Nezumi's First Love 1

ねずみの初恋 [Nezumi no Hatsukoi] #1

by Riku Ōseto

ヤクザ組織に殺し屋として育てられ、人の愛を知らずに育った少女、ねずみちゃん。何も知らない普通の青年、あお君。二人は恋に落ち、幸せな同棲生活を送り始めるが、組織はそれを許すはずもなく、あお君を誘拐し、抹殺しようとする。愛するあお君を救うため、ねずみは命をかけた「ある交換条件」を突きつける――。あまりに残酷で、あまりに切ない、初恋の物語。

Genres: Manga, Romance, Dark, Seinen, Adult, Contemporary, Thriller

202 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2024

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC of this book to read and review.

This was brutal and violent and I suspect will have a very niche audience. I am not a part of that audience.

I wasn't sure what this would be, so I tried it and it is most assuredly NOT for me.

I hated the violence, the artwork wasn't the best and the plot didn't really make much sense.

1, I hate to give anything 1 star but I really did not like this at all, star.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW Volume 1 of Nezumi's First Love is a seriously wild ride, and honestly, a fucking weird one, but also great, you’ve been warned!

It’s pitched as a romance story wrapped in assassins and blackmailing, and that description barely scratches the surface of the intensity. What makes it work, though, are the people at the heart of it. The two main leads, Nezumi-chan and Aoi-kun, are great, and you genuinely can feel how much they care for each other, giving this bizarre setup a real emotional core. The artwork is fantastic, managing to make the cute character designs deliver kinetic, brutal action. The pacing is excellent; it manages to keep ramping up things with the plot twists while still providing small, quiet moments for love to blossom.

But don't let the "love story" part fool you. When this series gets violent, it does not hold back. The action is brutal, visceral, and involves lots of blood and guts. It’s a jarring but effective blend of emotional tenderness and outright shocking graphic content. This balance is what makes Volume 1 so compelling and fresh. It’s exactly the kind of unexpected, high-stakes story I crave, and I can’t WAIT for volume 2. Give me more of this strange, bloody romance immediately. Easily a 4.5 out of 5.

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.


The trigger warnings are in the book I will list them here as well: Kidnapping, graphic violence, physical/sexual abuse, rape, torture. I mean, I had expected several of these, but not all, so I thought I would share it for those that want to know them beforehand.

In this book we meet a girl named Nezumi. She is a girl who murders people. She has to. She has no choice in the matter. It is murder or be murdered. From a young age she has been murdering. Before that though… well, let’s say she and other girls were sexually abused/raped by a guy (the boss probably) of the organisation. Yup. She had a shit life so far. But again, she has no choice. She cannot escape. My heart broke for her. She hasn’t known anything else in her life except pain and misery. While I didn’t see any romance between her and Ao, I was happy for the normalcy that he brought her. For the moments of peace that he gave her. For the happiness and love he gave her. She deserves that.

But remember this isn’t a cutesy romance manga, this is dark and gritty, and thus things get very horrible quite soon. My heart broke not just for Ao but also for Nezumi. She thought she had a good thing going on in the darkness only for this to happen. I was proud of both Nezumi and Ao on how they handled things despite the situation. A lot of people would just fall in despair but they kept strong. I was delighted they were given a chance and I am definitely rooting for them both to make this happen. It is not the best future, but it is a future.

The art? Very cutesy and adorable and I love the design of Nezumi. It does provide a bit of light in the darkness that this manga presents.

The only thing I hated was the instalove. I mean, Nezumi murders a guy, encounters a boy her age who is at the crane games, they meet again (kinda creepy given he doesn’t know her), confess, and then 6 months later and they are living together. It was just too fast, and throughout the book for most I just didn’t see the attraction between the two of them. Eventually I could see more of it, but still it just never was much. And given the ending… I am wondering even more about this romance.

