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Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
We Never Learn
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Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: BokuBen, We Can't Study

Japanese: ぼくたちは勉強ができない

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 21

Chapters: 187

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 6, 2017 to Dec 21, 2020

Genres: Comedy, Romance

Themes: Harem, School

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Tsutsui, Taishi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.66¹ (scored by 38,596 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1945²

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

Popularity: #181

Members: 83,124

Favorites: 2,684

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 43 / 47

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Mar 5, 2017

megarock327

Recommended

Preliminary (4/187 chp)

So far, I think this series is rather enjoyable, but I don't think it will last that long in the magazine. The plot is nothing interesting, and the story seems as though it will be yet another cliche Harem like To Love Ru or Nisekoi.

The artwork isn't much to talk about, since it really resembles a lot from the series Nisekoi. I don't know if this was intentional, since the mangaka may have been an assistant to the author of Nisekoi in the past.

Only time will truly tell how this series does in the future, since it isn't doing anything new.

Dec 21, 2020

railgxns

Recommended

For the longest time the romcom/harem genre is something that I have always enjoyed watching and reading. Every season there seemed to be a new “waifu war” airing, and based on watching those particular shows I would always check out the source material if I found it interesting enough. Bokuben was one of those seasonal waifu wars that I actually did decide to pick up reading after watching the first episode. I caught up on the manga within a couple of days of watching the first episode, and let me say that I am so glad that I was able to read this manga.

1. Story ... (9/10)
If you are looking for some groundbreaking or genre-breaking story, then I’m sorry Bokuben is not the story for you. Bokuben uses a lot of common tropes and cliches to tell its story, however if you don’t mind that or appreciate those types of stories then you may actually enjoy Bokuben. For me personally, I don’t always 100% enjoy when animes/mangas just dump cliches for plot, but for Bokuben it really was one of the most enjoyable parts about it. For example, one particular chapter that I loved was the chapter in which Nariyuki’s mother couldn’t make it to work, in which he proceeds to take her spot for the day. Little does he know that his mother was working at a lingerie shop, and that he would get stuck alone in that shop while also stuck in a costume that hides his identity. And of course every single one of the main female characters would proceed to walk in and ask for help one by one. Despite it being cliche and having these crazy one in a million types of encounters, I couldn’t help but smile and enjoy these small and simple interactions that happen throughout the course of this series. And although I have only talked about these small moments and plot elements, the moments in which the series actually turns serious and wants to establish things is done really well too.

2. Art (8/10)
The art in Bokuben is really good. The character designs, both main and side characters, are drawn really unique and all have their own charm. All of the female characters are drawn in a way that really makes them stand out from each other and the rest of the characters. The reason that the art is not rated higher is that the art for Bokuben cannot compare to the other shonen powerhouses that also publish in Weekly Shonen Jump, but at the same time, it really doesn’t need super crazy double panels to portray its story adequately. All of the artwork from the beginning to the end is solid and doesn’t waver in quality.

3. Character (10/10)
The one aspect of Bokuben that impresses me the most is the characters. Personally, in most romcom/harem series, I typically always only really like one of the girls and at most two. But in Bokuben, there was a certain point in which I really liked each of the five girls as the best girl. Something that Tsutsui-sensei did really well with this series that stands out above most other series in this genre is really give a platform for all of the characters to grow and shine. Nisekoi, for example, has a similar amount of girls as Bokuben, however as a reader you know at a pretty early point which girls that the main character was going to end up with, meaning that any development between the mc and those side characters were really just useless side plots. However, in Bokuben, all the girls are well-defined and all go through their own personal development throughout the course of the story. All of the girls work well both together as well as individually and all of their development is towards both the characters personally as well as their feelings towards the mc. I don’t want to spoil anything, but no matter which girl you pick you will be satisfied that the author does that character justice in the end.

4. Enjoyment (10/10)
When it comes to just about every romcom/harem series, I always enjoy the ride, but always the ending is the thing that overrides everything because I either get really happy or really salty based on how the author ends the series. I’m not gonna lie, in most cases I am on the salty side because the girl that I think is the best girl almost never wins, so when those particular mangas end, I always end up not liking it in the end because of the recency bias. Without saying too much, I can say that with the ending of Bokuben, I was very happy and satisfied in the way that Tsutsui-sensei decided to end this series. It was a pretty unique ending that I have never read or watched from another series in this genre and I promise no matter which character that you like, you won’t be disappointed with the ending. Everything that happens throughout Bokuben, whether it be the small cliche in-between moments, or the deeper moments of development that occur throughout the story, they all compile into a great story with tons of enjoyable moments.

