Is Love the Answer?

by Uta Isaki

A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her
own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual. When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She's never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there's a word for what she feels inside-asexual-and she's not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at allthat that's perfectly normal.

• ISBN10: 1646516494
• ISBN13: 9781646516490
• Publish Date: 17 January 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kodansha Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781646516490

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Summary:

Chika is a high schooler who has never felt love. This fact has always made her feel a bit alien, especially now, as she’s prepping for college life. But this new change in life could be exactly what she needs—a chance to learn about herself.

After years of misunderstanding, Chika will finally learn terms that make her realize she’s perfectly healthy and normal. Her journey is one that many people will resonate with, even if her terms don’t define them.

Review:

Is Love the Answer? Is the story of one woman trying to understand her sexuality. As such, it’s a great resource for anybody going through a similar journey. It’s an informative read with a plot, essentially.

My reason for not giving this manga a higher rating is that sometimes the plot felt more like a device for the info, so the lesson could have been more carefully worked into the story (translation: info-dumping or out-of-character actions to justify an explanation).

Aside from that, I really enjoyed Is Love the Answer? It has some fantastic representations (including, but not limited to, asexual and aromantic characters). It’s important to feel seen, and there aren’t enough ace books in this world.

Highlights:
Contemporary Fiction
Slice-of-Life Manga
LGBTQ+
Asexual Journey

Trigger Warning:
Attempted Sexual Assault

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