealing story.
Story & Art: Ayuko Hatta
Publisher: VIZ Media
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin. She is also the author of its upcoming sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
