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**This review is spoiler free**

Down in the forgotten slums of Tokyo, under the "bridge of tears" by a polluted river, only crossed by those that have fallen to rock bottom - the lost, the broken and hopeless - a small spark leading towards tomorrow is ignited, burning steadily through rain and darkness, a spark filled with endless dreams for the future. Here is the modest Tange boxing gym, filled with second-hand equipment, run by Tange Danpei, an ex-boxer and hopeless alcoholic, along with our protagonist - Joe Yabuki - an aspiring boxer with boundless fighting spirit.

But the story doesn't begin with Joe - the ... aspiring young boxer.

It starts with Joe - the rebellious and troubled delinquent who has never had a home or known love or family, a boy constantly on the run without any destination in mind, a boy grappling to simply reach a place where he can truly be free. Joe doesn't start off likeable. He is a swindler, a sarcastic jerk who only knows how to think with his fists, and prioritizes himself above everything else. He fires his mouth off to every authority figure he crosses and constantly tries to upset any sense of order or societal rules. And for a long time he seems like a completely hopeless case.

Danpei encounters Joe in the slums of Tokyo and almost immediately recognizes his boxing potential. He tries to convince Joe with every ouch of conceivable willpower to try boxing, but to no avail. And this is first thing which sets Ashita no Joe apart from a typical shonen or sports series.

Joe refuses to box. Over and over again. No matter how hard Danpei tries. No matter what motivational words or random acts of kindness he is shown. He refuses. Joe has his own motivations and rules of freedom which he abides by. He doesn't simply accept the request of a drunken ex-boxer that he happens to run into because the plot requires it. No - Joe is more than just a character. He truly feels like a living, breathing person. Its almost like Joe doesn't just rebel against the rules of society. He rebels against his own story and even the author which crafted his existence. His character refuses to bend and yield to the viewers expectations to progress the story, or even what would be the easiest story route for the author. Instead, Joe constantly lives life through his own rhythm and stubbornly lives the way he wants.

Of course, that stubbornness and egoism eventually catches up to him. The world isn't so forgiving as to allow a rebellious teen to do whoever they please forever. And now we reach the second point which sets Ashita no Joe apart - things don't go smoothly just because Joe is the main character. Sure, he can choose to act like a rebellious asshole, but then he pays the consequences for it. His actions are not forgiven simply because this is his story. So Joe screws up and eventually lands his sorry self in juvie - the place where he meets the man who single-handedly changes the entire course of Joe's life - Toru Rikishi - a pro boxer.

Joe's rivalry with Rikishi (later turned friendship) is what eventually draws Joe towards boxing. The desire to defeat Rikishi lights a fire in his heart that pushes Joe towards beginning a new journey in his life - a journey that ends up completely changing who he is.

And that's the thing - Ashita no Joe - translated as "Tomorrow's Joe" is not a typical sports series about some kid who suddenly decides to be the best boxer in the world. Its simply the story of Joe and the journey he takes - its the story of the best and worst parts of his life, his ups and downs, his regrets and ambitions, and his struggle to find where his "tomorrow" lies. Its not particularly happy, because life was never designed to be happy and easy, but you see Joe find something worth fighting for and them striving towards it with everything he has.

Throughout this journey, Joe doesn't remain "a character." Somewhere along the way, it switches from "the story of a guy named Joe" to almost feeling like you're witnessing the memories of a long lost friend. You become attached to him, because he feels so real. There were so many times while watching that I would completely loss myself in the moment, and banged my fists on my desk screaming for Joe to just stand up during a fight, "just one more time!" or when I would feel his pain while watching him go through hardship and wish I could sit next to him to give him a pat on the back. There are moments when you want to punch him for being so damn stubborn, and moments when your left wide-eyed and shocked at his endless fighting spirit and tenacity. There are moments when your left feeling a dull, quiet ache in your chest, and moments when you can't stop yourself from crying.

