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There aren’t a lot of shoujo manga with male protagonists, so naturally this one caught my attention. It was pretty cute in the beginning, as well. A lot of times the female protagonist is the one trying to get the love interest to notice her, but this one is about Ryouma chasing Mao. It’s also an interesting construct considering the childhood friend romance. If you know your shoujo, you know that about 99% of the time the childhood friend is never a serious romantic rival. I usually don’t even like the childhood friend. But this manga made me really root for Ryouma’s efforts. The reader ... really gets to see how Ryouma feels about Mao, and it isn’t something that just came out of nowhere, either (like in other poorly written shoujo). His love for her developed from a young age and stayed carefully hidden. Actually, it could have been more obvious, too, but Mao is one of the dense types, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

What I liked about this manga is that it frequently jumped out of the school setting because of the acting business that the characters took part in. It wasn’t just something that the mangaka brushed over, either. Though the details didn’t get too technical, the reader is able to learn a little bit about how expression, experience, appearance, and dedication get the actors to where they are in the industry. Yes, some people have natural talent, but they need to grow on that in order to become wonderful. That’s shown when Mao works from the bottom up, starting from a few model shoots, commercials, and then short films. Ryouma is similarly given smaller jobs before he can handle the more serious ones, even having to deal with stage fright. Acting is not some light business.

The amount of times I laughed while reading this manga was countless. I was super excited to pick this one up after recognizing the art and realizing that it was created by a mangaka whose work I had read before (a oneshot called “Hatsukoi Harinezumi”). It was hilarious to see Mao acting on her impulses sometimes (like in the first chapter, she maneuvers a bulldozer to save a cat stuck in a sewer drain from a fallen log), and I even chuckled during her incredibly dense moments. Ryouma really took the cake for my laughter, though, as he was so eager to please but also hindered by his own insecurities and other people’s lack of common sense. A few of the other characters that were introduced were also quite humorous; I’m sure I laughed every moment the mangaka intended me to.

I especially loved Ryouma as the main character. Though he and others think that he is an average-looking guy, I think his dual-colored hair makes him quite unique and attractive. While he doesn’t face situations as head on as Mao does, I think he comes in second compared to her. He made his debut as an actor quite quickly, and as she did it for the person she loved, he did as well. He grew a lot from the beginning of the manga until the end.

What I like most about his personality is his “mood swings.” People refer to them as such, but they result from his being a tsundere. They only occur around people he trusts, situations where they ask him to do things and he’ll say something like, “Fine, not that I want to!” or something similar. It’s so cute because everyone recognizes what he really means. Like all tsunderes, he has an incredibly sweet side as well. When he’s comfortable enough, he shows a lot of care for his friends and family and I just love it.

I liked Ryouma more than the other characters just because of who he was. I couldn’t bring myself to like Mao that much for other reasons, but that aside, the other actors were great people and fun to read about.

The artwork by Ayumi Komura is really quite stunning. It has that fresh and light feel to it while still being detailed in shading, clothing, and hair. People with light colored hair have thick light colored eyelashes, so that’s something I always stare at when those characters pop up. Most characters have large eyes, even the males, so that’s a little different for shoujo. The only things I didn’t like were that the characters tended to have long noses and limbs, but I suppose those are consistent.

The romance was a little iffy near the end of the book, but it tied up nicely and very cutely with a oneshot. I came in expecting a lot after having read a great oneshot by the same mangaka, and with good reason, because most shoujo oneshots are terrible. Seeing that, I knew this manga would be amazing. While it isn’t the best shoujo I’ve ever read, it did meet my expectations and I will definitely read more from this mangaka. Her artwork is a whole other story in itself. I love the way she uses humor in various situations. The characters are excellent. Overall it was a fantastic read.

There are a few manga I’ve read where the synopsis was brief and strange, and this one was one of them. Seriously, there are only two sentences on MAL: “If you don't date her, you'll die! That was the prediction made to that delinquent boy. but what will be his destiny...?” I was bracing myself for a cheesy, corny, and lame short shoujo but I was taken aback by how funny this series was.

