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

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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.