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Apr 21, 2024
Yikes! Perfect Blue is a film I really, really wanted to like. I watched the entire thing last night and couldn't help but think it was just, alright? I convinced myself, no, you have to watch the movie again. It felt like it would become leaps and bounds better after a rewatch. It did not.
The biggest problem with Perfect Blue is also it's biggest appealing aspect, its variety. The film tackles a multitude of topics, from celebrity culture, to stalking within otaku circles, the male gaze, etc etc. I don't think the film does a particularly bad job displaying these themes, but when an 82
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minute film addresses all these often times it just felt shallow. It never really dives into any of the sociological elements of the film, instead opting to display the themes and make the viewer think they will be developed, only to opt out last second. "Paprika" was similar in this aspect, but where it differed was that the narrative was far more sound in that film compared to here to make up for it, and honestly way more interesting.
Which brings me to my second critique, the story itself is really not that special. I enjoyed it, but found it extremely dull and disappointing. Maybe I came into the film with way too high of expectations, but the "twist" was super underwhelming, mostly from a thematic perspective. It essentially turns Me-Mania into what is an essentially worthless character, destroys a lot of what made Mina an intriguing character, and only serves as a mediocre twist as it is.
Now this goes into spoilers, but there is a theory I particularly enjoy, that, if it is the case, makes the film infinitely better. Essentially, the show that plays is reality, and Rumi created a mental image of Mina to contrast with her unable self from her past years. The ending visitor is actually the actress she idolized, but not her actual Mina. Sadly, this theory was shut down by Satoshi Kon, which makes the average main plot the most concrete one.
Overall, I could appreciate a lot of what Perfect Blue was attempting, but it ultimately falls flat. It's themes are touched on, but not thoroughly examined. It's central conflict and twist is fine, but leaves a lot to be desired. I think a lot of people do insane mental gymnastics to convince themselves its more than this, but perhaps its me who is completely blind to the true genius of Perfect Blue. If so, let me know, but for now I feel pretty concrete in my ranking.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 5, 2024
After having watched Wolf Children years ago, I'd never really thought about seeking out another Hosoda film. It was a nice little movie, but felt kinda safe and stiff in its approach. Today I decided why not try out Summer Wars, just give it a shot and see what happens! What I got was the exact opposite of my expectation. I was severely mistaken for thinking Hosoda was a cautious director, as this movie ended up being a flawed, yet completely unique experience.
For one, I respect the hell out of this movie. It delves into the philosophy of the family unit, importance of human interaction,
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and creates a unique visionary experience with a variety of characters in a massive ensemble cast. But it also tries to function as a thriller "save the world" action flick about the fear of technology and the lack of security we have in our lives. This works really well sometimes and creates an absolutely unique experience, but other times it falls completely flat.
I think the biggest issue in the film is the disparity in quality between the family life stuff and the technological save the world stuff. When they combine together they make an absolutely great and tense storyline, such as the ending of the film. But on its own the OZ storyline is just so dull and boring. The concept is great, showcasing the lack of interaction on the screen and contrasting it with the vibrant, lively family unit, but it never really seems to fully click. I think thats in part due to the villain being extremely underdeveloped, which made this entire storyline feel pointless. Along with that, the story of the uncle made 0 sense to me, I would get into spoilers but I will just say the dude is an IDIOT. Like what did you expect to happen? His weird redemption near the end feels so hamfisted and I really disliked how his dynamic with Natsuki never really gets solved. That's why the biggest attraction of the film isn't the sci fi story, but rather the unique family ensemble cast story, which I feel like belongs almost in an entirely different movie. The characters are so alive and vibrant, and tonally all over the place, but in a way that it replicates a real family extremely well. By the end of the film I felt like I had a grasp on all 30 or so of the family members, which is an insane task to accomplish for a movie just over 90 minutes.
