Mikase Hayashi’s Soredemo Otōto wa Koishitagaru has officially reached its ending in Hakusensha’s LaLa magazine.
Anime News Network initially reported that the manga was set to finish in two chapters after the June issue of LaLa revealed the series was approaching its finale. The update now confirms that the manga ended in the magazine’s July issue, which was released on May 22.
For readers who have been following LaLa’s shōjo lineup, this is a neat little milestone. Soredemo Otōto wa Koishitagaru — translated as Still, My Brother Wants to Fall in Love — first launched in LaLa back in February 2022. Hakusensha later published the first compiled volume in September 2022, and the seventh volume came out on March 5.
The manga follows Nao, an older sister, and Rihito, her younger stepbrother. Nao wants Rihito to rely on her more as his big sister, but the relationship clearly has something more complicated going on beneath the surface. That emotional push-pull is very much in the LaLa wheelhouse: soft romance tension, family-adjacent drama, and character feelings that slowly get messier over time.
For Malaysia and SEA manga fans, this is the kind of series that usually flies slightly under the radar unless you are already deep into shōjo magazine circles. Big action titles tend to dominate bookstore shelves, anime newsfeeds, and TikTok edits here, but LaLa has always had a strong lane for romance readers who want something more character-focused. If you are the type who follows Japanese magazine releases or tracks volume drops before any possible English localisation, this ending matters because it tells you the series is now complete and easier to binge from start to finish.
There is also a practical collector angle. Once a manga wraps, readers in Malaysia who import Japanese volumes through Kinokuniya, online bookstores, or proxy services can start planning around a finished run instead of chasing an ongoing title. With seven compiled volumes already released as of March 5, fans now have a clearer picture of how much shelf space — and budget — they might need if they want the full set. No cap, that matters when your manga backlog is already attacking your wallet.
Hayashi is not new to LaLa readers either. Before this series, she created Marriage Purple, which launched in LaLa in July 2018 and ended in June 2021. A spinoff chapter followed in July 2021, and the series was collected into six volumes.
English-language readers may also recognise Hayashi from March on Earth (Chikyuu Koushinkyoku), which was previously published in English by CMX Manga.
For now, there is no new announcement in the provided report about an English release for Soredemo Otōto wa Koishitagaru. But with the manga now concluded in Japan, shōjo fans who enjoy compact romance series may want to keep this one on their radar.
Source: Anime News Network