First of all, there’s this likable Kuroiwa guy who’s completely misunderstood and judged because of his red hair (not so uncommon). He is capable of being a sweetheart, though, as the reader ... can see when he’s out on a date with Misaki-chan. If anyone were to observe him being himself, they’d find out he wasn’t what the rumors said.

Of course, I feel absolutely terrible for such a nice person being plagued with inexplicably bad luck. If every time I stepped outside something would hit me, I’d never leave the house. The weirdest stuff happens to him! He’s almost squashed by construction beams, desks fall on him, just anything horrible that can happen does. So for something good to befall him, say like, for him to fall in love, that would be the sweetest thing, right? The mangaka does a terrific job setting him up for this story.

Of the strange elements in this manga, the strangest is probably that old man that tells Kuroiwa his destiny. It’s never revealed fully in the story whether or not he’s actually a god, but his predictions are correct so far. He doesn’t seem to have any powers other than that of clairvoyance, though. At first I thought he might have been an older relation of Misaki who pretended to be some god and wanted to hook up his lonely granddaughter with a nice boy, but that really isn’t the case. His purpose for talking to and advising Kuroiwa is a complete mystery. Maybe he’s just a goofy good-doer?

Misaki Yuu has that cute innocence about her. She’s aware of her beauty and knows that though people find her attractive, they also think she is unapproachable. Therefore, she likes Kuroiwa’s forwardness with her. Her reasons for being alone most of the time were not to my liking, though, perhaps maybe because I couldn’t sympathize with them. Her cuteness is something I think Kuroiwa would find very appealing, though ;)

The artwork was pretty decent. It’s typical to most shoujo with the big-eyed long-haired girls and cool-looking males. I thought Misaki’s hair was kind of flat, but otherwise I had no complaints with the way things were drawn. The mangaka did well to make Kuroiwa look rough at times and a nice guy at others, and Misaki was as adorable as ever. That old man never looked like a real old man, though; he was always illustrated with that chibi stance after his first appearance, but that was all right given his comedic role.

All through the manga I found myself laughing a lot, though. It was hilarious seeing Kuroiwa just barely miss being hit by objects because he came to Misaki’s side. Even though he asked her out simply because he wanted to keep himself safe, seeing the two of them grow closer as they got to know each other was adorable. The methods that Kuroiwa had to take in order to be with Misaki were humorous as well. His reputation as a “delinquent” was known at Misaki’s school, and her brother was extremely protective of her, among other conflicts. The very last problem was not settled very well, so I was disappointed, but I still really enjoyed reading this manga. It’s rare to find manga under ten chapters to be any good because of length, but I thought this one was a gem. It originated from a oneshot, too, so the mangaka did a good job adding to this story to make it the way it is now.

This seemed to be a very innocent story at first with a silly beginning. It was familiar, too… you know how it is in shoujo. If a guy and a girl get together in a fake relationship for some motive, they’ll “accidentally” end up liking each other while they’re pretending to like each other. Then they reach some complications along the way that prevent them from really being together even though they were kind of already together before.

Even if that kind of story is typical for those who know it, I’m always still interested in knowing how it is they end up liking each ... other. It’s funny to see them act the part and suddenly blush, and one of the pair usually has a tsundere personality that comes out.

While it was a cute story at first, I was dismayed to find out that the main conflict in the story arose from a love square. There was some history in between the other main characters that were introduced and feelings suddenly arose out of nowhere. They were explained later in some oneshots between the chapters of the main plot, thank goodness, but without those the story would have been more frustrating to read. At times I thought to myself, why does he like her? Why does she like him? I disliked some of the characters when I couldn’t understand their feelings and selfish motives. When things came tumbling down I wasn’t sure whether I shipped the main ship any more.