Overall this movie confuses me. It's fun and ballsy, but just so jumbled up that it never really seems to fully work. I think this is an intensely individualistic film, and at times extremely mature, despite its juvenile nature. I know thats vague but I don't really know how to explain it. It's a movie that kind of feels like a canvas for Hosoda's philosophies on connection to breathe light into, and I could appreciate that tone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 13, 2023
To start this review, I will state that I am still EXTREMELY mad about the Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer adaptation. I will also preface that this is not my favorite of Mizukami's works, with Biscuit Hammer and Spirit Circle being superior in my eyes. However, this is still a top 10 manga of mine for excellent reason. It is ambitious and has a storytelling prowess not seen in his other works. While Spirit Circle is a layered story, and Biscuit Hammer is a spoof on the Sentai genre, Sengoku Youko is just Mizukami showing he can do a traditional Shonen while still maintaining his
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trademark untraditional style of fluid plot progression, nuanced character writing, and the beautiful emotional core at the heart of all his works.
The plot starts rather simply for a Mizukami story, following a pair of brother and sister (at least they call each other that) "Youko", or demons, named Jinka and Tama. They traverse the lands, with the younger sister being a proclaimer of absolute peace to misdoers, pleading with them to reconsider their actions. When this proclamation fails, Jinka goes beast mode and beats the meanies up easily. There is also a random guy that joins along with them named Shinsuke, and they kind of just let him. The start of the story isn't perfect, but it makes sense as it emulates many of its other shonen counterparts, then tears apart these traditional storytelling values in a unique way. I like to see the first 1/3 of Sengoku Youko similar to Hunter X Hunter, with our main characters all rather simple at the beginning, but showing both explicit and implicit growth with every scene that comes, making their growth immensely satisfying. I won't go any further into the plot, as the next 2/3 of the story is spoiler-heavy, but I will say that Sengoku Youko never stays stagnant, always growing as a narrative and making daring choices. Some work, some fail, but none of them are meaningless.
Now it's time to talk about the cast. A strength that all of Mizukami's manga have is that every plot point grows every member of the cast in some way, and that is no different for Sengoku Youko. My personal favorite character is Shinsuke, a character who starts out as your stereotypical shonen "I'm a normal guy stuck in a crazy world!" MC, but slowly grows into something far grander. He experiences the greatest character writing out of any manga I've ever read, consistently adapting in every scene, so much so that the Shinsuke from the beginning, middle, and end are all completely different characters. If nothing else, read Sengoku Youko for the absolute writing masterclass that is Shinsuke's character. The rest of the class ranges from great to serviceable, with characters like Senya, Jinka, and Douren being the other highlights. Senya has a really unique power and how it relates to his psyche creates polarizing dynamics, Jinka is a great foil to Shinsuke and would be higher if not for a questionable plot decision, and Douren is just so fucking cool. The only flaw with the characters is Tsukiko, who in my opinion does not receive a sufficient amount of development to justify her screentime. I felt that she was honestly quite expendable as a character in most of her scenes, and brings little impact to the overall narrative. She isn't actively bad, just a rather dull point in a non dull series.
And this final section will be spent on me GUSHING about Mizukami's art style and how much he has grown from his early days. Unfortunately, the site is bugging for me and won't let me post any pictures on this review, but I implore you to look up some of his art. At first glance, the art is almost mediocre, with a simple, shonen-like design lacks a lot of difference comapred to older mid-2000s manga with the same style. But Mizukami has absolutely perfected the art of expression, and his shading is some of the best of any mangaka I've seen. Admittedly, Biscuit Hammer is rather shoddy, with some scenes looking out of place and the art a bit wonky, but Sengoku Youko has not a single part that is flawed in any manner. It is excruciatingly beautiful, an example being Shinsuke's art style during the narrative. His change in design and character is so poignant to the points in the story that he's in, from jubilant, to fulfilled, to despaired, to content, every level of his character is only accentuated by the art. This review might seem like a bit of a Shinsuke dickride, but he's not the only one with outstanding artistic design. In fact, every character has such a fun unique design, and Mizukami uses the fighting techniques these characters have with a great scale yet never seems to falter in terms of quality. Overall, this is the peak of Mizukami's art, and seeing his progression throughout his career makes it an even more satisfying read.
