I think some people might find my scoring a little harsh, but I think my ratings fairly illustrate my feelings toward this manga. There's a simple reason why I stuck with it all the way instead of adding it to my dropped list and it's because I'm not a quitter.
Story: 4
There isn't single scrap of originality to the story. Really the only good thing it has going for it is the perverse way the reader can't help but continue reading. It's just your basic love triangle (actually it's more like a reverse harem). By the end of the short series, you don't really get the feeling that the characters matured any and it definitely did not leave me wanting more. I was actually very happy to say good riddance because the plot development was pushing non-existent once I easily figured out all the predictable "twists".
Art: 2
The volume covers are misleading, in my opinion. When you look at the colored chapter images you get a completely different feeling than when you look at the sloppy, chicken-scratch art in the actual chapters. There are times when the art is stereotypical shoujo with big eyes and lots of sparkle (which is fine, I guess) but most of the time (and especially when the characters are shown from a profile view) the art is empty and the characters are ugly. I also hate when manga-ka get lazy and use photo manips for background images instead of drawing it, and manips are used far too often in Hot Gimmick.
Character: 4
The only thing keeping this from being a 3 or a 2 is Shinogu. Even he was lame, cheesy, and his ending was predictable and laughable, but at least he was likable throughout the entire series. I would say my biggest problem with characterizations would be Hatsumi and Ryoki's relationship with each other. *Possible spoilers*
Ryoki was constantly mentally, physically, and sexually abusive to Hatsumi. Hatsumi had the lowest sense of self-worth out of any character I've ever read about. She was a terrible shoujo heroine and I was kind of rooting for her to suffer because anyone that dumb deserves it. I hated Ryoki. Everything about him was disgusting and cruel, which means I hated Hatsumi even more. Weak-willed protagonists are my least favorite things. They were terrible characters.
Enjoyment: 4
I'm being generous. And the only reason it's this high is because I had some kind of weird, morbid fascination that allowed me to finish the series in a relatively short amount of time (a couple of days) rather than tortuously dragging it out.
Overall: 3
I would not recommend this manga to anyone unless you like weak-willed female protagonists who passively tolerate abuse.