And this doesn't just apply to Joe (although he is the strongest example). All the characters feel realistic, and their interactions are complex. Even characters I originally was sure that I would dislike (the group of kids that always follow Joe around) eventually grew on me.

Its hard to put all my feeling about this series into words, but for me, this was more than just an anime. It transcended way beyond that.

I can only describe it as the breathless journey of watching Joe, living his life to fullest, in every moment, with all he has, against all odds and circumstances. His flame rises up and comes to life, igniting everything around him until "all that is left is white ash."

In case your still wondering, this is a masterpiece, so just go watch it already. Its worth every second.

Some small notes:
-The second season was produced about 10 years after the first, so there is dramatically improved art, animation, and even sound. The fights are completely fluid and beautifully animated. The first season also is actually quite well animated with plenty of worth while fights, but it definitely improves later.
-The last 24 episodes of season 1 and the first 12 of season 2 are essentially the same in terms of plot. However, I'm hesitant to say "yeah, just skip the last 24 episodes and move on!" because I feel the last 24 episodes did a better job of fleshing out the relationship between 2 important characters (Carlos and Robert) and explaining their motives, as well as rivalry between Carlos and Joe. However, due to running out of manga chapters, some segments might feel a bit drawn out. Season 2 reanimates everything beautifully and completely new, including increasing the epicness of the Carlos Vs. Joe fight, but at times it felt like it was missing the details I enjoyed during season 1 (such as the Carlos flashback). I think there is value in actually watching everything (both the last 24 episodes of season 1, as well as the reanimated first 12 episodes of season 2) despite there being plot redundancy.

RATING FOR SEASON 1:
Story:: 10/10
Art and animation: 9/10 (due to some occasional art errors)
Sound: 8/10 (the weakest aspect of season 1)
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

RATING FOR SEASON 2:
Story: 10/10 (with a flawless ending episode)
Art and animation: 10/10 (dramatically improved from season 1)
Sound: 10/10 (dramatically improved)
Characters: 10/10 (the strongest aspect of both season 1 & 2)
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10 - an unforgettable experience

Kokkoku is a solid series exploring what happens if you have the ability to stop time (to enter a frozen world called "stasis"), but the series fails to really realize its full potential and a lot of important questions remain unanswered.

NOTE: this review is spoiler free

STORY - 5
The story is a bit strange. It starts off very different from the usual, with an adult casts of characters attempting to rescue their nephew/grandchild who gets kidnaped by a gang for ransom money. The grandpa apparently has a magical stone which is able to stop time that had been secretly passed down in their family ... for generations. They (the grandpa, the main character Juri, her father and NEET brother) activate it to rescue the child but unknowingly, another group enters this frozen world of "stasis" at the same time. This group turns out to be religious cult that worship the mystical stone and want to steal the stone from the Yukawa family "to make the world a better place" (I'm assuming through world domination). The main antagonist of the series ends up being Sagawa - the leader of this religious cult.

From rescuing the boy and exploring the world/rules of stasis, the story shifts into the second half to defeating Sagawa and returning to the normal world.

ART AND ANIMATION - 5
The art is simply decent. The characters look very plain and generic. Nothing really stands out about their design to be honest and their design is highly forgettable. Overall, the series looks decent but there was never a moment "wow, that scene looks really awesome!" I do however want to give props to the CGI work done on the herald (the monstrous guardians of the world of stasis who kill anyone that breaks the rules) as being well done with fluid movement. They didn't seem out of place and blended in with the rest of the 2D characters seamlessly. However, the series still doesn't stand out at all in terms of art or animation.

SOUND - 6
The best part about the OST for this series is hands down the opening. Its catchy, memorable, and stands out from all the other openings this season in terms of sound. The transition music during the break intervals is also unique and different. The ending was quite plain though and the other background music in the show is either existent or forgettable to the point where I honestly can't recall what other pieces in the OST sound like. The sound in this series is honestly much closer to a 4 or 5 but the opening and transition sequences bump it to a solid 6

CHARACTERS - 7
The characters are the most unique aspect of this anime. The overwhelming majority of the casts is adult, with 1 child being involved. There was never a SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL OR MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILD. That honestly deserves a standing ovation on its own.