5. Overall (10/10)
Honestly, Bokuben is a fantastic series that really stands out among other romcom/harems for its development and use of ALL characters rather than just a select few. The ending sequence that Tsutsui-sensei chose to do was really great and I hope that future series consider doing the same, because it would make the series a lot more enjoyable in the end for everyone. Thank you Tsutsui-sensei for the great ride and I look forward to your future works.

Apr 12, 2018

Burn2sai

Not Recommended

Preliminary (40/187 chp)

Updated*

This romance manga had a lot of potential. The first few volumes were very good and they created an interesting plot with very likable characters. Unfortunately, this manga does what many shounen romances do, forgo the story for the sake of prolonging their run.

The beginning of this manga is mainly there to pull you in (like how most mangas are), which it will do if you enjoy reading romance. I think i stayed hooked for the first 10-20 chapters because it was a genuinely good manga. Slowly though, it started doing what every other shounen romance does; stops focusing on the actual content and romance ... to just show the MC hanging around with the girls. The plot stops progressing each chapter and instead will probably progress a little every 10-20 chapters. In the meantime, you get to watch the MC go somewhere (practically everywhere he goes) and he just so happens to run into some, if not all, of the FMC's! It's either that, or a FMC will get a personal chapter where it's just her and the MC. And guess what, the author draws a line that they decide to never cross called the "relationship" line.

The author has created many chances and opportunities for the MC to start dating one of the FMC's, but the author destroys each of these chances personally because they rather have more chapters than an actually good romance manga. The worst thing they have done was add two more girls to the mix who are just trash characters. They are literally there just to add more chapters and give the author more opportunities to avoid romance progression. The MC went from being a kind of cool nerd who works really hard to a guy who just gets embarrassed every chapter after hanging out with a girl.

I feel the author read To-love-ru and thought to themselves that this is the perfect way to prolong a series. Too bad they failed to account for the fact that to-love-ru's plot is to get the MC to marry all of the girls; the plot's goal is to get a harem, so they kind of have to show him spending time with all the girls. This plot's goal however isn't the harem, so showing him spending time with every girl for an absurd amount of chapters has no point. At the beginning it's fine, but after doing it for 20+ chapters, it needs to stop. I could go more into it, but i'll leave it at that.

I recommend if anything to just read this manga until you're bored (which will happen pretty quickly) and then just choose your favorite girl to be with the MC and stop reading. Eventually after another 100 chapters when the real decision is made, you can come back to see who he picks, no point in reading anything in between.

Updated portion:
So I have come back after reading the ending (Doing exactly what I recommended). I did skip everything between where I left off and the beginning of the multiple ending routes because there is nothing for me to gain from reading 100 chapters of filler. I can assume however that all these chapters had events where MC was going to get really close to an FMC, only to be cut short by the others. People may read these chapters for the "comedy" instead, but I did not enjoy this type of blue ball comedy when I was around chapter 30 and I don't care for the characters enough to bother reading them.

The author decided to due a multiple route ending where he shows what would've happened depending on which girl MC chose. All I can say is this is a cop-out. Author was too afraid to make an actual decision and didn't want any negative feedback, so he mad all the girls "win". By this point, MC doesn't feel like a character anymore, just an "insert any generic romcom protagonist here". Plus, all of the endings are kind of rushed endings that span 8-10 chapters. Romantic progression that should've happened around chapter 30-50, we see now after 100 chapters and it's quickly rushed through. All in all, dissapointing.

Final comments:
-For those who say romcoms are supposed to be like this, no. This is a romcom done poorly. Nisekoi, Yuragi-sou no yuuna san, and this all do the same thing. Have a good/decent start, have initial romantic progression, and then just start avoiding any romantic progression while adding a bunch of new uninteresting characters to prolong their run. Each chapter just becomes "what characters will MC spend time with this week", which I do not find interesting.
-For those who defend the multiple ending routes saying it's like a Visual Novel/Dating sim. I'd say a big difference between the two is visual novels typically have proper relationship build up with a non-rushed fleshed out route ending. This series only had initial relationship build-up, snipits of character interaction where nothing really happens, then a rushed ending route.
-For those who say he planned this all along, I can tell you that he didn't. He just didn't want any negative feedback and the later introduced FMC's were just there to prolong the run. Watch amagami ss if you want to see routes done right.
-My final comments are, though I don't think this was awful, I do say it's bad. Had good start, but couldn't become interesting or do anything different than other poor quality romcoms.

