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The touch, the sight and the sensation...

Those are the moments of intimacy this short manga highlights. I wouldn't even call this ecchi or that it's made to show nudity. The art is not seductive or detailed for fanservice that way like the cover portrays. It just shows an unclothed body and the character is a girl who wears glasses. The manga is rather made to share observations between couples that generally get overlooked in romance or erotic genres, and instead leaves you with a "slice of life" kind of feel that works really well.

The first is about temperature and the feeling of touch. One ... could say that fingers are the gateway to intimacy, both physically ad emotional.

The second is about sight. 6 pages. And well addresses what megane people face. I actually find it really irksome that glasses are made out to be accessories and that someone's beauty is "revealed" when they take it off. Pff. These are mangakas who probably have never worn glasses. It's a prosthetic. It becomes a part of you and your identity, and rather it feels missing without that. And just by surfacing 1 point of observation in these 6 pages, you feel like.. ah, finally, someone noticed.

The third tries to describe an orgasm, and offhandedly counters the usual excessive showcase. Makes you wonder if an artist has actually visualised the imagery of the feeling of an orgasm. This comes quite close.

So in summary, there is a freshness to the stories here simply because it comes from experience. I would have liked a larger collection of these keen observations.

Tactical narrative with depth, growth and a solution.

There's a scene from 'Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai' that is quite comparable to what this manga 'Vitamin' achieves:
There's a commissioned painting of scenes from Hell in the back room that has been giving the madam of the house visions of death. The dread doesn't let her sleep, and almost causes a fire in the house. The househelps approach the artist community and ask for a solution. Master Hokusai takes one look at the painting and notices it is "incomplete" - and draws in something that alleviates the restless fear.

'Vitamin' offers a route of hope to the victims of ... ijime (bullying). It's the first manga I've read that successfully redirects the fear, dread, anger, paranoia, hate, and suffering into a productive and positive outlet - with a tactful taste of revenge that only makes the character rise, instead of making her resort to the same level of violence. That too, in 3 chapters. There's so much depth and character growth offered here, it's an entire journey.

And three very crucial things that stood out that no other manga has managed to offer:
- A character that hides her relationship from her parents (I'm from an orthodox family, and relate to this SO much - my parents still have no clue that I've been in relationships since the past 10 years. Not all families are open about relationships and welcoming as the shoujo genres show.)
- Parents who switch channels when a kiss/love scene shows up (yes, still do that!)
- Trying to please your partner when in a relationship, and hating it. (It's very sticky and tricky area not being able to say no. You tend to blame yourself here not realising that it's actually not okay. It's not a space you're genuinely happy about, despite having deep affections and appreciating the sense of love. It's probably equatable to bearing humiliation, now that I think about it.)

After reading this story, my first reaction was to write a review not for this manga, but for 'Hibari no Asa'. Because I really wish Hibari got to read this manga and Sawako's journey. That's the power these two narratives and their characters managed to have over me.

And as much as revenge narratives are popular, and blood and gore are thrilling for fiction, the horrific part is that reality is quite different. This story actually teetered on the fringe of mass violence and self harm. Neither of which are a solution. And when you're standing alone, bad can turn to worse any moment - tables can easily turn. It's not simple, it's not easy, and unfortunately, there's no one-solution-fits-all. How do you cool your head, confront the situation, and find a way to heal?

I hope those who have faced such abuse find this story and feel that there may be a way they can also redirect their energy. A creative outlet like arts or performance, or gardening, or a sport could potentially help.

This story raises a big question to educational institutions and teacher trainings - what the hell are you doing for these kids? And the bullies who do this for amusement, means there's so much latent creative energy there going to waste too. They also don't have an outlet for boredom. Implementing more recreational activities and facilities could really be a solution for physical and mental engagement. And really just respecting individuality.

Perceptions and assumptions are damned things.

So I just read the manga 'Vitamin', and that's another story you guys must read. And while it had an outlet, it kept bringing to mind this manga and Hibari's situation. It just makes it that much more complex. Real world is fucked up. Stories that manage to depict that are a testament to what human psyche is capable of.

We're defined by looks and the body so much, it really is treated as an object. Object of emotions - love, affection, jealousy, disgust: object of advertisement, promotion, or even of traditions.

