Hoshina dreams of making it big with his band—but writing love songs has never come easy. 

That is, until he meets Seto, a sweet and disarming part-timer who shines a little too brightly in Hoshina’s jaded world.

When a rainy night leads to an unexpected encounter, Hoshina finds himself drawn to Seto’s honesty and warmth. But discovering Seto is still in his final year of high school leaves Hoshina spiraling with guilt… 

As Hoshina tries to distance himself, Seto only steps closer—determined to love, and be loved, even if he’s still figuring out how to be a grown-up. 

Maybe love doesn’t have to be perfect to be real… Maybe it just needs a good melody!

This BL took me by surprise. I’m not a fan of age gap relationships (this one is ten years) when the younger partner is well…considerably young, but for some reason this one works for me–likely because all parties are of legal age, but they still wait years before officially getting together (spoiler, sorry). And actually, the pain that comes from waiting to act on love is a recurrent image in the manga, and the issues that come with age gaps, such as immaturity (real or imagined), underestimating the younger partner or overestimating the older partner, etc.

Hoshina isn’t someone I’d readily admire, to be honest. But I think he’s deliberately created that way. He sort of meanders through life, unattached, even though he is a guitarist and lead singer and writer (!!) for his band. When he isn’t working on music, he’s at the convenience store (konbini) wasting his life away…

If it wasn’t for the bright, shining light that is Seto. Seto shakes Hoshina up. Not only does Hoshina find Seto cute, but he also admires Seto’s hard work, good attitude, kindness, and enthusiasm for life.

One night, Hoshina finds Seto sitting outside of the konbini on a rainy night, completely soaked. Seto admits he had nowhere to go, so he thought the konbini might be a safe place for him. He will not share what happened. Hoshina, out of concern, invites Seto over to his place so he can get warm and dry. One thing leads to another and the two kiss–and Hoshina is shocked that it’s a mutual attraction. The biggest shock of all, though, is when Hoshina finds out that Seto is a senior in high school and not a college student. Instant warning lights. Instant danger.

While Seto is technically of age, Hoshina realizes the potential problems that could come from their age gap and maturity levels. When it comes to dating someone “barely legal” (at least from the US perspective), you’re dating someone not far removed from childhood, and there could be power plays and manipulation by the older party towards the younger party. While Hoshina doesn’t anticipate something specifically like that happening, he decides to pull away from Seto to protect him.

This hurts Seto deeply.

What’s confusing in their relationship is there’s a bit of a push and pull. Hoshina pulls away from Seto, and then, after months of nothing, suddenly invites Seto to his band’s concert, which Seto wholeheartedly attends. There Hoshina debuts his recently composed work, “About a Love Song.” Seto realizes it’s about them, and even more, that it’s a song of farewell. Once again, Hoshina pushes Seto away.

Even during the periods of distance, Seto and Hoshina can’t stop thinking about each other. But Hoshina is wracked with guilt at what could potentially happen, and Seto’s heart is breaking when Hoshina treats him like a child and won’t entertain his feelings as true.

I really, really feel for Seto. When I was his age, I felt love deeply, and when I felt it wasn’t being reciprocated, or I was being pushed away, it devastated me. I was never in an age gap situation, but I do know what being rejected feels like, and what the push and pull feels like, too.

Natsuno’s art is also incredibly detailed and expressive, so Seto’s feelings read plainly on his face. I have this weird thing about boys being sad, and it hurts my heart every time.

Without dialogue or thought, you can feel what every character is feeling, thanks to Natsuno’s gorgeous art.

I would comment more on the story but I did reveal that the two do end up together. To spoil more, it’s when Seto is 20 and Hoshina 30 (although the flash forward is when they are 22 and 32). A lot has changed between them, but such a wave of relief poured over me when they finally started their new lives as a couple, and gave into their feelings. I won’t tell you anything else about that.

Since this is a first volume, we know that there is a volume two coming out (I couldn’t find release info on it) that will probably chronicle their lives as a couple with a rough beginning, but how they overcame it, and then introduce some new challenges in their happy lives. I look forward to it.

Again, I wasn’t keen on this at first when I found out it was an age gap romance between a high schooler and an adult, but I felt this was handled well and respectfully, especially because the two do not have sex with each other–just the exchange of a kiss, and a hand grazing skin along the chest and stomach. That’s it. There’s no sense of exploitation or grooming here, which is much appreciated.

If you want to read an age gap romance that feels safe and wholesome, but still rife with emotions and pain, I recommend About a Love Song. This hit me right in my feelings and drew me into Hoshina and Seto’s complex relationship. Hoshina did the right thing by waiting until Seto was older for them to come together officially, and what’s heartwarming about that, in addition to showing care and respect for Seto’s youth, is that it shows that true love can wait, and be kindled again at any time.

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About a Love Song vol, 1 is a fresh new release, coming out on December 9, 2025. It is available in print and digital from a wide variety of booksellers online. Support the publisher by purchasing the paperback direct! Volume two is forthcoming.