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Pink to Habanero is a totally adorable love story about communication and honesty.

Cons:

Mugi and Kurose have a really cute relationship - most of the time - the one major issue with this manga is that sometimes Kurose tips over the line of blunt to downright cruel. Kurose's bluntness brings a lot to this story. Through Mugi's relationship with him she learns how to be more honest with what she thinks and feels; but this becomes somewhat muddled when Kurose is not simply being honest, but mean. For example, when he says that Mugi is "out of Masa's league", or various other outright insults. This wouldn't ... be an issue if it wasn't treated as the same as him being blunt, but it is. Mugi getting used to Kurose being someone who says what he means is way different than her putting up with him insulting her because it's "just the way he is".

Pros:

The main selling point of this manga is how openly Kurose and Mugi communicate. Even though Mugi is someone who struggles to say what she means, being around Kurose helps her develop communication skills and up to this point there haven't been any unnecessary miscommunication moments. Their strong communication really elevates the story, especially in the scene where Kurose tells Mugi that the main reason that he is hesitating is because he doesn't want to date short-term. It is so refreshing to read a romance where the main characters reveal their feelings for each other very early on but don't rush into things either.

The supporting cast is also quite strong - if not somewhat fleeting. Characters seem to pop in and out with is rather disappointing.

Who Will Like this:

This isn't the kind of manga that will appeal to people who aren't fans of Shoujo romances; it isn't a groundbreaking love story that transcends genres and demographics. But if you enjoy these kinds of stories it is definitely worth checking out, Pink to Habanero is a solid love story with strong thematic elements that will get your heart fluttering.

There are two main things about this anime that make it deserving of the masterpiece rating, this anime is not groundbreaking, it's themes are not world-shattering, but it doesn't need to be, because it's set out to be a feel-good anime about adolescent romance and video games, and it achieved it's goal.

The romance in this anime is fantastic, it's over the top and goofy, but it still feels real, Ono and Haruo are stupid kids and they <i>act</i> like stupid kids. They're abysmal at mature communication, made worse since Haruo just kind of has to intuit everything Ono is thinking, and they're both hot-headed nerds ... who can't handle a loss. They stay consistently characterized, they don't break character to move the plot along, and they're both grounded in reality, they feel real, and they're easy to grow attached to. The ways they clash are hilarious and well thought out and when they actually get along it's wonderfully heartfelt.

Video games aren't just a cute set dressing here, High Score Girl would not work if the topic was movies or a sport or anything else. This is an anime <i>about</i> video games, it is not an anime that happens to have video games in it. All the references are fun, absolutely, it's really nostalgic, but that isn't what makes it so special. Video games are integral to who these characters are, they shape how they view and interact with the world. The writers of this show care about video games, they care about the way they're made, they care about the community surrounding them. This anime feels like a love letter to video games; arcades and Street Fighter especially.