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Jul 15, 2010
Story. 4
This show really didn't have a plot. Momo, the main character, showed up rarely and had no backstory, so it was actually about a different group of people each episode. Sometimes, one of them was going to die, other times, they were all dealing with a death that had already happened. I'd be okay with there being no central plot (i.e. something chain of events involving Momo herself) if the episodes had been more engaging, but even though I'm a total softie, I really wasn't moved by any of the scenarios. A young girl dies after an accident, leaving her
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protective best friend behind, a teenage girl tries to cope with her new responsibilities in her family after the death of her mother, a boy finds out he doesn't have long to live--these are okay setups, but they were done pretty frivolously. So while it's not a bad show, I found the treatment of the topic fairly shallow and inane.
Art. 6
The art was neither bad nor good. Okay character designs, although I really disliked Momo's outfit.
Sound. 6
Sound was also unremarkable. Nothing stood out. The OP is okay.
Character. 4
I'm sure people will disagree, but I didn't find the characters to be good at all. Even though everyone was wrestling with death in some way or another, you really couldn't feel anyone's pain or fear or anger. Also, Momo, who is supposedly the central character, was incredibly uninteresting. The only characteristic you got from her was compassion.
Enjoyment. 4
I was fairly bored. There wasn't much to latch onto with this show. I picked it up after watching Shigofumi. I was still in the mood for some Shinigami stuff. It's similar in many ways, each episode usually dealing with a different group of people dealing with death or other heavy stuff, but in Shigofumi, you REALLY feel the characters' tension. This show by comparison just couldn't pull me in.
Overall. 6
Despite all my criticisms, I'm giving in a 6 because it lacked a lot of the things I truly hate in anime--no unbearable comic relief, no elements that just made no sense or almost no sense(e.g. Rahxephon or Evangelion), and no women with huge breasts (well that's okay to a point but the lack is a plus for me). I think it was more or less what it intended to be, an episodic show with no real plot, focused on death but trying to be light-hearted about it and not really angsty and intense. So I won't say don't watch it, just don't marathon it the way I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 13, 2010
Story. 8
Whether it's based in Japanese folklore or the author's unique idea, this is the first time I see a treatment of a shinigami-style character delivering mail for dead people to the world of the living. Whoever came up with it, it's a neat, compelling idea, and Shigofumi used it well. Although slightly episodic, nevertheless most of the episodes were thought-provoking takes on various aspects of life and death, from a bullied student deciding to commit suicide to a grown man learning he's dying of cancer. There was also a fairly strong central plot, involving Fumika, the "dead" girl delivering the mail,
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and what happened to her while she was "alive." I was slightly disappointed by her backstory, but still, I was more satisfied than usual by the end. This wasn't one of those anime that waits until the last 2 episodes to finally address the main plot. Everything was resolved with time to spare and the ending was fairly feel-good.
Art. 7
Decent art. Nothing too special. Very attractive character designs, especially the costumes for the Shigofumi.
Sound. 6
Okay soundtrack, pretty unremarkable but it went well with the story. No tracks that I'm dying to own though.
Character. 8
Good characters! Fumika was strong and capable but still vulnerable, a very likable person who tried to remain objective but had deep feelings regarding her previous life. The supporting characters were also good, especially the handsome, intelligent Kaname who recognized her early on and decided to get down to the bottom of the mystery. I was disappointed by the villain; considering that he was the bad guy, his role was really limited, and he was sort of a lame madman you couldn't take seriously, but hey, I've seen worse. In particular, the characters you only saw for an episode were great. The show had a lot of intense, heavy topics, like bullying, terminal illness, child abuse, etc. and it really made you feel each person's individual pain.
Enjoyment. 9
It doesn't happen too often that I find an anime I want to marathon. I was able to watch this one pretty much in one sitting. It didn't even have many cliffhangers, it was just extremely enjoyable and engaging.
