Two female friends from middle school reunite as adults in this hard-hitting and personal drama manga. What begins as idle reminiscing leads to painful revelations as they heal the reopened wounds of their past in this highly-anticipated first print release from the creator of 1122: For a Happy Marriage. Drawing on real events and the Japanese #MeToo movement and Watanabe's own reflections on friendship and womanhood, That's Not Love won a place on the industry insider poll Kono Manga ga Sugoi! as one of the best manga of the year."If the 'concept' of the work is so precious, why can't the artist himself explain it in his own words?" Anger wells up within Yukari as she gradually recalls her time with her "Sensei" in more vivid detail. Akane offers emotional support, restoring their friendship to something like what they had back in middle school. But only serves as a brief respite as word of the Garden sculpture starts to spread. What does the sculptor and his wife think of the issue? What about the relationship between creator and the "model"? Between illusion and reality? Between fear and despair?"I began thinking about situations where violence might not be recognized as violence, where it might be permitted for the sake of art or because of someone’s talent, and about the hierarchies that exist between people in small, tightly-bound businesses." –Peko WatanabeJapanese title: Koi janee kara
