Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Hello and thanks for having a look!

I've noticed that this manga is yet to receive a review so I thought I'd write my thoughts.


Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! is a wonderful addition to the comedy genre in the world of Manga. It's simplistic concept, ideas and characters give it a lot of room to explore the possibilities when two completely oposite personalities such as the two MCs interact.

Story - 10:

A simple boy-meets-girl tale, it follows the daily college lives of two University students. It's a good ... direction that the mangaka has chosen when he decided to focus more on the two people's everyday activities outside of campus thus not complicating it with school life. The settings range from Sakurai's workplace at a cafe, to Sakurai's home which is constantly invaded by his Kouhai Uzaki to batting cages and movie theatres.

The atmosphere and scenarios that occur are refreshing and lighthearted. The artist knows exactly how to make the reader laugh and gives us the right amount of fan service without making the situations forced unlike so many other works that blatantly provide upskirt and butt shots galore. A few awkward situations are enough to make the story believable and relatable. But of course in order to trully understand the essence of the story, I need to address the characters.

Characters - 10:

Uzaki Hana - By far the most enjoyable protagonist, she's very extroverted and your typical genki girl. However it goes beyond that as her way of trolling her Senpai Sakurai is absolute gold. I found the fact that she used to be in the same school as him before they moved to college to be endearing. She provides good contrast to the loner and stiff type that Sakurai represents, with her exuberance and always manages to eventually melt his dense shut-in icy heart. Doesn't hurt that she's cute and stacked too. Her relationship with the guy is so fun to explore that even the people around them literally ship them. No really! It's an actual running gag in the story!
Sakurai Shinichi - this sour senpai might seem to have a broody disposition. At first. But deep inside, under all of the "I just wanna play video games alone without Uzaki bothering me" grumpiness, he's just a big softie. This is often displayed for example by his love for cats, embarrassment as he tries hard to keep Uzaki out of trouble. I also really like how funny he looks when he gets pi$$ed off when the girl is trolling him. I admit he is not for everybody but you can't help but relate to him if you're also a bit of a shut-in and/or an introvert. You can also see that he secretly enjoys it when Uzaki drags him around and makes him do social things.
Supporting cast - A rather small one, it mostly consists of Sakurai's boss and his daughter Ami who is also working at the cafe. This is where the shipping comes in. It's always fun to picture yourself as them as they root for the two protagonists, hoping for them to get together. And their quirky personalities help carry the situations forward. Then we have Sakaki-kun, Sakurai's best friend who really pushes the situation with being quite blunt and asking them probing questions.

Art - 7:

I'd say the art is nothing special. The backgrounds are quite simplified, the mangaka doesn't seem to focus on it much and the overall character design is pretty standard for the genre. I'd say it really reminds me of D-Frag.

Enjoyment - 10:

If you want something to laugh at and make you feel full of positivity, this is the manga you need to read.

Overall - 10:

I'd recomend it for anyone who likes comedies with some mild of Ecchi peppered in all the right spots.

Given the spate with which the "teasing-romcom" sub-genre has sprouted up in recent years, I decided to give Uzaki-chan a shot just to see how it holds up with the rest of the pack. (Also, because it's Covid19 and I don't have anything better to do!)

Let's get this out of the way - this manga is not very well executed. We have a large breasted girl who chases and annoys her 6 foot hunk of a senior. The senior is aloof and is, for the most part, a blank slate of a character. Apart from his physique, he has no traits that make him standout. ... The manga proceeds with their interactions and features a side-cast of characters whose main function in the series is to 'make' the protagonists a 'couple'.

