Kimi No Todoke: From Me to You Season 1 Review

Posted on February 20, 2024 by dreager1

All right folks, it’s time for a classic romance anime. So the question here is, will it be one of those shows that survives in spite of the romance or will it be one with a high quality pairing? Fortunately it’s the latter and this show could teach a lot of it rivals a thing or two. Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura??? Out of the way, this is where quality romantic writing comes into play! The show manages to dodge a lot of the usual tropes and makes sure that the characters are really likable the whole time.

The show follows a girl named Sawako who is really softspoken. She’s fairly timid and doesn’t have any friends but she always tries to make a good impression. Sawako says good morning to everyone but people never really return her greetings and they even have a mean nickname for her: Sadako. Now I should say that for the most part the characters aren’t trying to be jerks, it just comes naturally because they’re super oblivious. But now she has finally made two friends in Ayane and Chizuru, plus the popular guy at school has actually noticed her. Things might be looking up for her but Sawako can’t let her guard down. All she’s ever wanted is a normal life and she won’t let it go!

Sawako hasn’t had the happiest childhood but she’s never let this get her down which I appreciate. Yes, she wasn’t exactly surrounded by friends but she has very supportive parents who were always good to her and she’s a glass half full kind of person. If there is some positive to be found then she will find it. Sawako’s never held a grudge against anyone and is quick to just say sorry and try to make things right. Part of her early character arc in the show is to speak up more to avoid any misunderstandings which is a good mindset to have. After that it’s about sorting out her feelings and being a little more outgoing.

I’d actually say that part’s not really a big change for her because again, she actually did try reaching out to the classmates and it just never worked out for a variety of reasons. Now she is able to do so with more confidence though. Because Sawako never had friends there are a lot of things that do go over head though which is part of the comedy here. She can misinterpret things and doesn’t always recognize an insult but she sticks up for her friends and is the happiest that she’s ever been. So the whole show is pretty wholesome and straight forward which can be a nice change of pace.

The main guy here is Kazahaya and he also surpasses expectations because he doesn’t fall for the usual traps. For example when the main villain Kurumi starts spreading rumors, he doesn’t take any of them seriously. When Sawako suggests putting some distance between them because she doesn’t want the rumors to hurt him, he just says that it’s nonsense. He stands up for her in class and makes sure people don’t go too far with the jokes. His most impressive moment is when Kurumi manipulates the situation so it looks like Sawako is hanging out with another guy and instead of sulking or running home, he just dashes over to her to ask her directly what’s going on.

Kazahaya is a very nice guy but he’s no pushover and is also direct when needed. He even admits on more than one occasion that he’s not the perfect guy Sawako thinks that he is. He’s got a short fuse and gets jealous easily but the fact that he controls himself so well all the time is a testament to his character. He’s a very well fleshed out characters with his own strengths and weaknesses. The guy’s humble but he does really excel the whole time.

Then we have a solid supporting cast here as well. First there is Ayane who is a strong contrast to Sawako. She’s not nearly as innocent in the art of romance and has a ton of real world experience. You can tell this will be a bigger plot point going forward because she doesn’t seem to be as cautious as she ought to be. She goes through a bad breakup in the show and keeps a strong face on but while everyone else is quick to cry or vent about their issues, she never really does. Internalizing is something that never really works out long term but I appreciate that she prioritizes her friends’ happiness so much. She is a good friend that you can count on.

She also really enjoys playing matchmaker so she always gives Sawako and Kazahaya a quick push when needed. Ayane is even the top bodyguard as she figures out Kurumi’s strategies and solidly puts an end to what’s going on. I don’t think the other characters were really prepared to handle this kind of mental warfare and so the situation would have just kept escalating otherwise.

Chizuru is Sawako’s other main friend and she’s a fun character as well. Tactics are not her strong suit but she is super emotional and expressive which always helps the group dynamic. She’s good at breaking the ice and is a very laidback character. She does get her mini arc in this season involving her first crush. Unfortunately for her there was a fairly big age gap and he already liked someone else but she doesn’t take it so well. Unlike Kazahaya and Sawako, she doesn’t communicate with Ryu nearly as well so they get a bunch of the usual misunderstandings.

It would have been annoying as the main pairing but as a side one it’s not quite as bad. As a whole the romance is significantly weaker than the main duo though so for now you hope it just stays as a friendship. After all, what’s better than having a good childhood friend right? It’s not like Ryuu’s ever asked her out or anything so as far as she’s concerned they are just good friends.

It’s why I put more of the pressure on Ryuu here. If you ask me, the person who is in love with the other one should always make the first move. I’d even say it should go both ways, the girl should ask the guy out if she likes him rather than waiting to be noticed which was Kurumi’s issue here. Nothing will happen if you’re just leaving it to destiny or something like that. Ryuu may be nervous about how things will play out but that’s when you have to look at the board and choose carefully. Imagine the worst case scenario and decide if the best case is worth it. Worst case: You lose the best friendship you’ve ever had. Best case: You’ve got a girlfriend now. So it just comes down to what is more worth it but you do have to make a choice at some point.

Ryuu’s whole character personality is that he’s the blunt type so this should be right up his alley. Well, romance dilemmas aside, he’s a solid character. Ryuu’s another nice guy who generally does the right things. He’s just not as outspoken as Kazahaya so he probably won’t be jumping into every situation. He won’t even notice most of them as he can be really oblivious at times.

There are a lot of other classmates running around as well but these are the main ones. One I will give a negative shoutout to is Joe though. He’s the definition of a super desperate guy who wants a girlfriend so badly that he’s always talking about it. Naturally nobody wants to be with him and it makes sense. He needs to have some dignity and then things will be looking up. That doesn’t mean he’s owed a relationship though, if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t happen but a little more self respect never hurt anybody.

As the main villain of the show, Kurumi does a good job in the role. She pretends to be nice to everyone while secretly talking behind their backs and plotting their downfall. It’s a pretty realistic kind of villain for a school setting and we’ve all seen someone like this in the past. The key indicator is always if somebody gossips with you then you know they gossip about you as well. Kurumi is pretty slick to always be out of the limelight but she didn’t count on someone like Yano being around.

At the end of the day she tries these dirty tricks because she isn’t actually confident enough to ask out Kazahaya herself. There’s nobody to blame here though, it’s a skill issue pure and simple. It’ll take a lot for me to buy her as one of the good guys because she went really far with the rumors that she spread. She caused a lot of damage here and while it’s not surprising that Sawako would let that go really quickly, as a viewer I can’t really fall into the same boat.

Pin is the main teacher in the show and he’s a really fun side character. He’s one of the stronger comic relief characters and of course to put it mildly he is not a responsible grownup figure to root for. This guy is always over the top, putting students on the spot and ramps up the pressure when it’s time for the sport competitions. The reason this works though is every comedy show needs a hyper aggressive kind of character like this. Since he’s an adult he even dodges all of the romance drama although occasionally he will troll the characters a bit.

Yeah this guy’s a blast and the series just wouldn’t be the same without him. Meanwhile you have Sawako’s parents who are nice enough. It would be nice if the Dad was just a bit bolder though. He’s just so meek and constantly crying. It makes him a bit more one dimensional on the comedy scale. The Mom is fun enough though, she’s always around to support Sawako in all of her endeavors.