Feelings were all over the place and there was so much crying. It reminded me of a Korean drama the way they shed so many tears. While I could comprehend the reasons for their grief and pain sometimes, it became a little much seeing the amount of drama there was because of love. I wanted to tear my hair out a few moments because of the way things were going. Nevertheless, this manga showed me the way the human heart works. Love can be fickle at times and so long-lasting at others. You can’t stop liking someone if you do. Sometimes you need to let go.

Ao is probably the most noble shoujo heroine I’ve seen in a while. She has a cute personality and knows she’s not the prettiest, but she does a lot for her friends. Even if making a decision hurts her, she’ll do it for her friend’s sake. She’s so selfless that that’s probably her biggest flaw. Regardless of that, I liked her a lot. She’s the kind of person I’d like to have for a friend.

I’ll leave the other characters out of this blog, but they had their own quirks as well. I didn’t like a few of them, either, so there’s that.

While the manga isn’t that old, I found the artwork looking a little bit aged. You could definitely tell who the more attractive characters were, but sometimes I found a few limbs to be a bit too long. Sometimes expressions looked dazed and dull, but maybe that was the mangaka’s intention. The artwork worked out for the story, I suppose, but I wasn’t too impressed with it.

Despite my irritation with how the romance was going during the manga, I have to say I still enjoyed reading it. I wanted to see how the story turned out and if the main ship was finally going to set sail. I could sympathize with the Ao and the other characters sometimes. I laughed a bit at some scenes in the manga. It was a light read sometimes and heavy at others. It’s a little different from other shoujo manga, so I was glad to have found it. The ending was a little rough, but I still think it was a fine read.

The first images I saw from this anime made it look tamer than it actually was; there were girls hugging and smiling, even looking happy while summoning what were their “childs”: some machine creatures that came to their aid whenever they were in trouble. From the very first episode, though, there are some foreboding events that clearly indicate to the viewer that this isn’t some happy-go-lucky magical girl anime. The machine “childs” lend to that effect. Unlike the cute and whimsical creatures that magical girls from other anime have, here are these large and intimidating animals made of metal that resemble birds and other things. ... Rockets and cannons are cool, aren’t they?

The few times that Mai and her friends had some respite between fighting “orphans” (the name of the evil and destructive monsters) were probably the most enjoyable. The anime wasn’t all about fighting. After all, Mai had just arrived at a new and seemingly luxurious school (super large and filled with numerous facilities) with her brother, so it was imperative for the setting to be built. Mai had a job and made some nice friends and ran into other girls who could see the HiME star. There were a lot of characters introduced, though I only remembered the names of the ones that had a big role in the story. It was fun to see the mesh of evil-fighting and school in the beginning, though. Obviously with childs as big as trees and larger, it was extremely difficult to cover up damage from battles. Plus, it was hard to keep secrets for so long as the orphans became more prevalent and dangerous.

While the anime does hint at having darker tones starting from the beginning, it surprised me that there were a lot of themes that took on a negative twist. Some were a little bit much or didn’t have enough time to develop. I had a hard time sympathizing with the characters at some moments.

For example, to pay the price for the power of being a HiME (one that can control the Highly-advanced Materializing Equipment), one must sacrifice something very special, and the price to be paid if the child dies in battle is quite dire. I couldn’t take it very seriously because the anime made it so dramatic, and it was unbelievable to the other characters as well.

In addition, Mai spent time a lot of time being sad and I felt that it was difficult to understand her pain because she stopped herself from telling almost anyone at all. Her position as a big sister made her a strong character, but she also kept her feelings to herself so that she did not look weak. It looked like she was supposed to cry by herself, but even when she talked to someone just a little bit about her emotions, it seemed vague. Her character perpetually seemed lonely and unreachable.

One other thing I should mention is that there is a bit of fanservice in here, made very easy by how well-endowed Mai is. The other girls have nice bodies as well, so they get utilized for this reason here and there. It happens more often in the first half of the series and not so much later on because the plot gets more serious.

