Title: In So Deep, It’s Love Already Vol. 1
Author: Reida Soragaki
Publisher: Tokyopop
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 184
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
The Story
Kirino decides to become an otaku, and there is one character who is cold with a deathly stare that she stans. She calls him her Oshi, but when a transfer student named Kametani arrives, she is instantly captivated by his looks. Then, when he tells all girls never to talk to him, and that if they come close to him, he’ll kill them, she instantly falls in love because she believes her Oshi exists in real life.
Despite the overly harsh death threats that somehow go unanswered by the homeroom teacher or the school, Kirino decides to try talking to him, and she soon discovers his secret. He acted cold and evil because whenever he gets near any girl, he becomes extremely embarrassed, and he doesn’t want anyone to see him with a blushing face. Kirino thinks that it’s super cute and decides to take it upon herself to help cure him of his embarrassment around girls. They end up going to a haunted house together, and then she needs to help him solve a couple of problems, such as having cleaning duty with another female classmate and being placed on the intergender relay team during gym class.
As she helps him work through his problem, there is a swelling in both of their hearts! Could these daily exchanges lead to something deeper?
Characters
Kirino is a bit of an outgoing girl. Even though she claims that she became an otaku, there isn’t much about her that proves that she is one, other than taking her word for it. Sure, there is a random conversation with her friend Tera about an anime that she watches, but outside of two specific events, you wouldn’t be able to tell she was an otaku. Instead, she is too busy being captivated by Kametani, all because he resembles her favorite anime character, and she would love nothing more than to stan him. That’s how it starts, but then she opens up a bit and talks about how she used to run track. She bought shoes because she wanted to impress her senpai. When he liked them, she confessed, but got rejected because he already had a girlfriend. This caused her to swear that she would never love anyone again, but… You know where this is going.
As for Kametani, the cold, serial killer presence he has is simply an act for one of the silliest reasons ever. He opened up to Kirino and told her that when he was in elementary school, his friends drilled it into his head that girls were gross. Then, he went to an all-boys middle school. One day, he got reacquainted with a girl he knew from elementary school, and that’s when his blushing problem began. It was all due to having an imprinted sheltered life as a boy that he had zero experience with girls, so when he got to the age where hormones kicked in, he developed his blushing problem. Now, he can’t stand being seen with a red face, so he goes to extreme measures to push all girls away. Funnily enough, this makes him a super endearing character, and definitely a candidate for a girl to come in and say, “I can fix him,” which is what Kirino is legitimately trying to do.
Final Thoughts
At first, this series hits you hard with Kametani’s homeroom introduction. It makes you believe that this is a case of a dangerous man overcoming his homicidal tendencies, and a crazed girl who is somehow attracted to that, but it’s not. It ends up becoming a way cuter and more wholesome premise. Kametani is just your typical misunderstood main character that our female main character knows the secret of. Here, you have to suspend your disbelief because if every girl in the school knew Kametani’s secret, then it would be super easy for everyone to band together and help him out, but that’s where the dynamic of this love story comes in… and it’s that Kirino is just a bit too selfish to go down the practical solution route. She wants Kametani all to herself, even though she doesn’t want to openly admit it, but the fact that she knows his secret, keeps it to herself, and actively tries to help him overcome it says everything that you need to know.
Little by little, you see Kametani loosen up, but he’s only doing that around Kirino because she’s helping him, and he secretly appreciates it. In fact, at the end, there is that typical setup where both characters are beginning to realize that they are falling in love with one another, which is how a typical romance series will leave you off at in the first volume, but there is one tiny little misfire that had me confused…
When they were waiting for a train to pass, Kirino shouts “I LOVE YOU” at Kametani as the train passes because she knows he can’t hear her, and of course, he doesn’t. Then, just a few panels later, she questions what those feelings are inside of her… as if she didn’t just openly confess her love on the page before. I felt that was a bit weird because how can you go from shouting out those feelings to wondering what they are in just a short amount of time? Maybe I’m missing something, or I took too much face value of the situation, but normally, people don’t admit that they love someone, then wonder if what they are feeling is love after the fact. Just a small misstep in the writing was noticed.
But other than that, this was a really cute first volume, and it has me hooked. What’s promising is that because of the unique setup and angle of this story, there may not be that typical third wheel introduced in a few volumes that looks like they have a chance, but we all know they don’t. Because Kametani made it clear for all girls to stay away, I feel as if this series can focus on him and Kirino from beginning to end. I hope so… the useless and pointless third wheel act is so annoying. Just give me these two doing more cute things, and I’ll be happy!
Give this one a shot if you’re looking for a cute romance! It shouldn’t disappoint!
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This item was purchased for review.