All in all, a very dark and gritty manga and I definitely wonder how it will continue. I do need to be in the right headspace for it though, for this first volume I was, but let’s see how I feel when the next volume releases. And otherwise I will just put it on-hold until I do have the right headspace. I need to know if Nezumi gets her happy ending. I would recommend this one, but remember it is dark. Check those trigger warnings.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of books centered on organized crime assassins, but the off-kilter tone and art of this one pulled me along and left me wanting to see what happens next.

Nezumi has led a hard life, trafficked and sexually assaulted as a child, the crime family that took her trained her to become an assassin when she revealed a deadly side. Now a teenager, she is caught off-guard when a boy flirts with her.

Can the schoolgirl with a body count find true love? It sounds like the basis of a screwball comedy, but this story veers into much darker territory.


Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 1. Life's Short, Girl, Fall in Love! -- Chapter 2. A Foolish Request -- Chapter 3. Promise -- Chapter 4. Happiness -- Chapter 5. Practice -- Chapter 6. Lovers

[✧ Beanie Reads ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read: November 10th
Format: E-Book
Rating: 3 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really fun and fast read, with cute art despite being about a cold killer and a pretty dark plot. It also went a direction I didn't expect, which actually made me intrigued. But like I said, it's fast, and honestly, the amount of stuff that happened in this book of four or five chapters is about the same amount of content that a lot of manga would cover in a prologue. Made the manga that was overall good something forgettable overall.

So yeah, fun time, but could use some big pacing adjustment.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very violent but that last chapter... oh this feels sad and like emotional damage. I guess we will have to see where this goes but I for sure want to read more. The art has a cuties feel and it is a lot of darkness on the page for how violent this is. The trigger warnings are not a joke at all.
But some how the romance is so cute, young, and adorable. I think this is going to be a tale of revenge on poor Nezumi but nothing is spelled out at this point.

[Lisa Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I've ever read anything before that's simultaneously so violent yet so sweet. This is the cutest couple, but she's an assassin and he has to become one if he wants to live. This was definitely over-the-top and didn't hold back.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Despite rating this only three starts, I want to clarify that I did enjoy this manga, and would happily read the upcoming volumes.

This was really, really dark and gritty. The Yakuza world in which Nezumi was forced into is cruel and painful, from childhood she was forced to commit awful crimes and hone her body to be a weapon used at others' command. Nezumi is alone in the world, and unknowingly, she's searching for just a shred of happiness. So when a simple cute seal plushie captures her eye at an arcade she's passing through, her world suddenly has a speck of colour. A boy around her age named Ao sees her, and is determined to get this mysterious girl the plushie she's longingly looking at.

From there begins a somewhat sweet love story- very instalove for my taste, hence the low-ish rating, however I can see why both Nezumi and Ao fall for each other so hard due to their tragic lives. However, as you can guess, the Yakuza eventually finds out and gives Nezumi and ultimatum, this leads to Ao being pulled into his girlfriend's dark lifestyle.

I enjoyed the plot and events that unfolded, Nezumi and Ao are compelte opposites yet somehow they work together perfectly, and I loved how for once Nezumi was actually the stronger one in the relationship. The art style was nice, but I have to admit it felt like it didn't go with the book, unless you look at it as if the chibi/ childlike way Nezumi and Ao are drawn reflects how young and 'innocent' they are compared to the other, older, nastier characters? It's only a personal preference and the main reason for my rating, so please don't let it put you off.

Overall, I'm glad I read this because I'm definitely invested and liked reading this despite the gore, violence and tragedy, I would love to see what happens in volume two, so I'm for sure keeping my eye out for it in the future!