Hibari is subject to these perceptions. And what makes ... this narrative stand out is how it reveals those perceptions. Perceptions that sometimes translates to action, and at others, inaction. The right kind? Ah, if only. If only we, the reader, could share a few words of solace, comfort and offer some support, even a listening ear.

It's surprising when everyone faces difficulties, struggles, hardships and want moments of praise, comfort and motivation, why on earth mental health is still stigmatized. True there appears to be more happening now in the 21st century, notwithstanding the home quarantine situation due to COVID-19 which is really testing everyone's mental capacities. But it seems like it's more of a burden to everyone to take some semblance of responsibility. We'd rather wash our hands off than get involved. Easier to close your eyes than to keep them open.

And where does that leave Hibari?










Yeah.
An eerie silent place she can't seem to fill in.
And a painting so filled with devils that makes you restless in your sleep.
If only Hokusai were there.

Interesting plot, failed in execution.

I love shoujo and josei, and I keep looking out for what characters and emotions get depicted. Love is complicated, and there are many many ways of exploring that.

The premise of this story is fantasies and bullying, which when mixed together has the potential to yield a psychological and philosophical drama. Unfortunately, this story pumped in bad comedy, and leads who could not grow. I'd have forgiven if this had been a one-shot, because there is a page limitation. But 3 volumes all going in a loop without adding flavour... Quite a disapppointment, especially when the mangaka has under her belt ... a one-shot series like Koibumi Biyori. I wish the tone and mood of Shounen Shoujo Romance was kept at the level of Metal Moon. Metal Moon turned out to be way more a complex story with defining characteristics than this failure of a shoujo manga.

Bullying is traumatic. There are several cases of bullying that have left students changed forever. I was hoping the mangaka would be addressing that. Perhaps she found one way of dealing with it, that could be shared as a coping mechanism. Nope.
Okay, so mix in fantasy. Fantasy has the power to turn anything into anything. After all, it's the power of imagination, and it can glorify a bad incident to shield the mind, protect one's soul, one's integrity, one's worth. Fantasy can have the power to shield bullying, and possibly convolute it to a masochistic connection with the victimizer. Do we get to see that? Ehh, I sure hoped so. But nope. .

[Somewhat spoiler below]
This series remained a childish desire for a "prince" without outlining what a "prince" really is. Unless it's just good looks. Throw in a tsundere guy who subconsciously reverts to bullying the girl he has taken a fancy to. Oh but the girl is strong, she doesn't hold a grudge. Okay, we have a stong female lead? The power of fantasy throws in feelings of love. Patience is tested, by others, by oneself, to the brink of death. But the ego still will not yield. Throw in confusion with an ex flame, and a cousin who wants to be the man of your dreams.
[Somewhat spoiler end]

See that paragraph has so much going on. But the saddest part it, there's no exploration of the psyche. It feels like - oh you brought this idea in, now how's it going to develop. But that's it, there's no more at all. It leaves you hanging in a disapppointed place. The only character that gave me some faith is Sou, the cousin, who questions his place.

The series remained mediocre. Some reaaaaallly great elements brought in, but just failed to take it to a level that could have made this a very stong, memorable experience.

At chapter 3, I felt this should not exceed 20 chapters. At Chapter 27, I've dropped it. Please. I can't stand cringiness for 50 more chapters, no way.
Honestly, when people are giving rave reviews on this, it feels like they had only read sooo many bad manga that this was a saviour to them. Please, save yourself from wasting your time.

A good shoujo manga, no matter if it's full of cliched situations or tropes, is nuanced. NUANCED. It is the tiny details, the reactions, the expressions and the analogies that give the characters a body, a persona. There's no ounce of the meaning 'nuance' ... in this. Everything is just blatantly open and put out there. Then again, it was a manga that was expected to end in a few chapters but kept getting revived, so at every chapter, it feels like the end is close, but just because the mangaka got more pages to fill, she was forced to drag on the story.