So we’ve got a pretty solid cast here overall. It’s not too big yet which works out well so you can focus on all of the characters individually. On an animation level the show can be fairly inconsistent. The character models aren’t always very detailed, they tend to change a lot from scene to scene and there are a bunch of moments where you can pause and have a good chuckle. That said, this is a comedy series so you’re not expecting a big budget production. That’s usually more the exception than the norm.

Additionally while I would say the show feels on the lower budget side, it can still have good shots. I think it does a good job with the chibi moments and Sawako has a very distinctive look to her chibi form. The show captures the art style fairly well there. The soundtrack is also fairly low key. I’m not a big fan of the opening but it’s okay. I’ve listened to it a bunch while writing the review and it still just doesn’t pop out at me. There’s a good dramatic theme that plays in the show but it’s basically the only one that I really remember.

So this is one show where the story has to carry it since the technical elements aren’t really doing much on their end. Fortunately the story is up to the task. There’s not much more to say here, it’s a well written show with good pacing and a lot of wholesome moments. I think it’s basically the kind of dream romance everyone thinks of when the subject comes up. It may seem a little too perfect at times but that’s part of the fun. If you want romance with tons of drama then there are countless titles to check out. Sometimes you just want a wholesome romance and this fits the bill. Not to say that there’s never any drama because that certainly comes up but it’s never anything significant or mean spirited. They are the kinds of problems that you could see coming up in real life as well and just talking through them. This show actually understands the power of proper communication.

Overall, I’d recommend checking out Kimi No Todoke. Of course it depends if this is your kind of show and you should be able to tell right away from the opening minutes if it will be. There are no big plot twists here. No sudden saving the world plot or big love triangles going on. It’s very directly a story about a guy and a girl each falling in love for the first time. No rebounds, Neither one of them is a delinquent, they didn’t have a dark childhood, nobody is deathly ill, etc. It’s just a quality romance and these are the reasons why it surpasses most. Sometimes you want to watch a show where everything just works out and the main couple get to share a bunch of great experiences instead of a bunch of traumas. The real test will be to see if future seasons can keep this up or if they will be too tempted to dump a bunch of trauma in.

Overall 7/10

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Review

Posted on December 15, 2023 by dreager1

It’s time to look at the sequel to the original Cardcaptors series. It accomplished something that is usually very tricky to pull off which is that it’s simply a whole lot better. In my mind it’s not even close as this one had a better villain, higher stakes, and better emotional moments. The series is still fairly low key so I’m not saying it’s a great title or anything but I had a good time with it. I imagine it also works even better when you’re binging it because you can get to all of the story beats quickly. At its core this is a series that is very peaceful and has a lot of wholesome moments. The ending is solid enough and while you may have preferred a more explosive climax, the series delivers when it counts.

So the series starts off with something odd happening. All of Sakura’s cards end up being depowered and turning back to normal. This is rather concerning but what is even more concerning is the fact that Sakura is having some odd dreams about someone in a cloak. Well, Sakura doesn’t scare easily so she goes about her business and then one day her school gets a new transfer student named Akiho. She looks a lot like Sakura and is also very kind and timid. They may as well be twins and Akiho’s guardian is a nice man named Kaito. He exudes a powerful presence but hey that just means that this guy is legit. For some reason Syaoran has started to keep some secrets from Sakura though, will this cause some friction to develop?

I will say straight from the start it is annoying that Syaoran is keeping secrets like this. Seriously he and Sakura have been through so much already. He should be telling her everything that he can. Yes, there are certain things he is physically unable to tell her because of a spell so I’m not counting those of course. No, I’m talking about the secrets that he does know about and chooses not to tell her anyway. Sakura is cool with this because she’s super understanding and will forgive anything but it’s a bad look for him.

Syaoran ends up getting wrecked quite a lot in this series because he can’t really keep up with the power levels at this point. It is nice to see him act a bit in the climax but for most of the story expect him to stay on the sidelines. That’s also true for most of the supporting characters but that’s mainly expected since that’s usually what they do. At this point they’re there for the school scenes but aren’t really intervening in the plot too much. The series is long enough where those scenes do add up but I do think the cast is one of the weak points of the series. There aren’t many characters that I love. There are some solid ones but not a ton of them.

The character doing the heavy lifting here is absolutely Kaito. This guy is absolutely excellent and really controls the plot. I looked forward to seeing him every week because as long as he was around I knew that things would move forward. His goals are also very noble. He is the antagonist but he’s not trying to murder everyone or anything like that. He’s trying to make life better for one person in particular and is willing to do whatever it takes to help her out. That’s what I like to see in a solid villain. I would even say he is more of an anti hero to be honest.

Basically he fought off an entire council of super wizards to protect Akiho and then he also risked his eternal soul in addition to his life in order to save her. It’s all incredibly impressive stuff. Stuff that you wouldn’t see from the average villain trying to mess up everyone’s day. Clamp has had their share of evil villains too of course so it can happen but I was cool with having a more heroic focus this time around. Self sacrifice is always a great character trait to have and I also liked how powerful he was.

Kaito spent his life trying to be as powerful as possible and learning spells to help Akiho. The fact that he reached such a high level is a testament to his dedication. The two of them had a really strong bond the whole time. Although he really saw Akiho as more of a close friend while she was hoping for more, that’s how it goes sometimes. Akiho is a solid character but she’s too young to really know what is going on. In part that’s due to Kaito though because he really wanted her to be able to lead an ordinary, quiet life. So he succeeded completely in that part.

He didn’t count on her still being worried about him though but there’s not much that he could have done about that. No matter how expert he was in using his abilities, it would still show a little from time to time and when it comes to Kaito, Akiho would be fairly observant in that area.

The manga also has a little fun with the time travel like when the series literally rewinds a few chapters because Kaito used his powers. This happens more than once and it’s a lot of fun. It shows just how advanced his abilities are. Of course eventually that won’t work on a true powerhouse like Sakura. Another thing I liked about this sequel is that it treated Sakura with a lot of respect. This makes sense because at this point in the series she should absolutely be stronger than most of the people who show up. Sakura has been fighting for much longer than them and she has mastered the cards. So seeing her defy time stop and overpower fate was great.

Of course this series isn’t about action like that but when it happens I am always glad to see it. That’s when the series is at its best and of course the general plot with Kaito. Where it tends to be less engaging is in the slice of life stuff which of course is rough since that’s the majority. Again it goes back to the characters because I’ve read tons of Shojo at this point and they always tend to be more engaging. From rom-coms like Love-Com to the more dramatic ones like Arisa, you get hooked on the story. For Cardcaptor, it just feels like a lot of the dialogue is fluff. Like the characters talking about a picnic or a nice dress to wear. It’s all just so down to earth that it goes too far into not being very entertaining the whole time.