3/5 🌟

[Kathyconsiglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nell'ultimo periodo mi è capitato di riprendere la serie you quindi questo manga ci casca a pennello, anche se i personaggi e le dinamiche sono molto diverse,parliamo sempre di ass*ssin*. Nezumi è una ragazza cresciuta tra la violenza senza amore e senza affetto,tutto per diventare una perfetta ass*ssina della yakuza ma un giorno incontra un ragazzo e i due si innamorano,questo è un grande affronto per la yakuza che rapisce il ragazzo.
Cosa fara Nezumi per salvare il suo amore?
Una storia dalle tinte cupe che ci fa vedere la vita crudele di Nezumi, lei è stata cresciuta con un preciso scopo e l'amore si è messo in mezzo, così la yakuza ha ben deciso di incasinarle la vita ancora di più.
Il personaggio di Nezumi è una giovane ragazza con il futuro ben programmato e questo ragazzo è un grosso intralcio a quello che fa,ma lei non si dà per vinta e cercherà un modo per aggirare la yakuza e avere anche il suo amore.
Una realtà struggente è quella di questa ragazza che ci avvolge con una tensione emotiva pazzesca per non parlare del plotwist già dal primo volume che ho particolarmente apprezzato.
Nel complesso è un manga drammatico con tinte violente che ci fa vedere la vita di una giovane che appena conosce l'amore non vuole lasciarlo per niente al mondo,e cercherà di preservarlo anche mettendo a rischio sia la sua vita che quella del suo ragazzo.
I personaggi che troverete in questo manga sono davvero equivoci ma vi faranno appassionare con la loro forza di volontà e la forza del loro sentimento.
Quindi se amate l'intensità dell'amore,i finali scioccanti e i personaggi ambigui,questo è il manga che fa per voi.

[Neurospicy Potato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nezumi’s First Love is about Nezumi, who is an assassin for the Yakuza. A chance encounter leads to her falling for someone, which is completely out of her comfort zone.

Upon opening the manga, the first thing I noticed were the content warnings; Kidnapping, Graphic Violence, Physical and Sexual Abuse, Torture and Rape. Since these are pretty strong trigger warnings, I wanted to mention them in my review. Please keep your triggers in mind when starting a manga or book!

This manga was right up my alley, as a horror and gore loving girly. It has just enough gore and violence to keep my squirrel brain entertained. The storyline has enough twists and turns to stay interesting, though it is a little one toned.

The main couple is absolutely adorable. The guy is a softie, which is a funny match against the cold Nezumi. I think they chose the personalities well, as they compliment each other just enough to be balanced.

Story-wise I didn’t expect it to go into the direction that it went. I was expecting more of a yandere vibe, with an obsessed serial killer going after her crush, but I got something completely different! I absolutely loved it to bits, as it was so surprising and that was very refreshing. I adore it when manga go into a direction I did not expect.

And I definitely did not expect that ending! My heart seriously LEAPED. Oh my god?! I need volume two like YESTERDAY!

Disclaimer:
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

[Christina ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Nezumi was raised to be an assassin for the mob, so killing is the only thing she does. Until one day, she meets Ao, a regular man who falls in love with her at first sight. Due to her traumatic upbringing and current line of work, she is hesitant to let Ao into her life at first. She eventually does let down her shields and their relationship is a sweet one. But now she has to balance this relationship, while keeping her job a secret from him.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this manga! It was fast-paced and enjoyable to read. Some scenes are a bit graphic, which just isn’t for me. I think it’s harder for me to see it illustrated versus just reading about it. Make sure to check trigger warnings before reading. But the ending makes me excited for the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for this arc! All opinions are my own.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

With such an extensive content warning list, I knew this manga was going to be dark and it definitely was.

Nezumi, an assassin with a tragic past, falls in love with a seemingly normal guy, but her employers quickly catch wind of it. Her backstory is heartbreaking, and does a good job of setting up the story.

The art style wasn’t my favorite, but it stayed consistent throughout, which I appreciated. I found myself just hoping Nezumi finds happiness someday. I’m not sure the series is for me, it was just a bit too sad overall, so I probably won’t continue.

As for the romance, I wasn’t sold on Ao, the love interest. I couldn’t tell if his behavior hinted at hidden motives or if that’s simply who he is, but either way I didn’t enjoy the way he approached Nezumi. Honestly, I would have been freaked out in her place.

A strong, dark start with a lot of potential, but ultimately not quite the right fit for me.

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I did read the synopsis, it still basically felt like I went in blind. I am usually a fan of the FMC being an assassin, but here it felt, although it had it's deep and traumatizing moments, like it still very much was written for the male gaze. And that threw me off since I haven't consumed something like that in quite some time.