We have the main character Juri - an average adult woman struggling to find a job. She looks up to her older sister who works tirelessly to support her son Makoto. Juri (Makoto's aunt) want to help support Makoto to grow up to be a decent adult that the family can be proud of.

Juri's father is a stay-at-home-good-for-nothing and arguably the worst character in the show. He is a scumbag honestly but written o be believable. He choses to remain unemployed while his adult daughter works odd jobs to support her son on her own and does not contribute financially, but cares a lot about being respected as "the head of the family." He has been shown to be someone willing to manipulate and abuse any power given to him to get rich.

Juri's older NEET brother is a shut in that loves gaming but hardly goes out. There isn't really much characterization for how he ended up as a NEET but there is an interesting moment when his character is used to demonstrate what humans are capable of when pushed against the wall. He doesn't get as much screen time as the rest of the casts though.

Juri's grandfather is an upright man with strong morals. He is respectable, dependable, and cares about his granddaughter Juri and great-grandson Makoto immensely. He is willing to sacrifice himself for his granddaughter's well-being.

Juri's nephew Makoto - he gets kidnapped early on but is overall a good kid. His perspective of the world of stasis shows how innocent children are (and how readily they accept new unexplainable things) but other than that, he is just a regular kid that loves his mom and family.

Sagawa - the main antagonist. Despite his antagonistic role, he really isn't the typical villian and has zero interest in getting rich, gaining power, or taking over the world. He only want to see the end of time/the universe and see how humanity changes, which would be impossible with his normal human lifespan of ~100 years. His desire to see time unfold is his only reason for chasing the stone and he uses the religious cult he is in charge of only as a means to an end. He does get a flashback that explains his pasts. By far, he is the most interesting and well developed character in the series.

There are 3 other notable characters - a doctor, an ex-member of Sagawa's religious cult, and a woman that agreed to temporarily work with Sagawa. The woman does have a strong motive for chasing down the stone and the Yukimora family, but the doctor was just being blackmailed/fearing for his life, while the ex-member was simply hired help. The other members of the religious cult are just fodder.

Overall, the casts is diverse and deviate from the norm, and Sagawa isn't a generic villain, but a lot of characters could have been given more characterization and fleshed out a bit more, landing this at a 7.

ENJOYMENT - 7
The series was overall enjoyable with a unique story that deviates from the norm. It was interesting from start to finish. The episodes knew when to have a cliffhanger and the world of stasis had a lot of unique dynamics. However, by the end, your left wondering what the anime accomplished and what its goal/message was...to defeat Sagawa? To show the dangers of being able to stop time? Although the series was enjoyable, it feels like there wasn't a real PURPOSE for the story to exist or unfold.

OVERALL - 6
The anime has a lot of good but there are too many unanswered questions and wasted potential for this to be rated any higher than a 6...

-How did the Yukimura family get the stone?
-The ending...we don't enough details about the woman who was "born with a specter in her body" Is she the only one? Are there others? What about details of her husband? How does this woman feel about never aging and freely being in the world of stasis?
-The mechanics of how Sagawa could "reset" his life...so to speak

Instead of focusing the anime on the story of Juri, it would have honestly been so much more interesting to focus the story on the unnamed woman in the final episode who was "born with a specter." What where her experiences? How did see meet her husband? How did she feel watching her husband change from being in love with her and wanting to be with her to becoming obsessed with the world of stasis? How does she feel about the way humanity has changed over time? It also would have made more sense for this woman to have meet Sawaga and "set him free" or helped him, as this woman is essentially the ideal that Sagawa was trying to reach. I feel like it would have been so much more meaningful for Sagawa to meet her and realize how painful her existence is and that the anime would have been infinitely more interesting and dynamic if she was the main character instead.

