By Gwyn
Since Crunchyroll has recently released the newly made anime series A Condition Called Love, I thought it would be a good idea to review the manga series at the same time. I can say that personally, I love this series as much as I do Tsubaki-Chou. Of course it is very different, but the storyline is quite good, and the characters are all very likable. But the two main characters do have issues from their past that they try to keep to themselves, especially Hananoi-kun.
Some people online have said Hananoi-kun is a major red flag, but people have to remember anime series tend to leave out quite a bit of material from the manga series. As mentioned, he does have a secret that he has kept to himself, but the reader won’t find out about it until later in the manga. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s a red flag, however. Also, there is a majority of anime viewers that don’t even bother reading the manga.
Hananoi-kun soon suggests that they could try going out on a trial basis, but Hotaru tells him he would only get hurt, and that someone like herself is better off not falling in love. Hananoi-kun tells her that there is “no one in the world who’d be better off without love.”
Hananoi-kun’s actions throughout the volume causes Hotaru to have feelings for him. For instance, he spent quite a while looking for her lost hair pin in the snow. Hotaru yells at him for doing it until his hands turned blue, and tells him “If love is all about making only one of us happy, then screw it.” She then drags him to the school to dry him off and warm him up with a towel and a blanket.
It is a an emotional beginning of the series so readers feel for Hananoi-kun and Hotaru. It’s like a tug of war with their emotions. After the hairpin incident, Hananoi-kun avoids Hotaru and her friend asked if he had given up on her. Hotaru explains to her that they got into a fight and that she never yelled loud at someone before. She watches Hananoi-kun walk past her without speaking to her.
He does come up to her and hands her hairpin and tells her that’s the last day she’ll need to see him and that he is sorry for bothering her. Hotaru gives him his earring that he had lost, telling him that it had fallen underneath a vending machine. It’s after this that Hotaru explains to the reader that when she is with Hananoi-kun, she feels things she hasn’t felt before. At that point she asks Hananoi-kun if some day she will fall in love. He tells her he promises her one day she will and that someone special will come along, and she will learn to love them.
Hotaru asks him if he is sure about a trial basis, catching him by surprise. When he tells her yes, Hotaru agrees to it, and they start dating.
Towards the end of Volume 1, Hananoi-kun stops responding to Hotaru’s texts, and she becomes anxious because she hadn’t heard from him. Hananoi-kun remembered that Hotaru’s sister does an ice show every year, and he was able to find Hotaru. He explained he had been sick and was sorry that he didn’t reply to her.
The volume ends with Hotaru hoping that when she falls in love, it is with Hananoi-kun. So we see an immense change in Hotaru’s feelings throughout the volume, and this is just the first one. Volume 2 will be explained and reviewed next.
Anime Connection 
Leave a comment