Kawahara And Aruko’s ‘My Love Story!!’ To End In July With 100-Page Final Chapter
If you've been reading ComicsAlliance for a while, then you already know that I've become a huge fan of Kazune Kawahara and Aruko's My Love Story!!. Originally serialized in Japan's Bessatsu Margaret magazine as Ore Monogatari!!, it tells the story of a high school romance between gigantic judo champion Takeo and tiny, adorable aspiring baker Rinko, and all the romantic hijinks they get into along with Takeo's best friend, the wispy, extremely handsome, and perpetually bored Sunakawa.
It's a story built on the kind of comedy that you can only get from intense love and heartbreaking misunderstandings, and it's been one of my favorite comics on the stands ever since I read the first volume. But now, it seems that Kawahara and Aruko are bringing the story to a close. The final chapter is set to run in the July 13 issues of Bessatsu Margaret --- and they're going out with an extra long installment that's set to run for 100 pages.
It's worth noting that My Love Story!! has been a pretty smashing success over the past few years, with a manga that's been imported by Viz, an anime that's available to American audiences on Crunchyroll, and even a live-action movie adaptation that was released in Japan last year. On top of that, according to AnimeNewsNetwork, it's also an award-winner, taking home Best Shojo Manga at the Kodansha Manga Awards in 2013.
With that in mind, I'd guess that it's coming to a planned ending, which makes a lot of sense. As much as My Love Story!!'s charm has been built around somehow never being repetitive, there are so many trials you can put a cute couple through before you (hopefully) just have to give them the happy ending that readers want to see.
The first eight volumes of My Love Story!! are currently available in print and digitally in English from Viz, with 12 collected volumes available in Japan.