Overall. 8
A wonderfully done show with a unique central idea that it executed pretty well. I don't think it's a shining example of the best anime can be, but it was still well above average. This is the sort of show I feel I can recommend to people who aren't even that into anime; it doesn't have any intolerable comic relief or women with huge breasts or any of the other stuff that makes the typical show off-limits for the uninitiated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 9, 2010
Story. 7
It's a good setup, if you like reverse-harem. A young girl in search of her father is taken in by a group of warriors that is also searching for him. However, the plot didn't really advance all that fast. Certainly the political situation was constantly evolving, but in terms of what was going on the heroine, she was basically a bystander who did almost nothing.
Art. 9
Beautiful art, especially character design. And the fight scenes were surprisingly decent, for a reverse-harem. Fangirls who like guys with silver hair will be especially pleased.
Sound. 6
The soundtrack worked fine with the show, but
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there were no melodies that stood out to me. Not something I'd choose to listen to on its own.
Character. 8
I think character would get a 7 if not for Okita. The heroine was extremely boring and typical, the usual weak anime girl who is protected at every moment and does absolutely nothing for herself. I was fairly disappointed. I had real expectations for her development, but she was a lot like Yuki from Vampire Knight. Even after you find out she's a bit special, she doesn't do a single interesting thing. What's more, she often puts people in danger inadvertently because she can't stay put. Considering that her father was a doctor, at the very least she could have had some real medical knowledge, but all you see her doing is occasionally wrapping bandages.
Enjoyment. 6
In retrospect, I'm surprised I got through it. Until the very end, I was expecting the heroine to do something. I've seen enough anime at this point that I should've known better. Still, I'm a big fan of the reverse harem genre, and I had a weak spot for both Okita and Kazama.
Overall. 7
I've suffered way more through other shows. That's why it gets a 7 even though I didn't get much out of it. I do not recommend this to guys. I do not recommend this to girls who like strong heroines. If you need comedy in your anime, or strong plot, it's also not for you. And there weren't enough fights to satisfy someone who likes a lot of swordplay in their shows. This is really just for reverse-harem/bishounen/vampire fans and maybe those who are especially into artistically beautiful anime regardless of content.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 20, 2010
Great story about an unpopular high school girl who writes cell phone novels in her spare time. Her peers are scared of her because of her intense glare, so she's never had the opportunity to experience "love." When she hears her fans want more love stories, she decides she needs to experience love for herself so she can write about it and ends up blackmailing the most popular boy in her class. Although he puts on a facade of being the perfect guy, he's actually a jaded womanizer and has little respect for the people around him. The two of them
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battle it out, him trying to shake her off while she forces him to go along with her.
Great heroine. She has her weaknesses, but she's strong-willed and has her own interests, opposed to a lot of shoujo heroines who only think about love. She also manipulates the hero well, usually beating him at his own game, another thing you don't see too often in this genre. As for the hero, he's more of a jerk than usual, and more than once he sets the girl up for an unpleasant experience, trying to drive her off. He's also one of those types who only shows his real face to the girl, while everyone else thinks he's the perfect guy. The story is paced well; 8 chapters in, they're beginning to have feelings for each other but are still more enemies than friends.
Good story and good art. Slightly more smutty than I was expecting considering how young the characters look, but it's still fairly innocent. The romance is fairly small-scale, not a bad thing, just don't look for hardcore "destined to be together" elements or anything, it's not that type of manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 28, 2009
Story
Great idea for a josei. The heroine's body is saturated with poison, preventing her from ever being with anyone she loves. Her mission is to kill the king of an enemy country, but he seems to be a decent ruler and his handsome sons further complicate the plot. It has horror elements, including her best friend being burned alive and the suffering she went through eating poison as a child.
Art
Beautiful art. The costumes are elaborate and the character designs are all distinctive. For once it's easy to tell all the characters apart.
Character
The heroine is compassionate and conflicted. She was
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the "crybaby" back home but is resolved to fulfill her mission and survive. Not enough of the manga is out yet to comment on the other characters.
Enjoyment
Dark, but very enjoyable. Great for anyone who wants a slightly more mature story.