As the anime went on, the relationships between characters became clearer and back stories surfaced. A few of them were sad but not so unique, and just a few were original. It was appropriate buildup to explain what exactly each girl was fighting for, though, which I appreciated. I remembered each girl distinctly from her troubles and appearance, so the creators did a good job at individualizing the characters.


Given the romance tag, I wasn’t too disappointed with the kind of relationships in Mai-HiME. Most of the girls had a special person in their lives and good reasons to love them. The main problem was the main shipping involving Mai, which was a huge letdown. Both parties were unsure about their feelings and denied it themselves, so that just made it worse. There wasn’t enough time to develop it since it was in between fighting and their only bonding moments were brief. It wasn’t that I wanted to force them apart at the end, but I was indifferent to them by then.

Many people would probably say the ending was too happy and too easily erased all the problems that the girls had gone through since the beginning, but I can say it was explained with magic, so it was better than most inexplicable endings. I actually enjoyed it since I like happy endings, and this one was very happy. I especially think it was deserved since the girls had gone through so much pain to get that far.

While I like the headstrong girl that Mai was, it was a little strange to me how much she doted on her younger brother. Even though he did need her help a lot, she was just so nice to him. It’s explained later why this is, but their relationship seems so unnatural to me. I do like how her responsibility shows when she’s around her other friends, though this is a result of her being the older sister all the time. She’s dependable, smart, and cooks well. There’s that nice body, too.

Her uncharacteristic weak moments were the flaw in her personality which I wish were carried out better. She has an inability to communicate her feelings when she’s had to bottle them up for so long. Otherwise she isn’t a bad character. I liked her child the best.

The other characters were fine, too. They all were strong to have childs that could fight the way that they did. It was interesting to see what kind of backgrounds they had and to discover who else was a HiME. Some of them I liked more than others, but that’s to be expected given such a wide range of personalities and appearances.

I think for their time, the animation in Mai-Hime was not bad. The materializing childs were very cool and so were the fire and sparkly effects. The lighting was good at night when where flashes of light in the dark on the characters. The childs were very detailed, drawn with so many individual parts on them. The hair of some characters was kind of stiff, but I suppose it was all right. What I found the most unique was the way the girls’ eyes were drawn. They’re smaller than those of girls in other shows, but they’re still capable of showing a lot of emotion.

The beginning of the OP was peppy and cool, but the rest of it was more subdued. I liked the mellow ED. But anyway, the anime really shined with a great soundtrack. I am a huge fan of Yuki Kajiura, but even so, I do acknowledge that she brings out so much emotion in her work that if its applied to scenes that aren’t nearly sad enough, her pieces can make the scenes feel corny or cheesy. I found that to be the problem sometimes in Mai-HiME. Regardless of that, I really enjoyed the music. A lot of it sounded like some mystery becoming sad, and I think the creators wanted Mai-HiME to be the kind of anime that would induce that grief and pain from viewers. There were also some happy scenes accompanied by sweet pieces which I enjoyed.

I admit the anime had quite a slow start and noted that it didn’t really peak my interest until the eighth episode. In the beginning I was mildly curious, but even then I didn’t watch more than one episode a night, and sometimes I even skipped watching. Later on, though, I binged two or three episodes at a time near the latter half of the show as the cliffhangers became more serious. It wasn’t something I was fangirling about at all, but it was okay to watch. Magical girls and mecha is intriguing combination, and the plethora of characters was fantastic. Some themes were not communicated clearly enough, but I understood the gist of what the creators wanted to convey. Mai-HiME was certainly more than I expected, though.

I've always thought courtesan houses interesting, seeing the culture difference between Japan and America. In lower terms, people would describe such courtesans as "high-class prostitutes". But a deeper dive into the culture reveals more of what the courtesans offered before sexual services, such as entertainment in multiple arts like tea-serving, dancing, and more. Don't get me wrong; Oiran Girl isn't a super informative manga about Tsubaki's transition from mere girl to oiran. Though the manga is built on history, it's more dependent upon the new characters and conflicts introduced every chapter that could threaten Tsubaki's ascension to top courtesan or possibly reveal oiran Takao's greatest ... secret.

