Otome Kaijuu Caraméliser
Kaiju Girl Caramelise

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I love when shojo is full gush. All the sparkle, heart-eyes, roses on every panel. And here is on a seinen, imagine that.

I am asking you to give it one chapter, in the first chapter you will know exactly if you're going to like the story. The premise is about a girl who grows lizard-like features on her body when her emotions bubble up. The high jinks that ensue after this are what you'd expect, the scenarios that come to your mind right now will probably happen

In this work you will read a well crafted romantic comedy with a charm that you only find ... with... passion (?). I'm not sure how passionate you can be about something so.. wacky (?). It just feels like she's having fun. She has so much confidence in her jokes; panels that are used as just punchlines are given care and detail that feels beyond what most authors would give it. I can see her hunched over the same drawing for hours and stopping a few times to giggle at it.

There are constantly new elements that are introduced to the story to keep it fresh but it's early in the story to see what kind of payoff they will actually have. So far I don't mind because really the strength of this manga is in the comedy and the relationship that was established early and has steadily been developing. So far anything else has really been just noise and setup for supporting these two elements. I don't mind, I just don't know if any of these extraneous elements will go anywhere. This is not a slight against it, if she tells me this was just used for a chapter and will never be brought up again i will bow down and marvel at her wisdom

I love it, its just great.

A lot of reviews I've read has described this as about "not judging by appearance" and while for a majority of the characters this is true, I feel that explanation is a little too surface level and fails to cover what makes this manga so compelling. At every turn, the story adheres to every single shoujo manga cliché, beginning with the resident hotboy™ for some inexplicable reason falling for the shy, introverted lead just relatable enough to project upon. What differentiates it however, and what makes it all so damn engaging, is the extent at which it exaggerates every single trope of the genre to ... pure absurdity. The female MC's protective best friend's relationship is portrayed as cult-like fanaticism, the local high school's heart-throb becomes an overnight national celebrity for his good looks and kind, understanding nature. And our timid, anxious heroine can't help but push her loves away by turning into Godzilla.

What should be a silly, cheap plot gimmick becomes a magnificently sweet, complex metaphor for a bumbling pubescent high school romance. Because teenage love is awkward, it's clumsy, it's confusing; it's a big dumb kaiju stumbling its way through Japan unintentionally crushing everything in its path. And even as it sends you into a flustered, anxiety driven frenzy or causes you to close-up, huddled alone for fear of hurting yourself and others once again, it then in turn allows the people around you to see past all your attempts to push people away and self-destructive mistakes to find the barest, truest form of you.

Of course, it achieves this brilliantly with all the bubbly writing and over dramaticisms of any good, self-respecting shoujo manga.

I couldn't have had a better romance to start with the genre. It started when I was browsing some fan translations of mangas in a Brazilian website (and now I'm waiting for it to be published officially so I can support Naki Ringo)

In a world so filled with shallow characters, sexualization and hair-thin plots, Caraméliser has shown to be an oasis. Not only the characters are well developed within their backstories and personalities, but also change and act in a believable way throught the story. Nothing feels out of place or ensured for the sake of the plot, all it's pieces are in harmony. There ... is also no out of place "maid dresses" or "beach episodes" (these disgusting things)

The manga also offers great reflections and insights about relationships, selfsteem, and the real value of a person, that is found inside and seen with the heart, instead of in the organic vessel. Oftentimes I stop at one page just to think about what it is saying and arguing, even changing my world view on matters like friendship and makeup.

And last, but not least, there is TRUE LOVE! Damn how it is rare to see true love, MC loves Male MC and they're perfect together, if only Kuroe wasn't a fucking Godzilla. The internal conflict mixes itself with the external conflict, creating and exciting plot that keeps the stakes high without having to appeal to absurd power creeps or unnatural additions, which would end up harming the romantic relationship.

The only problem I might identify is that Kuroe (MC) might be a little annoying with all insecurities and introversion. Also, one may say that some relationships are a little too idealistic of "sugary", but that's what true love is about, and that's the goal we should strive for instead of accepting ours faults and living in a mud pit of normalization.

I don't recommend this manga for people looking for a romantic comedy, because this one is a dead serious romance, even if the MC gets turned into a Kaijuu.