I would really love to see the series go full on action. There are enough fighters at this point where that could happen and Kaito could easily take on just about anyone in the verse. It’s a dream of course but it would be really nice. Clamp has shown in the past that they can absolutely do a battle series when they really want to. It would make things more eventful for sure. After all this series is over 10 volumes and yet if you cut out the fluff/filler you could probably adapt the whole thing in 4 volumes. That may be a slight exaggeration but at least to me that makes sense based on how much you don’t actually need to get involved with. It does make for a much shorter review than most titles of this size would be as well since there’s not a whole lot to discuss.

Really the bulk of the discussion points are about Kaito and I’ve already went into that. He was an amazing character with a great goal and I was supporting him the whole time. I know you could say a flaw of his is that he tries to do everything himself without asking for help but it is completely understandable. He’s the one with time manipulation abilities after all and putting anyone else into the mix could put them in some serious danger. So it’s just not that strange that he’s a solo act even with everyone telling him to calm down all the time. He knows what he is doing so they need to let him cook.

I will say that Sakura has had some noticeable character development since the original series which isn’t something that you can say for everyone. She is a little bolder and more outspoken now. She did confront Syaoran when she needed too and also stood her ground with Kaito. She’s still very humble but was ready to fight and knew the length of her abilities when going up against the villains. I’d still like Sakura to eventually get more aggressive but it can’t be denied that she has improved which is always great to see.

The artwork here is definitely pretty solid. At times Sakura and Akiho look so similar that you can mix them up but given that this is actually a story beat in-universe I can let it slide. It’s clearly intentional after all. It’s always easy to read through the chapters and everything is very detailed.

Overall, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is a good sequel. I do think it could have stood to be a little more exciting of course but ultimately it was a fun ride. I had a good time at least and while it would not be my highest recommendation to someone, I wouldn’t tell anyone to avoid it or anything like that. You should prepare for a very slow burn though. It lasted a lot longer than I remember and that’s in part because nothing really happens most of the time. The strong art and intriguing plot carry it but in between those moments there is a lot of emptyness. It still has wholesome messages that are fun for everyone and the whole Kaito plot is really written well. The final twists involving some names are a bit underwhelming and dare I say pointless but till the series had a good run. If we ever get another sequel it’ll be interesting to see what happens there.

Overall 6/10

My Happy Marriage Review

Posted on November 3, 2023 by dreager1

It’s time for an anime with possibly the most wholesome title of all time. It’s a slice of life romance series with a lot of drama and it’s pretty solid. At times the main heroine can get a little tricky since part of the show is about her dealing with confidence issues but you feel like by season 2 she will really be hitting her stride. The show even throws in some supernatural/action elements in so there’s a lot going on in this show.

The show starts off by introducing us to Miyo who has had a really tough life so far. She was born into a fairly prestigious family but without any supernatural abilities. As a result her stepmother and step sister constantly bully Miyo and treat her like a slave. Her father is no better as he doesn’t defend her and tends to passively pile on as well. Miyo is in love with one guy, Kouji and this is her one way out of this rotten life. He can marry her and take her away with him. Unfortunately he ends up being promised to Miyo’s step sister Kaya and he is too weak willed to refuse. The family figures this is a good time to dump Miyo so they give her over to the rich Kiyoka who is infamously cold hearted. Can Miyo turn this around?

The opening episodes really go far to show just how irredeemable and awful the rest of Miyo’s family are so don’t get it confused and think that these guys could end up being great later on or something. It’s going to take many seasons for them to even come close to having a redemption arc for me. When you bully someone their entire life, effectively enslaving that person then you can’t really bounce back from that. It’s just way too much. This should remind you a lot of Cinderella because that’s pretty much the setup here. Fortunately as you can guess that means Kiyoka is actually a pretty guy. He’s your classic misunderstood character who has a hard time showing his emotions but isn’t a bad guy at all. Basically its the result of rumors being spread around that weren’t true and previous wife candidates not being in the relationship for the right reasons.

Now I do have to note that when Miyo is sent off, the marriage isn’t official yet. Think of it like an engagement setup and after a period of time, Kiyoka can choose to marry her. Until that actually happens officially they aren’t married and that’s an important plot point because just about every character will show up to try and put a stop to this because they’re just so petty in this world. If there’s something they can do to mess things up then you have to believe that they are going to do it!

So first up from the characters we have Miyo and as I mentioned at the start I’m not really a fan of hers which does hurt a bit. You want to be careful about victim blaming here as she is completely outnumbered and social norms are against her. It would just be nice if she could stand up for herself more rather than being crushed at every opportunity. Kaya for example has a strong personality and talks back to several characters. Even without powers I feel like Miyo could have defended herself more and kept things from going quite as overboard as they did.

Even if you accept that there was nothing she could have done in the early episodes, once she was together with Kiyoka that was her time to be strong. She still lets Kaya talk down to her even once Miyo completely outranks her and then Miyo ultimately chokes under pressure when another guy shows up to steal her away from Kiyoka. It just feels like her character development is moving much too slowly. I want to see her embrace the fact that she has her complete freedom back and never has to bow before anyone ever again. This is her new life now and she should stay pleasant and well natured but her timid personality has to go. Before she can protect anyone else she needs to be able to protect herself.

Then we have Kiyoka who does look pretty good here. He really tries to be a good person who is patient with Miyo so that he doesn’t scare her. He may not be too good at showing affection or anything like that but he gives it a good try. He is ready to plan out dates and make this work even while protecting Japan from supernatural monsters. Yes that’s the action part of this series, there are monsters around every corner just waiting to pounce. Kiyoka is known as the strongest fighter in the land and for good reason. He can burn a whole area of the forest down in one blow and his swordplay is exceptional.

So he’s a very complete character through and through. He consistently makes the right calls and gets to cause some mayhem to Miyo’s family which is great. You really want a character like that on your side. The romance would be all good if not for the fact that it is a bit of a rebound from Miyo’s point of view. The man she was in love with was Kouji and ultimately he just wasn’t man enough to defy his father and the social customs of the land. So she ends up going to Kiyoka since Kouji was off the table. They were never actually together or anything but it does make Kiyoka a second pick in a sense. At least there should be no wavering so it’ll be them for the rest of the series. Gradually that should continue to help the romance out.

I do have to say that Kouji is easily one of the worst characters though. He’s the biggest wimp in the series and there’s no way I can ever respect the guy. He knew Miyo was being abused for ages and did absolutely nothing to help her out. All he did was give her the false hope that he would take her out of there someday and then he goes and gets engaged to her step sister? There’s no amount of crying that Kouji could do afterwards to make him go back up for me. The guy had his big chance and he blew it.

The romance that he being set up with him and Kaya is going to be really hard to buy because this guy was obsessed with Miyo and now he’s going to be with the sister? It’s better than trying to be a homewrecker but nah Kouji’s pretty awful from start to finish here. When you break your promise to take the easier road there just isn’t much hope for you at that point.

At least Kaya is shown to be antagonistic the whole time. She isn’t trying to be some sympathetic character who just made a few mistakes. I do think the show is going to try and redeem her at this point but it needs to be done carefully and slowly across a ton of seasons. Otherwise I’m just not buying it. A redemption arc is a great thing of course but there’s a difference between making a mistake and just being evil for an extended period of time. So I just hope they take this really slow.

