Not only that, but the portrayal of Kiriya and Karin's relationship is actually quite unhealthy. I'll get back to that a little later. First, the manga isn't all that bad - the art is decent. However, the plot (if there ever was one) is riddled with cliches. I tried not to be bothered, but there were just too much of them. By chapter 35, I was dying to see it end already. Holy crap there are 55+ chapters! There was no point in subjecting us to the main couple's squabbles.

Just as important as a well-executed plot is proper characterization. And yes, in my opinion, the manga is mostly weak in this aspect. Only Karin had the ample amount of development, but only for the first few chapters. After a certain point, she becomes static (or increasingly whiny and annoying) like the rest of them. Kiriya, for all his potential, was a wasted character. He was just as whiny and annoying. The rest of the cast are flat and one-dimensional.

I get that they are supposed to be really young when entering a romantic relationship. But why do shoujo mangas have the need to always portray such juvenile ways of keeping said relationship. Karin and Kiriya are almost always insecure as a couple. The 'trust' was at most thin icing, when it should be the sponge cake itself. Sex is never a definitive way of securing relationships, but the manga treats it as such. This is a very unhealthy way of thinking.

Man, I really am being too hard on this. However, Kare First Love can be a guilty pleasure. The manga is, again, not really that bad ----> It's just NOT FOR ME.

Why did i say it's my first ecchi manga? Well i read it in the middle shcool age and i couldnt hide my interest in something about ML with couple.
I mean ML with love. Not like hentai manga which can have ROUGH scene.
That time i borrowed it at Manga rental in my town. ahahaha
And i really wanted to have this manga because those scene.
I like "Love story between them" too.
/////
hm... hm... well i love it

terrible cliche shojo...all about the big bad scary first time, and weak heroine.
i love cliche shojo but this was just terrible. 7 volumes about whether to do it or not?!
i'd much rather read a manga with nanri as the lead...she's awesome

Well, the plot and art is decent, a very typical shoujo read. However, it makes me feel that throughout the whole series, the male lead didn't like the female lead as much as she love him.(Maybe it's just me...) I have seen much character development of the female lead but little from the male lead. (Making wanna to scold him a brat)
Furthermore, their love doesn't seem stable.

This started out GREAT. The first four chapters i loved the cynical karin and the incredibly nice kiriya but then they were all mushy, mushy and whiny. It go soooooo dramatic and it kind of lost that nice feeling.

There are countless stories of the emotionally weak heroine falling in love with some popular playboy, so it just comes down to who can pull it off better. I think Miyasaka did a good job.

There were undeniable cute parts and their relationship seems very grounded. They fought a lot, I would have been more annoyed if they didn't. Both of them had family problems, which gave it just enough drama. Kiriya seemed to have liked Karin BEFORE she took her glasses off, thank god because I hate superficial characters. This made a good bases for the story.

The story moves at a decent pace, though I think they might have fallen in love too fast. The only thing I did not like about this story was Karin's sudden personality change. At the beginning of the story she was quiet, but cynical. She did not fall for Kiriya's charm and she did not care how she looked. She may have been weak to Yuka, but she was strong in her own way. If only because she saw through people's utter bullshit.

But this changes. Remove her glasses and she becomes a beautiful bimbo. She suddenly gets a fashion sense and she becomes clingy and whiny. She becomes utterly lost without Kiriya guiding her and motivating her. I found it annoying, but I guess her "kind personality"(which I'm not sure when that developed), made up for it.

It's like people wanted to hate her but couldn't, so they ended up helping her instead. Which is just ridiculous. I don't mind the fact that she became beautiful, but I would have liked it better if she weren't so...weak. She has no problem standing up to Kiriya, she even grows a pair and stands up to her parents a few times, but it seems like she's just weak to everyone else.

All in all, I give it a 8/10. I still enjoyed it, dispite this. Karin wasn't completely hopeless and I leveled with her in some aspects. Give it a shot.

... Last updated on May 30th, 2013, 8:27pm

Typical shoujo manga with a weak, whiny heroine and a seemingly popular, outgoing and super good-looking hero (nothing to do with heroism!!). However, it wasn't too over the top, unlike many other similar works where the main characters act like they have a bipolar disorder and side characters display sociopathic tendencies all too often. Here we have a male protagonist with "the past" (of course!!!), but he doesn't go into berserk mode because of it. It is a good manga for those new to shoujo as it will acquaint the readers with all the cliches they are to encounter later.

Some of the moments I found especially awkward:
SPOILER : the first time he kisses her in his room she was supposed to be hangover ; maybe I am the only one thinking of such stuff but her breath must be pretty bad(oh well, he seems to enjoy it)
Also, the manga is too cheesy, especially the beginning, it was hard to get through the first chapters. I understand it's supposed to be an escapist fantasy for real life teen girls, but the guy is always there to protect her, he buys her clothes and ...lipstick being just 16 (15?), so the manga can get cheesy in a puky kind of way
Another thing is the talk about children at the end. Has anyone noticed that very often guys in shoujo mangas start family planning a bit too early...Minami Kanan likes to do that as well. The mangas are written by adult females, but having teenagers talk about having children is awkward and sort of disturbing. At least KFL doesn't have the time skip ending where the heroine is pregnant.

First of all I'm an older guy (On the Back Side of 50(Going down fast too!)); who likes those really old hollywood romance films from the 30's-50's..You know those kind that they don't make anymore. The screwball romantic comedy, the heavy film-noir romances. This manga has it all. It gave the the same kind of feelings that I had watching one of those old films...A little bit of comedy a little bit of drama, and a great romance - with fears and bumps in the road...But Most importantly just like those old Hollywood Films.....It has a HAPPY ENDING!!!!

... Last updated on May 12th, 2012, 9:21am

This reminds me of Mars, toned down, but still alike. Am I the only one that thinks that way? O_O
Anyway, it's not terrible but not fantastic either. A simple read for when you're bored.
If you're a shoujo fan you should try it out, if not, you'll get bored fast.

I seriously liked this manga! Very cute, heartwarming and in some parts believable! I could easily relate to Karin as being bullied and having fake friends. I've never had a boyfried even though I'm already 21. This manga was kind of my daydream. ^_^ I enjoyed allthough the lead female character was sometimes way too childish. But she wasn't the worst female character. Btw, just noticed how similiar this and Kyou Koi wo Hajimemasu are.

Anyway I give it 9/10.