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Best tragedy manga, in my opinion. A genuine tear-jerker.

The story is somewhat well-known. A girl in WWII Japan falls in love with a college student who enlists in the air force.

You can pretty much guess what happens, but it doesn't matter.
That's the beauty of this work. You know the story--easy to predict, if you didn't already know it, but it still moves you emotionally.

The characters and the pacing are brilliant. The length, as well. Long enough to derive empathy for the characters, and short enough so that you don't get sick of them or bogged down with sappiness.

Back in those days, where parents dictated one's ... social life, where dating was only permitted if marriage was agreed upon previously...those kids sought love, like any generation of graduating high school students.

This manga is the story of two late teenagers who fell in love when life threw them the mother of all curveballs. Instead of folding and looking passively at strike three, they took a chance and aimed for the fences. This manga is based on a true story, and believe me when I say that this is a worthy adaptation.

Hetakoi is a seinen romance between college students with a dash of ecchi and slice of life. It has a solid story with great art that features memorable characters.

I greatly enjoyed the college setting. The characters aren't idiots; they make rational decisions based on good logic.

The male lead in particular is amazing. He is not some child who tries to be coy while copping a feel or getting a glimpse of an upskirt. He loves, not lusts after the female lead. He is sincere, kind, and gentle. He is the kind of man I'd imagine women want to raise children with. It does my heart ... good to see a character like him. A realistic, down-to-earth guy who respects women. Refreshing.

The nicknames that the characters have are funny. The male lead is referred to as 'grandpa' because he's so old-fashioned. The idiot perverted male is called 'obscene dick'. The comedy is well-timed in this manga.

Seinen romances that don't feature sex as the main theme are sadly a rare thing. Even more uncommon are those with characters so believable in so realistic a setting that I'd believe it if the manga was based off a true story. Solid art with beautifully drawn girls. Well-timed comedic scenes to balance the drama. A nice overall story that makes you want to know what's going to happen next. If you enjoy romances, this manga is about as good as it gets.

Koe de Oshigoto! I have no idea what it means.

Story: 7/10

I like this story concept. Sixteen year old girl works as an eroge voice actress. I'm not sure if it's legal, but let's assume it is. I like how the sixteen year old (Kanna) was basically coerced into working as an eroge seiyuu by her older sister, and how Kanna is basically learning about the world of sex on the fly. As Kanna acts, she learns much about the world of eroge...and sex. It baffled me how little a sixteen year old girl knew about sex. I found it interesting and her overreacting to certain ... information charming and amusing.

Art: 7/10

No complaints; doesn't blow you away. This is a mature manga, so there are some sexually suggestive pictures and whatnot, but anything remotely interesting is censored, so don't get your hopes up XD. What I like about the art is how the mangaka really grasps the shock in Kanna's face each time she learns something new.

Character: 9/10

Loved this about the manga. Many characters have been introduced thus far (chapter 15), and they've all more or less had enough face time to really know them. You know each person's personality and their quirks. You have to be a little eccentric to be working for an eroge company, and each character is eccentric in some way. It's all funny though; nothing bad. Except that guy who calls himself "horsedick", but MOVING ON...

Enjoyment: 7/10

A 7/10 seems low to me; I don't know. The manga is VERY enjoyable. It's an ecchi comedy with rather crude sexual jokes and innuendos that'll have mature readers laughing. I suppose I've simply read too many of this genre to full enjoy this manga. What also deters from me rating it higher is that chapters are released so slowly you can't enjoy it.

Overall: 7/10

An ecchi adult manga with a ton of comedy that features a GREAT character cast. If you are a fan of the genre, you will enjoy all the crude jokes, double entendres, awkward situations, etc.

(Thanks for reading this review. If it was helpful, click that button to make me feel good about myself. If it wasn't helpful, send me a message telling me what I could have done better to make it more helpful. Honesty is appreciated. Flaming? Not so much.)

Life's too stale. So let's spice it up by letting someone random EVERYDAY that in twenty-four hours, they will die. While that seems incredible, that's only 365 people a year. Japan's population is around 128 million, so if death rates and birth rates are about the same, it'd take a shade over 350,000 years to kill everyone. Probably wouldn't happen.

Story: 7/10

Plot drives this manga, and I love it for this. Too many manga try to get by using cool, likable characters and a lame story concept or plot. The manga consists of three chapter segments that tell the story of a person's last day on ... Earth. The one consistency in all the chapters is a man working for the government agency that runs ikigami, and the things he learns by working there.

It is an excellent story concept. The thing I don't like is that the mangaka focuses too much on the person going to die. While this is fine, I want to see more of how the doomed person's family, friends, etc. take it. I also want to see how a typical person living in Japan deals with the idea that tomorrow could be their last. It's very buddhist, in that the people of Japan surely must live their lives to the fullest everyday.

