Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyuubu

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tl:dr on bottom

I always have a feeling that this manga is wearing a mask. It's a slice of life harem manga that doesn't feel like a harem manga, but definitely is one. Let me explain:

The story is about a highschooler named Daisuke that gets roped into the "Mystery Research Club" that looks into magic, the occult and hypnotism (one for each of the main girls). Within the club, they get into random situations that usually consist of the girls experimenting with Daisuke or testing out one of their individual "mysteries". It's all pretty lighthearted and funny, and the situations they find themselves in are usually ... more interesting than the average slice of life school comedies that are so common.

As the story progresses, more and more girls get added into the antics which is why this is a harem manga, but nothing really romantic comes out of anything. There are a few chapters where it's obvious that some of the characters are into Daisuke, but it plays more into comedy than manga which is why it doesn't occur to me that this is just harem. It's more just like a group of friends having fun, that just so happens to consist of one guy and a bunch of girls.

That all being said, the characters are pretty likable, though they do fall into their respective stereotypes. The way they break the mold is in their particular interests, which makes them a bit more interesting.

The art style is simple, but clean and fits the tone of the story pretty well.

Overall, I really enjoy this for some reason. It's a fun ride with each of the individual main characters as well as the occasional side ones. I can't explain the appeal of this very well, but check out the first few chapters to get an idea of the rest

tl:dr- seemingly average harem slice of life high school comedy that is somehow a lot more interesting than it appears to be

I agree with GGShang's assessment of this manga. It's a comedic slice of life series with a bit of romantic comedy / harem thrown in, but it's mostly about friends hanging out exploring "mysteries" whether of the supernatural, scientific, or science-related kind, such as hypnotism or optical illusions such as stage magic. It does branch out from those topic to explore other slice of life situations pretty often though, so people don't get bored. I like it because it's always fun and never stressful, and makes my day better when I read it. In that sense, it kind of feels a bit like ... a "lo-fi" manga.

It's a good way to relax rather than to be pumped up. It's by the creator of Squid Girl but is much better in terms of arts, story, and characterization, imo. A lot of cute and fun situations with interesting characters, and the chapters are breezy enough not to overstay their welcome. I recommend it for people who like relaxing manga, cute girl characters, comedy, and slice of life. Probably not for people who dislike any or all of that. I feel like it's underrated for what it is, and will probably get an Anime eventually, if they can figure out the right format for it, and get a group of creators that understand the source material well enough to make it work.