Love Me, Love Me Not (思い、思われ、ふり、ふられ, Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare) is a 2020 theatrical anime film based on Io Sakisaka’s manga series of the same name. The adaptation is directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi and produced by studio A-1 Pictures. Staff credits also include writer Erika Yoshida and music composed by Yuuji Nomi. The film was first released in Japanese theaters in September 2020.
Background:
“Based on an award-winning manga of the same name, Love Me, Love Me Not is a tale of two girls with a very different viewpoints on love – Yuna lives her life in an idealistic world where she imagines the romance of being swept away by a charming and beautiful “prince”, while Akari is far more practical about how she sees love. Of course, it isn’t just girls that have their own perspectives, and their relationships with Kazuomi and Rio might just change their viewpoints on love in ways they would previously never have imagined.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, January 2023.
Over the years I’ve seen a lot of shoujo focused series be adapted into television format but considering the length of this series I’m surprised that A-1 Pictures decided to give Love Me, Love Me Not the theatrical approach instead. Either they had confidence the story was going to be wrapped up quickly or decided to go for an original non-canon one off instead.
Either way, the manga is still on-going and the film never saw much traction outside Japan with no release in sight for North America or Australia. Anime Limited in the UK acquired the theatrical and home video rights with initial plans to release it in cinemas as part of their big line-up. In the end, it went straight into home video making its English-speaking debut.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Despite its direct to home video release, Anime Limited still offered a collector’s edition package like they have done with their other films released over the years.
The collector’s edition package contains a rigid box housing an Amaray case that includes the Blu-ray disc, and alongside that are a 20-page booklet, a fold-out poster, and 4 art cards. The booklet includes character designs, and some frame shots from the film.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £39.99.
The film was made available for pre-order during Anime Limited’s September Early Bird pre-order line-up for £24.99, but with the Anime (Un)Limited discount lowered the price to £22.50.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 20-page booklet
- Poster
- 4 Art Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 30th January 2023
The collector’s edition release for Love Me, Love Me Not contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring done by VDMS.
Audio options include Japanese audio with English subtitles only, as there was no English dub produced for the film. The white subtitles are locked during playback and the disc regions are restricted to B for Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Linear PCM 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- 30s Teaser
- 90s Trailer
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Love Me, Love Me Not is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be purchased through Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s online store, MVM’s Anime-on-Line, and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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