Overall
This is a really great idea for a manga. I'm excited to see where the author takes it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 12, 2009
Story
The general setup is a girl who's forced to serve someone hateful because of her parents' debts. That may seem generic, but as usual Hwang Mi Ri really makes it her own. It's not the usual high school manga, where all the events are small and petty and all the villains turn out to be genuinely good people whom the heroine heals with her beautiful and forgiving spirit. The story is often funny, but also fairly dark; Mi Ri doesn't shy away from showing just how awful people can really be, which is way worse than you usually see in shoujo, and
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she puts retribution over redemption. Not even all her "good" characters get a HEA.
Art
A few of the characters looked a little too similar for my taste. This happens fairly often in Hwang Mi Ri's work. Eventually you figure out who's who, but for the first few volumes, I was confused. I did however like how the heroine was drawn, both in her female form and cross-dressing form. As usual, the males were all gorgeous. She draws AWESOME bishounen!
Character
I think the characters are what made the story. Ida was a great heroine--loyal to her family and trying to do what's right, but hot-tempered and not a victim, no matter how many times Mimi humiliated her. Naru was a decent hero, but even though he was gorgeous, he was a bit too silly for me, and his attraction to Ida was too arbitrary. Probably my two favorite characters were the intelligent, cunning Shinah, and the sociopath Shin Hakyoon. Hwang Mi Ri writes THE BEST villains when it comes to gorgeous, evil, strong-willed guys who never change their minds once they know what they want.
Enjoyment
Well, I marathoned it, so it was pretty darn enjoyable. Great story for anyone who likes strong heroines, gender benders, and people becoming friends under assumed identities.
Overall
I'm a huge fan of Hwang Mi Ri. The moment I recognized her art work, I knew I'd like this story. There are things I think could've been done more to my taste, like who the heroine ended up with and such, but all in all, it was a worthwhile read that I'll definitely remember.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 9, 2009
I'm currently 10 chapters in. I'm a little disappointed by how this story is being done. I've always liked shoujo manga where the heroine is shy and afraid of men. However, it really gets on my nerves when the heroine, who claims to hate guys, falls for the obnoxious lead in like 3 chapters and then keeps embarrassing herself by calling out his name and otherwise seeking him out. The heroine here has no understanding of her feelings (she's constantly in denial, even when she's being painfully obvious) and she has no control over them, and the lead may be good
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looking, but even 10 chapters in, his personality is arrogant, self-involved, and opaque. Maybe if his behavior were a bit different, I wouldn't mind so much not knowing what he's thinking, but the way he's being portrayed, I'm just not into him at all. Still, it's a decent manga, I'll definitely be sticking with it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 8, 2009
Story
A girl who's never made friends before and who has given up on people is suddenly befriended by the most charismatic, popular boy in school. Sure, it's very shoujo-ish, but it stands out because it's so well done. Standard "episodes" like The First Kiss and The Overnight Trip and The Interfering Playboy are treated with surprising originality and depth. It's also more mature, but the "smut" isn't gratuitous; it's refreshing reading a manga like this that isn't about the heroine accepting the hero's feelings but about the progression of their very real, romantic relationship. Early on, they start dating, and THAT'S
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the focus, not on all the obstacles in the way of them starting to date, as often happens (e.g. Hana Yori Dango).
Art
Beautiful art. The heroine is adorable--small,untidy, pretty, and awkward at times. The mangaka managed to convey her stubbornness and strength in her appearance. The hero is GORGEOUS. I often complain about male leads just not being good looking enough, but this guy was designed great. He's sparkly (the way only manga guys can be) and while he isn't muscle-bound, the mangaka managed to make him look like a sportsman, not another super-slim pretty boy you often see in these stories.
