Tsuki no Okinimesu mama

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The main way I would describe this manga would be to say that it is extremely cute! Personally I love the art even with it being more on the cute side, as it fits to the characters and the story. I've found that I really ended up loving all of the characters as the story progressed. Most of the chapters so far have been little episodes and there is not necessarily a long arc like in many other shoujo mangas. Usually I much prefer mangas with long arcs, but it hasn't bothered me so far with this manga and it has been refreshing to read. ... In general the story and characters make for a really fun read and I love the humor brought about by the characters interacting. Progression between the main characters is definitely slow, but I don't mind it as it fits with the story. All in all if you're looking for a cute and light-hearted shoujo to read with interesting characters I would definitely recommend this manga!

I have been reading this manga for 101 (ONE HUNDRED AND ONE) chapters. And I am dropping this as of the release of the newest chapter. Why and how does that happen? The author is kicking the readers (me) in the face and tries to now milk for every last penny in the most disgusting ways. This is greed and laziness on a whole new level.
Read up to chapter ~80 until a panel with a certain newish male character is shown. Just before that is the true ending of the manga. Mark the manga as finished afterwards. It is a different author after that point, ... I think.

Now, both MCs were well written, their dynamic was incredibly enjoyable. There was progress. They were growing but consistent. The "story" (it is a romance manga) was okay and the main aspects, interactions and happenings, were sweet, comedic, dramatic and every other positive adjective you could imagine fitting for this type of manga... well, that all WAS the case.

It is a husk of its former self. There is nothing happening. No, legit. We don't have cute dates. We don't have enjoyable, new characters. There is no fun festival or special out-of-school chapters. It is the same uncomfortable thing happening over and over, on repeat in reused settings and backgrounds. You most probably won't enjoy a romance manga with no events.
Why should I bother watching paint dry? That is the minor reason why I drop this as of right now and after reading 101.

The main reasons are, sadly and OH SO FUCKING SADLY, the female lead and her behaviour concerning a no-name tool character stranger that got shoehorned in randomly after ~80 fucking chapters. How does it happen? Just like that.
Imagine you come home from school and on the couch in the living room sits a stranger, a guy from school you NEVER properly interacted with before. He acts as if he own the place and your parents (their affection in this case) and maybe even finesses your mother. Yes, this is exactly what is happening in the manga right now (not with MLs mother, lmao). It is so fucking weird. It feels like cuckolding at times (enabled by her, tho.. so.. not really? but yeah). The genre has been changed for 10+ chapters now. If you were looking to enjoy a wholesome romance, this won't be for you anymore.
I do not want to spoil anything. But the timing of the mentioned above is important. This is a romance manga. Something REALLY important was established some time ago. It was expanded on greatly and the manga was great. How it happened was super well done and it felt organic.
Well, author wanted more money but had no idea how to proceed after that huge development and... BAM. Female lead has a manic episode and is bipolar (NOT ACTUAL SPOILER) or some stupid explanation that I need to asspull to describe how it happened and suddenly behaves.. questionable. You might imagine what I am getting at.
We are 90 chapters deep at this point. A character you might be invested in/love and watched live a life is being abused to keep you reading. Kindly, Fuck Off, author. Nobody should buy your snake oil. She would never behave the way she does. The stranger should never have THIS much agency over both main characters and be allowed to get away with some of the worse stuff they do. Is there really a need to have every chapter be uncomfortable now? It is straight up disrespectful to the cast.

It is dragging a dead horse at this point. You know what will happen, I do, too. It is 100% predictable but done so poorly and unenjoyable. But why should anyone bother with what is happening right now after the most important thing in this type of manga was established already. Author chose the wrong drama. It literally is fail writing that makes no sense and ruined a great character in the process. I am pissed. Mostly at myself for coping that it is only a short mistake and that it will be back to its former self soon^tm.. it has been like 20 chapters now.

If you enjoy ballbusting, disloyal and brainrot significant others that suddenly and randomly, after a whole story played out, can't voice their opinion and stand behind their loved ones anymore, then... you might just enjoy and like the latter part of the manga. It factually is a different genre and a certain group enjoying the genre that starts with "Neto" should be able to get behind it.
I personally can not recommend this to anyone that wants a consistent and sweet romance from start to finish. What has happened here is bad taste, bad writing and overall a disaster.

Warning: this review is long, and I aim to be thorough without spoiling anything that would prevent a prospective reader from truly experiencing this story. If I could sum up this entire review into one sentence, it’d be *stop reading this manga after ~chapter 70*.

Just to preface, I’ve read up to chapter 111 of this manga. Would I recommend it? Yes and no. Tsuki no Oki ni Mesu Mama, in my opinion, is truly worth reading up until a certain point. After you get to said point, you’re honestly just going to be met with nothing but frustration, disappointment, and boredom. As invested as I ... was, I’m unlikely to pick this one up again.

The first half of this manga was fantastic. It was hilarious, touching, well-paced, and fun to read. The characters were likeable, the relationships between all characters felt organic, and there was no shortage of comedy and wholesome romance. But then you get around 70 chapters deep and, well, what happens from here on out ruins this world the author spent so, so many chapters carefully and beautifully constructing.

In the latter part of this manga, a random ass character gets tossed in to play a massive role in driving the plot and adding melodrama. All of the sudden, the plot derails, leaving you extremely frustrated by, and in a lot of cases frustrated for, the characters. Drama isn’t uncommon to driving a plot. However, when it’s introduced poorly and continues to be executed poorly, you can’t help but ask why it happened in the first place.

*Mild spoiler* — if you couldn’t foresee this from what’s been stated earlier, the new character is meant to serve as this “rival” to the male lead and the main couple’s already-established relationship in the later chapters. We don’t really get to see the main couple’s growth or genuine, sweet moments that we expected to see from the beginning — all because of this new character. Instead, we get compromises and mediocrity. Chapters ~70-95 give you this recurring theme of the male lead fighting for their relationship, and the female lead having borderline manic episodes whilst enabling some random ass guy to overstep his boundaries. The author could’ve used this new “second-lead man” as an opportunity to show the main couple’s trust and loyalty to each other, particularly on the female lead’s end. Instead, we’re given a half-baked soap opera that leaves you agonizing over and fearing for main couple’s relationship. A lot of the events that take place at this point left me immensely hurt for the male lead and extremely disappointed in the female lead, which is devastating, because so many fun, lighthearted chapters were spent growing to love both of them. Now, the characters and story itself feel unrecognizable.

This manga starts off as a feel-good read, but it’s no longer a feel-good read when the only times you’re content with the later chapters are when you’re settling for mediocrity. I honestly recommend you stop reading around chapters 65-70 and pretend the events surrounding this time are the true conclusion to this story. The way things were written, it seems that the true conclusion of this manga was supposed to be around chapter 70 anyway. If you read past this point, it genuinely feels like you’re reading a different story with an entirely different plot and genre — you’d be in for a lot of frustration and embarrassment you even invested that much into this manga to begin with.