Mousou Telepathy

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Edit note: although this is marked as a preliminary review, written while this was still publishing, I have since finished the manga and everything I said here still stands. No disastrous ending or anything.
Equal parts adorable and funny, Mousou Telepathy is ostensibly about a telepathic introvert named Ayako and her interactions with the upstandingly popular Hayato who has nothing but indecent daydreams about her nonstop. Along for the ride is Hayato's childhood friend and admirer, Manami, who despite her bitchy first impressions, ends up blossoming into a great character and Ayako's first friend.

While the art is certainly plain yet undeniably adorable, I have to compliment ... the use of colour exclusively to illustrate the inner thoughts of characters. It does a very on-the-nose job of showing how colourful, expressive, and different people can be on the inside despite whatever their outward appearance would suggest.

What seems like a fairly basic and light gag 4-koma at first ends up being a pretty heartwarming story about Ayako's life as a telepath, and the gradual expansion of her social circle unintentionally kickstarted by Hayato's antics. I'm not trying to overstate the depth and complexity of the message this story is trying to tell - I mean, it IS still a 4-koma gag strip - but there's certainly more to it than what it first appears to be, and all of the characters are far more realistic and in-depth than they initially appear on the surface.

If you want an engaging yet easily digestible read, look no further.

I found this Manga to be a really fun balance of both ecchi and really cute images which made this manga funny and interesting.

The art was nothing new, but that is to be expected of a manga that originally just a one-off gag comedy. But it does what it needs to do in the end and although that means it doesn't do anything amazing it at least did what it was supposed to.

The character development was extremely good with some characters doing complete personality flips in the space of just a few pages, but were still natural feeling and not completely forced. The characters also ... do not follow any obvious cliches and have some original character tropes or expand cliches in more original ways. (For example, the shy studious girl who even she knows what everyone is going to say and do is still extremely awkward when things do actually happen). There were also not really any useless characters as I feel all the characters had some sort of roll, even if it was just for the point of making jokes toward the main characters or acting as the voice of the reader inside the manga. Based on my reading I found every character entertaining in their own way.

The pacing of the story was pretty constant, it sometimes really slowed down, especially at the end where they to build suspense so the final 20 or so chapters were spaced around a few days while most chapters are based around one day or event. However, overall I thought the story was very well balanced as I read it in one sitting without ever feeling bored or wanting to skip to the next exciting parts.

Finally, the writing was done well. The dialogue was funny and did make me laugh quite a few times and was also extremely relatable in some cases. The way the differences in thoughts and actual speech was handled was very well executed as if you could believe a character would think that, but also not say that in a way where the thoughts and speech are not completely different. It is possible to notice when the writer changed from writing a one-off comedy to a full manga as the story becomes a bit more serious without losing out on its comedy or ecchi features. It also works great for those who like the finer details, as major plot points can be noticed way before they are actually revealed. You can tell the writer has a lot of fun writing and messing around with the characters as well as picking on fan jokes as well.

All I will say about the ending is that is was satisfying and was worth the hours of reading I put into it.

The balance of lewd images together with cute character development and the finding of love ... you think you've seen it all... holdup XD

Mousou Telepathy has reached a new level. The mangaka embraced the cliché over used high-school setting that we love to see and created a relatable comedy that we all wish was true. Lets face it anyone would like to read minds especially to find out what lewd teens actually think about their crushes. It combines the shonen fan service with an adorable high school search for love and to top that off a bit of the classic supernatural power. What makes this ... 4-koma stand out though, is that it doesn't seem to be aimed at either girls or boys with the echi being kept at a decent standard and with the school experience at a relatable level that both sexes can enjoy.

The character development is gradual but evident and the art style is original and pleasing to eye. If your looking for a pleasant engaging way to pass your time then this is a perfect feel-good slice of life.

... but what I love about this manga is the seemingly pleasant blond loli and what she really thinks of her classmates.. hehe >.<

First Review here, so please bear with me.

Plot:
As the title suggests, protagonist Nakaho-san holds the one power everyone has thought of having at least once: telepathy.

Unfortunately, it's more of a curse than a power, as she is forced to hear the true feelings of those around her while they put up false smiles and compliments. This has caused her to become timid and quiet in school, and she's pretty much a loner. But what happens when the coolest guy in class actually has an insane crush on her and constantly has erotic fantasies about her?

Story: 7/10
The idea of a main character having a power ... they didn't ask for is nothing new in the fantasy genre. However, being able to read the thoughts of someone that likes you, rather than reading the thoughts of the one you like, is something you don't often see.

Art: 5/10
Mousou Telepathy is a 4-koma drawn (scrawled?) by computer. The art is messy and sloppy, but I gave it extra points for the way it is presented. The "real world" is in black and white, but thenever Nakano is reading someone's thoughts or looking at their fantasies, it is in color. I liked that part, and if this ever gets an anime, I hope the studio continues that style.

Characters: 6/10
Nakano is nothing new--shy, studious, and clearly scarred by the harshness of the world around her. But no one ever really hated a character like this, so I can't say much other than the fact that she's very average as a protagonist.
Toda-kun is a fun character who hides a seriously perverted (but not atypical of a hormonal teenage boy) side behind his chic and cool personality. Only Nakano knows of this side, of course, and so she's generally turned off by him, despite being intrigued at the fact that he likes her. As the most sociable and popular kid in school, it's still a mystery as to why he has such an obsession with the quietest girl in class.
There are other characters in this story, but you'll find that Toda is the most interesting.


