Iris Zero

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Japanese: アイリスzero

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Apr 27, 2009 to ?

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural

Themes: Psychological, School

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Comic Alive

Authors: Hotaru, Takana (Art), Piro, Shiki (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.92¹ (scored by 13,613 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #947²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #423

Members: 39,965

Favorites: 1,084

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7.92

Ranked #947Popularity #423Members 39,965

MangaComic AliveHotaru, Takana (Art), Piro, Shiki (Story)

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Synopsis

"Irises" are unique abilities most people are said to possess from birth. These powers manifest themselves in the form of visual cues and range from lie detection to danger prediction. Unfortunately, high school student Tooru Mizushima is one of the very few without an Iris. As an "Iris Zero," he is frequently bullied, and therefore, he tries to stand out as little as possible.

However, when the popular schoolgirl Koyuki Sasamori comes crashing into Tooru's life, his motto of minimal exposure is brutally shattered. Koyuki's Iris allows her to identify the most qualified person for a certain task—and she determines Tooru to be the most capable person to help her find the next student council president.

Tooru refuses to become involved in such a public affair, but Koyuki's cheerful persistence ultimately prevails. And so, Tooru's lonely life as an Iris Zero slowly changes as he comes to meet more people and utilize his exceptional deduction skills to solve various mysteries.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Iris Zero has been published digitally in English by Digital Manga Publishing since June 5, 2014 and in German by KAZÉ Manga since October 1, 2012.

More characters
Characters

Mizushima, Tooru

Main

Sasamori, Koyuki

Main

Shinozuka, Hijiri

Main

Yuki, Asahi

Main

Kuga, Nanase

Main

Tokita, Harumi

Main

Hoshimiya, Rei

Supporting

Katagiri, Yuka

Supporting

Tachibana, Satsuki

Supporting

Fujimura

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 27, 2011

WrysOfTalys

Recommended

Preliminary (29/? eps)

***UPDATE 2: This review is up 'till the 29th chapter. I will update as soon as more chapters come out.

I came across Iris Zero by accident. I was in a desperate search for some new series to look out for, that involves school romances (believe me, I'm really just a sucker for those kinds of stories).

I was in for a shock with this manga. It defies all expectations of a school romance (my expectations, at least), and its flow of story actually gets me hooked. Serious tones balanced with school comedy and a hint of romance keep me interested in Iris Zero, and I am ... happy to say that this manga is part of those "hidden treasures" of manga--titles that aren't famous, but have much potential.

Iris Zero revolves around the male protagonist, Mizushima Toru, and his apparent mastery of solving certain mysteries and issues on campus with his friends. This alone differs Iris Zero from other school manga; its uniqueness, however, doesn't end there.

Part of its ingenuity as a series comes from how stories unfold within the manga. Despite being a school manga, Iris Zero gives off a feel of being a serious-toned problem-solving mystery manga--but don't let this turn you off. Like I said, it only gives a "feel;" running along this is comedic moments expected of a school manga, along with short romantic moments that just make you warm inside. The "feel" refers to how Mizushima Toru deals with the problems; it's as if he's a detective! To be honest, this manga is more or less a school-based Detective Conan comedy (without anyone dying, of course).

Another key factor in this manga's potential is its romantic aspect. Being an Iris Zero, our main protagonist is under daily stress, being discriminated and all from the rest of the people with Irises. A chance encounter with Sasamori Koyuki, however, will change his daily life for who knows how long. The slowly unfolding story of a budding romance between these two characters left me warm inside, for the author expertly delivers emotions of mutual feeling between a school idol of sorts and a social introvert cast away by his peers.

With this, Iris Zero leaves room for great expectations and improvement. And with its already existing potential, it comes as to no surprise for me when the day comes that this manga hits the spotlight.

Story: 10/10
What captivated me the most was the story: it starts off easy, and eventually goes on deeper. With how events flow within the manga, readers won't even notice that the stories already took a serious turn until they notice the change in drawing style. This, along with moments of comedy and heartwarming bits of romance between Mizushima Toru and Sasamori Koyuki (along with other character pairings, of course), make a great story worth looking into.

Art: 8/10
Art is neat and tidy, which is a plus for me. I guess you won't need much detail for a school manga. But art style teams up with story development to give a unique reading experience, in which the art style itself delivers some story and tone. Another plus for me is the absence of fanservice. For once, I don't see panties and bras within a school campus. And in the case of Iris Zero, it doesn't really need fanservice anymore; the story is enough to catch your attention.

