Introduction

I am a massive crybaby when it comes to tragic romance stories. Whether in novel form or a movie on screen, if a story hits me in the heart, the tears will stream despite me being a full-grown man. Honestly, though, I’ve never hated this portion of me. I love it when a good plot makes me feel emotions and I think, sadly, many mediums can’t do that well.

Author Misaki Ichijo did this to me with one of their novels, Even If This Love Disappears Tonight. When I read Misaki’s first novel, I knew they were destined for greatness and while their sequel didn’t hit me as hard, we finally got a new novel from Misaki to read, and that is, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love.

Readers out there, let me start this review by saying, I loved this book and once again, did cry…this time at work and to some interesting reactions from my coworkers. While it’s not a perfect story and there are issues I can see form with Ichijo’s format, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love, is a novel I have a lot to share about and plan to do so now!

Here’s my review of In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love from Misaki Ichijo! Thanks to Yen Press for giving us here, at SunsetNerdVerse an early release copy!

Tragic Teen Years

Many of us take life for granted. It’s not something promised to us daily and we often forget to appreciate every second we get to live. I’ve appreciated the characters in Misaki Ichijo’s various works. They realize their lives are precious and despite the struggles, often the demise that looms over them, they still try to smile and push through.

In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love, we follow the tale of several characters but primarily two protagonists, Makoto Tsukishima and Tsubasa Minami. Makoto, sadly, learns that he has a rare disease that will claim his life within one year, and from there, he begins to try to appreciate life while keeping his impending end a secret to all.

His parents and the school nurse, who also know of his fate, decide to go with his wishes and support him as much as they can. At one point, Makoto decides to tell Tsubasa that he’s liked her for a long time and while he does just that, he doesn’t wish to let himself get close fearing he would be hurting himself and her knowing his death will happen soon.

However, despite his wishes, Makoto ends up getting close to Tsubasa, her friends at the film club, and then, becomes her boyfriend. I won’t spoil but the premise from In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love, is the format of a traditional tragic romance story and works well enough.

What helps keep In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love engaging, despite knowing the result, is the pacing and the characters. Makoto is a hard character to find issues with as he’s such a kind individual who truly cares about others and Tsubasa, which puts him in a predicament as his disease worsens, and he begins to have issues keeping his secret.

Tsubasa too, seems like a generic female protagonist at first. Still, as you read from her perspective (In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love occasionally shifts from Makoto to Tsubasa and their friend Aoi Hayami), you begin to understand they are very relatable characters who personify how kind humanity can be at times.

Personally, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love isn’t an original story but it has a lot of similarities to Makoto’s previous works–more on this in a moment. It’s a simple tragic romance story with heart and feeling and often made me want to skip work to get to that next chapter.

I think a lot of authors try to go out of their comfort zones and create radically different stories. Sometimes to some success, but Misaki Ichijo kept to their style and crafted a solid story with great characters that tugged at your heartstrings.

That Feeling of Déjà Vu

The main issue with In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love is pretty easy to see if you’ve read the other two Ichijo books, like I have. Misaki seems to love having male characters die in rather dark ways and end relationships that are so cute. Part of me wonders if I love that or wish they would try to alter their format.

As I said before, I don’t want a completely different format but In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love plays it too safe by keeping to this tragic formula. Let me be clear though, it works and In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love is a phenomenal story but if I read another book like it…I might not feel as emotional.

The best fix to this issue isn’t, per se, to flip the script and have the female lead die or something akin to that. Maybe instead we can have a mutual best friend get into a tragic accident/death. It doesn’t always need to be the central male protagonist. Misaki’s last book was a sequel to the first, Even If These Tears Disappear Tonight, where there was no death (thankfully) but it also was meant to be more of an accompanying book to their first and act as a means to close the tale fully on all the characters.

I just want a slightly (keyword, slightly) new format for Misaki’s next book but then again, I’ll still read it and soak it in, regardless. I love this writer and feel they have a bright future in the world of novels!

What Medium Could In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love Be Next

After I closed the book and wiped my manly tears–I’m not joking, I did cry as I was reading In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love. I then wondered…what could be next?

Misaki Ichijo’s first novel became a movie, which I have still yet to see and will remedy soon, but would In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love work as a movie too? Personally, rather than be a live-action like its predecessor, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love should be an anime film.

The reason is, that the cast would be better captured as animated characters than real-life actors. Maybe even a one-shot manga, which could work very well, too. This might seem silly but I want In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love to continue as a different medium to show that Misaki Ichijo’s works could be more than novels. As anime though, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love would be a masterpiece. I could imagine a solid studio and OST making every moment even more impactful and making me once more, cry.

Conclusion

In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love isn’t a perfect novel and I can ensure many of Misaki Ichijo’s fans may feel like they’ve read this tale before in some form. Yet, with incredible writing, a likable cast, and some truly relatable themes, In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love is a story that I picked up and just couldn’t stop reading.

As someone who consumes romance stories and novels, I can fully recommend In A World of Lies, I Fell into an Unforgettable Love! Now, let me sit down and not think about Makoto and Tsubasa…especially one of their scenes that made me want to cry into my work jacket.

–Aaron