What makes this series inferior to others is that the humor is very juvenile and clichéd. Let's take a few examples:
1. Senpai likes cats. Uzaki tries to catch a stray cat for her senpai. She gets stuck in a bush, exposes her panties. Senpai tries to untangle her, passer-by's think they are having doggie-style sex. hahaha.
2. The gang goes to the beach. Senpai has to crack open a watermelon blindfolded. Instead of cracking the watermelon, he grabs Uzaki's breasts. hahaha.
3. Uzaki wants to try alcohol for the first time. Senpai acts as her chaperone but she gets drunk anyway and ends up at his room. She pukes on his mattress. ewww/hahaha.
4. Senpai visits Uzaki's home. Senpai, who likes cats, glances one sitting on Uzaki's mom's lap. Uzaki's mom thinks that he is staring at her breasts. hahaha.

Now such humor in itself is not a bad thing. Heck, there are *far far* worse ecchi manga out there that cater to the male fantasy of boob or ass-grabbing. What makes Uzaki-chan unremarkable is that the characters don't seem to have any emotional connect with each other. To understand this better, take the equally (if not more) popular manga - Karaki Jouze no Takagi-san. It has a similar premise - Takagi teases a boy that she likes. However, beneath the teasing lies affection - Takagi makes it very clear that she not only enjoys teasing him but she also likes helping him (e.g. in his studies or cycling skills). She compliments him and occasionally let's him 'win' at the teasing. And so, the boy despite disliking the teasing, keeps coming back to her. He inwardly confesses that he enjoys her company. She is thus his friend, a romantic-interest, and a tease all rolled into one. Thus, as readers, we get a relationship that is both playful (in its teasing) but at the same time sweet (in its emotion).

Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai lacks this emotion. The characterization is stiff, the teasing comes across more as annoying and Uzaki's intentions seem unbelievable. I personally feel that if a girl is willing to expose herself to the man she fancies, this girl should not have difficulty in telling this man that she likes him romantically.

So, do I recommend this? Not really. Unless your humor preferences are positively correlated with disproportionately large breasts, this is not that great. Mind you - it's not horrible. It's just that, compared to other manga whose main theme is to show a playful relationship between the two lead characters Uzaki-chan is mediocre. And why spend your time in reading something mediocre when there are much better alternatives out there?

So here are my recommendations - read Takagi-san or Shogi-senpai if you want a similar theme but with younger characters. Read Kawaii Joushi wo Komarasetai if you want a similar theme with an older slate of characters.

Oh boy, I don't even know where to start, this is the WORST shit I've read so far. Even for its own genre it's so bad I beg you: don't read this crap.

Story?
I mean, you know the genre, right? There is no such thing as story, if author will be told to stop they will stop. It's just a """"funny"""" stories compilation that'll be ended when a publisher will say so. Every nonexistent conflict can be solved in just one chapter from any point. Everything is so transparent from the very first chapter, like, why should I even read this?

""""Characters""""
If u dare to call ... them this way. Guess what, EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER is made for the sole purpose of observing the main couple. Not a single pinch of personality.

""""""""""""""""""""Comedy""""""""""""""""""""
And here is where this manga wins the hottest garbage award. You know this joke when the main couple does something silly and everybody's looking? This dumb and unfunny joke type that appears in every title of this genre at least once. Well, HERE that is the main type of """joke""" being used so much it rather motivates to vomit. The other part is your favorite good and old "misunderstandings". Just end me already :DD

Design
That very moment, when side characters aka Uzaki's mom and sister have better design than the main girl. Seriously, this face is disturbing, large af eyes and the absolute absence of nose. Though I want to disagree with recent wave of twitter complaints about her body, I find it rather normal for Japan.
Also I want to tell a few words about senpai. He once was a swimmer at school, since then he did nothing but vidya and his easy cafe job. WHY is he so ripped? One of the most recent chapters features him doing 100kg bench, it isn't a novice, not even an intermediate level. Its not that big of a deal, just a small detail that shows the author's inability to make things logically correct.

Overall
Don't read this. Read Chion, Saotome, Tomo-chan or any other manga of this genre. This title has no story, no characters that could be somewhat relatable or at least interesting to observe, and all Senpai and Uzaki interactions will rather make you feel irritated and disappointed. Just don't