Sep 10, 2018

LostInSauce

Not Recommended

Preliminary (46/187 chp)

"We Never Learn" is not a good romance story. It is neither good, nor a romance, nor a story.

tl;dr:

Story: 0. This isn't a story, there is no story. There WAS a story but it lost its legs ages ago.

Art: 4. Same as everyone else's. Nothing special. Just like the Japanese masses like it.

Character: 4. What started off as promising devolved into tropes and cliches rather quickly.

...

Dec 21, 2020

rrakku

Mixed Feelings

Bokuben is designed to satisfy, to put it lightly, the concupiscent youth. If you are one among them, all the power to you, enjoy your time reading it. But if you like terrific character writing or unique plots, I’m afraid you will have to look elsewhere. Though Bokuben has its flashes of brilliance, its cliche plot, run-of-the-mill setting, and stereotypical characters will be tiring to read for many readers. That will be a recurring theme in this review, that Bokuben isn’t something universally enjoyable, rather enjoyment derived from it greatly varies based on one’s preferences.

It was made clear from the start that Bokuben is just ... a giant excuse for delivering fan-service with its nicely designed female characters, and the author delivered precisely what he promised. But its blind pursuit for such a goal has compromised other important aspects of a story, namely unique plot progression and characterisation. Though personally I don’t think that is a tradeoff worth taking, I’m sure some of you would love Bokuben regardless.

After reading all that, I shouldn't need to tell you that there is absolutely nothing new that Bokuben brings to the table narratively. It's the same school harem plot we have seen a million times over; with hot spring mishaps, cultural festivals and school trips alike. You the reader probably could’ve come up with those on a whim. However, though its lack of creativity is a complete bore to read for me, I am sure that the familiarity it provides would come as a delight for some of you.

The characters are slightly better, but still some do stand out like a sore thumb as extraordinarily bad. And I think to best illustrate this is to take a look at their respective endings.

Uruka had the most “meh” ending out of the five, mainly because she is such an average character. Anime viewers may recognise this ending they deemed so terrible, but since the manga had much more time to flesh it out, it ended up okay. There is some sketchy stuff that I can’t delve deeper into for spoiler reasons, let’s just say it really showed how submissive Uruka and Nariyuki are, their dynamic as platonic friends in later chapters is much better IMO. But all in all, this is quite a mediocre arc. 4/10.

Especially since its shortcomings pales in comparison to how bad the Ogata arc is. Because of Ogata’s awkward and dense character, everything in her arc ended up being a Sekijou hard carry. Ogata and Nariyuki’s lack of chemistry is on full display, and the author had to stretch real hard to make this pair work. It is not as apparent when she is standing among the many harem girls, but when she is put under a spotlight, her character clearly crumbled . Without going into the details, this ending is easily the most boring, tedious and forced one out of the five. 2/10.

Furuhashi’s ending, in stark contrast, is much more natural and satisfying. Being the comparatively shrewd and composed girl, she stands head and shoulders above the rest. Her interactions with Nariyuki is refreshingly ordinary and the progression of the arc is very organic—a big ask for Bokuben. She didn’t need any crazy shenanigans, retrofit back stories, or external forces to get Nariyuki to fall for her, a testament to her (relatively) great character. 7/10.

Likewise, Kominami’s arc also had something quite uncharacteristic of Bokuben, foreshadowing. We readers have long known how much of a detractor Kominami’s dad is on his daughter’s decision to pursue a medical degree, in this arc we got an answer. Obviously I won’t say much because spoilers, but plot-wise, this arc was definitely the best. Though the two needed some push to make it happen (it was definitely not as smooth sailing as the Furuhashi arc) but that’s due to the nature of their senpai kouhai teasing relationship. 6/10.

Frankly, after two surprisingly good endings, Kirisu’s ending pales in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I see the extreme gap-moe is appealing. But I simply didn’t think it would work just based off of the interactions Nariyuki has had with her in the main storyline. And I was half right. Kirisu’s character development was uninspired, point taken, but Nariyuki’s character bending over backwards for this arc was actually a good thing, as he became much more of a personality than before, but it’s a nightmare to anyone who likes consistency. 5/10.