However, the anime still did explore and create some interesting concepts via the world of stasis, so taking into account all its flaws and strengths, it lands at an overall score of 6

I want to make a few notes here:
-I have not read the original manga from the 70s
-I did not know what big names where attached to the production of this anime or who the director was
-I did however, walk into the show expecting it to be good based on the ridiculous amount of hype surrounding it right now.

Spoiler alert: I was VERY disappointed and let down. This show was a complete waste of my time and I would absolute NOT rewatch it or recommend it to anyone else.

To be honest, this show left such a bad taste in my mouth that ... I actually don't even want to write a review about it. It was garbage enough to make me feel like I wasted my time, but didn't anger me enough to write a rage review. I can just label it as mediocre. The only thing that shocks me is the amount of people agreeing that this train wreck deserves a 9 or 10/10 rating, so I would at least like to point out why it was such a let down as a warning to other people.

-The story was just "decent." It doesn't stick in my head as anything memorable or impactful. It tries to point out the flaws and ugly side of humanity (greed, lust, initiating war, mass panic, society dissolving into a hell hole, drugs, rape, exploitation, etc.) BUT the execution was poor and lacked IMPACT. It is meaningless to have a bunch of random no-name fodder characters killed over and over again on screen when you don't have a connection with them. Instead of having an impact or making an impression on me, I was bored and even starting yawning mid-way through

-A few established characters do stumble across tragedy, but even then, it felt like the show was trying to be tragic for the sake of just being tragic. I never felt a real message being conveyed through shitty situation, and the huge reason for this is most likely the next point:

THE ACTIONS AND RESPONSES OF THE CHARACTERS ARE TOTALLY INCONSISTENT, ILLOGICAL, AND MAKE NO FRIKIN SENSE.

-Akira in later parts of the show is angry at Ryo for killing humans. The issue? The dude was stabbing people in the chest with a broken glass bottle in EPISODE 1. Any issues with Akira? Nope. Later on, he views Ryo using a machine gun on people. Does Akira vocalize how much he hates this? Nope. Dude blows up a house a granny lived in with a bomb. Issues? "Dude, you shouldn't have done that." But then, when it is specifically a girl Akira cares about, then suddenly its time to take action and declare "how could you????" when the guy is literally doing the same shit that he has been pulling from episode 1.

-A girl gets raped while (and I don't understand why the hell she volunteered for this) doing a shoot modelling in her underwear for a photographer. Does she signs of trauma from this horrible incident? Not really. She just turns into a freak that enjoys masturbating (an making animal noises???) while thinking about the body of the MC (but she has no romantic feelings for him). But seriously....why does she sound like a seal crossed over with a pig humping a dolphin when she orgasms? No explanation. Just accept it and move on.

-Why was Akira watching porn on a huge screen and loud speakers at school? I'm not sure. Just because we must emphasize how different and "badass" he is now.

-The good girl neighbour thinks its a smart idea to go to a suspicious man's house, take off her clothes and bath there, without once considering the fact that he might attempt to rape her or take advantage of her. In other words: absolutely retarded behaviour.

-the amount of unnecessary sex scenes, nudity, and boobs in this show was distasteful, had no purpose, and was just straight up disgusting. I honestly cannot figure out what purpose it had besides trying to be "adult" and "different." Like wow, nipples! This must be the greatest show everrrrrr 10/10!!!! Except the story was shit because there was no explanation for how Akira could randomly see through t-shirts, or why the masturbating dolphin felt so out of control and horny that she needs to have sex with a random middle age man (of course, ending with her killing him - because we need more blood - not that the shitty old guy deserved to live).

-Shitty track star is cool with Akira but has a sudden change of heart and switches sides for seemingly no reason! Yay!

