I did enjoy Junjou Romantica but I was totally blown away by Sekaiichi Hatsukoi! I personally think it was leaps & bounds a much better work. I love the settings - the manga publishing industry; it is neat to be able to look at behind the scenes workings of one of my favourite hobbies. On top of that, I simply adore the main couple Ritsu x Takano. I think Ritsu is the most likeable Uke of all sensei's works so far. He is funny, head strong, intelligent & very refreshingly honest with his feelings even though it comes out in blurts of unintentional confessions sometimes. The story is somewhat more realistic too - the fact that both characters obviously dated others during the 10 years break. I am very much rooting for their second chance at this true loves. I also hope that despite the trouble at TokyoPop currently, this manga will get its much deserved English translation, publication & sale in US. Any publisher can't go wrong by hitching its wagon to this series of NAKAMURA Shungiku after seeing the success of long running series such as Junjou Romantica.

I'm not surprised for the "high rating" this manga has... Because i enjoy it though i won't rate it just yet.
The art, i think, it kind of bothered me at first, but now in the last 2 chapters 17-18 the art seems to have "improved/changed" but i MISS the old art, strange i know, i guess i got used to it, and it grew within me that particular style.
It might be cliche but not completely and that's nice, i like the characters and their personalities (most of it at least) . But i'm actually only paying attention to Ritsu and Takano's story.

Though I really think Ritsu is a bit too stubborn, it just adds on the funny part of the story I guess. This is the first yaoi anime/manga that I have attempted and ever since then, I am so hooked to it!! One reason why I've become kinda a yaoi fan I guess =p DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS!!

I just love this ♥

To be honest I had my doubts at first, I'm not a big fan of Nakamura-sensei's art (I tried reading Junjou Romantica a few times but the art always put me off - though to be honest the characters did too) but Sekaiichi Hatsukoi's plot seemed fairly interesting so I gave it go. And I have to say her art has improved a lot since her older works, it's a lot cleaner and the characters' limbs seem to be more proportional now.

Yes, overall it is quite cliche; most of the ukes have the typical small stature & huge eyes (there's only 1 exception), the semes are possesive & pushy, and there are loads of silly misunderstandings (I'm mainly talking about the incident between Onodera & Takano in their student days - to be honest I think it should've been something a bit more convincing to warrant Onodera's reaction).

Although, that's all part of the reason why I adore this manga so much. I don't see anything wrong with stereotypical BL if it's entertaining, and my gosh this really is.

There's loads of comedy throughout, although it doesn't overshadow the romance at all. There are also some moments that can wrench your heart (the main one consists of Takano & Yokozawa having a certain discussion - I can almost guarantee that if you didn't like Yokozawa from the start, after that scene, you'll absolutely love the poor guy). Then to top it all of, there's also a lot of sex scenes (literally almost every chapter!).

I just adore stories that have multiple relationships (in fact the Warui Koto Shitai series is my second favourite manga of all time -- so if you haven't read that yet, then seriously go check it out: http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=11462 Ahh, Towa & Mikado are just so scrumptious! And there's the hot Shinonome too...) Anyway, I really like being able to read about different couples that are all in the same universe, and I love seeing how events in their relationships overlap. So I think that's one of the major reasons why I enjoy this manga so much.
Plus I like almost all the characters, so obviously that helps. The only ones I don't particularly care for are Yoshino & Hatori. -- Not just because of the non-con in the associated novel, but I just find them boring. Hatori is quite dull & Yoshino is far too stupid to even be considered cute. Though I suppose if you like Misaki from JR then you may like him too.
Apart from them, the other 3 couples are really adorable ^__^
I know some people dislike tsundere characters but I think they're cute, so I especially love Onodera. Yeah he can be frustrating at times since he's so hesitant, but to be fair I don't think it's that easy for someone to dive head-first into a homosexual relationship, especially if it's with your boss/first-love-who-accidentally-broke-your-heart!

I also really like the setting of this too, as it isn't just an office-based romance or high-school themed story. In fact, I think the manga editing aspect of this makes it really interesting. Unlike other manga with a similar setup, this actually focuses a lot on the editing & publishing industries, which makes this pretty special as it goes into so much detail. Plus what I really like is how Nakamura-sensei can make jokes about the industry and when she describes a process (for instance, submitting the storyboard) there are often little snippets along the lines of, "this is how mangaka are meant to behave, but bad mangaka do this instead", and she sort of jokes around like that. (I couldn't be bothered to find an actual quote, so I'm not sure if my example made any sense, but if you read it then you'll probably understand what I'm getting at).