While Dengeki Daisy surely wants to move away from those cliched high school semester activities and have adults in the mix of protagonists, it takes the route of programmers and hackers (and dare I say even gardening), but all of it is very very amateur. Terms like registry, defrag, proxy are all just thrown in to make it appear technical and complex. Every so-called mystery situation is so blatantly obvious, and immediately given away - there's no good build up. It's like the mangaka thought, "Oh, I want to draw a shoujo romance, but let's give it a mystery turn - ah! Let's spice it up with a hacker hero!" And obviously there has to be some trauma because of course, hacking/cracking is illegal - you don't want to influence kids the wrong way. I mean, sure, use it as a setting. Sure, there's no need for technical accuracy and detail (and honestly, I no longer know what was possible in 2013 as opposed to 2018, but surely it was much more than that). But if you've introduced a plot device which requires intelligence and strategy, be intelligent and strategic about it and rise up to it. This manga surely could not. A loooooot of the situations were just soooo convenient just to give the characters a reason to come together or say something.

When the meaning of the name "Daisy" was revealed - I actually thought - WHOOOAAA - just what does that imply?? And I saw a whole different scenario pop up that diverted this from a shoujo to a seinen thriller. But nooooo... they killed that intensity right at the end of the same chapter with the characters' immaturity. Alas, it remained a shoujo. Just because it was being published in Betsukomi? Who knows.

The characters are as flat as the flat chested female lead, and you can predict that it will never grow. The bad guys are good guys gone awry, or just plain dumb who take their sweet time, the good characters just have so much trust to spare they want to donate it, and of course trauma and guilt needs to be slow-burnt in. The side characters are just there to fill in space, and not actually give support. 90% of the humour is not humourous. Ugh. It just became cringy. While I am 5% happy that Teru, the female lead, is a bit proactive, she still becomes a damsel in distress - not the usual type, but still yes. I can already see she'll heading towards having a saviour complex soon.

At 27 chapters, I don't feel any closeness to the characters. They are not growing on me. I am not excited to find out more about them. The guilt/trauma that's being built up, I don't care about that because I feel like the character is just whining.

I'm just tired.

Here I'll recommend reading cute shorts like 'Nanairo Sekai' or the much more rooted 'Seishun Kouryakuhon', the more nuanced love-tug-drama of 'Hirunaka no Ryuusei', 'Taiyou no Ie', or an actual debate on guilt and moral in the nuanced and intense 'Bones of an Invisible Person' that leaves you feeling something instead of empty.

It's 10 pages. Go read it now and then see below, because this is a very metaphorical, allegorical story and thus it appears vague or abstract.

Kaoru Fujiwara has a way with her stories. She always prods the psychological - there's always an inherent implication - she impresses a point that she wants to make that may even breach into the taboo. This story has nothing taboo in it. It's probably not even a story as such.

It's almost like a dream-scene, but it's pretty much like a premonition...
It's a comment, possibly a critique of the age, of humanity, of evolution even...

I am sharing my ... analysis below to get people intrigued by this 10-pager. It is basically what I've also posted in the forum discussion. I would love to hear from you guys what you think and your interpretations. :)


#SPOILER#

It has a lot of references. Did you go read? Did you notice?
The notable ones are:

1) The Tower of Babel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel): "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." - Genesis 11:4–9
- The new language of man is technology. The industrial age first, and now the robotics age, and man's dreams and ambitions leading him to achieve the "utopia" of artificial intelligence fused with "humanness". A utopic world never exists, because it is inherently dystopic... it is a paradox. (He also looks downwards when he mentions 'heaven'.)
- Here, the robots are building the Tower of Babel. hahahaha! ingenious! The robots are the ones with the united language now. But there's the possibility that it's shifting perhaps.. and that's why maybe the play with the Leaning Tower of Pisa which was "a design that was flawed from the beginning."

2) Zephyros and Chloris from Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus_%28Botticelli%29)"She is blown towards the shore by Zephyrus - god of the winds - and the breeze Aura, while a Hora of Spring stands on dry land poised to wrap a cloak, decorated with spring flowers, around Venus to cover her nudity."
- The angels at the end, were the same. I'm not sure of the exact meaning here, but in the painting, they were pushing Venus to the shore. It's about giving birth, but it could also be winds of change... ultimately, in Botticelli's painting, it appears that Venus was the purity before sin (before she became Eve - the implication with the garb that she would be clothed into shame).

3) Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno%27s_paradoxes): "In a race, the quickest runner can never overtake the slowest, since the pursuer must first reach the point whence the pursued started, so that the slower must always hold a lead. – as recounted by Aristotle, Physics VI:9, 239b15"
- Heaven also takes a step forward, and thus, you can never really reach it, you can never catch up. And with humanity, there's no "leaving"... there's no stopping. They will keep evolving, keep moving, keep changing.

The stairway to heaven is just that, it's a stairway that never ends. There are so many doors and the more we progress, the more doors open (more languages, more split, more layers).

There's definitely something about the character design though. What's that headcloth ear-covering? What's the reference here? Is he a Messiah?

I can only engage with the translated version. I believe what I read was a fairly good one. I don't know if there were any puns intended when Japanese was being used. I'd love to know though.

O_O

;'))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

'(^o^) //

LMFAO! I just can't stop laughing! XD
This was such a random thing I came across... who would've thought there'd be a co-authored work with a character swap between the MCs?! hahahaha!!!

Ore Ride!! is basically a sudden weird moment in the lives of Kou Mabuchi from Ao Haru Ride and Takeo Gouda from Ore Monogatari. The supporting cast is shown, so the setting for this is something that happens mid-way through both the series.
...
The two characters so far apart in their personalities bump into each other and get swapped! There's no story, it's just a parody of the two of their personalities. XD And it is ridiculous and fun as hell to see them act so unlike themselves! It's not realistic, there's no major problem faced during such a crisis, and there's no real resolution. It's just a wtf moment. LOL.

It's obviously 100x more enjoyable if you've read/watched both the series, because then you know their quirks and what they are like. You can pick it up otherwise too, but you might not connect. No major spoilers as such from Ao Haru Ride side, but I guess it'll be nice if you read at least the first chapter of Ore Monogatari or watched the first 3 eps of the anime. XD


XD
a chance encounter, random fun. Both for me regarding this one shot as well as the one shot itself.
I kept laughing at every page cos I like both the characters! XD

This is definitely NOT for everyone.
This is absolutely NOT for those who have a strong sense of moral/ethical values.
If you are willing to question what 'ethical' actually means - what is considered right, what is considered wrong - and especially, what are YOUR reasons for it - then you should definitely take this short but equally vast and variegated manga up.

It deals with the taboo, it deals with headstrong and underconfident characters, it questions love, sex, the body, the woman, the man - it pinches your conscience, twists it, emotionally disturbs you and puts a question bang in your face - What ... do these things mean to YOU?


Overall: 9/10

There are two ways this manga can be read:
1) Like an ecchi. And you get what you want with a bit of spicy stories around.
2) Taking it seriously and understanding those characters.

I never expected this manga to be so mature, to be so realistic, to actually be able to have SO MANY different characters all looking quite different, each having their own quirks, their own problems, their own defence mechanisms and their own set of values.

Initially I thought I'd be embarassed to read this and show it on my list, but now I demand, what is there to be shameful about this? Just because it has a lot of sex? I'll tell you, it gets boring to see body after body and no foreplay at all! Hahaha! But it is precisely this feeling that the characters talk about and the mangaka wonderfully makes you feel as bored of sex as they do. Because sex is only fun and healthy if there's an emotional connect. Otherwise, what's the point? It's just irritating.


Sroty: 10/10

All the stories show relationships after the 'I like you' part, well, not always but in a generic sense. It starts off with the premise... 'I like you (maybe)' - 'Okay... now what.'

What do you actually do in relationships? What ARE relationships? What are you looking for in relationships? Is it always sex? Is that the beginning and the end? And one more thing - if you were in their shoes, what would you have done? No, not what you think you would have done, but what would you have actually done?

That, you can never say. And that is what defines you, your values, your choices and whether you like it or not, that's who you are and you gotta accept it. The moment we tangle ourselves into other people's lives, everything becomes complicated. Just because humans are the more evolved species who make societies and set rules to its functionality. But when the functionality that you seek is not in tune with the larger 'demanded' ethical values, how do you deal with it?