-Why did Akira never question his super trustworthy friend during episode 1 when he screamed for a demon (by name!) to take over his body. Like clearly this dude was planning to use you since he purposefully planned to have your body taken over by a frikin demon with zero guarantee of if you would be able to overpower it or get controlled and turn into a monster

-Also, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL did Akira think the mass human reaction to DEMONS would be??? Logic screams "mass panic and chaos!" but somehow the MC concluded it would highly beneficial to society? What was he actually trying to achieve by having that made public knowledge in the worse possible way with seemingly zero goal or purpose for doing so?

Like seriously, stuff just happened for sake of something happening.

As for other aspect of the show:
-the animation was nothing special. I guess it had the right feel to match the atmosphere of the show but character models were totally whack sometimes and there was definitely still frames
-art was decent for the most part but not always consistent
-soundtrack was barely noticeable with exception of 1-2 tracks, but even those are totally forgettable and did not leave a lasting impression or feel like they really added the extra "UMPFH!" to the scene, the way you would hope or except

Enjoyment Level....
-I did not enjoy this show.
-It felt like I was forcing myself to finish, specially mid-way through the series
-It does pick up again though near the end but I can't really say I found the ending to be satisfying

At the end of the day, I understand what the show was trying to do, but it just fell flat in execution. The amount of hype surrounding it honestly just makes it worse, because the more expectation you have, the more you will be disappointed.

I would skip this show and move on to something better for anyone that has not wasted their life on this already.

This is a one shot, meaning it's a very short manga (a total of 8 chapters, roughly 30-40 pages per chapter). If you’re hoping for something long running, turn away now.

PLOT (5/10—just average)

The plot is fairly simple and, to be frank, completely predictable. It’s pretty much all the same romance troupes and clichés which have already been played a million times over in shojo. Second year Nayu falls for her childhood friend Oumi (one year younger than her). She realizes her feelings for Oumi approximately when Oumi tells her he has a crush on a girl in school. Feeling defeated before even getting to ... confess her feelings, Nayu becomes sad and eventually confesses to Oumi as well. This leads to our classic love triangle, which is pretty much the backbone of the entire manga. Later on, Oumi begins to question if he likes Nayu when another second year boy in her class shows an interest in her. In the end, it dwindles down to “who will Nayu choose?”

ART (7/10—good art, nothing over the top amazing)

There isn’t much to say about the art. I liked it overall and it looked nice. However, there weren’t any particular scenes which felt exceptionally well-drawn or impactful emotionally. I was sorta like “it’s nice but meh” the entire time.

CHARACTERS (4/10—decently repetitive)

The problem with the characters wasn’t necessarily that they were bad. It was their lack of impact. They felt 2-dimensional, I never felt emotionally attached, and there wasn’t anything particularly unique or memorable about them either. Normally I’d give it a 5/10 (average) but I actually found Oumi’s character and his actions to be displeasing. It just didn’t feel like his feelings for Nayu were genuine and it came off as forced.

ENJOYMENT (4/10—decent one shot)

I thought the story was enjoyable enough to want to finish but if you’ve read enough shojo there isn’t anything here which will wow you. It’s really just a small manga to kill time if you’re bored and have nothing better to do. Once again, I deducted a point because Oumi’s character came off as semi-annoying near the end, which took away from my enjoyment.

OVERALL SCORE: 5/10—simply average

RECOMMENDATION (yes/no): If you have time to kill and you don’t mind repeating classic shojo clichés then this is a decent one shot to try out. If you’re looking for a GOOD romance to get into, something that will leave you truly fulfilled, then look elsewhere.

For those of you not interested in reading a rant or all the nitty gritty details, skip to the very bottom. I make a complete summary and offer if this manga is recommended or not. This review is spoiler free until I discuss the final segment (enjoyment level). With that being said…

PLOT (5/10—average…and that’s being generous)

The story is relatively simple. Country girl Suzume moves to the city for the first time to live with her uncle, thus leaving everything she was comfortable with behind. She gets hopelessly lost in the city, only to be rescued by Shishio, her uncle’s friend ... and her soon-to-be homeroom teacher. Around the same time Suzume meets Mamura, a shy boy in her class who has a fear of getting too close to girls. Predictably, Suzume falls for the super young and handsome Shishio, while Mamura eventually falls for Suzume, thus leading to the formation of you classic love triangle. The story then gradually unfolds to resolve the love triangle issue and decide which boy Suzume should end up with. Nothing new, riddled with overdone clichés, yet presented in a refreshing enough manner so that the plot continues to draw you in. Average.

