IO

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IO basically starts of as a distinctive Harem, Romantic, Comedy, but as you go on you’ll discover that there is more to this manga, once the Supernatural, Mystery element surfaces.

It follows the endeavours of your average city boy (Taiyo), who visits Okinawa, only to end up meeting 3 girls. It appears that he once was acquainted with the sisters, some time in the past, yet he can't seem to recall any of it. That’s basically how it all begins and behind what would seem like a typical Rom/Com lies a fantastic story of supernatural mystery, scuba diving and ancient relics. The way in which the ... story is told is simply amazing because you just don’t know what to expect next. Although you have to get through the first 5 volumes before it becomes interesting. Nonetheless there are plenty of twist and turns, in the story, but somehow everything manages to come together in the end.

The artwork is one of the most outstanding features of this manga and in the beginning you may not think that but gradually the artwork becomes almost flawless, especially the water effects. However there is so much detail put on every page that you’ll begin to notice the little flaws; like the character eye lines and how one of the girls tends to looks like a boy (i.e. Shibuki). The few beautiful, colour pages, of amazing fanservice do help make up for that.

The characters themselves are amazingly well-defined that it is easy to notice their mannerisms and the way they interact with one another. There are also quite of few of them that are rather mysterious and you may begin to wonder ‘who’s trustworthy?’ The only real problem is that some of the things the characters tend to do can be considered foolish or annoying.

I came into this manga thinking it will be just another average manga but IO surprised the heck out of me, because it far surpassed my expectations. The romance was so believable and it merged well with the rest of the story. After the slow start the story begins to unravel itself and becomes so interesting to read. It's able to suck most people into all the mystery, forcing you to read on, to discover more but sadly the ending does still leave a bunch of unanswered questions. So if the story is unable to capture you, then you probably won’t enjoy it as much as this reviewer.

^_^

This was one of the most unique stories that I've had the privileged of witnessing in a long time. This was a cross between harem, mystery, Romance, and sport (if you consider scuba diving a sport that is).
Story:
The story starts out with a class trip down to some tropical islands where our lead protagonist meets a girl who blames him for killing her mom. One thing leads to another and the next thing he knows he's learning how to scuba dive with some long lost, and apparently forgotten friends. Now this story really has two stages to it. It ... starts off with the very technical stuff: setting character dynamics, relationships, and intro into the main storyline, as well as all the tech of scuba diving. Being a scuba diver, seeing everything that i learned put into this story, and extremely accurate i might add, was really cool. But for those who aren't into that type of stuff this can seem kind of boring.
Then the story cranks it up to the real mystery and plot. Now without giving anything away, this is when the characters really start to change and grow, and for most people this is when it starts to get good.
This story does have it back draws though. The story seems to pull in every which way up until the very end, which can make the story exciting but also confusing as well. But the main thing was the fan service that was in here. While not being overwhelming, there still was a great deal that didn't seem to have any point for the story except being there, as well as also taking away from the pure romance of the story.

In the end, this was one of the most enjoying mangas that I've read so far. It had great and compelling characters that stuck with you, even if they do drive you crazy at times. It also had a plot taht made just want to keep on reading up until the very end. I definitely recommend this for anyone who is looking for a good fun read.

Gosh, it must have been while I was in college that I read this manga. Now several years later, with a bit of time to spare, I saw it pop up again in my browser history (yeah, yeah, I really need to clean it up one of these days) and couldn't stop myself from diving right into it (you see what I did there? *wink* *wink*).

I can tell you one thing: it was a mistake. A horrible mistake.

No, not because it was terrible. I fell in love with it once more (as far as that's possible with something on paper/your computer screen) and couldn't help ... myself: I had to read it all as soon as possible. Damn you, Minato Koio, for taking away my social life for these past few days. But thank you for bringing this story too!

Let's start with the story (or plot, to use a fancy word): 8/10
Taiyo visits an island. And while the temperature isn't as high as you would expect, his hormones are working overtime. The tropical island is the perfect background for a story with romance, a harem (a pretty secluded place, which apparently allows little contact for the girls with the other gender) and mystery. Thinking back, I think this is one of the stories which made me wish for a more quiet life on an island (I once went to a Dutch island, it was quite nice and peaceful. But the lack of beautiful girls in bikini was... o right, the review...).
It's the perfect place for this little 'adventure'. Romance, while playing a major role, is spiced up thanks to some mysterious stuff happening (and thank God it aren't aliens).
The plot is, in the end, perhaps a bit too far fetched and I myself would have settled for a simplified version. Maybe it's just because I loved the character development more than really having to know the main character his tragic past (because we all know there is one thanks to the amnesia).

Art: 8/10
I love the scenery used in the manga. It almost feels so real. Like you're looking at a picture. Wait, it actually IS a picture. The author doesn't even try to hide it. The first page opens with one! Not that I found it disturbing. I like the variety.
The characters weren't always drawn great. From time to time I even had troubles differentiating the sisters. Not that it was a major problem. Their faces (and mostly Mio's face) can deliver the right feeling to the reader when necessary.


Characters: 8/10
Not only for a harem manga, but also for a manga in general, I considered the characters interesting and fleshed out.
Taiyo, the main character (if you had forgotten his name, just like I always do), is in my eyes one of the more irritating characters: from the beginning he's acting like a playboy. For some reason this 17/18-year old boy still is acting like he just got in puberty. Yes, people of that age talk about girls and sure, boys love to see women in bikini, but why do you have to repeat it at loud over and over again (at least with so many strangers in the vicinity, like on the plane)?
His indecisiveness is from time to time irritating (oh, the horrible cliché of harems!), but luckily not in such a degree that it ruins the story. There is too much happening and he seems to act like a normal human being when it's really necessary.
From all the sisters, Mio (the youngest child), got the most of my interest. She is clearly different from the others around her and even is worried that becoming normal would end her bound with her the main character. She acts like someone should act (perhaps minus her habit of throwing people from cliffs).
Shibuki, the second sister, and major love interest: a jealous one for sure. Those who read the manga will agree that one page can summon up the inner conflict of Shibuki concerning her relation with Taiyo and Mio (can't tell which one, of course, or I would spoil it). She's not sure of herself (not only when it comes to love), a bit violent, but certainly a good girl.
Nagisa... not really worth talking about. If you want to see an 'adult' get drunk all the time then you will find her very interesting. I didn't. I like drinking a beer (or five, six, seven...) but not when I'm short on cash.

About the other characters: there are quite a lot and all have a certain story. Some are surprising, some aren't. But isn't that how real life is? The last chapters tie most knots together about some characters' personality and shed new light on their decisions and unravel a perhaps unexpected ending to the story. It surprised me the first time I read it. It may surprise you. Or not.


Enjoyment: 10/10
Yes, a 10. I don't want to scream like a fangirl (very difficult as a boy I lack certain girly thingies), but I really enjoyed reading this again. If you're looking for a story in which you can sit back, relax and see how the flowers of love blossom while still having an adventure going on, then this is something for you. But beware for the nipples (yes, there are naked women in it)!


Oh yes, this is my first review on this site. And yes, I'm not a native English speaker, so don't be too hard on my baaadd uze of zhe language. Heck, like you guys even care while you can watch the a picture of a girl at the top of this page anyway.