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The Hating Girl is a strange manga in that it’s a silly light hearted series that deals with many harsh realities. Arrows reside in skulls, nose hairs attack, and things like architecture can cause an erection. At the same time it somehow manages to put forth real emotions and characters.

With chapters averaging 8-10 pages, for the most part the series is episodic with each chapter telling a short story. Certain stories will span multiple chapters when the situation calls for it, but the bulk of the series is the single chapter stories.

At the heart of this series is Asumi a girl who ... is outcast because of an arrow that is permanently lodged in her head. Because of this Asumi has become a strange character. She’s unable to deal with people naturally and tends to act out in strange and sometimes resentful ways. The arrow is a prop used in a lot of the comedy but is also the source and symbol of much of Asumi’s pain and suffering.

The best parts of the series are the ones in when more serious issues do surface. For the most part these are presented in a subtle way and leave a lot to the imagination. Hidden among the usual comedic plot or slice of life humor are the slight mention self inflicted of cuts or comments portraying Asumi’s mindset and her struggle to live.

Parts of the series though tend to trudge on into cliché plots and unfunny situations. It seems as though the author was pulled into the love-comedy direction later in the series. These parts of the story end up muddying the parts of the series that I enjoyed. There were a lot of forgettable chapters throughout the series more so near the second half.

With 86 chapters averaging about 8-10 pgs a chapter The Hating Girl is a fairly easy read. The series does shine but at points is muddied by many chapters of pointlessness. If you can deal with those other chapters you will find a hidden story about rejection, seclusion, and ultimately acceptance.

It’s not a series that I can recommend to everyone, but if you’re looking for something different and are a bit open minded this may be a series that works out well.

Eensy-Weensy Monster is a cute and funny romantic comedy about the little character traits inside all of us (think Shugo Chara). The little apparitions in this story never have physical forms but they're very much a part of the characters.

The lovely part of this story is in the way it's presented. It's not a one-sided love-story, but rather it gives the perspectives of both parties in the story. This gives some scenes greater depth and allows us to get to know and understand the two main characters.

To compliment the story were well written and thought out characters. The two main characters began ... as stereotypical shoujo characters but by the end of the story really grew into their own personalities. My only criticism is the little time that the spotlight was shone on the wonderful array of side characters.

No complaints about the art. It was wonderfully drawn. Beautifully drawn characters each with their own individual look. Plus great reactions and cute art helped give life to the story.

Eensy-Weensy Monster is a great example of when shoujo is done right. The story flows and ends incredibly well in twelve short chapters. It's a great read for those interested in the genre and reccomended for those new to it as well.

A pet is someone that will accept you for all that you are weaknesses, strengths, and all the other quirky things wrong with you. Sumire is a woman with a pet that does exactly that, and her pet Momo whole heartedly fills that role.

What you get from Kimi wa Petto is a well written and complex story about people trying to find a place in life. It's filled with likeable characters and interesting stories and situations. At times it will have you smiling and laughing to Sumire and Momo's strange interactions and at othertimes it will give you the chance to ... relate to their difficulties and lifestyles.

Although pertaing to a human pet this manga is not an ecchi filled mess. It is however not afraid to show a good amount of skin and sex either. This is not a manga written for children. As the Josei genre suggests, this is a story for an older audience. So if you are looking for an ecchi shounen or an overly cutesy pink sunshine shoujo this is not it.

The art of Mangaka is something to get used to. It has an emphasis on the eyes and lips of the characters. After the first few chapters you should get used to it. It actually makes the work a bit more distinguished and original from a lot of the other mangas out there. I ended up liking the difference.

The story although not perfect moves the characters along quite nicely. It fleshes out the characters and allows itself to let the characters grow from beginning to end. Nothing too shocking but it lends itself to some unforeseen twists and turns involving multiple love triangles. There are a couple of less than stellar arcs and sidestories but it pulls itself back to the main plot eventually.

The characters are what really put oomph into this manga. They are all given multiple dimensions as well as their own motivations and desires. There are few if any characters out of the many introduced that are ubearable or disliked. The real meat is the interaction between the main characters, which is incredibly well done and enjoyable to read.

For those of you willing to try something different in the realms of romance and comedy this is a good read. Its one of the best in the genre and is great in terms of length if you're looking to invest your time.

If you're looking for something unique and original Go watch this show. When I say original and unique i dont mean artsy or psycologically significant. Its just a strangely funny and entertaing show. Most anybody can really appreciate the humor in this show.

Story:
It is a Slice of life, so most of the story is just the day to day events of a boy, his classmates, and his weird little chibi monster thing.

Art:
The art works well with the story and has a nice watercolor look to it. The design of Potemayo and Guchiko are mind numbingly cute.

Sound:
No complaints. I thought Potemayo's voice was ... especially well done and All the character voices match extremely well. Laser beam sounds were also very cool, you'll understand the reference within the first episode.

Characters:
All of the characters were great. Some were great in a very disgusting and creepy way, ie. Mudō Kirihara. Potemayo is extremely cute and insane. All the characters worked well and i found none of them to be unnecessary. A big cast with some really memorable characters.

Enjoyment:
Hell of a lot of enjoyment.

Conclusion:
If you took the time to read this review or even skim it, you have plenty of time to at least try the first episode. This anime will win you over with just the first episode. The best opinion is your own so dont hesitate yo try it out.

I'd have to say this is a personal favorite of mine. As a one shot manga I found this to be very emotional and heartwarming.

The story is about a father and his daughter, because it is a one shot manga i wont go further into the story as that may ruin it. It is a very good story.

I thought the art for this was very well drawn, not blow your mind or anything but still very well drawn. I liked the detail put into the two main characters and their character design. The side characters seem to have less attention to them, ... but i came to think of them as a background to really emphasis the two main characters.

Even though it is short you get a great feeling for the characters. The independent daughter and the overbearing father seems cliche but this story really gets the most out of them. Seeing the relationship and interaction is the real joy of this work.

Highly recommend this, I personally enjoyed this one very much.

Pochiyama at the Pharmacy is a slice of life one shot manga that is strangely intriguing, but leaves us seemingly empty handed.

What we get to experience is an episode and interaction in the life of Pochiyama and a normal highschool age boy Taki. The story is basically non existant, but what makes it interesting though is the weird habits of Pochiyama. I found her character to be the best part of this work.

In the end it feels like a chance meeting of what could've been an interesting relationship, but i suppose that is the problem with most one-shots.

It's a real short story so ... i would suggest taking a look at it if you have the time.