Aug 8, 2023
Honna Wakou of 'Nozoki Ana' is here once again with a seinen ecchi drama. While her effort is commendable and 'HadaCamera' has a FANTASTIC premise, the series falls flat in several ways.
I would've loved to give this more than a 6/10, given how I adore Wakou's art and usual drama-weaving...but I can't.
So, what went wrong?
CHARACTERS - 6/10
Wakou likes her somewhat-of-a-wuss protagonists. Kyousuke, our male lead, doesn't break out from this mold. He starts off as a total push-around and spends way too many chapters building his confidence to be somewhat more of a man.
I wasn't surprised by this, so the character deduction points don't kick
...
in here.
It's just that the cast doesn't evoke too much empathy in me. I could resonate with the feelings/background of only one side-character (Akira) and even the yandere trope (which I usually kinda dig) left me feeling 'meh'. The same applies to most of the antagonistic side characters which don't get the build-up the plot needs of them to be considered a threat.
Hikari is a huge female lead downgrade compared to Emiru from 'Nozoki Ana' and while I commend her progression as the series goes further, she's still just alright.
PLOT - 5/10
As I pointed out, the premise of 'HadaCamera' is fantastic. Unfortunately, the series drags on slightly more than it needed to be. Wakou likes her NTR baits (and there's plenty of these here), but a few of them are just there for the sake of indulging her plot-kink and dilute the story.
'HadaCamera' starts feeling like a bit of a chore around 45+ chapters in, and I think if it were condensed to 65-70 chapters it would make a better impression. This ties into some of the cast taking up space without needing to.
Much like 'Nozoki Ana', this borders on being soft hentai. Unfortunately, the looser plot and lack of empathy I felt for the characters made it sleazier than 'Nozoki Ana' where the drama really drove the plot above all the sex/nudity.
ART - 8/10
Even in mediocre stories, Wakou's art style is great. Panels are crisp, anatomy is as always peak ecchi, and the character expressions are vivid, lively, and expressive. Several character designs are reminiscent of 'Nozoki Ana', but then again, a lot of mangaka 'borrow' the same stylistic choices spanning over their works.
Unfortunately, even great art can't save a mediocre execution in the character and plot department.
'HadaCamera' is an 'Eh, whatever' kind of series. If you're tight on time, you can safely skip over it. If you do have some free hours, give it a read - maybe you'll like it. I guess I'm a bit salty, as Wakou is good enough of a writer/artist to have exploited this manga's premise to make something way, way more gripping as a story/drama.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
.png)
.png)
