Toshokan Sensou: Love & War
Library Wars: Love & War

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i really enjoyed this manga. I read it as it came out in North America so I was able to not binge read and appreciate the plot more.
The story deals with a military force who protect books. For some people this may be ridiculous but to me it was quite realistic (but maybe that's because I enjoy reading a lot). the premise reminded me of Bootleg or Chocolate Underground. I enjoyed how every action in the series had purpose. It wasn't all just that oh we did a thing, it's all good, nothing matters now and it really showed how interconnected the ... plot was from start to end. I liked how the characters were not just all good or evil, the manga showed that it was much more complex than that which is something very realistic.

in terms of characters, i felt they all grew. the manga takes place over the span of 11 years; although if you don't count the flashbacks and initial encounter between the two main characters it then, 6 years. throughout this, we see all the characters grow up and mature, especially Iku and Tezuka. I liked how Dojo, although in love with Iku, didn't mention the past. He treated everyone fairly and although he was physical with her the context made sense (ie for training). Komaki is an interesting character who we don't get to see too much of in terms of growth. I wish we were exposed more to him. Shibazaki is smart, beautiful and cunning. She is my favourite character and she's always in control.

Moving on to plot. I loved the plot and how slow and realistic it was. It showed the complexities of adult relationships and workplace romances. I enjoyed how Dojo and Iku's relationship was more than just romance. they had mutual trust and respect for each other and that really made me ship it more. the manga didnt just focus on romantic relationships but also familial and friendships. it expanded the world and showed us the characters better. the plot was full of action and showed the reality of fighting for what you believe in.

Iku was a very typical shoujo heroine but she moved past that. She was short tempered, atheltic and unfeminine. However she grows to become calm, rational and use her natural talents to assist her. she also works hard and while is optimistic, becomes more realistic later on. She does cry a lot, especially later on and this can be annoying but I liked it. It showed that you can be a badass and emotional, those two arent exclusive.

one thing that did make me :/ was komaki's relationship with Marie. Marie was the age of consent but seeing as komaki was somewhat of a power figure in her life and how she felt indebted to him, it just felt wrong.

Overall i think this manga is very well done and that if you enjoy a realistic romance with lots of action, this is a great manga. I would actually list this as josei rather than shoujo tbh.

I have a very low tolerance for annoying characters and over-used clichés. This story has both in spades and I can’t put up with it anymore. I was initially drawn to this series because it was about government censorship and I liked the anime a lot so I figured I would love the manga. Well I don’t. Why? Because despite this being about an adult woman in the military, Iku is your typical shoujo heroine: socially awkward, air headed, clumsy/not good at anything (well except for physical fitness), damsel in distress, and a complete crybaby. She is practically crying every other chapter and is being ... comforted or rescued by her tsundere commanding officer, Dojo, who bullies her (and even hits her multiple times) because he wants to teach her a lesson so that she can succeed-- oh and we can’t forget that he also does it to cover up the fact that he likes her *rolls eyes* Their relationship and physical characteristics (tall girl/short guy) reminds me of Risa & Otani from Lovely Complex, but unlike those two who are teenagers, Iku & Dojo are adults who behave in an immature way that is not at all endearing or funny.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

**Characters: 2/10**
Stereotypes all over the place! I’ve already talked about the leads, so let me go through the supporting characters…

Shibasaki- bishoujo roommate who is calculating and seemingly unable to fall in love… of course this will change and I’m sure you’ll be able to predict who her love interest will be.

Hikaru Tezuka- the kuudere rival of Iku who becomes somewhat of a brother figure later on.

Komaki- smiling, laughing nice guy who turns out to be a pedophile (yeah, I knew he was too good to be true!)

Marie- a shy, hearing impaired teenage girl who has been in love with her neighbor Komaki since she was a little girl. Of course she is victimized (well all the female characters are actually-- that way they can be rescued).

I do like two characters though: friendly, bear-like Captain Genda and the sly megane Satoshi Tezuka. I wish they were featured more because they are far more interesting than the others!

**Story: 5/10**
This manga is very good when it's focusing on the serious themes of government censorship. Unfortunately the other half consists of the rom-com “love story” of two completely unlikable characters. I find it ridiculous how long it took Iku to figure out who Dojo was too.

**Art: 7/10**
Typical shoujo style with big eyes for the girls and spiky hair for the guys. It has comedy elements so of course you will see some exaggerated expressions, chibi faces, and bandages on heads after someone (usually Iku) gets hit. The men are muscular since they're in the military so at least there's some eye candy when they're not in their uniforms.

**Enjoyment: 3/10**
For me, characters are actually more important than the story. I’ve enjoyed many series that don’t have a complicated plot as long as I care about the characters and love reading about their lives. Since I only like 2 people in the Toshokan manga, that pretty much kills any enjoyment I could get from it.

**Overall: 5/10**
There are very few stories out there about female characters in the military. If you’re going into this expecting a strong and capable female lead though, you will be disappointed. There are far too many elements that can already be found in shoujo's like Lovely Complex and Skip Beat. This manga would be so much better if it focused more on the dystopian government... but I guess that would make it josei and obviously they didn't want that. *shrugs* I guess it just comes down to personal preferences. If you like rom-coms and don't mind weak females, then give this one a try.

So basically I found out about this manga through my secret Santa on Animeplanet. At first I really liked the idea with a tall female lead and the short male lead bickering at first in a military setting then later on, we see them warm up obviously. I like my opposite attracts genre stories lemme tell ya.

However I hate the fact that it was just too over the top like I felt both ML and FL’s scenes needed to be more focused than the side characters point of view. I thought having the Tezuka character being the “ third wheeler” was just pointless like ... the rest side characters were pretty meh. Story as well, wasn't that great like it was all over the place and just unbearable to keep reading.

The art seemed alright like for an old skool romance manga, you wouldn’t expect much but the problem is that the story made it topsy turvy and again, unbearable to read. It’s just a shame I didn’t like this manga series because I was expecting it to be a fun read but it’s just not for me dawg…