I'm not so much a fan of boys that are pretty enough to disguise as women, but the humor was great. I laughed out loud a couple of times because the situations turned out too silly, and not in a bad way. It's amazing how well a man can disguise as a woman in an all-female house. Tsubaki's frustrations with an elder oiran sister who bullied her in public and acted caring in private were hilarious. A few cliches are sprinkled here and there, like that divide between social classes that inhibits romance and an incredibly dense protagonist, but setting those aside, I did enjoy the story. Despite the growing love interest, I was very interested in Tsubaki's development as a courtesan and a mature young woman.

Tsubaki certainly shines in this manga, especially since she is the apprentice of the famous and beautiful oiran Takao. Clients recognize her strength as a rising courtesan. She's also a very headstrong individual, not letting men push her around unless she really has to. She comes to realizations quickly and will fight for what she believes is right. Even with her frequent bouts of anger towards oiran Takao and her denseness in regards to others' feelings about her. She's definitely a heroine with flaws, but she's typical compared to other strong female protagonists in shoujo manga.

The other protagonist and main love interest is Shin, parading as oiran Takao in the courtesan house. He quite discourteously rejected Tsubaki after her confession as kids. As a woman, he's very cool, attractive, and in control. His personality as a man is much the same. Rarely is he ever unsettled, except in certain situations involving Tsubaki. A lot of times he inhibits himself from acting any more caring toward her because of their statuses as master and servant from long ago. Other than his true gender, he hides more secrets that Tsubaki is unaware of. While he's definitely the kind of guy that many readers swoon over, he's also quite normal to shoujo manga male love interests. He was a little bit too conveniently there at times when Tsubaki was in trouble and his constant denial of love for her was a little bit annoying when it was so obvious. Nevertheless, he serves his purpose.

The best part of this manga was the artwork. While the eyes and body structures were normal for modern shoujo manga, I was quite blown away by how detailed the kimono and hair ornaments were. The mangaka certainly did her research in order to illustrate clothes of the Edo period correctly and beautifully. Even the patterns on the robes were detailed, and I was never disappointed each time I turned the page. The eyes are always expressive and the shading is done well enough to tell the mood of the panel.

If any readers picked up Oiran Girl for the romance, the nature of the love between the main pair is similar to that of a forbidden one between two people of different social classes that suddenly gives in. I can't say that it's anything special. Much of the society restrictions that they are thinking of are merely ones that they put on themselves since they don't belong to the same house they did before when they were kids. However, it was a charming and entertaining read with a little oneshot in between (which was okay) which made me laugh a bunch of times. I loved the artwork and thought the ending was a little messy, but I suppose by the last few pages it worked out. The manga was exciting to me because of its history and made even more entertaining by its comedy, so I think it was worth reading.

I always add CLAMP works to my manga list for reading; the artwork is amazing, the stories are intriguing, and the way CLAMP touches on feelings that people in everyday life endure all the time is astounding. Tokyo Babylon is not an exception, though I must confess that I've never heard of this title before. It's one of CLAMP's oldest series and despite its age, still delivers exactly what CLAMP is well-known for; timeless manga that people of many ages can enjoy.

What's wonderful about this plot is the way it is character-driven. Subaru's responsibility as a powerful exorcist puts him in dangerous situations all the ... time as he takes odd jobs. He meets a slough of characters that are battling some demon or another, emotions of extreme hatred and sadness, past ghosts that refuse to leave, etc. I found myself relating to some of the victims that Subaru met, and it's a little sad to see that the issues plaguing Tokyo in the 90s are still relevant in today's society. Justice can't always be served, murder and death will always exist, and the world isn't a nice place.

