The Spring 2026 anime season has kicked off with a bang! With major heavy-hitters like The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Season 2, Witch Hat Atelier, and I Made Friends with the 2nd Prettiest Girl in Class already premiering, it feels tough for any new series to stand out. However, one show just might manage it.
It’s another charming romantic comedy: I Want to End This Love Game, which premieres today, April 14. Having read the manga, I can confidently say it’s packed with sweet, sugary moments between the two leads – Miku and Yukiya. But the big question remains: will the anime live up to the manga?
Note: Spoiler alert. The following content discusses content relating to the manga that will appear in the anime. Proceed with caution.
The story follows childhood friends Miku and Yukiya, who have been playing a long-running “love game” since they were kids: the first one to confess their feelings loses. Neither wants to be the one to break first, so we get a hilarious back-and-forth as they constantly try to outmaneuver each other into confessing. What draws me in most is how the series shows the characters not only battling to win the game, but also slowly confronting their real emotions for one another.
After all, love is complicated. You can say “I love you” countless times, but the true weight of those words and what they actually mean – can change everything. Miku and Yukiya have thrown “I love you” at each other so often that they might have lost sight of its real meaning, making an actual confession feel even more daunting.
Of course, this love game comes with plenty of misunderstandings, overthinking, and second-guessing. As a manga reader, I can promise there will be lots of those funny, heart-fluttering moments as the pair tries to one-up each other. There are also some delightfully spicy scenes along the way.
That said, one aspect that concerns me is Miku’s self-doubt – whether she feels good enough for Yukiya. I’ll be watching closely to see if Yukiya can properly reassure her and ease those insecurities.
My biggest worry is how well the studio, Felix Film, will adapt the manga. I’ve only seen a couple of their previous works – Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (a romcom) and Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement. I’m especially afraid they might tone down or cut some of the spicier moments, like the accidental kiss during the Pocky game.
As a fan of the manga, I’m really hoping Felix Film nails this adaptation, or even makes the anime better than the source material. Fingers crossed for a fantastic spring romcom!
