The following contains spoilers for My Love Story!!, available to stream onCrunchyroll.
My Love Story!!(also known asOre Monogatari!!) was originally a manga that ran from 2011 to 2016. Created by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko, this 13-volume manga gained so much traction that it was eventually adapted into an anime.
Theanime,My Love Story!!, which premiered in 2015, follows the story of Takeo Goda, a first-year high school student who struggles with his female peers due to his intimidating exterior. The show is remarkable in itself as it seems to bear a different approach to Shōjo anime.
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The Premise
On the outside, Takeo appears brutish, massive, and terrifying to many. This conflicts with his warm and compassionate personality. After years of being feared, rejected, and ostracized by school girls who favor his handsome best friend, Makoto Sunakawa, Takeo finally encounters his match whenhe saves herfrom a groper on the subway.
The Characters
Sunakawa (also known as Suna) is the opposite of his best childhood friend, Takeo. Suna is much shorter than his friend and deemed conventionally attractive. He is quiet and stoic but occasionally bursts into a fit of laughter at Takeo’s jokes and spirit. Above all, however, Suna maintains his deep loyalty to Takeo, even going so far as toreject the girls who confessed to himbecause his best friend harbored feelings for them. Additionally, the girls always spoke badly about Takeo behind his back. It’s evident that Suna respects his best friend’s nature, despite being the more ‘attractive’ one of the pair.
Contrary to Takeo, Rinko Yamato is a sweet and meek girl. However,she is immediately enamoredby his compassion and kindness when he comes to her rescue. It is also quite unmistakable that Takeo is instantly attracted to her. Despite this, he assumes that her (eventual) interest in him is merely a tactic to get close to Suna, as he is used to his previous crushes flocking over his best friend. He narrates multiple times that he believes his best friend, Suna, deserves a nice girl like Yamato, despite his obvious liking for her.
The Narrative
At the very beginning, Yamato attempts to show Takeo her appreciation by requesting to keep in touch and showering him withhomemade baked goods. Takeo’s obliviousness and innocence lead him to believe that her kindness is merely a friendly act. The fact that girls at his school are not interested in him only contributes to his low self-esteem. Regardless, Takeo’s gentleness and empathy do not wane during his hardships. Additionally, Takeo and Yamato both struggle with their feelings for one another: Takeo, who attempts to push aside his feelings for Yamato; and Yamato, who continues to try pursuing Takeo while struggling with her own insecurities. However, the way theydiscover their feelings for each otheris far from conventional.
When Suna tells Takeo that he does not have feelings for Yamato, Takeo is still determined to bring them together. As a result, Suna decides to take the matter into his own hands while retaining his usual bored demeanor. When he invites Yamato over just to talk after her failed attempt to confess to Takeo, he orders his best friend to get under his bed. When Yamato arrives, she begins venting to Suna about her embarrassing behavior and unsuccessful efforts until Suna asks her about her feelings for Takeo, despite knowing how she feels anyway. Yamato responds, finallyconfessing her feelingsfor Takeo without knowing that she is doing so as she is still completely unaware that he is also in the bedroom. From that moment, the love-struck teenagers begin their official relationship.
As a romance, one could argueMy Love Story!!starts out asa slow burn, though not entirely. The way the relationship between Yamato and Takeo transpires gradually makes it that much more heartwarming. Additionally, the characters in this show are likable and relatable, despite a lack of well-roundedness. The realism, coupled with romantic and comedic moments, makes this anime worth watching.
On the other hand, many viewers have claimed thatMy Love Story!!is just like any other shōjo anime, riddled withweak characters, an overdone plot, and predictable humor. However, it is arguable that the point of a shōjo anime is to contribute a fresh concept while maintaining familiar elements that are typically seen in shōjo anime. The difference betweenMy Love Story!!and other anime lies in the dichotomy between the main character and his romantic interest: a gentle giant (who is deemed hideous) and the small, almost fairy-like girl who falls for him instantly. This storyline contributes to the overall theme that appearances are not everything. It is crucial to refrain from judging others by their appearance, similar to how Suna and Yamato didn’t judge Takeo.