As a whole, the endings have quite a bit better writing and thought put into it compared to the main plot, that’s because the main plot had no intentions in furthering the story in any meaningful way. Rather, there is nothing but fillers in and banter dreadful to read. And personally I don’t think it is not worth a day of your time to binge through the first 140ish chapters just to see development on characters you won’t care about. If I were to give a score to the main storyline like what I did with the endings, it would probably be a 3/10.

I guess the art (and furuhashi, but I digress) is the saving grace of this manga. Unlike many other manga, the art is already great from the start. The girls look great and are refined without big changes in looks as the years went on. Nariyuki though looked way softer when compared to Bokuben’s first chapters, but regardless that is just nitpicking and does not influence the experience much. All things considered, the art is nothing incredible, but nonetheless serves its purpose very well.

Read Bokuben only if you desperately need some harem or fanservice in your life, otherwise just don’t bother. But credit to where credit is due, I feel the five-way ending really captured what Bokuben is all about. It had achieved its goal immaculately. It is not to tell an earth-shattering story, but to condense the most titillation into the least material possible. It’s unfortunate that my personal preferences, and I believe many of you guys’ tastes just don’t match with that goal well.

Dec 21, 2020

Phloup

Recommended

I find a lot of enjoyment in romcom manga. It's very fun seeing all of these characters get into wacky situations, as they slowly discover the feelings that they have towards the main character. And Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai is no different. It's an incredibly fun manga, filled with fun and enjoyment.

When I first saw the story of Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai, I thought that it would be a typical harem romcom manga, with the usual tropes and clichés. And ultimately, this manga was exactly that. It was a typical harem romcom manga, with the usual tropes and clichés. Furthermore, the story progresses ... quite slowly, with minimal romantic development happening throughout the manga. However, despite this criticism, the story is surprisingly fun. There's something special in seeing all of these girls not only learn about the subjects that they're studying, but also learn about romance, and the feelings they hold towards the main character, Nariyuki. In addition, a lot of my enjoyment came from seeing these characters get into crazy situations. The story never tries to diverge into something completely different, and mainly sticks to showing funny events to the reader, although this does hinder the potential for romantic development. In other words, in terms of romantic development and originality, perhaps the story isn't all that great. However, in terms of fun and enjoyment, the story is very good.

To put it simply, the art is good. The character designs are decent, their facial expressions are great, the backgrounds are neat, and overall, the art complements the story and characters quite nicely.

Just like the story, the characters can initially seem like typical harem characters, with each character seemingly being quite clichéd. However, as you learn more and more about these characters, you see that each of them feel very unique, with everyone having their own personality and personal character traits, which is generally something that is found to be lacking in harem manga. Each character has their own charm, and they are all very likeable. In addition, when you bring all of them together, they accompany each other perfectly. The interactions between each of them were hilarious, and it was really fun seeing them get into these unusual situations. Furthermore, a part that I really liked about this manga is that none of the female characters felt like the "main girl". Each of them had a fair amount of pages and arcs to themselves, and it really increased my enjoyment, as I really wanted to know which girl Nariyuki would choose in the end. It also allowed all the characters to be fleshed out equally, without one being brought more focus than the others. Overall, the characters were really good, and their personal charms brought together resulted in my enhanced enjoyment.

Also, the romantic events between the female characters and Nariyuki were really adorable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga. I had a fun time seeing all of these characters interactions and the crazy situations they got themselves in. Despite the various clichés and tropes that were used throughout the manga, the utilisation of these was not detrimental enough to prevent me from enjoying this manga.

In conclusion, Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai is a really good harem romcom manga. It sticks to its conventions, and presents a fun and entertaining story featuring a group of likeable characters. Whilst following the character's path in learning about romance, you'll find yourself having a really enjoyable time reading this manga filled with fun and laughter.

Also, I really wanted to give my thoughts regarding the ending, but I aim to keep my reviews spoiler-free. Let's just say that I initially had mixed feelings about it, but in the end, I absolutely loved it, and thought it was an amazing way to wrap up this manga.

Jan 20, 2021

Lionzero

Recommended

I watched the anime before getting into the manga. The anime was good, and the Anime original ending was ok, but then I read the manga.

I loved this manga from start to finish! All routes were great. Well. Thumbelina Super computer route was weird but it was alright. Great, Great, Great read!