Character: 9/10
The manga is 27 chapters in, and I must say that I'm not in any way disappointed at how the characters are described within the storyline. The group of friends Mizushima has has now expanded; all members of this group are explained in sufficient--if not great--detail. We get a diverse group of people, all with background stories to boot. The stories explain pretty well their current situation and the reasons behind their mannerisms. It surprises me, however, that the author managed to give color to the characters in a way that they don't seem any different from Mizushima. Our main protagonist is the only Iris Zero on campus (so far), but somehow, his peers don't seem too different from him. If the author was trying to show that all people have burdens, no matter who they are, he is definitely doing a good job at it.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I really enjoy reading this manga. Art is pleasing, story is excellent, and characters are quite vivid (the character part is already a tedious task, given the number of characters currently active in the storyline). Overall, Iris Zero gives a colorful reading experience with its own twists and turns. It's sad, however, that the release of each chapter is quite slow in terms of pace. It also gets inconsistent at times. The story it gives, however, is enough to cope for its faults.

Overall: 9/10
Fellow lovers of school romances will be in for an unexpectedly enjoyable read with Iris Zero. Those who are just looking for a good read won't be disappointed, either; this manga delivers great stories, and it does so with style. I will certainly keep Iris Zero in my watch list for manga.

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Jan 21, 2011

YubiJane

Recommended

Preliminary (9/? eps)

I was curious as to how this new manga would go and so far, I have been gobsmacked in a very good way!!! Some may think this is another cliched manga where the main character has no special talent or power like everyone else has but in Iris Zero, the story offers an insight to a guy who offers viewers an insight everyone else can't see because of the limits of their irises. Although slow development of the characters emotionally, the characters melt together really well and the excitement of the plot continues to boil inside me, especially Kuga. I can't wait to read more ...

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Jan 29, 2024

OshieteOshiete2

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (44/? eps)

!WARNING!
Before reading know that the series is currently on an indefinite hiatus due to the authors health issues, which has been going on for 4 years. I didn't know that when I started reading, and although I enjoyed the series it definitely doesn't provide a satisfying last chapter
Alright, now on with the review.
Characters: I'd say in this story there are 6 characters that are relatively main, besides our main two Toru and Koyuki. I think overall the characters are nothing to write home about but they are in general above average. Some of the dynamics are quite refreshing, and I enjoyed the chapters where they ... built up relationships and connections in the group that weren't centered around our 2 main characters that added depth to the group. I very much enjoyed that not every girl ever was falling for the protagonist, and they mostly focused on our main girl and him.
Romance: As one of the prominent themes throughout the story, it was fine. Koyuki may be a little too tropy for my liking, and there is some unnecessary melodrama between them as you can expect from most romance, but their dynamic is quite nice and I overall found myself rooting for the romance to happen. That does bring me to the second love interest, that I disliked, though not immensely. I do wish that she had a crush on one of the other main characters, like Toru's best friend who I wish was more relevant.
Plot/ Mystery elements: The plot is pretty intriguing. The overall premise is about a world where most have something called an iris, a magic ability unique to each person. Unfortunately for our main character, he doesn't have an iris and gets bullied and shunned for that. Due to that he strives to draw as little attention to himself, although it becomes hard for him to keep up that policy after the school famous Koyuki asks him to go out with her, and he slowly meets good friends, and solves iris related mysteries with them, because despite being an "Iris zero" he has an almost magical ability to figure out other people's abilities (I'll touch on why it's almost magic in a second)
First off, although this sort of premise has been done before, I found it interesting, and looking for something new to read I started it, not realizing how prominent the mystery was going to be. It's not that I minded it but it reminded me of that one anime Hyouka quite a bit. I do think if you like that anime you'd enjoy this series. I think they overall execute the premise pretty well.
Next, the irises. They are veryyyy overpowered in a lot of cases and can be used to solve most of the mysteries quite quickly if they just asked the right questions, though I'm willing to let that slide because otherwise there wouldn't be much of a plot. The iris ideas are pretty creative, and I enjoyed wondering what type of iris the new character would have.
Now let's touch on the main characters ability to solve literally everything, and draws insane conclusions from very little. Now this is very normal with detective anime, and it's far from the most outrageous I've seen, but it still takes away a bit. Though you can usually see where he comes from, and the little details do add up and it can still be very satisfying. Though there is no way he could have solved most of those cases without literal magic to guess some of things he did.
Overall enjoyment: This is highly based on opinion and personal bias, but I enjoyed it enough to give it an 7/10, and would reccomend to friends (if the series was finished) It may have bumped up if it had a proper ending :')
That's all for my review! Happy reading!

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Please some update Hizu_ - Oct 27, 2020	30 replies	by mochiicrdm »» Mar 20, 12:30 AM
Poll: Iris Zero Chapter 44 Discussion Stark700 - Oct 13, 2019	9 replies	by Sam_Mrtz »» Mar 18, 2:01 AM
Iris Zero hiatus? ( 1 2 ) Rinji- - May 9, 2011	72 replies	by TheInspectionist »» Jun 23, 2023 9:22 AM
Poll: Iris Zero Chapter 1 Discussion konata87 - Nov 23, 2010	14 replies	by Finn086 »» Jun 11, 2022 9:43 AM
Do you think that Iris Zero can be animated? BGBenny - Dec 1, 2013	6 replies	by Ayako_Rose »» Apr 21, 2022 12:36 AM

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