I've seen a few of these characters before because I read Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle first, which features a host of characters from CLAMP's earlier works. But just in case you haven't read that manga, either, I'll just say that Subaru and Seishirou appear in it :)

Anyway, the main characters in Tokyo Babylon all for the most part have strong attributes:

The protagonist Subaru has that cool power to exorcise ghosts and demons using a variety of spells passed down from his grandmother and earlier generations. He's a pretty level-headed person, but even his emotions can get the best of him. I find that to be a good flaw, though, considering how powerful his abilities are. His limitations are in his mind.

It is unclear what Hokuto's true strength is, but as the more lively and less serious twin sister of Subaru, she can still be quite ferociously protective of her younger brother. She doesn't get as much attention in the manga as Subaru, but she's still an important character. She looks out for Subaru all the time and repeatedly encourages him to pursue a romantic relationship with Seishirou.

The most mysterious character of the trio, Seishirou happens to be a veterinarian with some powers of his own that even Subaru is not sure of. He takes an unusual interest in Subaru, though, and makes a lot of flirtatious advances. He has a habit of changing the subject not too subtly and innocently when he wants to. It's a little tiring seeing him act suspiciously all the time without an explanation, which is dragged out until the very end of the manga, but it makes his character seem very cool.

As usual for CLAMP, there is not one flat character in this manga. Subaru learns a lot through his work about how the people of Tokyo suffer every day, and his ideas of the world change. Hokuto becomes more mature when she meets others that suffer in ways she can't understand. Seishirou was never an ordinary person from the beginning.

While the artwork in this manga is rougher than in their newer works, it still has that shine that unique style that only CLAMP possesses. Even small eyes are detailed. That passive emotion that I remember well from CLAMP is in here. Splash pages are illustrated with incredible detail, clothing, strands of hair, eyes, everything. Their chibi art is also endearing. If you've read CLAMP works already, you know what I'm talking about.

It goes without saying that I enjoyed this manga immensely. I've read XXXHolic before reading this, and the fact that every chapter was a side story reminded me of it. That kind of progression helps the reader understand Subaru's abilities fully without having to go through a lengthy explanation beforehand. Each subplot is unique and captures the reader's attention. Now, I wasn't very happy with the ending, but that's because I was expecting something a little different, missing the tragedy tag before reading. Otherwise, it's still a magnificent piece years after it was finished.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi draws the reader in with inexplicable time travel connected to the old mystery of a classmate's murder. The classic case of whodunnit is made new again with the supernatural and uncontrollable power of the protagonist, Satoru, a seemingly ordinary man struggling with his career as a mangaka. The story starts out shakily at first, as the reader is thrown into his world trying to understand why it is that Satoru has these sudden moments where the colors he sees are inverted, his head seems to spin, and he must observe the oddity he didn't notice before as he goes back ... in time for a short while. The protagonist himself doesn't know why this happens to him, either, which is one shortcoming of Boku dake ga Inai Machi.

Nevertheless, the reason for why this happens is not important as how he uses this power. The past few times, he has managed to save a few people's lives because this time travel gives him an overwhelming need to. He keeps his secret as well hidden as he can, but he does worry when someone will notice that he seems to see things that no one else can.

Of course, when Satoru must use his power to save his own life, the story becomes a lot more interesting. At a point when he discovers that there's something that he was missing long ago while also realizing that he needs to flee, his power kicks in to bring him back to when he was a child, right before the murders of classmates occurred. Now he has the opportunity to stop them from happening and possibly expose the murderer.

The rest of the story is filled with details from the murders that Satoru slowly remembers. It also helps that he still has his adult conscious with him when he travels back in time and becomes his grade school self. As a person who loves details and enjoys how much thought goes into detective work, it's thrilling to see the inner workings of someone trying their hardest to solve a mystery. The mangaka skillfully unfolds the story piece by piece as Satoru investigates the past, building his world quite clearly and creating the setting perfectly.

