Aho Girl
Aho-Girl: Clueless Girl

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tl;dr: A gag manga that starts off funny but gets boring due to how little variety there is to the comedy.

This is very much a gag manga without anything more to it. And it starts off really funny. The premise stems entirely from the cast of characters, and though they're a simple bunch they're amusing enough in the various stories it tells about them together. However, the thing is that there is essentially no change at all over the course of the manga. An amazing plot or character arcs aren't necessary for a gag manga, however some sort of change is necessary as otherwise things ... start to go stale, which is exactly what happened here.

The comedy really doesn't have a lot of range, and without much change it starts getting incredibly repetitive and quite dull less than half way through. While certain characters like Yoshiko and her mother are hilarious at first, they start getting less funny as essentially the same gags involving them keep getting repeated, and by the end I found them both tremendously annoying, which is a problem as Yoshiko is the main character. Of the other main characters, there is humor born from sympathy at Yoshiko's childhood friend Akuru's situation but that too faded pretty much completely by the end into a general feeling of indifference, and while Yoshiko's main friend Sayaka is likable due to how kind she is and how she serves as a good foil for the weirdness of others she isn't all that amusing on her own due to being so normal.

Thus, the characters that really stand out are the few side characters that actually have changes in their character or relationships as that actually results in fresh situations and comedy. These were mainly the Head Monitor, who isn't even properly named, but is incredibly likable due to how crazy she is and how hard she tries to grow eventually which even results in Akuru showing unseen sides of himself, and Akane, one of the gals in Yoshiko's class that actually ended up getting pulled into an actually decent romantic plot thread. Still, in the end none of these really go anywhere, and there's not even a halfhearted attempt at trying to give these or any of the stories in this manga any proper closure at the end. Rather, the ending is just basically a run through of all the various characters that appear over the course of the manga without actually doing anything with them, which while a flimsy ending is a fitting one considering how flimsy the manga is, though that doesn't really make it satisfying.

The art is really simple but overall okay. The style works well for the comedy with facial expressions and such being pretty exaggerated and it overall being really easy to follow due to how basic things like paneling are. Though the character designs aren't all that interesting, there's decent amount of variety  considering it's supposed to be a pretty down to Earth manga, and the cast though pretty small, did all feel distinct visually.

It's a silly, stupid comedy that goes all out with over the top reactions and absolute dipshit characters.

Sometimes you might think that a character has a brain but NO, they are just as stupid as the rest of the cast.

Yoshiko manages to be annoying but in a charming way. She's just so highly energetic and constantly gets up no matter how many times she gets beat down (literally) by Akkun. There were certain characters that I wish could've gotten more screentime or perhaps SOME sort of development, since there actually are some storylines that get a conclusion, but overall I think the author ... managed to squeeze a ton out of the initially simple line up.

A negative I could give is...the same face syndrome.

Now, personally I think there is nothing too wrong about finding a specific face and using it multiple times on different characters. Sometimes it can work by giving them small tweaks such as different eyelashes or unique pupils/iris. Heck, if you change the hair and body up enough it can also work.

But...many times the characters will have very similar expressions. THAT same expression. Over and over and over whenever they are reacting to something ridiculous. It got a little annoying.

Overall though, it's a really funny manga and I hope it can get a sequel of sorts someday!

This is a manga with a lot of good parts that’s bogged down by some irreconcilably bad parts.

The story is extremely simple but passable and the art is very good. What simultaneously makes and breaks Aho Girl are the characters.

The side characters are enjoyable, likable, and quirky. Nothing revolutionary, but they’re all pretty fun. The male protagonist is unconventional for a romcom. He's a loner who is pretty disinterested in the people around him and just wants to study, which works better in this story than that description might lead you to believe.

The main thing bogging down this manga is the titular ... character. She manages to be so annoying and unlivable that it’s actually shocking this manga has any good parts. I get that the author likely wanted to make her annoying, but my god, she sucks the enjoyment out of every scene she’s in. By the end of the manga, I get the feeling you were supposed to like her somewhat, but I just wished she wasn’t there. Her jokes are overused by chapter 2, her personality is annoying and never gets even the slightest bit better, and she's never gone from the story as long as you'd want her to be.

The only other big negative is the ending. Without getting into spoilers, the ending is very inconclusive and forced, with no closure at all. If you want a satisfying conclusion, romantically or otherwise, do not read this.

It’s also worth mentioning there’s a lot of physical violence where the main guy hits the stupid girl, which might be a big turn off for some. In my opinion, however, it’s more like extreme slapstick than real violence.

In the end, this is a mediocre romcom that could’ve been so much better with a few changes. If it sounds like your thing, I’d recommend giving this a try, especially if after the first few chapters you can tolerate the main girl.