Love Meter Goes Negative: Rin Komugi's Hit Rom-Com Manga 'Marika's Love Meter Malfunction' Set for 2026 Anime

The television anime adaptation for Rin Komugi’s popular romantic comedy manga, Marika's Love Meter Malfunction (Marika-chan wa Kōkando wa Bukkowareteiru), has been officially confirmed. The series is scheduled to premiere in 2026 through AnimeFesta. This adaptation follows the manga’s successful digital launch on the ComicFesta web manga platform, which began serialization in April 2024.

The narrative centers on Kanata Kitami, a reserved and unremarkable protagonist who harbors a deep, long-standing affection for his lively childhood friend, Marika Chitose. Despite Marika’s widespread popularity and generally kind nature, Kanata has always been too timid to express his true feelings. His life changes dramatically after he encounters a falling star and makes a wish for better understanding of others, specifically desiring a life similar to a dating simulation game. His wish is granted overnight: he awakens with the extraordinary power to visualize love meters hovering next to women, indicating their level of romantic interest.

Kanata’s first action is to check the reading for his beloved Marika. The result is perplexing: the meter registers a negative value. This shocking contradiction is the compelling core of the series. Marika is consistently sweet and attentive toward him, yet the meter displays intense disinterest. Kanata must now navigate this romantic puzzle, attempting to reconcile the objective data provided by his new power with Marika's warm behavior, leading to humorous and confusing developments in their relationship.

Creator Rin Komugi developed the concept specifically to explore the complexities of characters who struggle profoundly with expressing affection. Komugi noted the particular challenge in crafting Marika’s character: she needed to appear flawless to the outside world while simultaneously concealing deep personal vulnerabilities, especially her intense, yet clumsy, devotion to Kanata. This nuanced characterization elevates the series beyond a simple comedic premise, adding significant emotional depth.

Marika's Love Meter Malfunction has maintained robust serialization, reaching 16 chapters and volumes by October 2025 through Wwwave Comics under the Trahison label. Due to its popularity, the series has moved into physical publication, with Suiseisha releasing the first two print volumes simultaneously on April 17, 2026. International fans can access the series in English through platforms such as MangaPlaza and the Coolmic service, managed by WWWave Corporation. As is standard for an AnimeFesta Original production, the 2026 anime will be presented in two distinct formats: a standard broadcast version suitable for television airing, and an uncensored, premium version available exclusively online. This adaptation further solidifies AnimeFesta’s eight-year history of successfully animating over 30 titles originating from the ComicFesta platform, ensuring Kanata and Marika’s quirky romance receives a high-quality animated debut.