Meanwhile Shinichi and Kanoko should both be completely doomed in that regard. Shinichi allowing his own daughter to be treated like a servant for so many years is awful. He never really cared about her and no excuse the show tries to give him will hold any water. He’s the father and the head of the household. There were tons of options at his disposal to save her and he didn’t use any of them. He also gets some blame for choosing Kanoko as his rebound wife. She has a bad attitude from the start so the guy completely missed it and then didn’t do anything to fix the matter afterwards. Choosing your partner for life is an extremely important decision and it’s why you have to be careful who you choose. Particularly if you have kids since you won’t be the only one feeling the effects.

You feel bad for Miyo’s original mother Sumi who died early on and wasn’t able to be there to help Miyo. I don’t think Sumi’s plan right before death ended up working out very much at all. You can also argue that it completely backfired but of course we don’t know exactly how it would have gone otherwise so at the end of the day it’s really all a hypothetical.

Kazushi is an interesting character where we have to see where his arc will go. The guy isn’t afraid to defy traditions and basically left the family to do his own thing. Now he’s back and in a position of power so we have to see if it corrupts him and he ends up being a big villain or if he stays good til the end. It would be nice to have a good supporting character who doesn’t turn traitor so I hope he’s a good guy.

One heroic figure who should definitely stay true to the end is Yurie. She’s basically Kiyoka’s main attendant so she cooks, cleans, and does any errands as needed. She really shows Miyo the ropes of how to handle the household and puts her mind at east. Miyo would have had a much tougher time without her so Yurie gets a lot of props there. Hazuki also shows up later and is a pretty fun character. She helps teach Miyo about etiquette and is fairly tough in her own right. I don’t see her getting pushed around much at all by anyone. I’d be glad to see her as more of a supporting character.

Yoshito is one of the few supporting characters on Kiyoka’s side. The guy does his best to break the ice and keep things civil for everyone. At times his jokes go a bit far though like with how he flirts with Miyo. It’s all played for laughs of course and the characters know that he doesn’t mean it but I always thought jokes like that were pretty dangerous. Then there is Iwashimizu who does a great job of grabbing intel for Kiyoka. He helps deliver a whole lot of the lore over to Kiyoka and get the guy up to speed on what’s going on.

Finally we have Arata who is one of the big villains here. There are a decent amount of villains within the show so far outside of the main family characters but none of them are particularly memorable so far outside of Arata. They all just feel a bit generic and are also too weak to do much of anything. Once the Emperor makes a move then things could change a bit but in the meantime the most serious enemy had to be Arata. He can fight really well with his illusions and even took Kiyoka down a peg. The whole fight was annoying though since Kiyoka should have won easily but I guess you can’t win them all.

I really don’t like Arata though. He’s another desperate guy who really likes Miyo and wants to try and steal her away. Where were all of these characters when she could have really used a helping hand? Well snooze you lose so Arata just needs to get over her and stay away. That should happen going forward with any luck so this would just be his low point. He’s someone who could actually have a decent redemption arc coming up.

In terms of animation the show looks pretty good. I wouldn’t say the fights look great or anything, it’s clear that the show is more focused on the romance part than the action. That said, the character designs are always on point and the backgrounds look clear so I really have no complaints. The show’s budget was reasonably solid. The soundtrack is a bit more on the weaker side though. It could do with some more fast paced music or just something more memorable in general. Even during the fights you don’t really have music that’s jumping out at you.

We get our share of super emotional moments of course but the music played during those is a bit more on the generic side. Still the moment itself is usually intense enough where you’re still really engaged. The show goes all out in just how much Miyo had to deal with. At one point the villains even grab a pair of scissors and really put some fear into Miyo. Those are again scenes that make sure Kaya can never rebound from them.

There was a really good rage moment late in the series when Kiyoka finally found out some of the details and went into the estate to clean up shop. It was really nice to see him burning buildings and causing a lot of chaos. If anything I wouldn’t have minded if he went a tad further with that. We certainly know that those characters would deserve every bit of it after all. Now the only thing I’d be worried about going forward is if Kiyoka ends up bowing down to the law. What I mean by that is Kiyoka is still technically in service of the government and the emperor, both of whom we know are on the villains’ side. So it’ll be annoying if they arrest him or something and he doesn’t resist because he doesn’t want to follow the law and then Miyo gets kidnapped. I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen because it’s always such a pain when a character chooses duty over love.

Miyo needs to be above all others for Kiyoka at this point. His main duty is keeping her happy after all and everything else is secondary. I wonder if Miyo can end up contributing more on the battlefield soon too. I think there are a lot of good ways you could pull that off, maybe something like QQ Sweeper. We’ll have to see. Season 2 could also afford to be a little lighter. Throw in a bit of comedy and let the characters have some fun. After all this one had to be darker due to the origin story for Miyo which was definitely a tragic one but with that out of the way she should be allowed to have some time to smile without a catch at the end.

Overall, My Happy Marriage is a good show. There are some annoying elements which keeps it from being higher like how polite the heroes always have to be while the villains just run around getting things done. I feel as though you owe nothing to any villains so just show up and take them down without going through all of the formalities. I’m really hoping that Miyo should be completely solid going forward and now have any more doubts in her ability. As long as that doesn’t happen we should be in a great spot for the second season.

Overall 6/10

Kilala Princess Review

Posted on June 19, 2023 by dreager1

Kilala Princess is a fairly basic manga that is all about having fun and doesn’t really try for a deeper plot. That said, it succeeds in this by earnestly making that the priority. The series knows exactly what it is and isn’t trying to be anything else. I can definitely respect that. It’s a super safe approach so I don’t have any significant issues with the series. It does mean that there’s a lower ceiling here since the title won’t be all that exciting or epic but it avoids most pitfalls as well. In essence what this means is that it’s a safe recommendation to anyone but it’s not going to be high enough where I would usually end up recommending it to anyone either way.

The series starts off by introducing us to Kilala who is a very cheerful girl. Life comes at you fast but it never overwhelms her and she just looks forward to the adventure. One day she meets a boy named Rei who is the prince of a far away kingdom. He’s guarding a tiara but there are a bunch of villains after it. Basically he needs to find the 7th princess of legend in order to save his country. Kilala knows there’s no way it can be her but she offers to help. In fact, the princess could possibly be her best friend Erika. Unfortunately Erika gets brainwashed and the villains are relentless. Kilala is now in for a big adventure spanning various worlds and dimensions as she aids Rei but what if this search is for naught and there is no princess?

It’s a fairly basic plot and that’s basically a vehicle for the adventures so don’t worry about that much. There’s a fairly straight forward formula here which is that the heroes will go to a world like Little Mermaid or Snow White and meet with the heroes. The villains will attack, the heroes realize that the 7th princess is not there and then they go to the next world. It sort of reminds me of Kingdom Hearts but of course without all of the Heartless attacking and laying siege to the planet. There are the human villains running around of course but they aren’t quite as threatening.

