My Love Mix-Up! Volume Two continues the misunderstandings that were introduced in Volume One.

My Love Mix-Up! Volume Two
Written by: Wataru Hinekure
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: January 4, 2022

Right at the end of Volume One, Aoki learned that he misunderstood the name on Hashimoto’s eraser. It turns out she has a crush on Aoki’s friend Aida, but the “A” had already come off of the eraser. Poor Aoki. His brain basically breaks when he realizes that there was a mix-up and that Hashimoto likes Aida instead of Ida. And to make matters worse, he gets his quiz back and he failed it. This leads to Aoki having a group study session with Hashimoto, Aoki, and Ida. Of course, this creates an awkward situation, since Aida and Hashimoto think that Aoki likes Ida, and Aoki sees his real crush Hashimoto flirting with Aida. After the study session, through not thinking about what he’s saying, Aoki blurts out to Hashimoto that he likes her. Of course, she shoots him down immediately, but he expected this since he knew that she likes Aida. But this now introduces another complication into an already somewhat crazy relationship web.

This volume also continues the awkward interactions between Aoki and Ida, with the both of them trying to figure out if they just see each other as friends or if they think they feel something more for the other. At one point, Aoki finally tells Aida about the mix-up with the eraser (framing it as he borrowed the eraser from someone who likes Ida, and not telling him about Hashimoto liking him). Aida takes it upon himself to have Aoki apologize to Ida and explain the mix-up. By the end of this, the two of them decide to try to be friends. However, this is really put to the test when, through a sheer coincidence, the two of them end up being part of the same group date. There’s a girl who really seems to be into Ida, but as we see, he has no idea what love feels like. And with the tone of this series, it’s not surprising that there’s an interesting twist as to why this girl “likes” Ida. However, it’s through something this girl says to Ida during a conversation that makes him think about how he feels around Aoki.

Aoki also learns why Hashimoto likes Aida, and it involves an incident at the entrance exam for their school. Hashimoto admits that what happened back then may not have been a big deal to him, but it was special for her. Later, after Aida arranges for the apology to Ida, he talks to Hashimoto about what’s going on and kind of talks badly about Aoki due to him not telling Ida about the mix-up. Of course, Hashimoto knows Aoki did this for her in order to keep her crush a secret, and she has a hard time listening to Aida talking about Aoki that way. Hashimoto does something surprising… she slaps him on the face. She feels bad about it later, and she still seems to have her crush on Aida, but I’m wondering if perhaps this interaction could potentially be setting the stage for Hashimoto to develop feelings for Aoki later on in the series.

The interactions between Aoki and Ida are amusing, but the reader can also see that they’re two young men struggling to figure out their feelings and what they’re experiencing. This may sound kind of odd, but a part of me is shipping Aoki and Hashimoto, but another part is shipping Aoki and Ida. However, since this is a shojo manga and not a boys’ love manga, I’m anticipating that in the end, Aoki will somehow end up with Hashimoto and remain friends with Ida. But who knows? Maybe Hinekure will surprise me and actually have Aoki and Ida become a couple.

When it comes the art, I have to mention that one of my favorite panels in this volume is the top one on page 174. Ida and Aoki are on a train, sitting next to each other. Aoki has fallen asleep and his head rests on Ida’s shoulder. Ida’s expression when this happens really catches the eye, and it looks realistic. The top two panels on page 128 also caught my eye, and these particular panels depict Hashimoto apologizing to Aida for slapping him. Their faces are very expressive here, which helped to make these panels stand out to me.

My Love Mix-Up! Volume Two perfectly follows up and continues the story that was established in the first volume. The characters continue to be endearing, and I was so invested in what I was reading that I didn’t want to stop reading. If you’ve read the first volume and enjoyed it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in Volume Two.

The reviewer was provided a review copy by VIZ Media

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