Overall, I give Sengoku Youko a 9/10. It's gripping, unique, and nuanced in many regards. The only flaws are a few drawn-out plot points and questionable decisions (specifically with Jinka) that hold it back from Mizukami's other manga. I am so hyped for the anime and I pray to the gods in heaven above that they don't massacre another one of Mizukami's creations, otherwise I will riot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 11, 2022
Iruma-Kun, Iruma-Kun, Iruma-Kun. God do I absolutely adore this manga!! It's so endearing and smart, the plot decisions never feel forced or unearned like most shounen manga, and the characters are fleshed out, interesting, and most importantly entertaining. It always surprises me to see that there is such a lack of fandom for the series; it has 3 seasons of anime, over 300 chapters, and has great power scaling and action scenes, especially in the manga. It, for lack of better wording, is everything MHA should've been and more. So, seeing the lack of a review for it on this site, I decided I'd put
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in my two cents on this absolute gem of a series. Minor spoilers ahead, you have been warned!
(This review is up to chapter 278 of the manga. Opinions may change.)
To start, the 100% highlight of this manga, the Characters. I am not exaggerating when I say this may be the best cast of any major shounen out there, every character feels fresh and interesting, even those with minuscule screen time. Asking me which is my favorite is literally impossible because it changes daily, that's how much fun, and how expertly organized this cast is. The biggest thing, to me, is how well done the misfits class is as characters. Every single one has their own struggles, arcs, and moments in multiple different ways, and the focus doesn't always have to be on Iruma.
The Harvest Festival arc is a great example of this, as the time spent away from Iruma to develop the supporting cast is important. A lot of manga try to have characters undergo "development" either right before a death scene or for one big moment and then never touch them again. Iruma Kun does the exact opposite. By utilizing actual time and chapters to each character, they go from classmates of Iruma to individual characters. Jazz and his brother, Elizabeth and her relationship with love, Gaap's stubbornness contrasted with Agare's lack of care. And this is just the Misfit class!! Besides them, we have Opera and Kalego's chemistry, Sullivan learning how to parent, the Six Fingers, and Baal (Who is extremely intriguing as a villain and definitely has the chance to become my favorite character in the series.) Hell, even the fucking obligatory pervert character Caim gets some actual development later on.
And of course, I can't forget BEST GIRL AMERI!! The perfect love interest to Iruma, as she is a direct foil to his subservient demeanor and helps him grow to be more independent. Meanwhile, Iruma helps her grow through his innate kindness. I cannot express enough how insanely great their dynamic is. To sum it up, I would genuinely feel devastated if literally, any character died in this manga, because they are all fleshed-out, nuanced characters that I love. I can't think of another manga I can say that about.
Now the plot, which once again is a strong suit for Iruma-Kun. Though it starts out slow, the great worldbuilding, excellent comedy, and strong thematic core surrounding ambition, greed, and power are truly one of a kind. First off, Iruma-Kun is so intensely immersive in its world. The demon school, rank-up system, bloodline ability power, and political mind games surrounding the Demon King are brilliantly executed. I'm genuinely excited for every new chapter to see more and more of this vast world, and this comes from someone who doesn't particularly care about this element of a story in the first place. Plus, it's consistent, there are no significant unearned powerups, and villain characters are genuinely threatening (Especially Atori, whose presence later on literally makes the manga shift into horror territory for a bit.) Overall, the world and depth of Iruma-Kun is apparent and well-executed, and I can't wait to see what the future has on hold for it.