Enjoyment: 8/10
Even though this manga doesn't have anything particularly novel to offer, it's quite a fun read. Each "chapter" is literally a 1-page 4-koma so it's not hard to catch up in one sitting. The characters aren't particularly memorable but they're endearing nonetheless.

Overall: 7/10

Mousou Telepathy is about a high school girl named Ayako Nakano with telepathic abilities that allow her to 'hear' the thoughts of those around her. Through this ability, she is aware of a certain boy (Hayato Toda) who does nothing but fantasise about her all day and doing lewd things to her while sitting with an expressionless face in front of her. It's hilarious watching her at first repulsed by his dirty mind but growing to like him back.

I loved Hayato's dramatic and exaggerated reactions concerning every action that Ayako did, though it was all in his head, and only Ayako could see. Most things ... he thought about were naughty but you could tell he really cared about her through some tender moments that made me go 'kyaa~!' (such as the fact that he loved her no matter what she did and was constantly devising ways to get closer to her). I loved how socially awkward Ayako was (her every emotion was displayed clearly on her face), and the strong bond between her and Manami Azuma (especially due to Mana's cute and small outer appearance but strong heart).

The cute, simplistic art with vibrant colours representing thoughts but black and white regarding all else I felt breathed life into the 4-koma structure. Before I knew it, I'd already read the whole thing and was impatiently waiting for more! I really felt drawn into the story, and I loved how some serious issues such as differences in opinions that negatively affected relationships and the desire to change oneself was explored in a light (as one could be) and interesting manner that I felt barely detracted from the humour.

I would recommend this to those who like simple and light-hearted romantic comedies that delve into issues concerning relationships and thinking about the future in a comedic way, but be prepared to see the full extent of a horny teenage boy's (and girl's hehe) imagination.

The plot of Mousou Telepathy follows a whole bunch of clichés and tropes, yet it manages to use this setting to its advantage to setup the main plot point that drives the story. Ayako Nakano can’t read minds, as the synopsis would have you believe: she hears what people think. It’s this fundamental difference that establishes everything in Mousou Telepathy, and the concept is used very well. It’s not overused, and it follows a very specific set of rules that breathes originality into the ‘mind reading ability’. Furthermore, it’s a 4-koma style manga and its really easy to read in heaps, or to pick it ... up for a few chapters. It also has the quality of being really easy to binge, and since there are 620 chapters (1 page chapters) out right now, I have to warn you that its addicting.

Because it’s a comedy with undertones of romance (essentially an overarching romance), the characters are all lovable and fun. The interactions between our main cast of four is just a great source for fun interactions with a broad comedic reach. It’s also a big fan of lewd comedy, being set in high school and all. Ayako’s the introvert shy girl with glasses, Hayato is the perverted love interest, Manami is the love rival turned best friend and Akira is Hayato’s best friend. They are all archetypes, but they are handled very well, and they are explored as characters through Ayako’s mind reading in interesting ways, forming interesting bonds and relationships. I do however feel like the support cast is just there for support and comedy, but that’s no fault of the manga, it’s a rom-com 4-koma so it doesn’t need that (and it convolute things a lot).

The drawing style is very simple and clean, and I love it for that. The lines are clean, it’s easy to look at and read and it’s so simple that nothing can go wrong with the art. And then, we have the use of colours, and by Jove is it amazing. It’s just a rainbow of everything right with simple drawings that say a lot with little. And the colours have thematic purpose, which at this point is just asking for me to gush over it. Which I am doing.

What can I say, I really enjoyed this manga. It’s really to get into and to read through, it’s only 620 pages long right now. For what it’s worth in time, this is a quality manga that every 4-koma should aspire to.

I can’t give it a 10, simply because it’s not completed yet and I really want to know where the story goes specifically. I think it’ll end up with a 10, but I at least want to pretend I’m not super biased when it comes to it.

Mousou Telepathy is a perfect example of a manga that evolves as it's written. I feel like the author originally started the series as a gag comedy, but started to become so engrossed in the characters that he/she started to expand the idea into something much greater. Honestly, when I started reading it, I was just trying to kill some time and was in the mood for some ecchi comedy. However, over the course of the manga, the genre gradually morphs from a 4-koma ecchi gag comedy into a romantic drama/comedy about mind-reading. The comedy is still there, but the serious plot aspect becomes much ... more pronounced. As the genre morphs, so too does the presentation format. Even though it's still technically a 4-koma format, the standalone pages start to blend together until you start to feel like you're reading full-length chapters, though there are still occasional standalone pages.

If you're just looking for some silly ecchi gags, you'll enjoy this manga up until a certain point, but eventually it does change, so if you're not interested in investing yourself in the characters and reading an actual story, you may lose interest there. On the other hand, for those of you who want an interesting supernatural romantic comedy with some depth but have no interest in ecchi, I recommend just putting up with the early ecchi focus. It actually becomes a very relevant and purposeful plot point later on, so it's worth reading through it to get there.

Overall, I've given this manga a 7 on MAL (7.5 on my personal scale). It's more than just your average ecchi gag and turns into what is actually quite a good romantic comedy.