Art: 6/10

Very realistic drawings. The art portrays a world that is very similar to ours. This is not some futuristic society. I believe the art is drawn to look like what a Japanese citizen would see in a typical day. Every person is not attractive with a good body, for instance. Nurses are not fifteen year old girls with D-cup breasts. They are tired old women who have seen people die everyday for thirty years. Mothers do not love their children. It is very realistic; disturbingly so, and it's nice to see a world like this.

Character: 5*/10

The main characters (the ones sentenced to death) are fascinating. Love them. My problem with them is, as stated before, I want to see how the doomed person's loved ones react to it all, as well as the mindset of the society as a whole in how they live their lives. Do they treat everyday as a blessing? What is the attitude of a passerby to someone sentenced to death? Is it pity? Relief? The mangaka could have done so much more here. Don't get me wrong-- I love what he did do, just regret that he didn't do as much as he could have.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Love it. I love reading this manga, as it turns a nightmare into reality, and shows you what goes through a person's mind when they are told they are going to die. The psychological aspect is fascinating.

Overall: 7/10

Ikigami is a good manga. It's not great, but it's not bad. It's a pleasant read if you're in the mood to think. This manga is seinen with hardly any romance, ecchi, or comedy, meaning most people won't even have this manga show up when they do an advanced search for a manga. What it does is rattle your brain for a good half hour, and have you thinking, "How would I spend the last day of my life?" If you're looking for a good psychological seinen manga, I would recommend Ikigami.

(This is my fourth review. If you liked it, I'm glad to have been of service. If you did not, and still read it all up to this point, did you really not like it? XD. In all seriousness, if you feel I could improve this review in any way, please do not hesitate to leave me a comment on my profile or a personal message. Thank you for reading.)

Aki-Sora...oh boy. Blood-related incest, yuri, exhibitionism, orgy...this manga seems to be trying to cover every sexual genre in existence. With that said, there's a solid story beneath it all that will have you asking yourself many questions. (Edit 2/1/2012: Manga is complete; review is final.)

Story: 8/10

The story is about Sora, a middle school boy, trying to come to terms with having a sexual relationship with his older sister, Aki. It eventually goes on to cover his various sexual exploits, though the majority of the story focuses on Aki. The story is choppy; certain chapters could benefit from being re-ordered. My criticisms aside, the actual story ... deals with mature issues and questions, and mature readers will definitely enjoy this manga. Younger readers should stay away from this one; it can be very confusing at times, not to mention the blatant sexual content.

Art: 8/10

Nothing bad, nothing overly special. The characters are all nice to look at, and the background art is done adequately. My main issue was how absurdly feminine looking Sora is. Sora is most definitely a trap, and this topic is a cause of humor in the series.

Aki-Sora is of the smut genre. There are blatant sex scenes in it, and most of them are between Sora and Aki, which is repulsive to some people. I mean, art-wise, the scenes were well-drawn, but I was bothered by it. I got over it a little by telling myself it's just their way of showing their love for each other. It was just a little more physical than I would have preferred.

Character: 10/10

This manga is VERY character driven. The manga's main focus is about forbidden relationships. The two main questions the manga asks the reader to consider are "Why is it wrong for siblings to love each other" (other than the obvious biological problems their child would have) and "What does it mean for two people to have sex?" The characters each have their own point of views on these questions, and it really gets you thinking. These characters are very well developed in very short a time.

The story is as much psychological as it is sexual. Most of the characters of the story are in love with someone society forbids them to be with. It is REALLY interesting to see the inner battles a character has with himself/herself over what they need/want to do. Do they abide by the rules of society, or pursue their love interest?

Enjoyment: 9/10

Aki-Sora has the right balance of ecchi, comedy, and romance. It's a mature title. The ecchi isn't composed of panty shots or "oops I tripped and landed on your boobs", and the comedy isn't composed of nosebleeds or "oops I tripped and landed on your boobs and you hit me halfway to the moon".

Overall: 8/10

An above-average manga of the ecchi genre. This manga is seinen, not shounen, and is aimed at a more mature audience. There aren't many seinen mangas out there, and even fewer of those are of the ecchi/romance variety. This manga is a step up from shounen romance manga. When you finally get sick of characters taking 200 chapters to FINALLY get together, manga like these are what you are looking for.

Final edit: February 1st, 2012.

Summary: An above-average hentai with some semblance of a plot. There is no actual incest; not even of the stepsister variety.

Story: 7/10

Kudos to the animation studio for not deviating from the plot of the game. The story is about a high student student named Takumi whose father suddenly declares to him that he now has two sisters. They are not officially adopted by his father, and he shares no distant blood relation to them, hence the no actual incest. In a nutshell, the story deals with his getting to know his "sisters", and his two neighbors, who also have the hots for him.