Other than that, I guess it also had some sweet moments, but I am not sure if I am excited about the next volume. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for future reviews to see if it will be worth the read!

(Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the e-ARC!)

[BlaireReadsTheThings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC for this volume. I am WAAAAAYYY behind on my ARCs and I am trying to catch up.

Nezumi is a killer. Like, seriously. She is a deadly assassin essentially being held hostage by a crime syndicate. She meets a shy boy that is just crazy about her. When his life is one the line, Nezumi makes a proposal that could be disasterous.

This is a pretty good first volume of what could be in interesting series. The art is good and the plot moves quickly. It's a little risqué and goofy for me, but I can see how it could be entertaining to a certain demographic.

[Books With Livvy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nezumi’s First Love was an interesting and enjoyable read. The art was beautiful and complemented the story perfectly — expressive, clean, and full of emotion. My only real complaint is that it felt a bit too short; I was left wanting more, which is a good sign. There were a few moments that felt slightly confusing, but overall it was a great experience and a nice palette cleanser between heavier reads.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

[deborah.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buon inizio ma voglio vedere come si sviluppa! Nezumi un sacco cute 🖤

Sui social: deborah.reads 🦇

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has too much violence, swearing, and some nudity in it and I didnt finish it. I felt the story would've been a lot better with some of this stuff taken out.

[jo_withbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was intrigued from the synopsis for this manga and yet it wasn't what I had anticipated. The character design is beautiful but the rest of the elements were lacking in so many different ways. The set up is questionable to say the least, with the antagonists being very weird and problematic. Given that this is a first volume for a yakuza manga, I should have expected for it to be graphic and violent, yet it was no less disturbing.

For anyone wanting to read it, I would advise for you to check the trigger warnings!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansa for lending a digital copy!

[Adri Holt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nezumi was taken as a young child by a criminal organization and trained as a killer. This line of work endangers anyone outside of the organization that she may end up caring about. When her boyfriend, Ao’s life is on the chopping block, she offers to train him as an assassin instead of having his death on her hands.

#ThxNetGalley #RikuOseto #NezumisFirstLove

[encore_un_manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peut-on vraiment découvrir l'amour quand on a été élevée pour tuer ?

Avec le premier amour de Nezumi, Riku Oseto signe un premier tome aussi troublant qu'addictif. Dès les premières pages, on plonge dans un univers sombre où la violence côtoie une forme de tendresse fragile. Élevée par des yakuzas pour devenir une tueuse à gages, Nezumi n'a jamais connu autre chose que le sang et les ordres à exécuter. Jusqu'au jour où Ao, un jeune homme ordinaire totalement étranger à ce monde brutal, entre dans sa vie. Leur rencontre fait naître un sentiment que Nezumi n'a jamais appris à comprendre : l'amour.

J'ai littéralement dévoré ce premier opus tant il est efficace. L'auteur réussit un pari audacieux : nous faire nous attacher profondément à une héroïne qui est pourtant une tueuse. Peu à peu, à travers les indices disséminés dans le récit, on comprend que Nezumi a été façonnée, presque programmée pour tuer. C'est tout ce qu'on lui a appris. Sa rencontre avec Ao agit alors comme une fissure dans ce conditionnement. Pour la première fois, elle entrevoit une autre vie… une perspective qui ne risque évidemment pas de plaire aux yakuzas qui l'ont élevée.

Le manga installe une atmosphère oppressante où la menace est constante. Riku Oseto ne ménage jamais ses personnages et n'hésite pas à les confronter au pire de l'être humain. Derrière la violence et la brutalité, il met surtout en lumière une société sombre, où l'innocence a bien peu de place.

Graphiquement, le mangaka fait un choix très particulier et franchement audacieux. Nezumi et Ao possèdent un chara design presque enfantin, doux et candide, tandis que les autres personnages évoluent dans un style beaucoup plus réaliste et dur. Ce contraste peut surprendre au premier regard, mais je l'ai trouvé extrêmement pertinent. À mes yeux, il souligne la pureté et la naïveté des deux jeunes protagonistes face au monde corrompu dans lequel ils évoluent. Les deux styles se heurtent ainsi planche après planche, renforçant l'impact émotionnel de la lecture.