As I said before though, it’s a fairly calm adventure and without that big sense of danger you are able to just relax and have a good time. The main characters are nice enough and this is the kind of title you can definitely recommend to all ages to have a good time. There’s a little adventure, a little romance, and a little danger. There’s also some positive themes here like Kilala learning to stand up for herself and realize that even if she’s not a princess, there’s nothing stopping her from being a great person.

The series does seem to accelerate near the end to the finish line though so don’t expect each of the worlds to have equal length. Towards the end they have to wrap things up so the last world or two are rather short. Still, the series had a decent run and is still long enough to be memorable. The smaller stakes is what helps this to end up being very manageable in the long run. Now lets talk about the characters.

Kilala is a nice lead who is always trying to do the right thing and help the prince out. At times she can be a little timid though and isn’t the most outspoken lead. To an extent I would say this is because she’s younger than most leads. Kilala hasn’t had to deal with a whole lot of issues or crisis situations over the years so this whole journey is a brand new experience for her. She does take it in stride and has fun while she can of course. Part of her character development is how she eventually learns how to stick up for herself and be a core member.

It’s just not easy at first but I’ll give her points for doing this. She’s just not my favorite lead as a result. What I’d like is for her to talk a little tougher to the rival Sylphy. See, Sylphy is basically Rei’s fiancé but there’s a lot of disclaimers to that. The problem is that he never really rejects her which gives her an in to be super confident and mess with Kilala a lot. On one hand I love Sylphy’s confidence so if she did nothing underhanded then she would be the best character. Unfortunately she ends up making a shady deal at one point in the series which tanked her character.

If she stuck to fighting for Rei then that would be one thing but she crossed the line there. Ultimately that’s why the best character is Kilala’s friend Erika but she ends up vanishing after the opening arc. It’s too bad but often times that is the fate of the friend in world hopping adventure like this one. Erika isn’t the main character so she’s not really invited but she handled herself with great poise the whole time. She’s just a good person and that goes for a lot in the end.

The reason why Rei doesn’t rise as highly is because he doesn’t really pick a girl as I mentioned earlier. The guy is super passive the whole time. Sure he gets his romance moments but he’s not very decisive and leaves a lot of the work to Kilala. In some ways I don’t fully disagree with this so long as he isn’t interested since the party more in love should make the first move. The problem is then after that he absolutely needs to make a decision but he’s often content to just be on the sidelines. Mix that in with his getting knocked out, captured, and defeated constantly and he’s not the most impressive prince. He means well but you can’t say much else for him.

As for the main villain I suppose it’s a bit of a twist on who he is so I won’t say his name. He’s okay at best but there’s really not a whole lot to say about him. I think you could have gone into depth on his motivations and given him a real sob story but he doesn’t get a whole lot of attention. Yes, he does get the bare essentials in terms of origin and motives but nothing that really makes him stick out. At the end of the day he’s just some guy trying to take over and that’s why it rarely feels like this is really the main plot.

The story is more about Kilala learning about what it means to be a true princess as opposed to fighting and leading the army against the impending threat. This is still a Shoujo and not an action title after all. It’s not trying to be the next Yona of the Dawn. At times you definitely wish there would be more action but the talks with the princesses and mini adventures are fun enough. It’s basically like watching a Saturday morning cartoon.

The art is also pretty good, it’s clear and the character designs are on point. You shouldn’t have any problem understanding what is happening at all times. The different worlds all look distinct and I would say the artist captured the style and appearance of each world pretty well. It’s why in a way basic art can sometimes take on the more detailed ones. Sure this won’t look like One Punch Man or Megaman NT Warrior but because it’s rather basic it is easily understood and you can appreciate the big splash pages.

Overall, Kilala Princess is good fun. There’s not really a whole lot to it but there aren’t really any big issues either. The characters are fun enough and you’ll be breezing through the volumes. I’d recommend this to anyone who wants to see the classic Disney characters. Unfortunately the different worlds don’t get to meet up but you still get to see them advise the heroine and help her along the journey.

Overall 6/10

Imadoki! Review

Posted on June 18, 2023 by dreager1

It’s time for a blast from the past with this one. Imadoki is a romance manga that wasn’t particularly long but still had a lot going on. As far as romance titles go, it’s not bad but the character roster isn’t the strongest. There’s a ton of drama going on because the characters let themselves be overwhelmed by peer pressure so much. Over half of the series would just not exist if the characters had the strength needed to push themselves forward and just go after what they actually want. Instead all of the characters just end up feeling really frustrated the whole time.

The series starts off with Tanpopo transferring to a new school. She is eager to make some new friends but it won’t be easy since she isn’t as wealthy as the others. The instant that the students realize she is a commoner they quickly start bullying her as hard as possible. There is only one guy who seems nice named Kouki but while they’re at school he always pretends not to notice her. Additionally, since he is the most popular guy in school, this doesn’t help with the bullying. Tanpopo’s only chance here is to get close to Kouki while at the gardening club since they are some of the only members but can she pull this off? Also does she want to be just friends or more?

Kouki starts off kind of rough here because he is definitely a lot ruder than he needs to be towards Tanpopo. Pretending not to know her at school and not defending her is just a bit much. I get it if he wants to keep up his image but ultimately that just means he wasn’t a strong enough guy to deal with the consequences and do the right thing. Trying to fit in with the wrong crowd really isn’t a good idea in the slightest. Gradually he gets nicer until he doesn’t worry about those things as much but it’s still tough.

Then he falters in the second half because a girl named Erika shows up and he allows himself to become engaged to her out of obligation. See, she was promised to his brother Youji who ran off and so Kouki feels like he has to marry her now but that’s a pretty huge leap in logic. He then allows Erika to start bullying Tanpopo and chasing her out. At times he’s oblivious about this but it’s all so obvious that it doesn’t make him look any better since it’s basically his fault.

Kouki just gets pushed around a considerable amount throughout the series which puts him a level beneath a lot of the main Shoujo guys. It also feels like he’s rebounding a lot of times because there are several points where he basically decides he’ll settle with Erika and not actually go after Tanpopo. In fact this goes on for a long while since they were together all the way until the next semester started. Not a good look.

Of course Erika is an actual antagonist but at least she’s open about this. She does her best to crush Tanpopo and does this effectively by making bets with her and banking on the fact that Tanpopo would lose her nerve or something would go wrong at the last second. The worst part about this is definitely the fact that the plan worked so smoothly because in a lot of ways Tanpopo had the advantage but just didn’t have enough confidence to make it work. Erika is super dramatic and always trying for attention but I blame Kouki for falling for it just as hard as her for doing this.

Not to be outdone, we have another bully in the form of Tsukiko. She pretends to be Tanpopo’s friend at first while bullying her from the shadows and doing her best to wreck Tanpopo’s day. Some friend right? Ultimately she does turn over a new leaf after being exposed and from then on is a good character but it was another rough start. The series was almost like Dragon Ball Z where everyone started out as a villain and then gradually became a good person. Of course with less volumes there isn’t as much time to really develop them as heroes. At least she actually backed Tanpopo up by the end while most of the other friends scattered.

Arisa ended up being the most loyal friend by far but she wasn’t able to help out as much near the end due to being pregnant and as such not being able to run around with the rest of the gang. Her plot definitely got rather dark for a while there. Ultimately she has the best redemption arc as she got in with the wrong crowd and made a lot of mistakes but never tried taking anyone down with her. That’s the big difference compared with the others so you could root for her.

