That’s Not Love Volume 2 Review

In Volume 1 of Peko Watanabe’s That’s Not Love, we were introduced to Akane and her friend Yukari. The two were reunited when Akane discovered that their old teacher Mr Imai had created a sculpture that looked just like Yukari, and now old wounds are brought to the surface as they reminisce on their complex relationship. With Volume 2 in hand, let’s find out where their story goes from here.

Akane and Yukari met with Imai to discuss having the sculpture removed from the public exhibit it’s currently being showcased in. However, they were met with a blunt refusal from Imai’s wife, who also works as his manager. Later, Imai meets with Yukari one-on-one, confessing that while making the sculpture it was Yukari who was mostly on his mind and that perhaps he hoped she would find his work if he put that piece out into the world and maybe it would make her happy. But despite Yukari’s feelings on the matter, he still stubbornly refuses to remove that piece from the exhibit.

So, Yukari seeks legal advice while Akane is at home dealing with problems of her own. She spotted her daughter, Aoi, walking around with a boy after school, and she can’t help noticing that Aoi has started eating less than she was. Having had her own issues with her body image and eating disorders, Akane fears her daughter is struggling in a similar way and tries to approach her about it only to be shut down. Her husband also proves unsupportive, reasoning than Aoi is not Akane and the best thing they can do right now is trust her and see how things go, which only leaves the problem to fester…

The first instalment of That’s Not Love felt like it was largely told from Akane’s perspective, and while that’s not untrue of this entry, on the whole it feels like we spend substantially more time with Yukari: diving into her past, her troubled relationship with Imai and the scars that were left on her as she moved through life and into adulthood. Rekindling her friendship with Akane is more important now than ever, and while the two girls have changed a lot since their school years, they’re fundamentally still the same people, and with so much more life experience under their belt, they’re better prepared to support one another.

What we don’t get to see is a great deal more of Imai, but the scenes he is in all have a hefty weight to them. It’s clear he hasn’t changed since the days the girls were in school, nor does he truly understand, or at least wish to admit that he understands, where Yukari is coming from. He’s selfish, acting in his own best interests, trying to keep peace with his wife and pretending that nothing he ever did with Yukari was wrong.

Ultimately, this volume feels like the calm before the storm. There’s a major event at the end of the volume, which sets us up well for #3. Meanwhile, mangaka Peko Watanabe has been spending time on developing the cast, not just in terms of their own problems but also in their surroundings (such as Akane and Aoi).

There’s a lot of powerful messaging about the taboo romance between Imai and Yukari, but also on the subject of other issues that women face, and men often don’t like the subject of body image (this is not to say someone male can’t have this issue, of course, and the author does not insinuate that either). Or that women are often ignored or dismissed when they do raise concerns, such as with this sculpture. These are complicated subjects and emotions to depict, but Watanabe is taking her time with it to ensure it comes through in the right way, and I am certainly here for the long run to find out how the story of these two will end.

That’s Not Love Volume 2 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha and continues to be translated by the stellar team of Sawa Matsueda Savage on translation and Madeleine Jose handling lettering, and they have done a fantastic job once again. No colour pages included this time around, but there are some translation notes at the end of the volume.

Volume 3 is currently scheduled for a release in late September, with #4 following in November, so we’re still on a pretty fast schedule for this one, which is good to see!

Overall, while this volume of That’s Not Love doesn’t move at quite as fast a pace as Volume 1, it’s reassuring to see Watanabe take her time on developing the cast and their stories. This still proves a compelling read that I’m sure readers will be eager to carry on with if they enjoyed the first book.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.