Nariyuki was a standard romcom protag, but the girls really did well to make the series shine. The childhood bestfriend, the smart shortstack, the reserved rich girl, the upper classman and the teacher. Can't get a better set of tropes to make the series what it was!

Can't wait for another story by ...

May 4, 2018

Tirta_Firdaus

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (61/187 chp)

Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai is an enjoyable manga despite being very cliche in the world of romcom. There's an unwritten balance within the characters that shines in a fun way and that is unique.

For the start, to be honest, i feel the story is poorly written, without almost any significant progress starting from chapter 5-7 onwards. Add to that, harem and ecchi (yes, this manga has ecchi genre actually, rather a light one) are two genres that im not a fan of. Then how can i enjoy this manga?

The answer to that question is the characterization. In my opinion, characterization is the strongest point ...

Dec 24, 2020

CrashRHCP

Recommended

I love romcoms, which is a nice way of saying: "I really love ecchi harems". Now, I don't need the ecchi, but I do like good ecchi. And I could go on and on about what, in my opinion, makes a good ecchi; and I will later.
90s and 00s ecchi harems are a big part of the reason why I am a manga reader. A lot of my first reads were part of that genre, Love Hina was one of my very first manga and since then I tried to consume the most I could of it. That's why I came across Nisekoi and I ...

Apr 15, 2021

NecroMaker

Recommended

So to start it of. This manga was like a movie. This is how it felt to me as it seemed to be too short when i finished it. I enjoyed this one from end to finish. In short for me it was a complete 9 , in every aspect. Talking about art style it was great. I saw the characters and the environment and i loved them all. Speaking about the characters, they were diverse. Not one of them was bad, but it was clear which was the best in my opinion. It was easy to place them in a list from 1 ... to...Well about how many find out by yourself. I found this almost in some moments making me want to cry, especially when my favorite was...and she saw... you will see what i'm talking about if you read it:))
The mc was how others are usually in this kind of stories, but here it worked well. Great chemistry between the characters, good romance, nice ecchi moments, and overall a solid light hearted action packed story. I loved how they all evolved, and reading the finale, it was clear as to how clever the author was by doing it in this way. Reading this will not give you a sense of dread, or headache, just sweet moments, some moments will make you feel somewhat depressed, but it's not at the level of other stories of this kind. I loved that i could learn something about how to interact with people, what being in love really means, and that leaving your life means making choices, that can result in great rewards or awful situations, but in the finale, that is the life you have built for yourself, by yourself, together with others. Don't try to force yourself to love or befriend someone just because the world seems to work that way. Live your life as you think is right and you will for sure make connections with others. Yes it may be harder for others, as we all are different, but that's why there are so many people on this earth. The world is a big place when you are alone, but a cramped space when you are with others. It's all about what you feel with your heart, not what your brain tells you. So life your own life, don't try to copy others, and by the end, you will have your summary which be reading it again, moments and feelings will once more reveal you the joy you felt to be alive.
The brain is just a storage space, the heart is the one who process it all.
And this is what this manga brought upon me reading it. It's a fine paved road if you want to walk it so don't hesitate. Now for the moment with this i finish this and i hope others will enjoy it as much as i did. Thanks for reading it, and goodbye for now. Be safe out there and farewell.

Jun 24, 2017

Aashii

Recommended

Preliminary (19/187 chp)

School + Harem = Cliche over dramatic Slice of life garbage that should be burned, is what I should say to this manga. But for some reason I find it enjoyable despite the fact it is a harem manga. The reason for this is the some-what related to the plot. I myself is striving for a scholarship in a university so maybe that is the reason I was enjoying this manga, Though the cliche romance and sometimes cringe worthy since can turn you off I can say this manga would be decent if the author can actually portray and emphasize the life of the characters ...

Jan 25, 2024

Harontiar

Recommended

I am not the type of person who writes reviews like this but I could not help to make one to give justice to this manga. This is not like Love Hina or any other harem manga out there. The author takes into careful consideration the characters' development. Despite some people seeing some flaws of this manga, probably due to mediocrity, I truly appreciate that the manga made wonderful endings that truly give justice to each main girls. Yes. There are multiple routes and this what made this outshine other harem manga for that matter. It could be seem dull at first, but eventually it ...