Then there is Aoi and you guessed it…he has a really rough start too. He is a hacker villain that decides to go after Tanpopo and Kouki, even going as far as to threaten Tanpopo’s life and take advantage of her in the process. The instant a character gets physical like that there really isn’t any coming back for him. He just went way too far so by the end when he turns good (Which isn’t even near the end. It’s basically immediately after the first appearance) then you have a hard time buying into it. He comes in handy a lot with how he stabs other villains and knows how to fight but in theory Tanpopo would never really be all that comfortable around the guy after that. He was just too much of a creep initially with the grabbing and licking.

Finally we have Youji and this guy’s not bad I guess. Of course within the story’s context he’s annoying since he shows up to cause more drama by getting together with Tanpopo but this isn’t actually a rebound per say from his side. See, he went after her after she had broken up with Kouki so she was a free agent at the time. Additionally, nobody was pressuring him into this and he seemed like a nice guy in general. Sure he definitely knew that Kouki liked her as well but Kouki was busy with Erika so that’s not a bad time to make a move. If he were to seriously get together with Erika afterwards then that’s more of a problem but while the manga hints that this will happen, I wouldn’t say that it’s confirmed.

Youji’s definitely not responsible with how he just ran off out of nowhere but he wouldn’t let the company control him so I get that. He just could have handled the whole situation better. So in a way he is the best character by default here. You also have Tanpopo who is nice enough but she falls into the rebound trap. She clearly liked Kouki from day 1 so she shouldn’t have even entertained the idea of being with Youji. This is the problem with rebounding, it’s like you throw logic out the window for a little bit and hang out with someone else while you get your feelings back in order but that’s not how it should be.

She also made a lot of the wrong calls when she was being pushed around by Erika. See, when Erika told her she had to leave the club after losing a bet, okay fine Tanpopo can leave. However, just tell the others this is why she left. Instead she says nothing and so they all get the wrong idea. You’re still honoring the bet but you’re at least letting people know that there was one. Of course Tanpopo shouldn’t have taken the bet in the first place since she was the head of the club. It just caused a lot of needless drama the whole time when there wasn’t any need for it which is a large part of the series really.

If the characters could just stick up for themselves then a lot of the issues wouldn’t have occurred here. The story is still compelling and I enjoyed the writing but a lot of it was rather contrived which does keep it from matching up against the bigger Shoujo titles. The art’s also really good. It’s very clear the whole time so you can easily read through the chapters right away. None of the characters are drawn too similarly either so each member of the main cast stands out. That can be tricky sometimes so I’m glad that this series didn’t run into that issue.

I’d also say that the humor works well enough. It’s personally not one of the funnier manga titles that I’ve read but the artwork could make for some fun comedic expressions. In general there is just more drama than comedy this time around. The tone always stays rather light so don’t think that this is a depressing title or anything but maybe some more joking around could have done the title some good as well. Give us more time with the characters just having fun and chilling out instead of jumping into the next school controversy or rival showing up.

There is very little time for the characters to just have their day to day adventures. I suppose the author wanted to just focus on the plot and keep things moving which is fine of course but perhaps this is what the series needed to make the characters more likable. Similar to how the Sailor Moon anime made all of the characters a lot better by throwing in a ton of filler. In the end that’s what filler is good for after all, developing the characters as needed.

Overall, Imadoki is a romance manga that can be fun but does end up being annoying a lot of the times. The characters need to learn to stand up for themselves and not just fall for every possible villain plan. That’s what this all comes down to after all. Also, the lack of a strong character cast is also what hurts this series. With better characters this absolutely would have been a much stronger adventure all around. Instead its potential does get rather limited. If you like romance manga then you should check this one out but otherwise there are a lot of better options.

Overall 4/10

Horimiya Review

Posted on April 16, 2023 by dreager1

I finished Horimiya up quite a while ago but now it’s time to really dive into this one. The romantic comedy manga lasted quite a long while and it’s always impressive to see since you just tend to associate long running titles with the classic Shonen Jump action. Well this one had a fairly big cast so they got to set up a lot of romances here. Mainly what holds the series back a bit compared to other romance series is that the main two are rather weak next to other Shojo heroines/heroes and their dynamic might just be the weakest out of any pairing within its own series. Well we’ll have time to tackle all of that in a minute.

Hori is a very popular girl at school. She’s outgoing and doesn’t back down from any challenge but the big secret she hides from her classmates is that she has to watch after her little brother Souta after school. She transforms into a completely different person once she’s home since she can relax and it’s almost like a disguise so nobody recognizes her. One day she is caught though, by the really quiet, timid guy known as Miyamura. Nobody really approaches that guy because he keeps to himself but in private he actually enjoys tattoos and piercings. The guy looks completely different and rather fierce outside of school but it turns out he’s actually a real softie but doesn’t want to hurt his image. So the two agree not to say anything and now they can actually be good friends who are relaxed with each other. This will also make it easier if Hori needs to sneak out since Miyamura can cover for her. That said…can they really remain friends??

~~Yes!~~ Not a chance! This is a romance series after all but that would have been a nice change of pace. That said, the series does have a lot of actual boy/girl friendships that don’t transform into something more so I give the series props there. For example Hori’s best friend Yoshikawa is very outgoing and gets along with Miyamura pretty well once he’s a part of the friendship circle and the two have a fun dynamic that never has to become anything more than that. I would include Hori and Ishikawa but he actually did like her and just ended up losing out so not sure that counts. At least they stayed on good terms though.

So lets jump into two of my main issues with the series before we go into the positives. The first one is the art which I think can be really hit or miss. Sometimes the pages will really pop out with a great double spread or a really detailed shot of the characters. The artist can clearly do a great job when needed but it’s the average panel where things get tricky. I constantly would mix up Sengoku and Ishikawa because their designs are so similar. Then once the cast expanded to include other students it got really confusing. All of the girls are distinct but the guys feel like they all have the same look and only the hair can help you tell them apart. Even that isn’t easy since the series is in black and white after all. Having distinct designs for all of your characters is a must for any series and this just felt like a big weakness as a result. You should never be in a position where you are regularly mixing up characters or I always have to say that goes squarely on the artist.

Then my other issue is as I mentioned before of the dynamic between Hori and Miyamura. The problem is that it’s never all that funny and they seem like better characters when they’re apart. So Hori has this whole thing where she gets real excited when Miyamura is upset and constantly encourages him to hit her. Because he is a pacifist and also a decent person he never wants to do this so she’ll end up sulking for a while. It’s a rather bizarre dynamic and of course part of the point is that Hori is a bit strange when she’s not putting on her school mask but even for her it’s a bit much. I’m thinking the attempt is to be like a reverse tsundere where you have the guy constantly blowing up at the girl but it just doesn’t work.