All the stories here start with or lead to a problem - and find a means to resolve it, whether it is right or wrong. The body is fickle. The heart is fickle. Is the mind also fickle? You see excerpts of different psychologies, confused decisions, teenagers just discovering themselves, their personalities, their bodies, and coming to terms with what relationships mean. And nothing can be concrete because it never is. It is curiosity - and whether it kills the cat or helps it have an epiphany, it is definitely an experience you've gained.

I like the fact that some of the stories are actual one-shots while others continue over the volumes. It gives you different perspectives, different states of mind.


Character: 10/10

One thing I love about this, is that the mangaka, Masaya Hokazono, discards the idea of the girl as the feeble, cute, fuwa fuwa lolita. And thank god for that. The girls here are not the popular tropes, everyone's hidden side is revealed, their vulnerabilities, their overconfidence, their utter confusion, their selfishness. And the guys are not the knight in shining armour guys either - they are hurt, they are cowardly, they wonder about their own choices, they want to be loved emotionally. You may end up hating the characters, but I saw more human characters in this manga than any other I've read and that's why I love them so much. There is a strong sense of the statement 'Fuck Perfection - it doesn't exist'.

The characters are always curious - the 'what if...' hangs at the tip of their tongues. They are teenagers, young adults, both mature and immature, testing the waters, exploring, gaining insight, understanding bit by bit and thus, seeking something - solace, refuge, affirmation - a way of functioning in their own lives.

I feel Hokazono has definitely been in some of these situations. You wouldn't know to write of it otherwise. He has captured the psychology, the complex mental mechanics so very well, that even if the stories are short, you get a glimpse of that complexity.

Much of the stories deal with the idea of cheating. And Hokazono's not out there telling you if it's right or wrong. You hardly have dialogues that are preachy. He is not here to preach but to display what is as is. Even if your heart says one thing, your body reacts differently. And it can be the other way round. Which space you find comfort in, and how you go about using that comfort in order to deal with other things, whether it's escapism, fantasy or plain selfishness, is really upto you.

I find it fascinating that the characters come to life and are not mediated by the author. At no point do I feel that Hokazono is forcing characters into the direction he wants - instead, it's liberating as the characters decide how to deal with themselves, whether they know they'll regret it or not.

Some of the characters develop, while some are there just to show that such a situation exists, and yes, it can happen. It's true that it falls flat when the character just goes 'let's do it'. You wonder how easy they are with their bodies to fling it around. But in a society that has no conservative restrictions and peer-pressure is galore, modern Japan is something to wonder about. I come from a conservative family so it was a bit hard to digest some of the scenes, but I realise that generations younger to me are perhaps all the more liberal, maybe naive or just wanting to fit in. At times I wonder if teens would really act this way, but as I gather more stories from my friends, I realise all the more how varied lives and lifestyles can be.


Art: 10/10 ; Enjoyment: 7/10

I club Art and Enjoyment together because there is strategy used here. The artwork as such is fantastic, wonderful skill with lines, detailed backgrounds, wide variety of angles, very differentiated character designs (although, initially the girls would all seem to have rounded faces and broad jaws). The backgrounds could have been better, it does get better later on. But while the characters break ground, their designs are still popular - thin, sexy, handsome, cute. Come on, where are the fat people, the freckled etc? Well, they wanted the manga to sell so they catered to the popular demand. I wish at least one story would have had an unpopular, unexpected couple. The spectacled characters are cute too.

When it comes to the sex scenes.. Bettencourt (the artist) in combination with Hokazono's stories makes you question your own excitement of seeing nude bodies. If the excitement is only about the revelation of the body by stripping clothes to see how they actually look underneath, then the mangaka easily dishes out to your fantasy and strips body after body after body to please your eyes and you can masturbate to your hearts content - but that just means you've lost the point and you're looking at this work pornographically. You're losing the essence, the whole implication. The body is just the body, what is there to be aroused by it? It is the person inside who arouses you.


Wow, I can't believe I wrote that much. But that's what I feel. This manga makes you think and think hard. I definitely feel that some places, a few more frames would've been better to emotionally connect with those characters and their thoughts, even if it seems the mangaka was aiming for something. There is a deliberate attempt here at subversion. As much seinen it is, it is also josei.
I definitely recommend reading this through.

