Turning the famous yaoi, Shingakkou: Noli me Tangere, from a game adaptation to a manga or anime is never necessarily done well. There are always cuts and there will always be changes to the layout and story progression. This particular manga is a good example, as it only follows one of the many routes you can choose to romance from the game, focusing primarily on Neil. Therefore, you may be left with questions as to why you didn't get to delve deep into the other characters, and you won't really get to know anything more about them than what they are introduced as in the beginning. If you don't want unsolved questions, this manga is probably not for you.
You'll want to have an open mind about religion, as it is based on God vs. Devil concept. It is set in a strict religion based school where students are to follow directions and obey the will of God. The whole "Thou shall not sin" kind of thing. But among that idea, I think the manga portrayed the idea that good can do bad and bad can also do good extremely well!
The plot was fairly enjoyable, and it didn't stray from what was intended, though at times it felt a bit rushed especially near the ending. Trying to fit a massive story into two volumes just didn't work out for the pacing, and I would have much preferred it to have delved into the other characters to get the full story picture, and then decide on the route (which would also have been fun to guess who he'd end up with). It provided good suspense and had me questioning things as I read, eager to find out what was happening or what was going to happen.
I also absolutely loved the fact the character's relationships took time to build and grow instead of jumping right into 'love at first sight' which I see in a lot of yaoi/shounen-ai manga, or the 'childhood friend' scenario.
Art:
I adored the art style and found it both adorable yet still held its masculinity for the characters. It was a simple style and, at the same time, beautiful too. There are no muscle men or thin twigs, but more shoujou-style drawn characters and backgrounds. The backgrounds themselves, I actually stopped to admire before I would continue the story, as they were so beautifully drawn and mesmerizing. Even the characters looked amazing with the scenery, and it was easy to tell them all apart for their unique designs despite having to wear the same uniform. Of course the character designs themselves really did match their personalities, which added in my opinion, to more of who they were and what they were based off of.
The tone was also done well throughout the volumes art. Moments where things took a turn for the worse, I could really feel the tension and the characters felt, or when happy moments took over, they really made me smile! I love being able to physically feel things as I'm reading instead of staring at it with a blank face and merely thinking it makes me happy or tense.
Characters:
I'm quite happy they went with the character they did, as he is my personal favorite of the bunch to choose from anyways with his personality. Each of the characters are quite interesting and enjoyable despite their so little interactions, and though I wish we got to see more, I was fairly satisfied with them and wished that maybe they would make more volumes featuring the other routes based on how they made this one.
Each of the characters felt human to me. The decisions they made were rational and probably what I could see many people doing if they were in these types of situations. Of course some characters weren't known very well, but you still got a sense of who they were and how they grew to the outcome they got due to their actions. As such, there were no characters I sincerely disliked or disliked in general. I enjoyed them all and was intrigued by them all, even the intended 'villains' which each had their own motivations and obligations. Though not all memorable, there are a few that will stick with me, if ever faintly.
Enjoyment:
So in a wrap up, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would recommend to those who like mild yaoi, mystery, suspense and mild horror.
I will definitely be re-reading this in the future and paying extra close attention to the art and dialogue to further evaluate this series in my own time and see if I can find anything I might have missed as to why I wasn't able to predict certain things. Even knowing the story now, I think it will merely be a fun read for future re-visits to this world having solved nearly everything.