However, the plot DOES have some glaring problems. I cover them in my overall enjoyment of the show because I don’t want to give spoilers.

THE ART (10/10—drop dead gorgeous)

This manga is one of the few which I’ve come across with such lovely artwork. It’s simple yet elegant. The characters can have plain features while still looking captivating. Over time, the art actually continues to improve (not that I had many complaints to begin with). All in all, if your looking for a manga that is beautifully drawn, it’s hard to beat this one.

THE CHARACTERS (6.5/10—fine but needs improvement)

Let me just take the time to say that Suzume is one of the most refreshing main leads I’ve come across in a very, VERY long time (Trust me, I've read more shojo manga + romances than I can count). Her character is by far the best in this manga (7/10) while the others, although beautifully drawn, are only slightly above average (6/10). Now, why do I say this?

Suzume is refreshing because unlike the vast majority of shojo heroines, she isn’t a cry baby. In fact, she rarely cries, so when she does, it is very impactful on the readers. Another plus point is she uses her brain and tries to solve problems with logic…something which sadly can’t be said for the vast majority of female heroines. She isn’t over-the-top-pretty. In fact, she’s just average and is called plain on multiple occasions. Her personality is also kind of quirky. She loves to eat, run around, stare at stars, slaps people when they need it, and so on. In a nutshell, she’s an average girl like you or me, making her easy to relate to. However, she still isn’t great enough to be over-the-top-memorable and some of her actions ARE questionable. For example, how she claimed to be in love with Shishio and very quickly followed up being dumped by beginning to date Mamura. Either she didn’t love Shishio as much as she had claimed or she was using Mamura as an escape for her feelings towards Shishio. Both are not very appealing scenarios. Also, there is no real reason for the characters to fall in love. It just kinda...happens?

Next up, the other characters in the show primarily consist of Suzume’s school friends, her uncle, Mamura, Shishio and Shishio’s ex-girlfriend Tsubomi.

Suzume’s friends are interesting but they never really get developed as characters, with the exception of Yuyuka. It’s almost like they are just there for the sake of showing Suzume is not a loner. Mamura’s fear of girls touching him isn’t explained AT ALL until the very last chapter, though he is very cute and overall likable. Shishio felt nicely developed but his actions in the manga and his overall maturity as a “responsible adult” sometimes felt questionable. It would have been better if he truly sorted out his feelings for Suzume before rushing into a hasty break up. As for his ex-girlfriend and Suzume’s uncle, they played major roles in plot (or drama) progression, but there isn’t really too much to say regarding them. They were honestly just average and not in the story enough to be more likable characters.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT (3/10—devastation, mostly at the ending + the bonus chapter to be released in January)

I am going to discuss problems with the plot so BE WARNED. CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.

When I first started reading this manga, despite the simplistic plot and overused clichés, I was immensely enjoying myself, to the point where I thought this manga might become one of my all-time favorite romances. I was so hyped to see them (suzume x shishio) kiss even once. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Shishio broke up with Suzume because of her uncle’s strong negatively towards their relationship (understandable enough). Following this incident, Suzume begins to date Mamura. I was upset about her dating someone else (even though I honestly don’t dislike Mamura) but kept reading because I expected Suzume and Shishio to eventually sort out their true feelings and get back together.

They don’t.