It also makes their relationship a bit one note since that gag is a constant. Ironically Souta helps out since at least when he’s causing trouble you have Miyamura defending him while Hori gets upset and that can always be more entertaining. The series absolutely has good humor throughout but it just lands better when they’re apart. Whether it’s Hori threatening the rest of the student body or Miyamura having to try and choose the option that causes the least amount of trouble when debating with friends, there’s a lot to enjoy there. The romance is just a weak link which is a bit rough considering that this is a big romance series at heart. You have shipping being done constantly throughout the series after all.

Where I will give the series some points is that it does have the characters talk about a lot of normal everyday stuff without always having to throw some drama in there. This could be boring for some but I think it makes sense to emphasize that this is a fairly small city where not much happens. So Hori and Miyamura will sometimes just hang out at home doing nothing except talking about nonsense or watching a movie. In that way they’ve already been together long enough where it’s not like every day has to be some kind of big event. Just being in each other’s company is calming enough and it’s a fairly mature take on how the relationship would be like.

Additionally, because they get together fairly early on in the manga, that gives more time for the relationship to develop. They go from being good friends to dating and keeping that same vibe. So while their dynamic may not be my favorite, I can’t say that the author rushed it. For some positive things about the dynamic, I like that Hori is a super direct person so there’s never any beating around the bush in their conversations. There’s no arc about her getting jealous and tailing him across the city to see if he’s cheating or trying to see if he’s interested in going out by asking a series of Jeopardy style questions. When she wants to do something she just blurts it out and if she wants to eat something she just does. Miyamura works at a family bakery so he’ll just bring along some good snacks and she’ll eat them. Being direct like that is definitely a plus.

Now the series is 16 volumes long so with the main romance out of the way, what else really happens here? Well, you have two other main pairings with Ishikawa and Yoshikawa as well as Remi and Sengoku. These were sort of set up early as well, maybe less so for Yoshikawa but the end game pairings are clear from the jump. This just gives them more of a chance to set things up and think about their next steps. For the most part is works well enough. You should be suitably engaged in what’s going on. You may not be on the edge of your seat like with Nisekoi or Kaguya Sama but you won’t be bored and that’s the important thing.

So I’ve already talked about Hori quite a bit. She’s a really fun main heroine although with how outgoing and direct she is, I do wonder in hindsight why it was really a big deal about the others seeing her with Souta. Honestly I get the feeling that they really wouldn’t care at all. Her best friend certainly wouldn’t and her childhood friend used to hang out with her all the time so he wouldn’t have a problem. Outside of the inner circle the rest probably wouldn’t bother her much. It’s the kind of thing that you question a bit more in hindsight but hey school reps are really important for people so it could just be that simple. Could just be a quirk of hers like how she can get real possessive of Miyamura even though she completely trusts him. She’d still just rather he not be hanging out with anyone else too often although in this case the gag is that she doesn’t care when he hangs out with other girls but other guys for too long is a no no.

The series does have a lot of annoying “guy talk” at times though so they probably aren’t the best influence around him anyway. The characters can be rather desperate at times and that’s why Miyamura needs to keep them at arm’s length. In a way he already does which some of the characters don’t like but you gotta do what you gotta do. Miyamura’s a good main hero. I do think that he goes a bit over the top with the tatoos and piercings though. He drops that entirely as the series goes on which I’d say was a good thing since his character design is much better without them. Ultimately of course fashion is up to the wearer so if he prefers that look then he should go for it but it just felt like something more out of a horror manga when he would pop in at times.

I was always glad that he held firm to his ideals and wouldn’t relent to Hori when she wanted him to get upset at her. I like how chill the guy is. It’s hard to get under his skin but if he is upset then he would let you know . He can be firm with the other friends when needed like if they took things too far at any point. It’s also cool that he works at the cake shop. It had to be so convenient to be able to bring home a cake whenever you want. Would be easy to start gaining weight of course but that would just be so convenient.

Then we have Souta who in a way does a lot of matchmaking since he is one of the main reasons why the two get together. He’s just young enough to still be oblivious about all of this though which is nice since a kid trying to interfere is always annoying. Soura’s too young to do much of anything really but he’s okay. As far as kids in these titles go I didn’t find him super annoying or anything like that.

Next up is Yoshikawa and she’s another quality character. She’s always got a brave face on even when things aren’t going her way and that’s commendable. She’s someone that Hori can lean on and vice versa when things are going tough. Her romance gets a little less time to really develop here though and she was on good terms with everyone so just ending p as a good friend would have been a solid end for her character arc. Either way she added a lot to the school dynamic and her character arc about being more confident was one of the most serious ones in the series.

Then there is Ishikawa who is a bit of a punching bag for a while. The guy isn’t super talented and definitely has confidence issues with how Hori had him in the friend zone for so long. The guy liked her for a while but she barely even sees him as a guy which is rather sad for him. Of course that’s why his next romance would be an automatic rebound since he only moves on because she made it clear that he would never have a chance. That’s pretty tough to handle when you think about it. I’m glad that things go up for him though because otherwise it was just a sad adventure for him.

Remi is a lot of fun and almost feels out of place among the other students because she’s a lot more gimmicky than the other characters. She talks about herself in the third person all the time and definitely cries a lot. Remi really gets super emotional at times which makes her really contrast with the very serious Sengoku. Naturally you can probably guess who gets paired here. Ultimately I did like Remi though. She was fun to have around but even though she was a main supporting character, I felt like she didn’t interact with Hori quite as much as you’d expect. I guess it’s a case of their both being in the same room a lot but never really having much to do at the same time.

Finally Sengoku is your classic by the books kind of guy who is really strict and has no fun. Naturally I don’t have him anywhere all that close to the other characters. I prefer characters who just have fun and go wild. I suppose you need a by the books guy sometimes but very rarely and Sengoku usually was more of a hassle to everyone than an actual help. That’s why he ends up lagging behind the others.

Honoka shows up later on as a fun little side character. She’s a bit younger than the rest of the characters so Hori and Miyamura tend to treat her like a kid which annoys her. She doesn’t mind when this ends up resulting in free food though so she’ll be a kid when it’s convenient to her. She adds some extra energy int the series so I appreciated having her around. Then you have Shindo who was Miyamura’s only friend back in the day and he’s one of those characters where you feel like the series is mean spirited against him for some reason. The guy is always just trying to be nice and helping out but gets treated like dirt most of the time.

Miyamura never wants to acknowledge that they were friends and is the only person that he bullies. Miyamura is typically super nice all the time but Shindo seems to bring out the worst in him. The worst part is that it rarely even starts off because of Shindo doing something wrong. In fact Shindo is usually just being a nice guy when Miyamura attacks him for no reason. This is another one of those comedic plots that just didn’t land for me since I would feel bad for Shindo in the end.

Yanagi was more on the forgettable aside. Apart from constantly breaking his glasses I’d have a tough time telling you much about his personality. He was around and nice enough but yeah he definitely got overshadowed. Then you have Hori’s parents. Her father gets more of a role and he always takes Miyamura’s side. In that sense the good part is that Hori doesn’t have to worry about her parents not liking him. That’s probably a huge relief when you think about it, but of course it does also mean that Hori will always be outnumbered in debates. It evens out since Hori is easily the toughest person in the room though as her father will usually shrink in the corner when challenged.

