Nov 15, 2023
It's unfortunate - but not unexpected, that the publisher canceled this series. I would've given it a 'Mixed Feelings' & 6.5/10 score, but the cancellation added to all the other factors leading to a 'Not Recommended'.
Many things went wrong, which is a shame as the mangaka had a REALLY unique premise to explore. It could have been a top-tier josei otherwise.
THE CULPRITS
1) Too inconsistent and slow. Some chapters are literally 50% trivia/secondary art not related to plot progression. Cute art is fine, but when a 26-page chapter turns out to actually be 12 pages dedicated to the story way too many times, it gets irritating.
Of
...
those panels dedicated to the plot, a lot are too lukewarm and glacially paced - even for a rom-com. I've read plenty of series where things take a while to get rolling. Unfortunately, it's all too...toothless here. This is possibly due to...
2) It's the mangaka's first manga series ever. It's obvious they're inexperienced and don't know how to structure the story, the pacing among the plot points, or push characterization further. The quasi-forced love triangle is a very good testament to this; it was one of the more awkward 'plot pushes' I've seen in a rom-com in a while.
3) The art can be very cute (especially in the trivia supplemental artwork). However, I couldn't detach myself from the feeling that I'm reading a slightly watered-down version of 'The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague'. The male and female lead give such vibes/have a reminiscent drawing style, but with the quality downgraded a notch. The art itself isn't bad at all, it's just that resemblance that irks me.
SAVING GRACES
1) The concept. What a fresh, unique concept - and some of the side characters are absolutely awesome to have around. They would've made a nice secondary story would the series have been taken to completion AND have been written by somebody more experienced.
2) If you're used to slower, fluffier rom-coms, this might not be too bad. Among the slow plot and focus changes, there's plenty of cute and awkwardly wholesome moments to be found. If you need an emergency dosage of fluff, this series could help a bit at some specific moments.
All in all: 5/10. The cancellation means this is a dead-end series, so I don't really recommend it. My optimistic take is that the author will learn from their mistakes here and hopefully receive some guidance from the publisher/other mangaka on how to structure a story better. There IS a lot of potential in them and I'm sure they can come up with another unique premise and take it to completion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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