Feb 27, 2021
As a huge fan of the mangaka (Hima really does some fun stuff), this was probably one of his weakest. However, I will give it the respect it deserves in the areas it excelled in, and also the maybe treat it a little less harshly since the author as a teenager back then, and that if Kitakou didn't exist, neither would his other manga, some of which are amazing (especially Chibisan Date and the Hetalia franchise)
The story:
If you're looking for something serious, this probably won't appeal to you. It's a slice of life which centres on Kanazawa Noto (I'm going by Japanese naming conventions
...
here, fyi) who is a talented narrator who goes to Kitakou to join the Broadcasting Club (basically a club that works with announcements on class intercom, assembly sound arrangements and audio dramas, among other things.) Now here's the catch: the club is declared as defunct, and the only member, a ninja, cannot say anything more than "nin". And he's trying to revive it.
If you thought that was random, well, yeah, that's exactly how the rest of the story goes. Random. There's a tiny charm that I do enjoy, maybe it's the fact that the story doesn't go like most club manga series today, most of which are narrated in the exact same way as the other. And maybe since it's rare to see a male lead in such slice of life manga. And the tone can go from perverted to wholesome pretty quick.
They also make a shit ton of references to anime and games
Art:
Meh. Sometimes the anatomy isn't maintained. Also, Hima sucked at drawing girls back then. The colour pages aren't the best either. And the eyes..dang those things.
Character:
Something I enjoyed the most was the variety of characters. Every character is different and has different traits, like how Noto is a timid and hardworking dude who crossdresses, Ninja is just ninja (he has a name but he doesn't really speak so yeah), and all the other broadcasting club members, as well as the other side characters. I would love to elaborate more, but I would be spoiling.
However, the fact that this was written in 2003 with the characters is kinda hard to believe. I also love how certain characters have non-tokyo dialects as well.
Enjoyment:
I just enjoyed reading it. Say I might have no taste, but I was rooting for the characters and all. However it still hurts knowing that this manga is not going to continue as the author isn't too keen about it as much as he was, and it's been 12 years since the last chapter arrived anyway. As well as the mistakes he has done in many areas and the bad art quality.
If you want to read it in English, do check out kitayumeverse, since this is a webcomic and never got published. The Japanese version is present there as well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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