Another nice aspect of this manga is the way the mangaka portrays Satoru's relationships with others from the past and present. Satoru used to be a solitary kid back in the day, but now that he has a second chance to change things, he changes his personality in order to build bonds with friends and get closer to people who are or might be involved with the case. Since Satoru is now so carefully observant, he notices many traits in other people around him. His mother has a habit of uttering a shocking truth and covering it up with a "just kidding." A classmate loves classical music and enjoys reading books that are above the normal grade level. Every character is very individualized and that makes them very real and relatable to the reader. Satoru also grows to care for and love the people he didn't interact with so much in the past. It's endearing and shows a ton of character development despite being in a different body.

Satoru himself is a very brave character. While he does mention that he wants to do good in order to bring about justice, I get the feeling that it's a little bit more than that. Solving this mystery and bringing together his friends gives him closure for the pain that this situation caused him in the past. In addition to having a hand in preventing the most horrible act in his small hometown, he can put his ability to very good use. He once thought it was annoying, but with control to change the past for the better, it's an extraordinary gift.

Otherwise I find Satoru to be an endearing person. He really only wants the best for everyone, and while it seems like he could be construed as controlling, he isn't in the least so. He comes off as a nice person who is concerned for everyone's well-being. Satoru can also be quite tenacious in his efforts, making friends with those who don't warm up to him initially. He also has this cute tendency to say whatever he's thinking out loud sometimes, and then thinking afterwards, "It slipped." He's certainly not perfect in his deductions, but he does do his best.

The art style is a little rough to me. The shading in certain places is a little sparse in some places and the noses and hands are a little big. Otherwise, the art suited the manga just fine. The mangaka does pay attention to drawing setting well when it comes to weather, especially since Satoru is taken back in the past to the winter season when it's snowing. Expressions of indifference, pain, grief, love, and happiness are plain on the characters' faces. I thought the children looked pretty cute, too.

I actually had to stop myself from reading this manga all in one sitting so I could savor it longer. The plot is very engaging, and though I don't like time travel, it's easy to understand and the timelines aren't all messed up like in other stories. Satoru is a noble character and the mangaka does a good job telling the story; I'd recommend this manga to anyone.

This is quite an interesting love story. For one thing, the main romantic love interest is a teacher at the heroine's school, and for another, he's her stepbrother. It's two forbidden loves tied into one. It's more about the two of them being step-siblings rather than teacher and student, though. Taichi is unabashed about declaring his love for his newfound sister while Yuka doesn't even bother hiding her disgust. There's that detail, though, the fact that they aren't officially registered as brother and sister yet, which makes the both of them internally question what they are to each other.

I was continuously reminded of Haruhi and ... Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club as I read Sugar Family. Haruhi is annoyed by Tamaki's constant talking and attachment to her as a surrogate father within the host club, acting quite indifferent when his feelings are hurt (though he is pretending, I think). Yuka and Taichi are almost the same excepting that they're sister and brother rather than daughter and father. Classmates even comment on Yuka's coldness towards her brother, which she ignores. It can be quite amusing at times.

Though even I was annoyed at the way her brother was acting so openly loving at school, it made their accidental romantic moments seem even more special. The large contrast upped the romance factor very well and made me ship them a ton. Heck, if I were Yuka I probably would have fallen for sensei as well. I suppose a few of them might have been cliche moments, but they still made my heart swell.

The reader is able to see Yuka's thoughts maturing as she grows into a better person because Sugar Family deals with a lot of themes: the slow realization that your life is now how it seems, that there are things that you might be stopping yourself from feeling without knowing it, and that there are people who think of you more often than you are aware of... I guess a lot of things can come to light when you meet the person who shows them to you.

I liked the artwork a lot. The men were definitely handsome and Yuka was pretty cute, too, though I might have thought that because Taichi kept saying so lol. The distant look in the characters' eyes made me think of the artwork in Ouran High School Host Club as well. Sometimes I wish they were more detailed, though. The clothes were drawn nicely, too. Overall it was quite pretty.

Despite how well this story progressed, I wished it were a little longer. Though the ending wasn't abrupt exactly, I thought more romance could have been added before the final scene. Of course, that just might be due to my love for shoujo.