The title 'Koiiji' takes itself on the play of the word 'kuiiji', which means glutton, and implying 'Love Appetite'. In the context of the story, it is more like 'A Glutton for Love', reflecting Mame's long, unrequited love. [taken from nachte's translation]

I was attracted to the art and the idea of reading a manga with older characters as opposed to the school-romance you always see. Mame is 30 years old helping her family run a bath house. What I least expected this to be was a manga full of stereotyped men, women, and a bad script that has no tact.

It makes fun of death, ... of love, of relationships only to shove the reader with a spoonful of romance genre because that's what the reader is craving for right? They're only looking for romance, no matter the form you dish it out.

Story:
Souta's wife, Haru, died a year back. The mourning period is just being lifted. You'd think a 10 year old kid will have a hard time adjusting, no less her father. But that 10 year old kid tells Mame to marry her dad because she's been in love with him her whole life. Like... uh... Haru didn't love her kid or what? Her child is already anticipating a new replacement relationship. HOW convenient do you want things for Mame?
I'm not asking for brooding characters, but there's no substance at all to their relationships. Sure people should move on, but in this case, I don't see a moving on at all. It just seems outright cold, like nothing happened, as if the funeral was a ruse and there really was noone like Haru. Like the characters themselves don't know what death means because the mangaka did not start by introducing Haru to her own daughter. LOL. It's just fastforwarding.

The rest of the story is about how Mame is rejected over and over by Souta and how she tries to deal with it. I can't say if the manga is rushing, or her feelings have no depth. Maybe both.

Characters:
The men are there for women's racks. The women think of marriage as the ultimate goal of life to world peace. Mame even thinks about her boobs as a way to see Sou naked. Like.. uh.. what? And let's not leave out Brazil as the place with the most crime. It's like.. what you hear is what you get. If you're looking out for a examples with social stereotypes, you should pick this manga up.

LOL... you have a dialogue by a pregnant girl saying, "Even a pregnant woman can kill baby cockroaches." You'd think a pregnant woman will think more about the word 'baby' especially with the word 'kill'. It's really not such a light issue.

I'm aghast at the mangaka, Takako Shimura, who has a work like Hourou Musuko, which, though wasn't the best, but definitely tried to raise issues about gender and bring forth questions. I don't know how the characters are going to develop in Koiiji, but if this is the way you start off, I have no hopes and only feel sick to continue. This is a manga made for the sake of a romance genre. It has nothing to offer in terms of story, no dialogue that will give you a slice of life, and characters that are just so flat and follow the ample tropes you see enough of.

I wish the mangaka invested her time into something more meaningful.

A Maiko is a culturally rich art and connoisseurship of Japan, and as the anime suggests, especially of Kyoto. Then honestly, why not focus on what it entails to actually be one?
Pfft.. That was the failure of this OVA. It only mentioned in a passing glance that Maikos are culturally rich assets, but never bothered showing a Maiko's life.

Story 4/10
This show is about 3 girls who want to become Maikos. And it's just about their friendship.

Art 7/10
Still crowds and subtle movements, but pretty and detailed backgrounds. The setting is good. There's a show at the end, but I'd have preferred more, esp. ... for an OVA that was to lead to that moment.

Sound 6/10
Should have had more traditional sounds. If it is awareness they want to create, there's hardly any through sounds. The seiyuus are good though. Each character's voice shows something about them.. heavy, light, off-beat. But definitely could have been better, even the dialogues.

Character 3/10
Utterly basic. I mean, how many times have we not seen petty fights. Grow out of it. Else, show a petty fight in a new way with fresh dialogues and more character revealing situations. Compare this with Harmonie, and that has such a stark development in the exact same time. This was verrrry slow. If this had a TV series, I'd be bored to death. They try imitating Hanasaku Iroha, and miserably fail. If Hanasaku's characters were to become Maikos, oh, what a wonder we'd have seen!!

Enjoyment 4/10
I'm not sure what I enjoyed here. Maybe the art? Or just waiting for something to happen? haha

Overall 5/10
It's good to watch if you're craving anime and have nothing around. Just a time-pass. It's not informative, the story is dead, the characters are wheee-happy with a OMG what's happening! in between. So... you get the point. Take it up if you're waiting for something and you got half an hour to spare.