I’m Looking For Serious Love! Review

A naïve country boy and playboy city slicker meet, clash and fall in love in Shoko Rakuta’s sexy boys love romp, I’m Looking For Serious Love.

Synopsis:

Kyouhei has left behind his home town in the boonies to go to university in the big city, something that equal parts excites and terrifies him. When he goes to introduce himself to his neighbours, he’s horrified to discover that Tomohiro, the guy living next door to him, is a total player! Kyouhei is convinced that they could never get along, but Tomohiro takes an interest in his gullible yet feisty new neighbour. Could there be more to Tomohiro than first meets the eye? Or will he turn out to be the big jerk Kyouhei assumes he is?

A little of column A and a little of column B.

Review:

A lot of Tokyopop’s recent boys love manga releases have been on the sweet and wholesome side, but I was pleased to discover that I’m Looking for Serious Love is a spicier treat. Tomohiro doesn’t waste any time putting the moves on Kyouhei and there are some very sexy scenes in this manga, especially towards the end of the book. This is a great pick for people who like some passion in their BL.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this manga is its humour. The book is full of great gags, like how confident ladies-man Tomohiro is terrified of bugs and goes running to Kyouhei in tears anytime one needs killing. Or how Kyouhei’s sweet and supportive granny is big into boy bands and is rocking out at concerts and just living her best life while her grandson is trying to sort out all of his relationship drama. There’s lots of cute little jokes like this and I was chuckling all the way through this manga.

I kinda think his ability to handle bugs might be the main reason Tomohiro falls for Kyouhei.

On the romance front, the relationship between our two leads starts out combative. Tomohiro’s careless attitude rubs Kyouhei the wrong way and Tomohiro can’t resist teasing him at every opportunity. Since he thinks it’s cute when Kyouhei blows his top, Tomohiro doesn’t want to leave the country bumpkin alone, but he soon becomes concerned for Kyouhei when he realizes that he isn’t prepared for certain aspects of city life. Tomohiro starts trying to look out for him, to limited success, but Kyouhei can’t quite let go of the initial image he formed of Tomohiro and often assumes Tomohiro is mocking him, leading to an argument. Their little spats are entertaining though, and I found the pair’s interactions to be quite funny.

I did want to include a quick content warning, however, as some of the early sexual encounters between Kyouhei and Tomohiro feature questionable consent. There is also an attempted rape scene in the manga, though thankfully the perpetrator isn’t the main love interest. Still, if you’d prefer to avoid that kind of content, this is a title that you may want to skip.

I’m Looking For Serious Love is a romance about overcoming your first impressions and negative assumptions about someone in order to find love. It’s a silly love story about opposites attracting that’s funny, occasionally serious, and plenty sexy. I definitely recommend that boys love manga fans give it a try.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

For more information on this manga, visit Tokyopop’s website.

What did you think of this manga? Let me know in the comments!

---

Be sure to check out some of my other recent boys love manga reviews:

• Manga Mini Reviews: BL Edition Take 2
• Sayonara Game Review
• My Love Mix-Up! Vol 1 Review
• Manga Mini Reviews: BL Edition
• Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol 1 Review

If you enjoy reading my reviews, please consider supporting me through Kofi.