Is I Want to End This Love Game Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read

Quick facts
Format	Manga, 9 volumes
Run	2021–present · ongoing
Community score	AniList 7.9 · MangaUpdates 7.4
Where to read	VIZ Media — official

Overview

I Want to End This Love Game (Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai) is an ongoing Japanese manga by Yuki Domoto, published in English by VIZ Media, with a TV anime adaptation by Felix Film that aired from April to June 2026. Childhood friends Yukiya Asagi and Miku Sakura started a game in sixth grade: say 'I love you' to each other, and whoever gets flustered first loses. Four years later, in high school, they're still playing, both secretly meaning it, both too afraid to admit defeat and end the game for real.

What it does well

The game structure is what elevates this above a standard childhood-friends romance. Instead of vague long-running tension, every chapter has a built-in, repeatable stake: someone is going to flinch first, and the manga gets real comedic and romantic mileage out of finding new ways to almost make that happen.

Because the reader knows from early on that both Yukiya and Miku already mean what they're saying, the series gets to run on dramatic irony without needing either character to be oblivious. That's a small but meaningful difference from the usual one-sided-crush setup, and it keeps both leads feeling active in the relationship rather than one chasing and one being chased.

The manga also doesn't stall the pairing indefinitely. Miku's real confession lands partway through the run, and the story continues past it rather than treating the confession as an ending, which lets it explore a working relationship instead of just an extended approach to one.

Where it falls short

The core 'I love you, no you flinched first' exchange that powers the earliest chapters can feel repetitive if read in a short binge rather than spread out the way it was originally serialized.

At over 70 chapters and still ongoing, some stretches lean on fairly standard rom-com filler between the bigger relationship developments, which is a common growing pain for any long-running series built around one central hook.

Verdict

I Want to End This Love Game takes a simple, clever premise -- a confession disguised as a game -- and gets a genuinely fun, ongoing romance out of it. With a 2026 anime bringing new attention to the series, it's a good time to catch up on a rom-com that earns its hook instead of just repeating it.