This boyfriend-in-a-box situation is more like something I'd expect from a shounen manga, only in that case it would be a girlfriend-in-a-box and an ecchi tag. I was expecting this to have some more indecently funny moments than it actually did have (considering the delivery came unclothed!), but most of the comedy had to do with a figure trying to act as human as possible and become the best lover for the main character, Riiko.

This isn't just about falling in love with a robot, though. There is another man in Riiko's life who aims for her attention as well, a childhood friend and next door ... neighbor named Soushi. So if you were thinking, sigh, this is just some cheesy romance involving a human and a robot, it isn't just that. This love triangle takes up the latter half of the manga and delves into what love is for a high schooler. There's that pressure to be someone worth wanting and the struggle to find someone who could possibly want that mess that's you. That being said, is it easiest to find acceptance and love from a robot that was made to love you?

Aside from the serious romantic moments were the comedic ones that sometimes got me to smile but rarely made me laugh out loud. I found the humor to be a little bit too silly and more suited for younger audiences. A robot acting strange in new surroundings can only be so funny. Perhaps it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I can't say that the characters are any more different from normal shoujo ones. That robot boyfriend is, of course, perfect in every way except that he's human. That flawlessness is typical of many romantic interests in shoujo manga regardless of whether they're human or not. The heroine is a little bit of a headstrong girl confused in the issues of love... what's new? The other romantic interest of course, will do anything to gain the heroine's affections but will respect her own choice. It's all quite predictable, isn't it?

Absolute Boyfriend is more than ten years old, so the art is certainly aged. I'm not such a fan of the heroine and others having such large round faces and small eyes, but it's consistent. I could see how some people could be considered handsome, but their round faces do take their ages down a notch. Otherwise the artwork is pretty all right; it isn't too shabby or hard to look at and is sufficient.

I think this manga would have been more entertaining to me if I were younger, though the brief mentions of sex would have made me uncomfortable. That's what I find a little strange about this manga; there wasn't enough of that particular topic for it to be rated mature (but almost) and the humor was young and light, so it was a little dissonant. However, this manga was a little bit amusing, I'll give it that.

I found Yuru Koi to be a sort of shoujo romance with a more realistic twist. While it's listed as josei, it's light enough for younger readers that are on the mature side. As with a lot of shorter manga, the romance was underdeveloped, but I wouldn't say it was dissatisfying. In fact, it delivered more than a typical short story but less than a full length one.

The thing about romance in shoujo is that a lot of times it seems to happen spontaneously. That first glance or even unfortunate interaction is utterly important in determining the blossoming of a relationship. Even though the characters ... in Yuru Koi are adults, as characteristic of a josei, the story fell prey to a couple that got together right away. I would have preferred that the mangaka took more time in making this happen, but she did use the rest of the story to examine their relationship.

Aside from some great artwork (attractive people with young eyes though rather large noses and lips, smooth lines and innocent expressions), the heart of the story lay in the forming of their relationship. The heroine Suzu seems almost like a lost child before she runs into the handsome Sou. Though their getting together is a little hasty, they do realize their actions were quick and get to know each other. They're adults, after all. Suzu even says so herself that Sou knows more about her than she does about him. There are even some cute moments in between them that are not horribly cliche.

There isn't any extraordinary about the main characters, but they are likable. Suzu is a woman you can relate to due to her uneasiness in where her life is going, stuck in between being young and old yet still looking for her calling. Sou appears as the average handsome mysterious dude in the beginning, but when his real self shines through he is surprising in many ways.

An intriguing aspect of this manga was the setting. Modern stories are usually set in cities and suburbs, but this was all in a small town in the countryside. Suzu's family runs a charming bakery and Sou is a skilled potter. It was a refreshing little change from other manga.

I also found the ending of this manga to be quite satisfactory, and the accompanying oneshots weren't half bad. While I can't say this is a perfect manga, it was better than I thought it'd be for its length. I'd say it's a light snack for a romance lover.