Major spoilers: This article discusses the ending of Io Sakisaka’s Love Me, Love Me Not manga, including the final relationships and the choices made in Volume 12. It refers to the original manga rather than either film adaptation.
The short answer: Yuna and Rio become a couple, and Akari and Kazuomi also choose to stay together. By the end, Rio plans a future in Japan instead of simply following his family overseas, while Akari decides to go abroad with her family and pursue her own goals. Distance does not end either relationship. The four friends reach the ending by making deliberate choices—not by waiting for romance to solve everything for them.
That is what stayed with me most after reading all 12 volumes.
At first, Love Me, Love Me Not looks like a complicated romantic square. Yuna is drawn to Rio. Rio cannot let go of Akari. Akari begins to care for Kazuomi, while Kazuomi hesitates when he believes his friend may love her too.
But the series is not only asking, “Who likes whom?” It keeps asking a more difficult question:
What will each person choose once feelings become complicated by family, friendship, fear, and the future?
Who Ends Up Together in Love Me, Love Me Not?
The two final couples are:
- Yuna Ichihara and Rio Yamamoto
- Akari Yamamoto and Kazuomi Inui
Both relationships survive the final volume, but they do not arrive at the same kind of ending.
Yuna and Rio have already moved from one-sided love into a mutual relationship. Their final challenge is the possibility that Rio may have to move overseas with his family. He does not want to leave Yuna, so he looks for a realistic way to remain in Japan.
Akari and Kazuomi face the opposite problem. Akari has a reason to go overseas, and Kazuomi believes she should not abandon an important future simply to stay near him. Their disagreement hurts because neither of them is being careless. They both care about the relationship, but they also have to decide what love should ask of them.
The manga does not treat physical distance as proof that a relationship has failed. Instead, it shows the characters trying to protect both love and the person they want to become.
Yuna and Rio: Love After Rejection
Yuna’s growth was one of the most satisfying parts of the series for me.
She begins as someone whose romantic imagination can make real-life love feel frightening. Yet she does not remain passive. After Rio rejects her, she does not pretend her feelings disappeared. She also does not accept someone else simply because being chosen would be easier than continuing to love Rio.
She thinks, acts, and eventually chooses to speak again.
That second attempt matters. A first confession can feel like a sudden release of emotion. Confessing again after being rejected requires a different kind of courage. Yuna knows what disappointment feels like, yet she still decides that her feelings deserve an honest answer.
Rio changes too. At first, his attention is trapped by feelings he cannot comfortably express or pursue. As Yuna becomes stronger, she also helps him see beyond his own pain. In my reading, she does not simply wait for him to notice her. Her honesty becomes part of what allows him to look at himself differently.
By the time Rio recognizes his feelings for Yuna, the relationship feels earned through their conversations, mistakes, and mutual care.
Akari and Kazuomi: Choosing Love Without Giving Up the Future
Akari and Kazuomi’s relationship moved me in a different way.
Akari is often able to examine feelings that are difficult to name. Early in the story, she does not accept a simple explanation for why she cannot let go of an old keepsake. She tries to understand whether the object represents love, memory, regret, or something unfinished.
That habit of thinking carefully continues throughout the manga.
Kazuomi also refuses to treat love as permission to ignore other people. When he believes Rio has feelings for Akari, he creates distance. It is painful and imperfect, but it comes from his desire to act fairly toward a friend.
Their romance develops through hesitation rather than certainty. That can be frustrating to watch, especially when it seems obvious that they care about each other. Yet the hesitation is also part of what makes their eventual choice meaningful.
Near the ending, Akari’s possible move abroad forces the relationship to become concrete. This is no longer only about whether they like each other. It is about school, family, distance, and the kind of life Akari may want.
Kazuomi encourages her not to give up that future for him. Akari initially experiences that position as distance between them. I understood why the conflict hurt: wanting someone to follow a dream does not automatically make separation easy.
