This is generally the type of manga you could sift through the whole afternoon with a cup of coffee at hand. After finishing you would mull over, stare at your laptop, and wonder if there's anything better to do with your life because this manga will leave you mentally blank.
Now there's no question that this manga is not pretty (but the cover is!) and while the horror of the murder did not even made me shudder, the whole atmosphere of the manga has this evident darkness that even I had would suddenly jerk around feeling a lingering sense of dread.
Story: 8
While definitely body-switching mysteries are not entirely new, the blatant introduction to the main character's sister's murder flipped me over. Considering I did not read the synopsis, I wasn't prepared for a really gritty mystery. The description of the cross-method really drew in the mystery. I mean, I like mysteries when the whole process of murder comes under unnatural circumstances and the plot will have something to work on for the whole thing. This manga hits it off with a good and clean delivery for deduction. But do prepare yourself for a predictable ending!
Art: 7
Fancy-shmancy. Enough said.
Characters: 6
Okay, this is where it gets hurt. The characters are total (if not at most) cardboard characters that were cut from various manga of the similar vibe. While the main character is calm and manages to stick to rationality, he is humanly incapable to be something better. Usually our idol heroine and our young convict does the work and it's kinda frustrating for me to see the main character this way. Our lady heroine is a tad embodiment of snark (and maybe an ounce of tsundere?) and our deranged (yes, there is justification for me saying that) smart convict is pretty much the same generic smart goody (Ushimitsu, I hear you!) and he's hard to be noteworthy.
Enjoyment: 6
This manga is good. It wasn't something I felt I wasted time with. But my enjoyment dwindles midway because the delivery became dragging, and honestly everything is nearly predictable. The ending made me feel so stupid because obviously there aren't enough characters for the author to pinpoint a murderer and it hopelessly became clear that it wouldn't get any more exciting. I still had a lot of questions in my head and I swore to god there are inconsistencies, but the author manages to flourish it off anyway.
Overall: 7
Mind you, but as much of a queasy mystery this is, Mayonaka is good. The heroine makes me smile and I don't mind the happy ending and the sisterly cheesefest because it came all decently creepy and readable at the same time.
