Is Akira Failing in Love Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read

Overview

Akira Kashiwagi moves back to the countryside for high school with one goal: finally win over her childhood crush, the hopelessly dense Hajime. The problem is that Hajime has been carrying his own crush on Akira just as long, and neither of them can read the other's obvious signals. What follows is a slow, painfully awkward push toward a relationship that both of them clearly want and neither can figure out how to start.

What it does well

The central joke, that two people who are obviously into each other keep talking past their own feelings, works because the manga treats both leads as equally hopeless instead of making one of them the "normal" straight man. Akira's plans always go sideways, but so does Hajime's every attempt to read the situation, and that mutual cluelessness keeps the comedy from feeling one-sided.

The story also isn't afraid to actually move. An early accidental kiss doesn't reset the relationship back to square one for the sake of stalling; instead, the manga spends real time on the fallout, the denial, and the small, specific steps both of them take afterward, like Hajime joining a sports team just to win date tickets. That forward motion is worth pointing out, since a lot of slow-burn high school rom-coms coast on stasis for volumes at a time.

Shinta Harekawa's art keeps the comedic beats loose and expressive while still landing the quieter, more sincere moments when the story wants them, which helps the tonal swings between comedy and genuine nervous longing feel like the same story rather than two different ones.

Where it falls short

The "hopeless in love" premise is charming, but it's also familiar territory for shonen romance, and readers who've read a lot of this specific subgenre will recognize most of the beats before they arrive.

Because the series is still fairly early in its run, the supporting cast hasn't had much room to become more than reactive friends orbiting the two leads, and some of the comedic setups repeat the same basic miscommunication joke in slightly different packaging.

Verdict

This is a shonen rom-com that leans on a familiar hook, but it's honest with itself about wanting to actually get somewhere instead of stalling out for the sake of a longer run. Akira and Hajime's mutual, matched cluelessness is genuinely funny, and the manga's willingness to let their relationship move forward makes it an easy, satisfying read if you're in the mood for a straightforward will-they-won't-they.