Apr 26, 2013
I'll start off by saying that I have never played a Galge before; I don't avoid them, I just never found them appealing. Keep this in mind when I say that this manga is, quite frankly, a brilliant read. You may find it more enjoyable if you can relate to the main character - a loner-by-choice, preferring to withdraw himself into his private world of galge - but even if you can't, it is still a fantastically made manga, still exciting after reading more than 200 chapters.
It starts as a sort of inversion to most 'getting friends/girlfriends' stories, with the main character reluctantly being forced
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out of his self-imposed shell, rather than deciding themselves to be more outgoing. It's an interesting idea, and it's pulled off surprisingly well. Also surprisingly, considering the basic premise, (and rather thankfully), the author never uses embarrassment as comedy. Awkard humour tends to put me off most romantic comedies, but although awkward moments do occur, they're never cringeworthy, and usually only done for story's sake.
The premise itself is quite simple, but what makes it so interesting is the depth of both the characters and the universe. The characters are all well thought out, and even though Keima's 'targets' tend to have stereotypical traits which would usually make a character seem quite flat, they are very well-rounded. Character development also makes up a big part of the story, and where many stories either have the changes to sudden, too big or have them revert back to their previous character too quickly, this one manages to change the characters subtly over time - occasionally to the point where you don't realise they've changed until you go back to the start of the story and see their original character.
The world it's set in at first seems to be just a set-up for the basic premise - force a galge otake to win the hearts of actual girls, by accidentally signing a contract with a demon. But after a while, everything gets more interesting: what seems to be a standard get-the-girl story suddenly becomes very plot-driven. The style doesn't change - Keima continues to conquer girls, with the occasional gag thrown in - but the world gets much more complex, the tone (outside of the relationships) gets quite a bit darker, and the fantasy elements take the spotlight.
The art isn't overly stylised (though it often changes during a gag - usually an homage to some other person's work, or simplification for humour's sake), but it is still unique, and manages to be very consistent throughout the manga. The characters are unique without resorting to being distorted, and the expressions are very well done. I'm not much of an art critic, so that's all I can really say on the subject.
Overall, it's well worth the read. Even if you're not into romance, the humour and story more than make up for it. Definitely one of the best mangas I've read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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