Mamotte! Lollipop

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Mamotte! Lollipop is a typical shojo manga with magic in it. It's pretty cute. You would really only like it if you want a sweet love story aimed at young girls, or if you want fluffy artwork.

Story-7
It was a quirky premise, girl swallows a pearl by accident, turns out that was the object of a magical final exam, now she has two cute bodyguards, but as it progressed it turned pretty cliche. Love triangle. Villains chasing her. Well there was some clever writing and funny gags and you could really feel Nina's anxiety over having to chose between Zero or Ichi, but some chapters were ... absolutely pointless and the author threw in a lot of out-of-place cliches. In this manga you will find: a bathhouse chapter, an Alice in Wonderland chapter, a Snow White chapter, a love potion chapter, a game show chapter, a beach chapter, a gender-bending chapter...you get the idea.

It was pretty cliche but the main storyline was alright and this would be good to show little girls(not really, there's some mild nudity), or someone who is just getting into shojo manga. I especially enjoyed the side-stories added into the volumes, series-related or not. This is the only way you get a back-story on the characters. Kind of sad really.

Art-8
Really bad at first. Too dark, very little shading, butt-ugly faces, and I couldn't tell what was happening in the action scenes. This was the mangaka's first manga so.....

But even though it started out poorly the mangaka really practiced and in volume 5-ish it was really beautiful! Still too much frilly effects and screens, but it was very nice to look at and sometimes I will flip through the manga because I love the art so much!

Character-7
Not much character developement for a 7 volume series. I don't have much to say here but you do learn little bits about the characters pasts. There are a LOT of characters introduced but the series' main characters, Ichi and Zero, are the most interesting. If you don't like them there are secondary characters that are pretty fleshed out. It's kind of nice because you WILL have a favourite by the time the series is through. Nina is a lackluster heroine who only gets kidnapped.

Enjoyment-9
It was enjoyable. I did like reading it and I mentioned I like to flip through once in a while to see the art. I ordered the volumes becuase I couldn't find them in the store-that's how much I liked it.

Overall-8
Cliche but pleasant plot, a wide cast of diverse characters, art that only gets good in the last few volumes, and an undeniable cuteness make me give Mamotte! Lollipop an 8. You probably won't love it to death but it may be worth a spot in your collection. Especially if you are a little girl.

Mamotte! Lolipop is a typical shoujo manga where a girl gets two hot guys to love her. I personally don't think it deserves the rank it is in now, because it is extremely predictable. However, if you want to have a few laughs, say "aww" out loud for the mushy love scenes, and cute artwork, go for it.

Story: 4

What the synopsis on MAL doesn’t tell you is how these two “hot” boys fall into her lap—she eats the crystal pearl designed to be the retrieval item needed to pass their magic exam. As you can already tell, Nina isn’t exactly the brightest girl. The rest of the manga involves Nina being constantly saved by her two potential love interests and being a damsel in distress. I don’t know what the point of having two of them there was when I already knew which one she would end up with when I finished the first volume. Scratch that, I know the answer: to ... fuel every preteen’s dream of having two hot guys pining over you.

Art: 7

It’s shoujo. Nothing special. At least each character is distinguishable from each other—something a lot of shoujo fail at. However, I will praise Michiyo Kikuta on her color schemes. The covers are really colorful and I find myself able to just stare at the back covers of the volumes for a while, appreciating the images colored in, especially volume 6. I have a feeling if the mangaka took that story approach, it’d be a little more interesting.

Character: 5

The characters weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be. But they’re still bad. Nina’s the typical Mary Sue who acts as the damsel in distress (though Michiyo tries to change her image in the later volumes, she’s still not a very likeable character).

Zero’s the hotheaded guy and Ichi’s the calm one. Yeah, the two typical potential love interests in most cliché shoujo manga. At least Michiyo gave those two a back story, and I’ll admit that I found their back stories interesting. She also gives a little back story to the other characters (3, 4, 5, 6).

And though the character names are a little gimmicky, I still find them cute. I was also more interested in Sun and Forte than the main trio.

(In replacement of Enjoyment…) Romance: 3

As I mentioned above, I already knew which of the two, Zero or Ichi, Nina would end up with when I finished the first volume. Of course I’m not going to tell you which one, but if you just look at the signs properly and think about the clichés of shoujo manga (and romance in general), then I’m sure you’d easily figure it out too.

Now, is the romance done well? Meh. It’s full of clichés. Nina falls, guy catches her. Nina cries, guy comforts her. Zero flirts with Nina, she blushes. Ichi flirts with Nina, she blushes. She’s caught in compromising situations that lead to jealousy, misunderstanding, and more internal conflict. She thinks typical stuff like “Do I like him? Why is my heart beating so much? Maybe I like him? But I like the other guy too! Oh no, which one do I like more?”

Oh, the troubles of a teenage girl’s heart.

Again, I found myself more interested in the romance between Sun and Forte.

Overall: 4

Some of you guys may be thinking I’m being harsh on Mamotte! Lollipop because it’s a kid’s manga (for a kid’s manga, there’s an awful lot of friggin fan-service), but that’s not true. I freaking love Sugar Sugar Rune, Kodocha, and Gakuen Alice—and all the main characters of those manga are YOUNGER than those of this manga!

Mamotte! Lollipop is just full of clichés and amateurish story-telling. This is proved by the second half of this series where another arc takes place after the Magic Exam is over. Seriously, it just popped out of nowhere and is there to add a big BANG to the series and have you thinking, “Ooo, big battle where Nina can show that she’s actually a very capable heroine and not a whining little girl.” Seriously, it’s just shoved in there.

And of course, following typical shoujo plot, the ending is tied into a neat and tidy bow. But did you know there’s a sequel?

I freaking hate it when they over-milk a manga. Just end it already. It’s not that great enough to demand a sequel for anyway.