Even a Replica Can Fall in Love (Japanese: レプリカだって、恋をする。, Hepburn: Repurika Datte, Koi o Suru) is a Japanese light novel series written by Harunadon and illustrated by raemz. ASCII Media Works published six volumes from February 2023 to April 2026 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation illustrated by Momose Hanada began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Maoh magazine in April 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by Voil aired from April to June 2026.
Contents
Plot
When she was seven years old, Sunao Aikawa created Nao, a replica of herself. Over the course of several years, Nao lives as Sunao, going to school and doing other things, while Sunao stays at home. However, as time goes on, Nao falls in love with Shuya Sanada. This complicates her arrangement with Sunao, knowing that Nao is not human and Sunao only knows about what happens at school due to Nao's reports. Nao now has to deal with her feelings for Shuya, being aware of who she is.
Characters
Sunao Aikawa (愛川 素直, Aikawa Sunao)
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi
A stay-at-home girl. Due to past trauma, she stays at home and does not go to school. If she needs to go out, she sends Nao in her place, with Nao sending her reports about the day's events.
Nao (ナオ)
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi
An exact replica of Sunao that she created when she was seven. Nao goes to school as Sunao, with no one noticing her true identity or the arrangement. She is a member of the Literature Club.
Shuya Sanada (真田 秋也, Sanada Shūya)
Voiced by: Ryōta Suzuki
Nao's classmate and a member of the Literature Club.
Ritsuko Hironaka (広中 律子, Hironaka Ritsuko)
Voiced by: Yūki Takada
A fellow member of the Literature Club.
Suzumi Mori (森すずみ, Mori Suzumi)
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka
A student council president.
Shun Mochizuki (望月隼, Mochizuki Shun)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
A vice president of the student council and Suzumi's childhood friend.
Kozue Satou (佐藤梢, Satō Kozue)
Media
Light novel
Even a Replica Can Fall in Love is written by Harunadon and illustrated by raemz. ASCII Media Works published six volumes under their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint from February 10, 2023 to April 10, 2026.
During their panel at Sakura-Con 2024, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume releasing in September 2024.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Momose Hanada began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Maoh magazine on April 26, 2023. The manga's chapters have been compiled into six tankōbon volumes as of May 2026.
The manga adaptation is published digitally in English on Kadokawa's BookWalker website. During their panel at Anime Expo 2025, Yen Press announced that they had also licensed the manga adaptation for English publication.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced during the "Dengeki Bunko Winter Festival 2025" livestream event on February 16, 2025. The series will be produced by Voil and directed by Ryuichi Kimura, with Tomoko Shinozuka handling series composition and writing scripts alongside Misaki Morie, Eiji Abiko designing the characters, and Kanako Hara composing the music. It was broadcast from April 7 to June 30, 2026, on AT-X and other networks. The opening theme song, "Refrain", is performed by Shytaupe, and the ending theme song, "Awa", is performed by Asmi. Crunchyroll has streamed the series.
Reception
The series won the Grand Prize at the 29th Dengeki Novel Prize in 2022.