Still, they do not choose between love and growth as if only one can survive. Akari goes abroad, and their relationship continues.
For me, that is one of the ending’s strongest ideas. Supporting the person you love does not always mean asking them to stay close. Sometimes it means refusing to let your presence become the reason they make their world smaller.
The Parents’ Marriage Creates a Problem the Children Must Carry
One part of the story made me angry from the beginning.
Akari and Rio’s parents choose to remarry, bringing teenagers of the same age into one home. The adults are free to pursue their own relationship, but the young people are then expected to control or suppress any feelings that might make the household uncomfortable.
I found that deeply unfair.
The manga repeatedly shows the younger characters dealing with consequences created by adults: remarriage, the fear of divorce, a possible overseas move, and worries about how other people will judge them. They are not allowed to live inside a simple school romance. Family decisions keep entering their emotional lives.
What impressed me is that they do not only react. They speak to their parents, search for alternatives, and try to shape what happens next.
Rio’s effort to find a place where he can remain in Japan is one example. His choice is motivated by his desire to stay near Yuna, but it is also practical. He looks for a solution instead of treating love as a wish that someone else must fulfill.
Why the Ending Feels Honest
Many romance stories could resolve this group of feelings by moving each character toward the nearest available partner.
Love Me, Love Me Not does not do that.
Yuna does not date another boy simply because Rio rejected her. Rio has to understand how his feelings are changing. Akari does not accept attention without examining what she truly wants. Kazuomi has to stop hiding behind reasons that sound considerate and finally face both his future and his feelings.
They do not always make perfect decisions. They misunderstand each other, hesitate, become jealous, and cause pain. But they keep thinking.
That was the quality I loved most after finishing the manga: the characters do not simply drift into their endings.
They ask themselves what they feel. They consider the people around them. Then, eventually, they act.
The result is not a fantasy in which love removes every obstacle. Rio and Yuna still have family decisions to manage. Akari and Kazuomi still face distance. Friendship and romance remain connected, so one person’s choice can affect all four.
The ending is happy because they choose one another—but it is convincing because they also accept the work and uncertainty that follow that choice.
Is the Love Me, Love Me Not Manga Finished?
Yes. Io Sakisaka’s manga is complete in 12 volumes. VIZ Media publishes the official English edition under the title Love Me, Love Me Not, and identifies Volume 12 as the final volume.
The official English release is available in print and digital formats. VIZ also offers an official preview and chapter access, although availability and purchasing options can vary by region.
See the official English series page at VIZ.
If you have only watched the animated or live-action film, remember that this article is about the ending of the original manga. The adaptations condense the story, while the manga has more room for the characters’ hesitation, family circumstances, and gradual changes.
Final Thoughts
When I finished Love Me, Love Me Not, I did not only feel relieved that Yuna and Rio, and Akari and Kazuomi, found their way to each other.
I was moved by how seriously the story treats choosing.
Being rejected does not force Yuna to erase her feelings. Loving Akari does not give Kazuomi the right to decide her future. Wanting to remain near Yuna does not allow Rio to avoid practical responsibility. Akari’s love does not make her dream unimportant.
Each character has to decide what to hold on to, what to say, and what future to build.
That is why the ending stayed with me. The couples are not together because the story simply paired everyone off. They are together because, after being confused and hurt, they finally choose with open eyes.
Continue with More Io Sakisaka Manga
If you enjoyed the way this manga lets difficult feelings unfold through choices rather than easy answers, you may also like my Ao Haru Ride guide, another Io Sakisaka romance about distance, identity, and emotional timing.
For her newest officially licensed English series, see my spoiler-light Daydream Darling manga guide.
Read the Official English Manga
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If you want to read the complete story in English, begin with Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1. After reading the earlier volumes, the relationships and final choices discussed here conclude in Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 12. Check the language, format, seller, price, and regional availability before ordering.
And sometimes, that may be the most romantic ending of all.