While discussing the more serious aspects of Iruma-Kun is all well and good, it would be a shame to ignore the delightful comedy and lighthearted fun Iruma-Kun inserts within the narrative. I don't particularly enjoy comedic bits that distract from serious moments, but Iruma-Kun does a great job at knowing when comedic relief is needed vs when it's not. Arcs like Walter Park can have comedic aspects along with more serious moments and still feel like there are stakes and not childish. On the flip side, moments like the end of the Heartbreaker arc don't have any comedy due to how grim the situation is. Along with the excellent pacing of the comedy in the story, it is genuinely funny as well. Sure you have some duds here and there, but due to how much I love this cast I feel like I can forgive them. Alice has this whole indebted-to-Iruma joke that feels both strong emotionally and never gets dry in terms of how it's used comedically. Kalego's deadpan attitude compared to the rest of the Misfit class is hilarious, and when he trolls them or messes around with the students it's extremely funny to read. Best girl Ameri has the most entertaining gag in the series though, her love of a traditional romcom manga contrasts her hard exterior perfectly. Overall, Iruma-Kun's comedy shines forth as a prominent example of how to utilize comedic relief and still maintain a strong story with stakes.
Finally, the story has a really strong thematic core as well, and it continually pops up in the story, that being the differences in ambition and desire that all of demonkind has. An important thing to understand here is that "Demon School Iruma-Kun" is just that; a school of demons. They are not humans and lack a lot of human aspects as well, with all that remains to be a desire for greed and power. Iruma himself parallels this through his altruism, and it's really interesting to see Iruma become more demonlike, whilst his own influence makes the other demons more humanlike. Many people's favorite arc is the Royal One arc, and for good reason. It showcases ambition in an unclouded lens, allowing for our cast to unite as one amongst Iruma through the least demon-ish method possible; diplomacy. This unique way of tackling unbridled ambition and greed is a core part of the Royal One arc, along with every other one along the way. Though it's most obvious in how Iruma goes from a doormat to less-of-a-doormat, there are a lot of other examples of this, such as Purson's ambition that gets in the way of his expected path, Balam's pursuit of knowledge, and most entertainingly in Keroli's desire to keep Gyari under her grasp and control their relationship due to her own greed (Which made for one of my favorite lesbian couples in manga ever.) Overall, Iruma-Kun does not get enough credit for how seamlessly it mixes its great writing with similar motifs, though in general, it doesn't get enough credit for a LOT of things...
Wow... I wrote a lot about Iruma-Kun huh! I was gonna talk a bit about the gorgeous art, but I've been typing for a few hours already, and want to wrap this up. So basically, Iruma-Kun is really great at like... Everything. The only real flaws are a few dragged-out moments or a few missed jokes, but aside from that, it is just so, so good. I highly recommend it to anyone out there looking for a fun, easy read with enjoyable characters, great depth, and... yeah I pretty much recommend it to everyone! Thanks for reading :D
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 26, 2022
I recently completed the manga "Helck", and to sum up my opinions on that very shortly I'd say... It was alright! While not perfect, Helck was a solid read that had fun, entertaining action, and interesting, though not entirely well-written, characters. It truly did feel like a debut work, as it was unpolished and rough around the end, and the story was very jumbled overall. Initially, I was a bit disappointed, as some parts of Helck were outstanding, such as Helck's backstory, the lovers-to-rivals relationship between Edil and Hyura, and the strong emotional beats littered throughout. It wasn't a disappointment, as much as it was
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a newfound curiosity. It made me think, this author is definitely capable of more. So you can imagine my enjoyment of reading that potential shine through in only 36 chapters of Volundio... Or Verndio... Or Surreal Sword Saga... Or Divergent Sword Saga... Man, they have really got to find a proper title for this series. I digress!! In this review, I will be going over what I think Volundio is doing well in comparison to Helck, but also about the flaws or fine-tuning I think this series might need. So, let's dig in!
