I really like this oneshot but I felt that it could have been a little bit longer considering that it's supposed to be a story about the world on the verge of danger and he's the one that may lead the key to saving it, etc.
I was kinda expecting a more serious story with the sci-fi elements, but while not totally bad, I felt like the middle of the story was kinda wasted on some comedy, rather than further development of the story and characters. When it got to the end, it felt a bit rushed.
Island - 7/10
I liked this one a little bit more than Apple. It was rather interesting when the main girl was so eager to see the outside world, but when she finally got to see it, there wasn't anything there and that the townspeople had known for a long time that there had always been nothing there. That was why they weren't so into trying to get out of the wall, etc.
Though the end felt kinda open-ended, but I guess that was what the mangaka was going for. Again, I wished that this was a little bit longer - it had even fewer pages than Apple, LOL.
Koi no Kami-sama - 6/10
My least favorite.
I liked the comedy in here, and the romance was kinda cute, but the whole thing about god being in love with the girl and that was why any guy that went near her met bad luck, was kinda strange and far fetched.
It was still an ok read to me though. I also liked how the main guy read shoujo manga, LOL.
Personant - 8/10
My favorite.
I really liked this one! It had a very unique story with the whole world wearing masks to elliminate descrimination thing. Kinda funny 'cuz I was just discussing with someone last week about how the world would be if everyone covered their faces and bodies. You wouldn't be able to judge anyone by how they looked or their skin color, etc.
People wouldn't be shallow 'cuz everyone would essentially be "the same" and not be liked just because of the color of their eyes or hair or disliked because of a disfigured face, etc. Everybody would be forced to form their opinions of people by getting to know them and their personality, versus looks alone.
Of course, the one thing lacking (which this oneshot emphasized) was individuality and freedom. With personants, everything was already chosen for everyone from practically since they were born. I'd think that it would be kinda tough to live in a world where everything is chosen for you and you don't have the freedom to express yourself like Damore wanted.
Williams - 7/10
My second favorite.
I really liked how this was a nice story about a boy and his dreams of fantasy and adventure. I don't really have much else to say about this, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise when they got that sword at the end and the real Aradoff Hopkins had written a letter.
I think that Komi-sensei has proved to us now that he has a pretty creative mind. I only wish that he can find success with a longer series since Double Arts has been cancelled.
Diadem - 7/10
My least favorite out of the 3 by Boichi, but that's mainly because of the extremely short length. In fact, I almost gave this a 6 if not for the ending.
I kinda liked how the girl became a goddess at the end. That was kinda a nice touch, plus the colored art was good as well.
I have to question though, was it necessary for her to fight topless? Did she think she could distract the enemies like that or something? LOL.
Hotel - 9/10
So far this is my favorite oneshot EVER. I was skeptical at first 'cuz I thought how the heck can one make such an interesting sci-fi story, but cram it into a oneshot? Boichi did with this! I could have given this a 10, but unfortunately it's still a oneshot and I don't think any oneshot (maybe if it was an entire volume with multiple chapters) can surpass the even more developed stories of a much longer series. Still, this was pretty darn good! I only wished that it was more than 1 chapter.
I thought it was kinda weird that Keira Knightly was placed as the name of a character in the story. Also, the little bit of comedy that the story had (mainly with Keira) was kinda out of place in a sci-fi story that's supposed to be serious.
Present - 8/10
This one was actually pretty creative.
I admit, at first I had doubts about this because it seemed like an annoying teacher x student story, plus Hanako initially came off as kinda persistent (and stalker-ish) with her bothering her teacher and all (these were the first few pages before the title page).
But thankfully it wasn't that kind of a story (not that I dislike teacher x student stuff, but I hate annoying, needy girls).
I have to question though, did the son make love to his own mom (Hanako) when she was in the hallway and she insisted on giving him a "present"? I can't help but find that kinda disturbing (even if it was with good intentions). They didn't show anything after so I kinda assumed the did. Couldn't the son just have given her a simple hug or kiss on the cheek? LOL.
I liked the twist at the end. Though I kinda knew that the son was playing pretend all along, I wasn't quite aware what role the old man (his father) had in everything until the end. Nicely written.
I wish somebody would scanlate Boichi's latest ongoing works since I'm interested in seeing how his longer series would compare to his oneshots.
I finally finished all of these. hahah. Took me a while. I have to say, I like Naoshi Komi work better than the other person's. Now onto the next set of one shots!