Boy Meets Maria

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Japanese: ボーイミーツマリア

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 7

Status: Finished

Published: Oct 28, 2017 to Aug 28, 2018

Genres: Boys Love, Drama

Theme: School

Serialization: Canna

Authors: Eguchi, Kousei (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.27¹ (scored by 13,457 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #347²

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

Popularity: #718

Members: 26,417

Favorites: 1,201

8.27

Ranked #347Popularity #718Members 26,417

MangaCannaEguchi, Kousei (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /1

Chapters: /7

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Synopsis

Taiga Hirasawa has always longed to be a hero like in the movies, but he has never known who would play the heroine's role. On his first day of high school, he sets eyes on "Maria," the star of the drama club. Graceful, with an air of ambivalence, Maria is the apple of everyone's eyes. Taiga is quick to confess, only to find out that Maria's real name is Yuu Arima, a very much male classmate.

However, Taiga is drawn to Arima's volatile personality, belying a past that haunts them to this very day. Regardless of gender, Taiga nevertheless wants to learn who the true "Arima" is.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Boy Meets Maria was published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment on October 26, 2021. It was also released in Spanish by Milky Way Ediciones on September 29, 2020; in Italian by Edizioni Star Comics on May 25, 2022; and in Polish by Waneko on June 17, 2022.

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Characters

Arima, Yuu

Main

Hirasawa, Taiga

Main

Reviews

Jun 28, 2023

SnowYeti22

Recommended

The manga treats gender is really interesting it sees it not as a fix trait but as a blurry and confusing aspect of one’s self. It doesn’t jump immediately to labels, and prefers to explore different aspects of gender. Disregarding the origins of the gender questioning (Which I find unnecessarily complicated, questionable but understandable) the way the person in question views his (Pronouns used to refer to him in the book) gender is surprisingly relatable. The best part of the book besides the romance (which is really cute) is the fact that the person never finishes by labeling him self and that every body accepts ...

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Jun 3, 2022

NextUniverse

Mixed Feelings

(TLDR at the bottom)

This story is kinda ironic. In a world where drama and acting are supposed to feel intense and real, it is hard to even appreciate this story for that reason, because that drama present here isn't particularly good in my honest opinion.

The synopsis is there for you to understand the beginning, so I won't go over that too much other than the title also does a good job at summarising the beginning. You'd think it is a light novel-esque bait title, but respect for this title being actually coherent to the story and short to read, but that's beside the point. What ... I want to touch upon are the themes of this manga and how they didn't really invoke anything out of me as I thought it may have.

In a manga about acting; to play roles in a way that you convey your emotion with such believable strengths, I don't know what was up with this need to have explosive plot devices determine everything about both characters. I won't get into too much detail because of spoilers, but it came across to me as a cheat method for the characters to grow or reason their means to do X and Y. This wasn't just a one-off thing. I counted three "cheated" plot devices. Two of which were "explosive", and the other one was just backstory for the other character. It also goes to show, that this dude was based around a theme of the past. It's strange. You'd think they'd have some human to them, but instead are just literally determined by past events and only that. What can I say though? I will give them credit for their acting skill though. Whilst I don't believe the support is there to make me feel anything strong about them, both Amira and Taiga have passion for sure—even if it can come across as a hack of some kind. These aren't just some half-hearted people looking to pass some subject, they are going all out to impress their respective audiences. The lead up to it is nothing short of entertaining to watch, to say the least. I like these guys in that category, and the connection between Amira and Taiga in this saga is also equally pleasing to read.

I suppose they aren't entirely bad characters per se, but rather, multiple (keyword here) melodramatic moments accompanied with a presentation of being very sincere and real didn't quite come across to me as something to take entirely seriously. It's like some unnecessary juxtaposition that didn't really need to exist; it just ruined the validity when it does. Otherwise, I get what was supposed to be presented here, and I will admit that it is good and serviceable. Something that only deserves praise (in which it already does).

The art isn't particularly phenomenal, but it is good enough to have lasting pleasant memories of, which is honestly something I didn't expect this manga would have. It's just… really clean and stylish enough to have its own personal identity attached to it. Nothing more, nothing less. I suppose on every odd occasion, the powerful scene has its artistic works elevated slightly, but that's usually just to bring out the most of what is currently visible. All in all, it's pretty good.

TLDR: A drama story that's too convenient, not that it is necessarily a problem, but it was to a point where I couldn't really take everything seriously. Otherwise great art, and even if I wasn't the biggest fan, the point came across, and that was enough for me to enjoy it (and should be for literally anyone who isn't cynical).

—————
That's really all I have to say about Boy Meets Maria. It's pretty highly acclaimed, and I can see the reason why people liked it, but I already explained why this wasn't particularly something I enjoyed. It's a little sad though, stories like these are to enjoy, and I don't really have the highest of standards, but I really only want consistency and not another experience where nothing makes sense or is outrageously annoying (ReLife former, Golden Time latter). It's sadder that the creator of this manga has actually passed away too. They seemed to be going strong with another manga after the creation of this one. A sad loss for the industry indeed. But I thank Eguchi Kousei for making Boy Meets Maria even if I wasn't the biggest fan.

It's not a long story, it can be read in like an hour or 2 and I would recommend this to BL fans too. It's not one of those rapey ones or anything disgusting like that (at least between the main two), it's actually quite wholesome, even if rough beginnings. But that's about it from me.

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Nov 8, 2021

faeryghost

Not Recommended

This manga was extremely disappointing.

The synopsis on the back cover reads, “[this tale explores] the nature of personal expression and the fluidity of the power of love.” And what a surface-level exploration it is.

The first half of Boy Meets Maria is rather trite. The narrative in this section revolves mainly around Taiga, which is its biggest problem. He just isn’t compelling in the slightest because he doesn’t feel like a real person. He’s overconfident to an irritating degree and shows very little depth beyond that. The story attempts to explain his shallowness as a trauma response, but it just isn’t believable. The explanation is ...

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Poll: Boy Meets Maria Chapter 7 Discussion NextUniverse - Jan 8, 2022	2 replies	by saeran_choiiii »» Nov 20, 3:50 AM
Poll: Boy Meets Maria Chapter 6 Discussion NextUniverse - Jan 8, 2022	3 replies	by saeran_choiiii »» Nov 20, 3:28 AM
Poll: Boy Meets Maria Chapter 4 Discussion NextUniverse - Jan 8, 2022	5 replies	by iloveaslfua »» Aug 30, 3:44 PM
Sad news regarding the creator of the manga Fedran_1 - Sep 28, 2020	13 replies	by SnowYeti22 »» Jun 28, 2023 4:32 PM
Poll: Boy Meets Maria Chapter 5 Discussion NextUniverse - Jan 8, 2022	0 replies	by NextUniverse »» Jan 8, 2022 3:38 PM

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