Mar 2, 2021

IkkiEnd

Recommended

Hello everyone,this is going to be my very first review,and I'm happy that Bokuben will be my start.
Ok first my analytical review:

Firstly is the story:I'd give the story a 9/10,even though some people or fans might say that bokuben had a plot that was oddly similar to most school harem mangas and animes.But in my viewpoint,it wasn't as cliched as how you'd expect it to be.There were parts where I just couldn't predict what Yuiga would do,or say at a specific scenario.I don' t want to make my review too long so long story short I think that choosing to make arcs for each ...

Aug 5, 2017

XKhaotix

Recommended

Preliminary (10/187 chp)

This is a very interesting manga. Eventually it could get an anime, but not for awhile. I haven't read one quite like this before. The characters are likable and very relatable.

The concept of having two genius characters aim for their weakest subject for careers is brilliant. The only downside is that it lacks in action, however that can be covered up with intense sense; like how death note did with it's exposition.

I enjoy reading this manga a lot and im happy that Jump deiced to run this manga. Especially since Nisekoi ended awhile ago, they were lacking in the slice of life, school ...

Dec 22, 2020

dadnaya

Recommended

It's been a year and a half since I started reading BokuBen manga weekly. Every week, getting a quick chapter, which usually doesn't add much to the story but some random comedy and fluff, with occasional serious arcs.
And today, with the release of the 187th chapter, the manga is now complete.

Looking back, I feel like BokuBen lacked quite a bit throughout the manga. Some girls getting more development than others, some naturally having better chemistry with the main character than others, but overall how much it was lacking in actual progress.

But even with that, it has caught a special place in my heart. It doesn't ...

May 21, 2019

wasdbob

Recommended

Preliminary (124/187 chp)

I am a generally easy person to please. I started this series with almost no expectations and generally like most rom-com high school stories. But when I continued to read this manga after keeping up with the anime that is currently airing, I couldn't stop myself from finishing all the released chapters. Yes, it is an overplayed stereotypical high school rom-com, but there is something about the story and characters that hit home for me. In the later arcs, you really get a chance to learn about everyone ( ill try not to spoil) and seeing how everyone grows gives the series a different enjoyment ...

Jun 23, 2020

KurtisAA

Recommended

Preliminary (163/187 chp)

I was so ready, so, so ready, to give this a 3/10, say it was just another High School Harem Ecchi Manga that had 95% of its humor and plot be through simple misunderstandings and could not go a single chapter without somebody being in their underwear or found in what looked like a compromising position.

But the simple fact is, it's a lot more than that. A lot more.

The drawings are expressive, the humor pops out of the pages and works every time, the stories and arcs each and every character go through are wonderful and at times heartbreaking, and main plot serves as a ... perfect catalyst for every situation the manga wants to show off and as a great representation for each of the main character's feelings.

It's hilarious, inspiring, ridiculous, and yet realistic. The main character is as dense as any harem manga protagonist (so, you know, supermassive black hole levels), but always does his best, every day, to improve the lives of those around him. Sometimes, well, actually quite often, he doesn't succeed. I really like that. He has a lot of the qualities of a Gary Stu, but also many flaws and personal issues he has to work through. A number of small arcs are focused on him having to surpass some emotional roadblock, and each time it's done very well.

The three main girls of the harem are actually maybe the best characters I've ever seen in a manga of this type. Their personalities are eccentric, yet relatable, their goals are strange, but interesting, and their personal lives are unique, and still believable. What I like most about them is their friendship with one another; a harem manga this may be, but if they ever have to pick between their friends and a relationship with the protagonist, it's always, always their friends. They're all different people, but they're all genuinely good people. They support and love each other, and will be more than willing to sit down and talk through any sort of emotional problem, or even publicly embarrass themselves for the sake of their friends. They make every chapter come alive, and each one's unique relationship with the protagonist feeds perfectly into the meat and the flow of the story.

The other two harem members are separated from the others through story means. Whenever a chapter focuses on one of them, it's almost always JUST them, or them and the protagonist. They themselves are just as unique and wonderfully strange as anybody else, but each hold their own understanding of the world and love. Their personalities are always on display, and are never boring.

Maybe one of the best ways to describe why these girls are so different from many other harem manga would be through Kominami, one of the members that is somewhat separated from the rest. Kominami is introduced to both the protagonist and us dozens of chapters after the beginning, and immediately sets up a unique relationship with the main character, setting a precedent that he's lower on the food chain than she is (which she proves by easily working her way through schooling problems the main character had extreme trouble with) and, while not denouncing his existence as a worm or anything like that, showcases a difference in their ranking in life. This is shortly afterwards challenged when he learns that she works in a maid cafe in order to raise money to get through college. But, instead of flaunting it over her, or her becoming deeply embarrassed or owing him in any regard, she instead decides to reveal to him her other main weakness: that she's failing at science, but wants to become a doctor. Being good at science, he helps her out for a number of hours. The arc ends not with the shoe on the other foot, or with her joining the rest of his harem as just another pretty face, but with the two gaining a mutual respect for each other and their own problems in life.

