How I Met My Soulmate / 運命の人に出会う話(2) : Manga Review and Thoughts

In volume two, Yuuki finally decides on exactly who she wants to date..! Is it the new, handsome and helpful man in her life? Or is it her first love who has found his way back into her life?

To get to the point..

Do I recommend this manga? Yes, if you can handle pointless drama.

Who do I recommend this manga to? Fans of K-dramas, people looking for university romances.

Who do I not recommend this manga to? Those who want to read a straightforward love story, those who dislike unnecessary drama.

Trigger warnings? None!

Information About the Manga

Who wrote How I Met My Soulmate?

This manga was written by Anashin. You can check out their X here. You can check out their instagram here.

How many volumes are out?

In Japanese, there are 7 volumes published.

In English, there are 4 volumes published so far. Volume 5 comes out December 9th.

Where can I buy it?

For those looking for the Japanese digitals…

For those looking for the English physicals…

Extra info

This author, Anashin, is also famous for writing the manga “We Wait for Spring”. If you’re interested, you can check out volume 1 of the English edition here.

What genre? What are the vibes?

Romance
Drama
Love triangles
Miscommunication

Impressions and thoughts

While I was able to enjoy this volume, I do have to say the amount of unnecessary drama was rather stressful for me. Yuuki seems to have a great deal of difficulty both standing up for herself, and confirming facts. So much so that she chooses to actively suffer rather than just say something! I really hope this changes soon, as right now I’m finding her to be a somewhat difficult character to root for.

Besides this now-apparent character flaw, I did enjoy the progression between Yuuki and Iori’s relationship in this volume. While they are still just friends, it’s clear that they both have feelings for each other. While Yuuki is quite a bit more obvious with her feelings, Iori does also go out of his way to show Yuuki that she is special to him.

What happens in volume 2?

Yuuki, coming to terms with her own emotions, turns down her childhood friend’s confession. While she isn’t certain whether she wants to make a move on Iori yet, she knows that it’s not fair to keep someone on the line.

After having a bit of a dental scare, Iori is able to convince Yuuki to come to the dental practice that he works at. Yuuki goes, thinking that Iori will be the one to work on her. She was mistaken, as because he’s still a student, he isn’t able to work on patients. He instead introduces her to the “most gentle dentist in the office”. He then leaves her alone with the woman.

This dentist, clearly having feelings for Iori, proceeds to tell Yuuki about what a playboy he is while aggressively drilling into her mouth. Afterwords, when Iori asks Yuuki how the appointment went, Yuuki was unable to tell him anything that happened. This absolutely rubbed me the wrong way – she should have told him right away! That’s medical malpractice!!

There are a few nice scenes between Iori and Yuuki in this volume – he drives her to a secret spot where they can get a nice view of fireworks… He tells her all about his past of being a playboy, and his brothers strong relationship being the reason that he doesn’t date around anymore… He even lets her stay at his apartment when her brother randomly appeared!

There were some very nice moments between the two of them when Yuuki ended up staying at his apartment, leading me to believe that they would actually start dating by the end of this volume!

That unfortunately wasn’t the case, as not long after, Yuuki’s childhood friend came to Iori’s apartment. Why did he come to his apartment when they don’t know each other? You may be wondering. That’s because he learnt that Yuuki turned him down because she has feelings for Iori, and he decided that he needed to see who he lost to. A little dumb, but I was able to get over it..

To end off this volume, Yuuki heard the rumor that Iori has secret feelings for his brothers fiance. So, instead of talking to Iori, she decided to stake out the fiance’s place of work, where she was able to catch a glimpse of her. Without even saying a word to her, she decided that the fact that she and Iori both wear the same bracelet be enough proof that they are indeed in love.

So, naturely, she decides to meet up with Iori to tell him she knows about his feelings for his brothers fiance, that there’s no such thing as soul mates, and bids him adieu. All because she saw that they wear the same bracelet.

My Favourites

Iori – I found him to be the most well-written character out of everyone that appeared in this volume!

My Least-Favourites

How easily swayed Yuuki is – she really needs to grow a backbone…
How Yuuki doesn’t have any motivations besides “I want a boyfriend” – I find it a little bit difficult to root for her as a character.
Yuuki not having critical thinking skills – she’s starting to annoy me a little bit. 😦

The main characters

Honda Yuuki

20 years old
University student
Really wants a boyfriend
From the countryside
Lacks communication skills
Easily jumps to conclusions

Iori Souma

University student studying dentistry
Works multiple jobs
Lives alone at the moment
Very mature for his age
Not in love with his soon-to-be sister in law

Maddie’s ratings

Plot

Is the plot constantly engaging? – Yes, but in a frustrating way.

Is it original? – I don’t think it’s the most original story in the world, but it still felt fresh.

Am I excited to continue reading? – I’m going to take a little break before continuing on with this series.

Art

Do I personally like the art? – I would say it’s average for shoujo art.

Does the art match the vibe of the story? – Yes!

Is the artstyle unique? – No.

World-Building

Is there a lot of lore? – No.

Personal Enjoyment

Would I re-read it? – No.

Would I add it to my physical collection? -I already own it!

Would I recommend it? – Yes, if you like drama!

Maddies Manga