17-sai

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17-Sai is a collection of four one shots packed together into one volume. Each story has its own hero and heroine, and none of the stories have any relation to the other.

Talking about each individual story is pointless. The pacing is the same throughout. After reading the manga, one may realize how the degree of development between the hero and the heroine of one chapter is not so different from the others. All of the chapters strictly follow one simple formula: Some problem arises, making the heroine distraught, and the hero always has impeccable timing to save the damsel in distress. And in the ... end, the problem is resolved.

The art is one of the strongest points of this manga. The "average" boy or girl depicted in this manga look like bishounens or bishoujos. One thing that may bother the reader is how some of the heros look like the other heros presented in previous chapters. This may allow for a slight bit of confusion, but the names and personality are the ultimate factors in differentiating between them so there shouldn't be any problems with figuring out who is who.

One thing to note about this manga is that each chapter forsakes realism for a good, happy conclusion. There were just so many ways things could have turned out differently, but the need for a happy ending seemed so prevalent in all chapters that some of the decisions made by the main characters seemed a bit forced. If the main characters made some realistic approaches to their relationships, it would have left a bittersweet taste but in exchange we would have understood and sympathized with them more.

In short, this manga is worth the time. Each chapter has an average of 60 pages, and I didn't regret reading those chapters. This is a pretty standard shoujo manga; it's not great but not totally bad either. This manga would not be the first on the list to recommend to others if they had something they wanted to read, but it makes for a nice way to pass time.

This collection of four stories is like a mixed bag. You won't find the quality or enjoyment derived out of each story uniform. The art while beautiful and refreshingly clean and happy in the first story consistently declines throughout each story and the 4th story was just a plain torture to get through.

I personally found the first story the best, based around a school setting it's bittersweet and a wee bit angsty. Character development, while a bit convenient for the sake of the story, does occur and you realise your own anxiety is somewhat alleviated when the heroine or hero do or say something vulnerable ... and how their ensuing relationship blossoms. It's got heart, this first story.

Second story while not groundbreaking in its premise, is still cute. Humorous character development to some extent and you feel sad for the protagonist when she weeps or screams in frustration, so it's definitely engrossing. Art is clever enough in this one that you continue reading even when the plot starts to drag or become mediocre.

But the third and fourth story are completely skippable. The way the third one progresses alone is so annoying to me! There's an almost non consensual incident, after which the perp has the cheek to suggest they "just stay friends" and then gets annoyed at the heroine's interactions with her ex! What Nerve! The Gall! The Gumption!!! It's just a ridiculously annoying and misogynistic tale in my opinion, maybe I'm a little sensitive about it seeing as how he behaves crudely to hide his own feelings and vulnerabilities, but it's not easily digestible, his character or the way the story progresses.

Fourth story's art is very dated and stunted looking and the scanlation or dialogue itself must have been clumsy to begin with. Add to that a poorly thought out storyline and you have the hot mess that it turns out starting page 2. Skip.

Overall, I would highly recommend the first story and the second one to kill time but not the third or the fourth.