Art: 10/10

No complaints ... here; the girls are very attractive, and are realistically proportioned. In certain scenes, the background art creates the proper atmosphere for what is going on between the characters.

Sound: 9/10

The BGM creates the right mood for certain scenes, so it serves its purpose. It's nothing amazing, but BGM shouldn't be, else it deviates your attention from what's going on. So, it accomplishes everything it needs to. The voice actresses do their job well. They accomplish what Hentai tries to. Let's leave it at that.

Characters: 8/10

It's hentai. The show runs for roughly 60 minutes, credits included. Of those 60 minutes, Takumi is having sex for about 30 of them. This does not leave much time for character development. That said, Aneimo does a better job with character development than most other hentai. There is significant dialogue between the characters. Saori, the main girl, is actually quite developed as a character, and by the show's end, you can get a good idea of who she is. Mizuki is developed to a lesser extent, and Satsuki and Yui are all but forgotten after Takumi "enjoys their company."

Enjoyment: 8/10

The story of Aneimo was quite enjoyable to watch; I wasn't fast forwarding to the sex scenes like I do in just about every other hentai that I've watched. What also was enjoyable were the feelings the characters had for each other. The characters weren't mindlessly screwing with each other; they all had a realistic reason for copulating, and oh, EVERY sexual scene was consensual. Rape seems to be all too common a theme in hentai as of late, and it was infinitely more enjoyable to hear the voice actresses moan in pleasure than scream in pain.

Overall: 8/10

A top of the line hentai which is very softcore relative to the other titles of the hentai genre. If you are a newcomer to hentai, and are curious about it, this is one of the top shows to start off with. Even veteran watchers of hentai, who have seen the more hardcore titles out there would enjoy this show, as the girls are depicted as people with feelings than mindless sex toys. To conclude, a solid hentai-themed show.

Note: I don't write many reviews, so if this one didn't help you much, I'd appreciate a personal message saying what I should do better next time. Thanks for reading.

Futakoi (twin love) is about a guy (the protagonist/harem lead) who returns back to his hometown after some significant period of time of which I don't remember the exact number of years. But that's not important. What is important is that he was "proposed' to by a pair of twins before he left. He comes back to them, and they still like him/he likes them. As the story goes on, five other sets of twins make their introductions (his harem), and he has to decide who to love.

Story (7/10)

A little unoriginal, with male harem lead coming back to girls he left behind (ai yori aoshi), ... but you could make the argument that more shows with this storyline aired after futakoi (kanon, myself; yourself). I'm sure I missed some. The story was enjoyable. There was plenty of romantic tension, which is a must for harem shows to do well, in my opinion. Although the show is 13 episodes long, the show is nicely paced and doesn't seem rushed.

Art (8/10)

I don't have anything to complain about here. The characters look their age, the background art is well done, and the animation is fluid. It gets an 8 because it isn't overwhelmingly superb, like say, 5 centimeters/second was, but it gets the job done and leaves you satisfied.

Sound (8/10)

The OP was a good choice for the show; it set up the right mood to watch the show in. It was done by eufonius (they did the OP for the clannad series, which are some of the most musically beautiful OPs out there). It is really hard to fail with the main twins voiced by Yui Horie (Naru, Minori) and Ami Koshimizu (Kallen, Tenma). Nozomu is voiced by Claymore's Raki. I hated his voice in Claymore, but it works in this show quite nicely.

Character (8/10)

With six sets of twins, character development for all of them was impossible to do adequately in 13 episodes, and the show knew that. The show didn't take away from the development of the main characters by wasting time on minor characters. If it did, it was done to further develop the main characters. There is delicious tension between some characters, and plenty of love is thrown around too.

Enjoyment (9/10)

The show was very enjoyable for me. Very rarely was I so bored that I conscientiously wanted to fast forward to move the story along. It has its moments of comedy, drama, and romance, all of which are done to your satisfaction.

Overall (8/10)

My scores averaged out to exactly an 8/10. Futakoi is one of the better harem shows out there in my opinion. It offers a deeper kind love in a sense, because to love one identical twin over another (yes, all six sets of twins are identical) means you truly love them for who they are, not for their looks. If you're looking for a pretty good comedy/romance show that isn't all that time consuming yet leaves you satisfied, give Futakoi a try. It's a show that's not as well known as say, Love Hina, or Shuffle. It also doesn't have as much fanservice as either show. What it does have is a pretty good story that'll have you asking yourself some interesting questions, and leave you in a good mood when you've finished episode 13.

Note: This was my first review. If this review wasn't helpful, please spend the time to write me a quick personal message on what I did badly. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Thanks for reading~