Character
The hero and heroine are what make me love this story so much. In stories like this, usually the heroine is timid and needs to be coaxed out of her shell. Here, she's unsociable, hot-tempered, and stubborn. She's also very straightforward and insightful when it comes to people. It's refreshing having a strong heroine like her, who isn't just adorable and afraid of people, and who also isn't always putting herself in stupid,embarrassing situations she needs to be rescued from by the hero. The guy I also really like; he's very popular and charming, but also very kind, and his feelings for the girl are in the open from the start.
Enjoyment
One of my favorites. I check all the time for updates. Every chapter so far has been a great read.
Overall
With regards to this particular, "loner girl" formula, my favorite. It's got just the right blend of comedy, depth, and smut.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 7, 2009
Enjoyment
This was formulaic and pretty syrupy, but still a very enjoyable read. I've always liked shy, quiet, timid heroines. The solitary girl whom no one ever notices is suddenly being pursued by one of the most popular boys in school, and he gradually coaxes her out of her shell. I like that formula no matter how many times I see it.
Story
It's a decent story IF you like the genre. I think more could have been done with her blog friends and I'm not sure I like who she ended up with. I was left feeling like the other one
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would have been better, and that that was where the author was taking things but that she was forced to end the story prematurely.
Art
The heroine was drawn really nicely. I've seen better looking male leads though. They were handsome, they just didn't have that beautiful, sparkly quality that you sometimes see in shoujo boys. I would've preferred if they'd all looked a bit older too, but that's really up to the mangaka and her target audience. I guess because it was such an innocent love story, she went with a more middle-schoolish look.
Character
Teru was very well-developed, thanks to a flashback and a scene involving his parents. Hinata was a lot vaguer, which is unfortunate considering that he got so much more "air time." As for the heroine, we know a lot about her feelings of loneliness and her desire to belong, but we never learn about her family or why she became such a loner, except that she broke her leg and started attending school late. I think one painful flashback that explained some of her fear of people would have helped.
Overall
Not a unique story, but it'll be memorable for me because I love the "shy girl rescued by a popular guy" formula.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 6, 2009
Story.
Granted, an 11 episode show can't have that intricate a story, but I found that the heroine's "journey," which should have been the main plot, was overwhelmed by all the secondary character's subplots. We learn little of her childhood, her education, or her reasons for suddenly deciding to come to Rome to meet her mother. The resolution with her mother, which should have been the climax and dominated the final two episodes, was like a footnote in the story.
Art
One of the show's strongest elements. Not just the character design but the overall depiction of Rome were very well done. The way
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the "camera" sometimes panned around to show what the characters were actually seeing was a nice touch. A lot of attention was given to make the restaurant seem warm and the food delicious.
Sound
I hated the intro. The rest was all right; it didn't detract or add. There wasn't a single theme that caught my attention and made me think, "This is really lovely." Decent ending theme though.
Character
Pretty carefully developed characters. The heroine was naive, but likable, and she grew during the course of the story. The people she worked with also had detailed back stories. I can't say I found any of them interesting, though. A smaller cast, more episodes, or more "current" events and fewer flashbacks, might have helped.
Enjoyment
It's relaxing to watch, but the show only had two elements that kept me engaged: the love interest and the painful relationship between the mother and daughter. Neither delivered. The love story between the heroine and older man wasn't convincing. They didn't have great chemistry and I was surprised when I realized he was actually the real love interest, and not a crush along the way to the real hero. The other disappointment was how little attention was given to the relationship between the girl and her mother. The heroine was abandoned at an early age by her mother, so her mother could marry a man (who didn't know she had a daughter). It wasn't for financial reasons either, just that the mother loved him and he'd told her he wouldn't marry a divorcee. Despite this, the heroine's resentment tapers off fast. As for the mother, I know it's a light josei anime and that there has to be a happily ever after ending, but she sure got off easy. Finally, about the heroine's reasoning along the way--"Well, now I'm in love so as a woman I get why you did it"--sorry, but no matter how much you like a guy, you don't ditch your kid.
Overall
Okay show if you don't think about it too hard I guess. Definitely has themes I disagree with though, about a parent's responsibility and how when your husband cheats on you, you've just got to remind him how much he loves you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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