Reviews for Even Though We're Adults

I absolutely adore this manga. As a very avid girl love enjoyer i have seen my fair share of tropes and I will say I find most to be quite repetitive with the high-school love type of romance, as cute as that trope may be. However this is far from that with a (how i see it) realistic and complicated love story between two adults naviguating their ordinary, but not easy mid-thirties. This is the only manga I have found myself constantly thinking about! Very very much recommend this read to anyone looking to get away from teenage romance and find something more mature. Andon a side note, another one in the more mature girl love genre is octave, another 10/10 read for me if anyone is looking for more of this like I am.

A thought that came to my mind as I was reading the final volumes of ”Even Though We’re Adults” was that this manga treats its characters with dignity. Even though those characters make mistakes and have to navigate through morally gray areas, the manga allows them space to exist and portrays their thoughts and experiences with nuance and respect. It does not try to excuse the behavior of the characters but instead takes time to show the complexities of interpersonal relationships. One small thing that kind of bothered me at the beginning was how quickly Ayano and Akari develop strong feelings for one another despite notreally knowing much about each other. This aspect of the story and characterization stands out from the rest, slightly breaking the immersion of the reading experience, because it does not really fit the grounded and realistic tone of the rest of the story. However, on a bigger scale this is not really an issue since the details of how and why Ayano and Akari fall for each other are not really the focus of the story but more of a starting point that allows the story to focus on the effects and consequences of those feelings.

Overall, this manga is a great look into the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, especially in the context of family and loved ones, and the webs they create; how what people do affects those around them, who in turn act on those effects and so the cycle continues. It is also simply always a joy to read a well-written adult GL!