Let's start with the characters. As it stands, I'd say that even with nearly a quarter of the time, I already love the cast of Volundio far more in comparison to Helck's cast. The characters all feel fresh and nuanced, and every side character is legitimately fun and doesn't feel like unnecessary fodder meant simply for making omake. The villains are always fun, and the visitors that come to Poofy's are always so unique! Side characters are interesting, and I never feel annoyed by their appearance in the story. It really helps the SOL experience for the occasional chapter to feature a random wanderer that happens to stumble upon our main cast's humble brewery. Speaking of the main cast, they are all fantastic! Cleo with his straightforward, yet confusing nature is not only a solid everyman protagonist but one with a surprising amount of wisdom as well. Kohaku's mystery is still very intriguing, and I'm curious to see her relation to the other 4 holy demon kings. Saphia is cute, like really cute, and Shrike is a blunt edgelord kid who has some neat parallels to Cleo. I love every one of the main cast, and overall this is a largely positive part of the series! My only complaint is that I hope they can get around to continuing to develop more of the side characters, as I find them all equally as interesting.
Now the plot is kind of hard to really talk about since... We are so early on in the story. There is no inclination of what Kohaku's goal is, very few drawbacks to Helck have been made, Cleo's role in the future is ominous as ever, and at the moment it's far more of a slice of life than anything resembling an actual plot. But, the little bits and pieces that have been put in are cool, the worldbuilding is excellent, and the introduction of these elements has been flawless thus far, including other characters, plot elements, and foreshadowing. My only complaint thus far with the story is that it seems to be headed in the same sort of fatalistic mindset that Helck went down, later on, which kind of stalled Helck as a story. I hope the story stays relatively high in terms of stakes, but not to the point where it's a save-the-world plot like Helck became. Overall, the story thus far is great, but since there's so little it's a bit hard to judge.
Finally, the artwork. What an improvement from Helck!! Especially compared to the earlier chapters of Helck, it is insanely impressive to see how far the mangaka has come! The character expressions are vast and meaningful, the designs are so unique from one another, facial features are well defined and add heavily to emotional moments, and the mangaka is never afraid to get clever with her paneling. I feel like the artwork is most certainly the biggest improvement from Helck, and I really like what she's done with her style! (Although nothing can beat classic Helck losing his shit moments.)
Overall, as both a successor to Helck and a standalone story, Volundio does an outstanding job, and I have no doubt that my rating will continue to increase as more and more chapters come out. For now, it is a solid 8/10. Many thanks for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 4, 2022
Every time I pick up another romcom, I find myself wondering; what is the purpose of these cute little books? Is it blatant escapism, hopeless romanticism, or even just waifu bait? Any seasoned rom-com reader, as I would consider myself, would realize these are just flagrant accusations cast by those who don't understand the genre, there is far more to a good rom-com than just these elements. But, in recent memory, most romcoms have fallen into the same, sullen tropes. It's not like this is anything new, tropes have been a standard in the rom-com genre for decades, and when handled correctly can lead to
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a perfect blend of comedic timing and romance (An example being Jin Kobayashi's "School Rumble.")
But, a severe lack of nuance in concepts has caused a bit of a rough patch in manga within recent memory, at least for largely published manga. That's why when I saw another long titled cutesy tsundere manga, I was initially disinterested. However, noticing the artist of Onani Master Kurosawa was fronting the project, I gained a bit more interest and decided that, due to its relatively short length (Like her skirt... haha...) I would give it a read. Honestly, it was quite a sufficient little manga. To be clear, this manga is not a gamechanger, and it's not a revolutionary piece of literature to be talked about for ages, rather its a culmination of what I love about romcoms as a whole, and how well even a simple one like this can work when these elements are linked together.
