Reviews

Mar 23, 2024
Mixed Feelings
Preliminary (102/? chp)
Bait and switch. This isn't the fist manga to pull a bait and switch, and it surely won't be the last, but my god the switch sure is jarring.

The bait: a somewhat ecchi rom-com with cosplay as the setting; the perfect opportunity to showcase our beautiful main girl in a variety of ridiculously skimpy outfits. Cue nosebleeds all round, rave reviews, and a well received anime adaptation.

The switch: a cosplay manga which goes to great length detailing the minutiae of creating cosplay outfits, multiple chapters showcasing nothing but photo shoots at various events, and a complete retreat from anything that could be described as romantic or comedy. In interviews the author has basically admitted that this is the manga she actually wanted to write, and that the initial rom-com was largely due to influence of editors in order to get published in the first place, and to build up an audience. As I said: bait and switch.

Now, that switch wouldn't necessarily be such a terrible thing if it wasn't so interminably dull. I quite enjoy arts and crafts, so I'm not averse to learning about how various aspects of cosplay are made, but that alone isn't enough to hold my interest for multiple chapters. I also enjoy well drawn manga, and boy oh boy the photoshoot chapters are stunningly drawn, but again that alone isn't enough to hold my interest for multiple chapters. I'm sure there are people who would enjoy what this manga has transformed into, but I very much doubt they are the same people who were baited by the initially promised rom-com.

If you're interested in the bait but not the switch, then by all means read the first couple volumes' worth of material. If you're interested in the bait AND the switch, then by all means read everything that's been published so far. But if you're in either category, you'd do a lot better if you instead read 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, which is in every way a superior ecchi rom-com with a cosplay setting; it goes just as hard into the cosplay side of things but never loses focus on what it was that drew in readers in the first place, it never becomes self indulgent, it never stops having fun, and has not one but several main girls who all beat Marin in terms of character development, general cuteness, and being "best girl" material.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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