ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘My Love Mix-Up’ Volume 4

What began as a miscommunication between Aoki and his crush Hashimoto and who he thought was her crush Ida has now blossomed into a supportive love story between the two boys. Last volume, everything became official. While on the school trip, Aoki and Ida became boyfriends; after miscommunication and some feeling searching, the two finally decided that romance was in the cards. Aoki confesses his feelings to Ida and prepares for rejection, but, in an unexpected turn of events, Ida asks him if they should try dating. In My Love Mix-Up Volume 4, everything comes to a head, and the boys learn that just being in a relationship isn’t where communication stops.

My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 is written by mangaka Wataru Hinekuri and illustrated by mangaka Aruka. The series is published and localized in English by VIZ Media through their Shojo Beat imprint, though it was initially published in 2019. The Shojo Beat Edition of My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 features an adaptation and translation from Jan Cash, touch-up art & lettering by Inori Fukuda Trant, design by Yukiko Whitley, and edited by Nancy Thistlewaite.

This volume does a great job of taking time to allow Aoki and Ida to make mistakes, learn from them, and grow together. While Aoki wants to keep their new relationship under wraps, Ida has told his friends…all of his friends, like his entire sports club worth of friends, who greet the two with celebration. Mortified, Aoki takes off in anger, leaving Ida confused as to what he’s done wrong.

My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 is about boundaries and understanding, but more importantly, in order to establish them, you have to communicate at the moment and not after they’ve had a big blow-up. For Aoki, he’s terrified of Ida being treated differently by his teammates because he has a boyfriend. Consumed with worry for Ida’s future high school career and friends, Aoki has to process that that choice belongs to Ida, not him. And to be honest, their friends are actually extremely supportive.

On the other hand, Ida made a unilateral decision that people should know about the relationship without even thinking about how it could impact Ida. As Ida’s friends point out, it seems to Aoki and the people around him that it was a choice made because he thinks Ida doesn’t understand the weight of beginning a relationship.

While Aoki is so focused on “what if” instead of listening to Ida, Ida is too focused on the right now, instead of even thinking about how it could impact Aoki. To get over this, the two have to meet each other where they are, and sometimes that takes a little intervention from the people who care about them. But that’s the importance of My Love Mix-Up; it’s all about exploring the fact that even if you like someone, that romance may look different for both parties, and working through that together is what’s important.

Now, My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 isn’t perfect, but that’s not because of how Aoki and Ida are treated. Instead, it’s because it has a large section dedicated to Hashimoto and Aida. While those two were central to the beginning miscommunication, they’re not the interesting or important part of the series. I would have much rather had more exploration of Ida and Aoki.

My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 overall is a wonderful look at communication and learning how to function as a couple and not as a singular person. It’s a great take on romance and one I’m excited to dive into in each volume.

My Love Mix-Up Volume 4 is available July 5, 2022.