Now, when covering a rom-com there is a core element to every story to make it work; the characters. The essence of the "rom" elements are the characters, along with the essence of the "com". Fundamentally, a rom-com cannot feasibly work unless the characters are entertaining or interesting enough to maintain reader interest. The manga most certainly does not fail here. Criticisms first, it is extremely tropey. Aside from Sakuradaimon, every character mainly falls into a pre-established little role. Yuu is the ragged Yankee, Poemu is the Tsundere, Nadeshiko is the wacky school pres, etc. However, as stated before, if these characters work well in their dynamic, there is no issue. And for the most part, they fit perfectly! There's an engaging dynamic of stupidity between the stuck-up vice president Kaoru and Nadeshiko, and their antics are a fun little side plot. Other characters, however, are a little obnoxious in their trope-riddled development, though not to an extent that I'd say they are a detriment. Overall, the cast outside of our main two is solid and doesn't hurt or distract from the main dynamic whatsoever.
The plot is simple, and really works to support the most enjoyable part of the manga, that being Sakuradaimon and Poemu's dynamics. Basically, Poemu wears short skirts as the rambunctious tsun that she is, and the straight-laced Sakuradaimon doesn't like it and tries to get her to stop. Their exchanges aren't necessarily negative, and they tend to understand where each other comes from mutually. It's this wholesome little charade that carries along with the plot at your typical romcom pace for the first 20 or so chapters. The plot does surprise here though, as, forbidden by romcom law, the two actually... get together??? Initially, I was a bit skeptical at how fast the story was moving, though maybe that was in part due to whiplash thanks to many other romcoms I've read in which it takes upwards of 300 chapters to get anywhere (Looking at you Komi-san), but the change didn't hinder the story at all, rather bringing it to a higher level than before. Some minor drama ensues, including the ever loveably dense Sakuradaimon figuring out the nuances of relationships, all the while Poemu bashfully makes gradual steps towards taking their relationship further. It's not only a lovely setup but also feels unique, as few romcoms explore this sort of dynamic whilst the two are actually in a relationship. It also helped that, while he is extremely dense, Sakuradaimon isn't doing that just to prolong the plot, but rather because after having withstood proper moral boundaries for so long, he has to learn how to open up. While not groundbreaking writing, it's this small amount of development and progression that allows the reader to stay interested in both his character and the typical rom-com shenanigans. It works, and as is commonly said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."
The artwork is, to put it bluntly, outstanding. Anything Yokota draws I will read, as this style is just so appealing! Every character feels so vibrant and expressive, the paneling is gorgeous, the sleek lines add emphasis, and almost a Sunrise style aesthetic that I absolutely adore. It's definitely personal preference in this department, but I feel like the manga would not be nearly as good as it is without Yokota's outstanding artwork. It really is impressive to see the progression he has made from the subpar and often confusing paneling and artwork in Kurosawa/Chikan Otoko to this manga and the Magic The Gathering one he's currently working on. Not much else to say, if you're going to read this manga read it for the art if anything!
In conclusion, is this manga a groundbreaking piece of literature? No. Because that's not what it needs to be. It is an entertaining, wholesome rom-com with some simple development, believable character progression, and vibrant, fun character designs/interactions. If you ever feel like "Hey, I just wanna read a simple short rom-com!" I would highly recommend this title. Thank you for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 16, 2022
Yankee-kun to Hakujou Girl is a manga that completely surpassed my expectations. From the cover art, I expected a fluffy slice of life romcom, and could you really blame me? From the blatantly cheerful cover, to the brief and seemingly wholesome description, the pieces were already there for yet another forgettable time-passer to smile at. And then the genres cemented the deal for me as nothing to write home about, so I decided I'd give it a quick read as I was in the mood for some wholesome shenanigans. Little did I know the ride this manga would take me on.
From the first chapter, it
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really doesn't seem as though it's anything special. The delinquent who actually has a soft heart and meets a cute girl who he instantly falls in love with despite his seemingly unapproachable nature? Wow, haven't seen that one before! But really, though it does take a few chapters, the manga continues to introduce new characters, new dynamics, added themes, and actual conflict! I'd like to just do a quick overview of every element of the manga from this review out, to disclose every element, but trust me when I say it's strongest element is it's...