Résultat : une expérience très intense. Entre tension, tendresse et inquiétude permanente, je suis passée par toute une palette d'émotions… avec même quelques moments où j'ai eu très peur pour les personnages.

Attention toutefois : ce manga aborde des thématiques dures et certaines scènes peuvent heurter les sensibilités. Ce n'est clairement pas une lecture à mettre entre toutes les mains.

Mais pour celles et ceux qui aiment les récits sombres, psychologiques et marquants, le premier amour de Nezumi est une oeuvre aussi dérangeante que fascinante. Une lecture forte que je recommande sans hésiter.

[Polycraftory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This manga follows Nezumi, a girl raised by the mob to be the perfect killer. She is tiny and a brutal, efficient killer. One day after a hit a boy sees her and falls madly in love with her. After a couple attempts at talking to her she lets him take her on a date and they end up in a relationship. But, due to her ongoing role in the mob, things are complicated.

Okay, so this manga is not for me. I can see who this would be for though, if you like a mix of very sweet scenes with brutal backstory this might be for you. This also has very rough gore so that's also something to keep in mind. I love a cute assassin, I think that is so fun (see Spy X Family) but this was pretty brutal for me. I also just don't know that I want to know what happened to her in the past, and that's a personal thing. I think it's hard with women and girls in these jobs because it is often sexual trauma not just physical and I don't think I'm compelled enough to find out either way.

But, if you like a he falls first, and he finds out about her life and doubles down this might be for you. He also triples down when his feet are held to the fire. The FMC is also super insane but hyper competent so that is nice. So if you are also into women at the top of their game, their game being murder this also might be for you. The art is also very good!

I received this arc from Netgalley in return for my honest review. Thank you!

Review by Nic @polycraftory on Instagram & Tumblr where I do book reviews and crafts with my polycule. If you are curious about my thoughts on more books, you can find me @businesswife on Storygraph or Nic Morrow on Netgalley. You can also find content warnings on my Storygraph review of this book. You can also find my reviews @polycraftory on Goodreads.

[Spaghett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read in Japanese)

If you've finished Happiness this might actually be a good next thing to jump to since it's fairly similar in tone and and language level. The dialogue is fairly quick and even spare in a lot of places, which kind of fits the classic hitman vibe, and similar to Happiness there's an intriguing romance between a normal person and someone who lives a bloody life of violence. In this case Nezumi, who's been raised since birth to be a brutal assassin, happens to attract the attentions of a very devoted simp who seems to get in way over his head but wants to make things work. This dude is either the most committed boyfriend ever or there's something else going on, but it's unhinged either way.

There are certainly a lot of twists and turns throughout this first volume and the story is definitely unpredictable. Some of the blood and gore is honestly a little too much for me and I'm usually not too bothered by violence, but the artist is a little too good at making blood look realistic and closeups of knives poking into flesh always get me quesy in ways a dude exploding into gibs never does so reader beware, but the romance between Nezumi and Ao is compelling and surprisingly quite funny at times. The language generally isn't too overwhelming though there are some unfamiliar dialects and "tough guy interjections" that I wasn't 100% familliar with but aren't super crucial to know. I finished the first volume pretty quickly and I imagine the rest will be about the same level.

[Lanie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nezumi has been a killer for Yakuza since she was a child. After a job she meets a young man named Ao who professes his love for her almost instantly and after a few dates they move in together. Unfortunately for the young couple, the Yakuza gets word of their relationship, and gives them an ultimatum; either Ao learns to be a hit man too or Nezumi must kill him. Nezumi has thirty days to train her sweet, clumsy boyfriend to murder anyone at any time or they may both lose their lives.

Honestly, this went in the exact direction I assumed it would, the one big twist is that to save Ao's life she opts to train him to become a killer. It is a logical offer given the circumstances, and I feel like it demonstrates where Nezumi's mind is at. She's clearly extremely skilled and I get the feeling that there are plenty of members of the "family" who are understandably terrified of her but given the power dynamics with the gang Nezumi doesn't realize this. I could be completely wrong of course it's only the first volume but I'm willing to stick it out to see if this comes into play at some point.