In fact, half way through the series, it began to felt like the author had completely switched to Mamura and Shishio was just out of the picture. Despite this, I still held onto the small hope that maybe the original couple I had subscribed myself to would miraculously return (the reason this manga caught my attention and I began reading it was because I wanted a good teacher-student romance). In fact, the ending of the second last chapter gave me insurmountable hope that they would reunite. I didn’t know at the time it WAS the second last chapter, and so, I was tricked into believed that Suzume and Shishio would get back together and then continue to slowly date + fall in love. (They hadn’t even kissed ONCE for crying out loud)

My hopes were crushed upon reading the final chapter.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that the ending of the manga felt abrupt. I honestly didn’t expect it to wrap up so quickly and was shocked to find out the final chapter had been translated. Secondly, there was far too much that felt unresolved. Shishio never gets to tell Suzume that the reason he lied about not liking her and broke up was because of her uncle’s pressure. Shishio simply apologizes for his past mistakes and confesses he truly loves her (it is shown Suzume is the first person that Shishio loved enough to chase after). Suzume rejects him, saying she already moved on even though she ditched Mamura and came dashing to Shishio’s side when she thought he was injured. The manga ends with Suzume returning to Mamura, she says she loves him, and it ends with suzume and Mamura kissing FOR THE FIRST TIME. No dating or challenges to face as a couple afterwards. No relationship progression beyond holding hands the entire manga with either candidate. ONE kiss after 12 volumes with the dude that wasn’t even the original focus of the manga.

As a member of the minority who was praying for Suzume and Shishio to get back together, it felt like the author had taken my own hopeful feelings and rewarding me for reading 12 volumes of her manga by slapped me in the face with them. The things is, I was already expecting Mamura to win so I was mentally preparing myself for the ending for several months now, but the feeling of having your OTP just completely shot down without even proper closure (Suzume never discovers her uncle’s meddling + she never kisses shishio even ONCE)…I have never in my entire life felt so disappointed, rejected, or shocked, nor did I expect the author to end things this way. To add salt to my wounds, I found the following announcement of a bonus chapter…

"In January a little extra chapter is going to come out in which it explains Sense’s [Shishio's] and Tsubomi’s relationship and how they GOT BACK TOGETHER. I heard some blogs reported that it will also involve Yuyuka. There is also a memorial book up for sale for HNR!”

Shishio learning from his break up with Tsubomi and moving forward was a MAJOR plot point (there was an entire arc dedicated to this) and it was also Shishio’s SINGLE moment of character development. And now I learn after being rejected by Suzume he gets back together with Tsubomi…

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

It’s like the entire plot of the manga was just completely rendered USELESS and shishio’s entire character development had been reversed. What was the bloody point?!

The ONLY thing which prevented me from giving my enjoyment rating a zero or 1/10 is the fact that I was IN LOVE with this series when I first picked it up. Honestly, the plot is a bloody mess so I wanted to give it a 2-3/10 as well but I tried to not hate the main series for the final piece of mind-fuckery delivered by the bonus chapter.

SUMMARY OF REVIEW

Plot: 5/10 (very, VERY generous)
Art: 10/10
Characters: 6.5/10
Enjoyment: 3/10

FINAL RATING: 6/10

PROS:
-The art is drop dead gorgeous
-Suzume is a very likable lead who is NOT generic or a cry baby.
-Good, steady progression until roughly half way through the series

CONS:
-Original pairing is tossed aside in a way that makes suzume x Shishio shippers feel worthless and underwhelmed.
-Half way through the manga the main pairing completely changes to suzume x Mamura
-Ending feels abrupt and not fully resolved
-Characters could be more fleshed out (especially Suzume’s friends)
-Bonus chapter renders the plot and Shishio’s character development completely useless.

RECOMMENDATION (yes/no): Yes, for those who don’t care too much about pairings and those who like “light” amounts of romance [BUT just know that there are better romances out there]. NOT recommended for people not into romance, for those who like “heavy” romance which progresses beyond just holding hands, for those specifically searching for a student x teacher romance, or for those with a tendency to get attached to first male interest introduced into a romance.

Similar manga (student x teacher) to fill the void: Sensei Kunshu is worth a shot :)