Characters: 10/10
With Romcom especially, a major gripe I have always had was stereotypes. The tsundere, kuudere, deredere, etc. I hate when authors get lazy, and simply turn to these tropes to rake in some easy character dynamic. Initially, this manga seems to be filled with them, but slowly every character, even the seemingly explicit, gain so much growth and depth. I was particularly impressed by Yukiko's character arc, as I simply expected her to stay a simple tsundere throughout. However, the way she so elegantly tackles the primary themes of the manga with such poise never failed to amaze me. And that goes for every character. Without spoiling anything, I can say that the dilemmas every single introduced character in this manga have are fresh, realistic, and nuanced. Not only that, but these characters in part bring up the other characters and bring further dynamics to their issues as well!
Story: 7/10
The story of the manga is well done, woven properly and never feels bumpy or disconnected. Though it does follow the usual romcom style, which is the arcs being finished individually within 7-10 chapters, every sequential arc does well at creating new concepts and doesn't feel like padding for chapters. I think this is because the manga releases the chapters in bunches rather than 1 at a time, so every arc feels like a very thought out narrative. It's not particularly great, but it doesn't pander, and that's impressive for a romcom. (I won't be talking much about it this review though but the themes present in every arc all connect well and it's gratifying to watch every story pan out thanks to it.)
Art: 5/10
The art is cute, and I personally liked it, but it's very, very amateurish. It can often hurt the more emotional scenes due to the lack of emotion on characters faces, and at times can kill the vibe the manga is going for. Male bodies are disproportionate and a bit stiff, and faces all look very, very similar, sometimes enough to confuse me who was who. However, one good point is that the mangaka draws Yukiko very well, and can make Morio extremely menacing (Like when he's about to beat up the bully.) With time the art has improved a little, but for now it's still a negative point.
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall, Yankee-kun to Hakujou Girl is a great read, and holds a suprisingly engrossing story within it's seemingly generic lens. I highly recommend anyone to read this manga, especially fans of the romcom genre who want a little more nuance to their stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 16, 2020
True stories never fail to grab my attention, especially in the manga world because there are very few. I started reading Yomawari Sensei not onlt because of this, but also because it was short and had good ratings on MAL. I finished it in about 2 hours and I'd like to share what I thought made Yomawari Sensei a masterpiece. This is my first review so it might be a little bit amateurish.
Story:9
Yomawari Sensei is an episodic manga that follows the life of our main character, Osamu Mizutani, as a teacher who helps troubled youth. Every chapter is quite simple. Mizutani finds a troubled youth,
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Mizutani tries to help, Mizutani fails or succeeds. While it is very simple it's also realistic, as Mizutani fails to help as often as he succeeds. I was always on the edge while reading and sometimes to conclusions of some of the characters devastated me. I really enjoyed the change of pace from other manga, as the situations Mizutani gets in aren't your usual problems. A few examples would be a fellow teacher who can't connect to his students, or drug abuse and addictions, something I rarely see in anime or manga.
Art:8
The art is the weak point of the manga, though it is also really good. The feel and overall art style was fitting for the story and setting and there is some brilliant art hidden in many scenes, but it wasn't anything insanely groundbreaking.
Character:10
A large problem I have with manga is the unrealistic characters. In rom-com or shounen manga it's fine, but when a character oriented manga has tropey, uninteresting characters I lose interest fast. The characters in the manga are flawed, but every one of them feels real, which is to be expected from a manga based on a true story. I can see the characters the mangaka was trying to establish in his former students, and I can relate to their problems in many ways, something manga rarely ever make me do. I do think the mangaka made himself look a little to much like a saint, but in the end it shows his moments of weakness as well.
Enjoyment:10
It was short and sweet, all of the stories brought something new, and the tension built up through out every story always helped the ending become something special to me.
Overall:10
An easy new favorite manga for me, I have never felt a manga that portrayed life in such a unique and realistic way. Highly recommended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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