Even though this review is meant to be of the manga itself, I just want to recommend the anime to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, as the seiyuu are all amazing! I'm always a bit skeptical about watching anime after reading the manga, as I tend to imagine what the characters sound like while I'm reading, then when I get around to watching the anime adaptation I usually end up disappointed. But with this, the seiyuu all fit their roles perfectly, and really become the characters. Plus they just have such lovely voices ♥

So while Sekaiichi Hatsukoi doesn't have the most gripping of plots, I still think it's wonderfully entertaining and always leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling and goofy grin. So if you're like me and just want something with minimum drama (no ridiculously complicated love-dodecahedrons thankfully!!) and lots of smut, then give this a go ^__^

(I also strongly recommend that you read the Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai novels as well -- they are brilliant! Plus the movie adaptation of YTNB has been announced, so that is definitely not to be missed!♥)

... Last updated on October 6th, 2013, 12:40pm

I can say a lot of things about why I love Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, but it'll take like 3 days. It's my favorite after Junjou Romantica and Koisuru Boukun...and thats says a lot.

But seriously Onodera have to tell Takano that he loves him too! How long will it take? How many more chapters or even volumes?

On the one hand, I like this better than Junjou Romantica. Mostly because I don't dislike any of the couples all the time (which happens with 2 of the 3 in JR).

On the other hand, it's still basically JR. Which is fine, except I get tired of a few recycled plots. Also, the "extremely dub-con and basically rape except that much later the dub-conned guy says he was into it" thing is awful. I really dislike it and it's so prominent in this authors works.

So, yeah. There are worse things. With this, like with JR, if you're not 13 or really drunk, maybe don't read it.

I love the story of Onodera & Takano, but the other two stories is... Blah...

I mean the Kisa and Yukina story is an alright story, they have their moments and there's the insecurity that makes it a little interesting but i'm not really feeling it too much, but i will say that Yukina is definitley the best looking in the series and i think that it has potential to be better...

And as for Hatori and whatshisname, i dont like the story at all so far, like you know its not good when you cant even remember the uke's name, this story also has its moments but its by far the worst story, and i have no hope for it...

I say keep the main couple of course, keep Kisa/Yukina, get rid of Hatori/Whatshisname and add Yokozawa/Kirishima... If you havent read the Yokozawa/Kirishima novel you definitely should, its really good!

I read this series after I had seen it practically everywhere, and I will admit, Nakamura Shungiku's other popular series, Junjou Romantica, was my first.
This series is almost as good as Junjou, some even say better, but since Junjou Romantica was my first yaoi series, I can't say if one is better than the other. All I know is that I LOVE Sekaiichi Hatsukoi as a whole.
The main pairing, Takano and Onodera, are absolutely adorable. I love the concept of this pairing, as it's something rather unique that I hadn't encountered in a manga before. There relationship is just so amusing, and sometimes even complicated, and you feel warm and tingly just reading and watching their relationship grow with each chapter.
The other pairing, Hatori and Chiaki, are also equally adorable; but well, all the couples in this series are adorable.
I was intrigued by Hatori's character when he was first introduced, since he seemed rather quiet and mysterious. I suppose he is rather quiet and mysterious, but Chiaki, brings out a different light in him. His love for Chiaki, his childhood friend, is so sweet and pure, and the two balance each other out nicely, in my opinion.
The next pairing, Yukina and Kisa, was a bit awkward at first, but it was nice to see Kisa gradually open up to Yukina and give himself to him.

I would definitely give Sekaiichi Hatsukoi a chance if you haven't already, because it is just a wonderful series that you cannot pass up.

... Last updated on December 28th, 2011, 4:33am

I personally thought it was better than junjou romantica. The art has gotten better and even the plot is fresh and amusing. In fact, once you start reading it, it'll bring back the old nostalgic memories of your disastrous first love which makes you hope all the more that they'll work their problems out. After reading the raws, I couldn't understand why ppl would call it lifeless and dull, since it made me all giddy inside upon reading their relationship develop. It's funny, witty and amazingly gorgeous. Totally not a waste of your time. Nakamura-sensei truly brings out the best of all her characters!

I love her art and I love her characters! I'm a sucker for first loves so this one really got to me. Every chapter I read I get more and more hooked. I love how ritsu acts so cute. This is definitely one of my favourites, I keep reading and watching it over and over ^^