My expectations were blown away; the manga is absolutely fantastic, and despite its age compared to the newer dramas, the newer films etc... it still shines. The characters are absolutely fantastic - Kamio Yoko managed to turn around the high school genre on its head, and managed to produce a female teenage protagonist that actually WORKED. She was a brilliant character, with her own flaws, and her own strengths, and is definitely a character I and others can look up to, rather than the 2D static characters I'm used to reading highschool manga.
Her love interests were brilliant; a main female character in an anti-harem of attractive, respected males, in a school where everybody hates her? It doesn't sound very original, and yet Kamio manages to pull it off spectacularly.
It's interesting watching her progress; at the beginning, the art was not the best, but over time she improved an immense deal. If you compare the art near the beginning to the art near the end... it's almost unrecognisable.
The plot was brilliant, and as original as you can make this genre be. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and also plan to re-read at some point - considering how I rarely re-read manga, and how long it is, I can assure you that's quite some achievement for this manga!
If you've seen the drama, or watched the anime, and are interested in the manga... this is a must-read.
And if you haven't seen any of this series at all, then this is also a must-read!
