Koukou Debut
High School Debut

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I read this manga when it first came out as a kid, completely forgot about it, found it again this year (2023) & had so much fun reading it again! I have been on this re-reading marathon for all of the shoujos I read in the past, and I will say I have certain expectations for shoujo (since I am already 22 this yr), and Koukou Debut really did not disappoint!

Such a pure, light hearted story, very much enjoyable and I found myself giggling all the time. The author has an incredible sense of humour and it is shown really well through the story. What ... I also love are the characters and their development, they stay true to their personality throughout and it’s so endearing to watch them grow. Some can say this is just a typical shoujo but I disagree: the way the author articulate feelings and emotions through the characters is very real and refreshing, it makes you wholeheartedly root for them; the way the story was written and the natural flow, etc. are what makes this series so special to me.

Go Yoh and Haruna!! They are definitely one of my favourite couples of all time. What a pity that there was no anime adaptation for this series!

I enjoyed reading this. I read a lot of romance mangas so hopefully, this is credible, this review is my personal opinion based on my personal preferences so do take note.

I liked how the main characters were written, Haruna is a breath of fresh air, although I found her a tad frustrating. Yoh is a pretty well written "cool guy", not too prideful, not too soft, with just the right amount of adorable. character development in the supporting cast felt a little shoddy but I guess that's excusable.

What I like the most about this story is the way it surprised me in the most ... subtle and pleasant ways. Of course, the story contained a number of cliches but the scenarios pivoted into a direction that made it so that whatever I disliked about the cliche was replaced with what I wanted. With that being said, this manga does have its shortcomings. I get frustrated with the characters, but it's impossible not to feel frustrated because conflict is pretty much a staple in most stories.
Anyways, overall it was an enjoyable experience that kept my mind off things :)

This series started off stronger than it finished. The story is nothing special, pretty standard fare, but it's lighthearted and fun, and I'm a sucker for ugly duckling stories, so I was hooked immediately. But with a main character like Haruna, you have to write your story in such a way that the character won't become annoying or absurd to the point of unenjoyable. And while I think the author did a good job of making Haruna a fun character in the first half, turning her overactive imagination and extreme reactions into great story fodder, I don't think she did so well with this in ... the second half. Haruna's personality and behavior slowly became more and more grating as the story goes on. Not so much so that I stopped enjoying the story entirely, but enough so that I don't know how likely I am to ever pick this series up for a re-read.

And that's really all I have to say about this series. It's not a stand-out story, the art is decent but nothing special (even occasionally subpar), and Haruna starts out really fun but sort-of devolves in the second half. It's nothing to write home about. Still, it is generally enjoyable fluff, so if you like lighthearted ugly duckling stories and don't mind somewhat cliché/standard storylines and a female lead who can be occasionally grating to your brain, this isn't a bad series to waste some time on.