What brought this down to a 4-star read for me is the reveal at the end. I *really* wish this had not been brought into it. Given the storyline, this was low-hanging fruit, which can't go in many directions from where it was left. That being said, I'm willing to check out vol 2, as there are a ton of directions Nezumi's story can go and I'm interested in seeing which route Oseto takes.


As always thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the eArc!!

[Malli (Chapter Malliumpkin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC was provided by NetGalley & Kodansha Comics | Vertical Comics


Content/Trigger Warnings: Grooming, pedophilia, murder, death, violence, blood, trauma/PTSD, loss of loved ones, grief, stalking, kidnapping/abduction, scene of self-harm



I have really conflicting feelings on this manga. On one hand, I love the concept of mafia/hitman elements in this manga and I'm very interested in Nezumi's backstory. However, I wasn't a fan of the male love interest, at all. I didn't find him interesting and the extremely brief pieces of information about his past wasn't enough to make me interest in him or even want to know more about him. I just didn't care. I also felt that there was too much going on in this first volume that certain things got drowned out and gave the feeling that those things were going to be dragged out over the series. Overall, I wish this first volume had better balance and didn't feel like it was hopping around in time as much as it did. However, I do think for many readers especially for readers who love their mafia books, this will be an interesting read for sure.



All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.


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[Katharine · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
So admittedly, I was a dummy who didn't realize there was an entire trigger warning list in the publisher's note, and only read the plot blurb. Though the plot blurb horrifically understates what the story is about. It states, "Equal parts ultraviolence and kawaii, Nezumi's First Love turns both the hitman and love comedy genres on their heads!". This is not a love comedy. This is an assassin horror with tragic romance. There's nothing comedic in this entire manga, and I have no idea why the blurb is trying to play it like it is. I had expected something more similar to "The Way of the Househusband" due to the "love comedy" description, but this is NOTHING like that. The murders are shown graphically, as well as the nudity, and it doesn't hold back on the gore. It shows Nezumi getting (almost?) raped as a small child, surrounded by other young girls that the story states have already suffered that fate. She manages to kill her rapist, even though he is a VERY large man and she's only a tiny girl, and it cements her on the path to becoming a yakuza assassin. This story is largely tragic, and even the "romantic" parts are clearly meant to be a doomed romance. This story also just felt empty; it was so focused on showing how Nezumi is a "killing machine that the romance feels like it didn't exist.. Also, the characters felt hollow, and the random time skips didn't help.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nezumi has grown up with yakuzas, with everything horrible that entails—and much of which is shown. She’s a cold, emotioneless killer, until she meets Ao. He’s a hapless, carefree young man who falls for her at first sight and somehow manages to convince her to date him. But yakuzas don’t take it well that their tool has life outside their organisation and order her to put a very permanent end to it. She manages to talk their way out of the situation, but the price is high.

This was a straightforward, fast-paced opening volume. Chapters were short with long time jumps. In first chapter, Nezumi meets Ao, and in the next they’ve already lived together for six months. It matters for the reader, because we don’t get to witness the romance, bonding, and love that is needed for the latter part of the story to have a proper emotional impact. I felt the mess they’re in, but in a sort of intellectual way. The first volume ends before they have to face the test. I won’t be reading more.

Even more difficult to handle was the contrast between the gruesome, no punches spared story and the cutesy way the main characters are drawn. The cover gives to understand a sweet love story when it’s everything but. I’m sure it’s meant to emphasise the difference between the main characters and the yakuzas, but it was jarring.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[BookForAHeart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nezumi's First Love is a brutal, heart-wrenching descent into hell. It's not a fluffy romance; it's the tragic story of a young woman raised to be a killer who finds a flicker of humanity in an ordinary man. This is the yakuza love story we’ve been waiting for, and it's every bit as dark and tragic as it sounds. 🖤

Nezumi is a ghost of a person, a finely tuned weapon. Her meeting with Ao is a jarring, beautiful contrast to her violent reality. His simple world of shared dinners and video games makes her happy for the first time. It's a fragile, painful dream, and you know from the start it's doomed.