Over the course of dozens of further chapters and many further small arcs, the two become good friends, find themselves in a number of ridiculous situations, will hang out together to study or to just take some breathing room from the rest of their lives, and accidentally convince Kominami's dad that they're engaged. Throughout all of this, they grow closer and gain further understanding and respect for each other. They even confide their fears and secrets to the other, and often trade friendly jabs (with Kominami always getting the upper hand in such arguments). Throughout NONE of this is any real romantic implication shown. For the first hundred chapters of the manga, the two simply grow closer as friends, and showcase a unique and happy relationship that neither really has with anyone else. Until a much later chapter, where the main character finds out more about Kominami's family, the reason behind her dreams, and what being a doctor actually means for her. It's a surprisingly emotional arc that ends with her crying in his arms...and she realizes that somehow, somewhere along the line, she fell in love with him.

And yet, somehow, Kominami is still my least favorite of the five. Because she's amazing. But the rest are even more so.

What's also fantastic is that each and every main character has incredible chemistry with every other main character. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character, and we leave totally satisfied. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character and the main one, going through a humorous situation or going through a touching moment, and we leave totally satisfied. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character and any other main character just hanging out as friends, and we leave totally satisfied. Some of my favorite chapters didn't involve the main character at all, or only involved him to a minor extent. Everyone has specific ways they interact with every other specific main character, and each and every one of these routes is explored and grows over the course of the manga. This gives you so much time in only 130 chapters to grow to know and love everyone involved, no matter where they are or what they're doing.

Also, this manga has an extremely unique and extremely welcome characteristic: multiple endings. Like a visual novel, after Chapter 130, you can choose which path to take for the character you most want to end up with the main character, following it down to one of five endings. We've gone through two so far, and I was shocked at how well-written and perfectly handled both were. Both are extremely true to every character involved, and are quick to show you the only real difference in each timeline is that the main character and that specific girl love each other just a little bit more than they did originally, and how that changes everything. The arcs are solid, the plotline excellent, the humor great, and the confessions amazing in both endings. I was rooting for someone else entirely, and yet I did actually come to tears out of happiness at the endings for the two characters so far.

We're in the middle of the third route now (my personal champion, Fumino) and I can't wait to see how it ends. It, and the rest of the routes to come.

How did this happen?

I don't know.

But I'll never regret reading this.

Feb 20, 2018

SkyeRwby

Recommended

Preliminary (51/187 chp)

There's something about Author and Artist Taishi Tsutsui that just naturally draws me to his manga. I have kinda dropped off of reading Manga for a while but the Art style and the Premise just got to me. This is the Third manga of his that i red: I finished Fukashigi Philia, and still i'm still getting through Esprit.
Right off the bat the manga kinda gets a hold of you with the plot were as 2 girls that are considered geniuses in 2 specific classes want to actually Major in there worst classes, and when i say ...

Feb 26, 2018

Dealdog

Recommended

Preliminary (52/187 chp)

I have an unreasonable love of Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai.

While I find the art beautiful and characters relatable and compelling, I acknowledge that the harem-like setup and virtually every situation the characters find themselves in (beach, festival, onsen, etc) are well worn tropes, I assert that true originality isn't the most important aspect of a romance story. Instead, we want to root for our characters to understand each other, form meaningful relationships, find their ideal fit, and ultimately understand themselves.

For me the key elements are likable characters, realistic-ish situations, cute interactions and banter, plot development at a reasonable velocity and a satisfying conclusion, ...

Feb 2, 2021

MXNIC

Recommended

11/10 Couldn't be happier for the route 5/5. If you a fan of the sensei and the MC you should be pleased that the author included them. Tears of joy to my eyes. THANK YOU. At first it all seemed slow, and I thought it was the end of the manga until the author included the different endings, and because of that it deserves every credit it deserves, it pleases everyone for different fans. Although it was quite short for the 5/5 route, I wish it was longer, but at least with this ending, I can sleep in peace at night, knowing it ended this ...