May 20, 2013
First off, I'll start by saying I picked up this manga because a friend asked me to read it, curious about what my thoughts on it would be Just by reading the synopsis, I already knew what the story would be about and how it would end. When I actually started reading it, though, I changed my mind and said, "Maybe I was wrong; maybe it will be different, after all." How terribly, terribly wrong I was. It was EXACTLY—correction—it was WORSE than what I thought it would be. I can't believe I actually thought it might be different.
Before I start the actual review, I
...
should warn you that this review contains lots of negativity and major spoilers—not that that really matters, since I bet anyone with half an intelligence can probably figure out the contents of this manga just by reading the synopsis. And, mind you, this won't actually be a review; it's more of a summary of the whole manga colored with my hateful comments about it.
Onward now. Where do I even begin? How about how unrealistic this manga is? Shoujo has always been a genre full of unrealistic elements, I know, but this is just too much—or at least, too much for me to handle. Every story, no matter how fictitious, needs at least some realism in to be a foundation for the story.
The story starts with Mikuni Senou, your would-be typical, everyday high school girl. Her dad passed away, so she's living alone with her mom. She goes to school and there, the narcissistic idiot (or at least this is how he is referred to as in the manga) she's in love with, Chiho, calls her out to confess to her. Since she's been in love with him for a long time now, it's dream come true for her! But just as they're about to kiss, they get interrupted by their homeroom teacher, Nishizono. After some pointless prattle, Nishizono tells Mikuni that their relationship will only last three months. Later that day, Mikuni gets called out by Nishizono to the library. He tells her to organize some books, and If she doesn't do it, he'll report her "illicit sexual behavior" he saw earlier that day. He then practically sexually harasses Mikuni, but of course she doesn't report it.
Now my biggest problem with this manga is Mikuni's mother. She gets a job transfer to the South Pole and, instead of taking Mikuni with her, decides to leave Mikuni in the care of a guardian. You guessed it—she chooses Nishizono as Mikuni's guardian. "What better person to leave you in the care of than your homeroom teacher, right?" Um, how about no? No person in their right mind would leave their teenage daughter in the care of a stranger—and that stranger is a grown man, no less. There are countless reports where girls' step-fathers (or even fathers) rape them; how much more a man you don't even know? Did she seriously not consider the possibility of him raping Mikuni? But wait, this is a shoujo manga, so anything goes, right? I mean, if he was a close friend, at least that would make sense... Does Mikuni's mother not have any friends or relatives in Kyoto that she'd have to resort to a strange man? No, of course not. Anyway, Mikuni is of course opposed to the idea, but she doesn't breathe a word about Nishizono's sexual harassment earlier that day.
The next day, Nishizono licks Mikuni. No, you didn't read wrong; he actually licks her. Mikuni of course does not call her mom and tell her about it, nor does she report his actions to the school. Even though she claims she wants to get rid of him. Even though she's supposedly so in love with Chiho. Mikuni of course hides the fact that Nishizono is living with her from Chiho because she fears her relationship with him will crumble if she tells him. Of course, this is very typical development in shoujo, so I won't say much. Moving on. After Chiho finally finds out, he moves in with Mikuni too, and after several unimportant events, Chiho tells Mikuni that she doesn't realize she's in love with Nishizono, and then dumps her.
When Mikuni finally realizes that she is indeed in love with her teacher, her love for Chiho just magically disappears—just trashed like yesterday's news. Mind you, this happens just a day after he dumps her. Eventually, after Mikuni spends the night with Nishizono, he vanishes. Of course the first person Mikuni talks to about this is her ex-boyfriend. Yes, talk to your ex-boyfriend about your new boyfriend. That's a brilliant idea. Anyway, when Nishizono finally returns, he confesses to Mikuni. Oh, did I forget to mention? He's engaged. To a woman he's been with for years, and who's in a coma. But by confessing, he's made it clear that he doesn't believe she'll ever wake up, and just chooses the student he spent a mere few days with over her. What an unfaithful, two-timing bastard. It hasn't even been that long since she fell into a coma. Well, that's the end. What a perfect ending... as far as the author is concerned, anyway.
I did not enjoy this manga. At all. The story was poorly written, not to mention very rushed. The art was decent, at least. It's your typical, run-of-the-mill shoujo art. I will say, though, that the volume covers made no sense to me. I mean, who IS that, anyway? As for the characters, I don't even know where to begin. Mikuni's got to be one of the most unbearable heroines I have EVER seen. I mean, shoujo heroines can be pretty stupid and irritating, but Mikuni really drove me off a cliff. Then there's Nishizono. He's a sexual-harassing asshole that should have lost his job LONG TIME AGO. To me Chiho was the only decent character in this manga. But of course the only decent character in the manga gets tossed aside like trash.
If you do end up reading this, I hope you enjoy it, because I sure as hell didn't.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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