This sense of dread is constant. The fear is palpable—the fear of a dream ending, of happiness being crushed. When her masters return, the tone shifts immediately to one of pure terror. The manga doesn’t shy away from the horrific truth of her existence, and the rage this evokes is intense. You feel her desperation to protect the one good thing in her life, and the utter injustice of it all.

Nezumi's First Love is a powerful, unflinching look at what it means to be human. It offers no easy answers, only a tragic story about a killing machine who finds her humanity, only to have to fight tooth and nail to keep it. This isn't just a love story; it’s a terrifying, rage-inducing, and ultimately tragic descent into darkness.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Nezumi's First Love” by Riku Ōseto

4⭐️/5⭐️

Dark. Violent. Disturbing. And yet, there were moments that really endeared me.

Nezumi has an intense past, which we see in a few flashback panels. While readers aren’t given the whole story, we can piece together enough to know more than what’s being outright stated. Nezumi is quiet, dedicated, and 100% lethal towards her targets. She has worked all of her life for the yakuza, being trained from childhood through brutal situations.

As an adult, she lives a very lonely and solitary life. One day she meets Ao, a young man who is instantly drawn to her. He professes his love and dedication, having no idea who Nezumi is, but realizing he is already deeply dedicated towards her.

They live a normal life as a couple–for a brief period of time. Once Nezumi’s boss sees she’s being distracted, sees she’s being pulled in another direction, he orders her to commit the impossible.

I found myself glued to the pages. While absolutely horrifying, I *had* to know what was going to happen next to Ao and Nezumi. The trigger warnings are pretty accurate, and I would definitely read those first in order to understand how dark this story is. I’ll for sure keep reading, I want to know what happens next!

[Katie Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m very intrigued by Nezumi’s first love! This graphic novel is both cutesy and disturbing In equal measures. I was immediately drawn into the art style of the manga, the artist does a very good job of switching between cutesy and more darker panels. I liked both Nezumi and Ao, their character designs are both cute and they look amazing in both of the cutesy and darker atmospheric panels. The plot of this manga is intriguing, I liked reading about Nezumi’s and Al’s cutesy romance but I equally liked reading about Nezumi’s more gritty yakuza lifestyle. I wish we would have gotten some more context about their relationship as the manga goes from them meeting then skipping six months, the same for the yakuza jobs. I would have liked to know why certain things went down.

The plot went in a direction that I wasn’t particularly expecting but I’m happy with it, the stuff that happens after their relationship is found out is dark but intriguing and I’m excited to see where things are going to go from there! I’m routing for both of Nezumi and Ao, their relationship is cute and a bit awkward and I can’t help but wonder how this is going to affect both their relationship and themselves as characters. Thank you to the publisher for giving me a complimentary review copy of the book.

[E (manga_runner) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nezumi’s First Love
-Mafia/yakuza,dark Romance, Thriller
-netgalley & Kodansha ARC
I am going to start off by saying there are some warnings to know of before starting this series: graphic violence, abuse, torture,and r**e. Going into it, I did not know much of what this was going to be about but personally I thought it was a good/interesting one. I liked the art style for the characters and their surroundings- especially the colored pages at the beginning. The first volume sets up the atmosphere and plot, plus gives us some back story of Nezumi including some of the things she has had to do. It does end on sort of a cliffhanger, which I’m not going to spoil; but it does leave me wanting to read more just to find out what happens next.
We see some character development from both Nezumi and Ao. Nezumi who tries to fit into normal society while behind doors she still carries out the bosses orders and Ao who ends up in an unideal situation.

Quick Summary:
Nezumi has had a dark, tragic past and is used as a tool by the mafia to carry out assassin jobs. On one of the jobs, she has a small encounter with Ao at an arcade which leads to some unexpected events. Will she be able to keep Ao from being corrupted by the underworld of society?