Love on the Horizon Vol 1. Review • UK Anime News

I know this crush… can’t go anywhere… but I really like him. Naked

Art student Nagi Kitagawa wakes up in the same bed as his neighbor and senpai Yu Yamasaki. Yu drank too much at the folk club meeting and Nagi managed to get him back to the apartment, only for Yu to fall fast asleep with her arms around him. The next morning, Nagi becomes rare before Yu wakes up. He realized that he was in love with his popular, handsome senpai, but was too shy to act on his feelings.

Love on the horizon © Machi Yamashita/Kodansha Ltd.

Nagi then locks himself in his apartment, and while he waits in the cold for the locksmith to come, Yu comes home and invites him inside. Yu offers him the use of her bath, pot noodles, and a chance to watch a series together. It’s all very pleasant and Nagi feels at home, so much so that he falls asleep. All is well with this friendly neighborly relationship… until they go out with the club members and Yu drinks too much again, leading to Nagi taking him home. Yu pulls Nagi back onto the bed with him, seemingly without waking up. Nagi is tired and the temptation to stay and sleep is too much and Yu seems reluctant to let him go anyway. But when Yu (still pretending to be asleep) kisses him, Nagi runs away. Does Yu not notice at all? Or does he like Nagi too – but only acts on his feelings when he’s too drunk to remember the next day?

Love on the horizon © Machi Yamashita/Kodansha Ltd.

Love is on the horizon is Machi Yamashita’s first published manga, which captivates the reader with a cute story about two university students who are first neighbors and then gradually fall in love with each other. The mangaka has a clean and attractive graphic style, which is well demonstrated in Kodansha’s trade paperback edition; their way of portraying the characters is a bit reminiscent of Minta Suzumara’s BL manga art (Golden spark and I didn’t want to fall in love) and Ogeretsu Tanaka (Yarychyn girls’ club and Escape Journey). The multi-panel cover is also reminiscent of Etsuko Joy; these are all good inspirations for a mangaka and this observation is in no way meant to diminish the reader’s enjoyment as Love is on the horizon it’s also very much its own thing.

Although it is rated for older teens, it has no explicit scenes and has a “wholesome” feel to it. While this isn’t a criticism, there’s always a slight danger that what’s useful can turn bland. Love is on the horizon almost stays on the right side of blandness, showing us the uncertainty both young people feel as they wonder if the other feels the same way about them. Interestingly, there is no fear of coming out or identifying as gay. It would be nice to think that this isn’t too much of a problem in Japan anymore, although I suspect it isn’t. Perhaps the second volume (due out in May) will gather more clouds to give the next chapters some drama and test the budding relationships (although introducing drama for the wrong reasons can tip the story for a good mood, so I’d better be careful that I I wish!).

The Kodansha translation is by Leo McDonagh, who also adds two helpful pages of translation at the end; the lettering is expertly done by Nicole Roderick and helps convey the story without getting in the way. The trade paperback showcases the art of the mangaka very well; There are no color pages, but the matte design on the cover is elegant and stylish.

If you’re looking for an uplifting read, a healing BL story with low angst and a sympathetic portrayal of the main characters, then you should pick this up.

Our review copy from Kodansha was provided by Diamond Book Distributors UK.