In some ways the manga is best when it’s just letting the two main characters just be cute for a while. A solid hug goes a long way compared to any shenanigans and one thing the manga shows a lot of is that Hori is a very clingy person. Once she is together with Miyamura she will end up grabbing him all the time for no real reason except to feel contact. It’s the little things like that which are fun and they both get a lot of inner monologues about how much better their lives are now that they have met each other. It also helps the comedic moments by extension since you know the characters more. Like Hori asking for Miyamura’s phone to do an inspection.

In another series that may feel like a bit of a jaded move. She doesn’t trust him or something but instead you know it’s just because she’s curious on what she’ll find and to mess with him a bit. They both trust each other but Hori being the aggressive heroine she is always likes to push things to the max. Then Miyamura is always calm enough where he will say yes to any of her demands/requests. No matter how inconvenient he would say yes to anything she asked him to do and so that makes for a good bond between them.

Overall, Horimiya is a good manga. I’d say what really keeps it from being a very good/great one is the character cast is a bit weaker than the other big Shojos and it’s just not as funny. For a long series like this of course there will be plenty of good jokes that land as well but there are also some more dull kind of lines that don’t really work. The manga has a bit more dead time than other similar titles and of course my mixing up characters from time to time doesn’t really help matters either. These aren’t the kinds of things that will feel too bad while binging though and ultimately the test of a manga is if you had fun and I’m confident that you will here. It’s still a very wholesome series throughout so if your local library or bookstore has the series then you should pick it up and give it a read.

Overall 6/10

Behind the Scenes!! Review

Posted on January 8, 2023 by dreager1

As a romantic comedy manga each series faces a lot of tough calls in terms of who will get paired with whom. Often times the romantic rival is cooler than the main heroine or main hero depending on who the lead is but you sort of can’t deviate from the main path. Then for the one who loses out you have to have a rebound ready and that’s usually where things get tricky. Well you don’t “have to” and in face you shouldn’t have a rebound ready but most series do and this one goes for one of the worst possible final ships possible. It is right there on the level of God of High School and it’s hard to see which one is worse. They’re neck and neck…I guess the other one is probably a little worse but it’s tough either way. It does hurt this title’s momentum.

The series revolves around a character named Ranmaru. He’s rather timid and doesn’t really like to be around people. Ranmaru is very detail oriented though and that helps him a lot when it comes to noticing things that most people would usually miss. He ends up joining the special effects art club led by Ryuji though. Ryuji is a fairly bold character who is the outgoing type and while you’d think that he may not get along with Ranmaru as they’re so different, it really works out. This is sort of a safe space for Ranmaru to really get used to being with people and becoming more confident in himself.

Timid main characters like this usually aren’t my thing so I wouldn’t say that Ranmaru ever ends up being one of my favorite characters. His romance is mostly tragic as he likes Ruka but is too shy to actually speak up about it. So for the most part he just ends up being good friends with her and can only watch as she gets farther and farther away. It’s an emotional plot for sure but one where you feel like if he just spoke up a bit then it wouldn’t be such a big deal. Instead he’s digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself that will be difficult to get out of.

It’s only in the final volume or two really where he starts to truly get out of his shell so this is a series where the side characters really have to take control but I wouldn’t say that they really do. This isn’t the strongest cast all around. The main standout character here would probably be Ryuji. He’s the tough character a series like this needs to push everyone along. He does really well in that role to be sure. Ryuji also has his own tough backstory to get through and he’s really just putting up a tough front.

It adds some good depth to his character as he isn’t actually past everything and just does his best to move forward. He isn’t someone who is trapped by the past and makes no excuses for himself. Still, he just keeps on moving forward no matter what happens. By far he was the best character here. The main heroine Ruka is also good. She’s great at arts and crafts. Ruka likes Ryuji but is unsure of how to let him know about this when they have such a good friendship and then she has a lot of pressure from her family which makes it difficult for her to hang out with the crew a lot. That’s probably the toughest situation to get past since the others mostly just have to fight their inner selves to move on but she has actual people to deal with.

I feel like the series doesn’t spend as much time on this as you would expect but it still makes for an intense storyline. Ruka is also the main focus of a lot of the series in other ways with how she is connected to Ranmaru and Ryuji so you will have no shortage of screen time for her. If anything Maasa is the one who loses out here as she really wants a boyfriend but is mostly reduced to that one character trait. Well, I suppose she really loves slasher films which tends to scare the guys off.

As you go through the series you absently think she will probably be paired with one of the other guys but that’s about it. You never figure that she will be an integral focus in the series and well that is exactly what happened. Maasa seems like a fun character but doesn’t get much to do. Then you have Izumi who is really talented and tends to stick out for his good looks but he doesn’t really know about his past. This is probably the most serious plot in some ways. It ends up being connected to Ranmaru’s cousin Soh as she wants to be there to help him recover and lead into a romance subplot.

I give the series a lot of credit for how this plot goes. Izumi is flattered of course but he still treats Soh as more of a kid and doesn’t take the whole thing too seriously. He basically just tries to help her get past her infatuation and keep it moving. She is a bit younger than him so it would be hard for that to work out but additionally he just doesn’t see her in that way. Additionally the memory issues have also affected his ability to actually have real emotions so that was another thing to consider. He got some good points for that and also for generally being a nice guy even when he is being absolutely crushed by not even knowing who he truly is. That’s something that’s hard to simply deal with.

Finally you have Tomu but he never really got to do much. He’s always around as one of the main members and we know that he used to be a bit of a delinquent before falling in with the right crowd but that’s about it. He doesn’t get any big plots or shocking reveals so it feels like he’s just along for the ride. Maybe it’s good to have a character like that but I feel like you could cut him out and nothing would change. If that can ever be said about a character then usually it means that he should have been scrapped.

Finally you have Soh who deals with a lot of confidence issues like Ranmaru. She has carefully crafted a public image of being the really cool girl though in a way to avoid attracting attention to herself. That may sound contradictory but it actually does work really well. Put it this way, if you seem popular and are always surrounded by a few friends, strangers won’t approach you and you can just head home without worry. If you stick out for being anti social or quiet then people are probably going to walk up to you. Either to bully you if they’re mean or to try and talk to you if you seem lonely.

I thought Soh’s strategy was really good and she was actually being proactive in handling her weakness which is something that boosted her past Ranmaru. I just didn’t see Ranmaru putting in the same level of effort. Not saying he had to match her but this is why she was ahead for me. It also makes for a fun dynamic between them at home where they can be more open with each other but you still see how they are awkward at talking in general. At least having someone you can talk to is always a huge relief and that helps both of them keep going.

I would say where the series succeeds is that the angle of being a special effects group is really unique. It’s cool to see them help with the designs for different movies and shows and you get a lot of fun facts for setting up different practical effects. You may not be able to put most of them to use because you’d need specialized equipment to start with but it is shown quite plainly so you can try this at home if you do get the materials. It’s a fresh take as you would usually be focusing on the movie stars.

Additionally the series may be laidback but it makes for an easy read. Even if the characters may not stand out, you’ll be entertained all the way through which is important. I had a good time with the title. It feels a bit short by the time it ends and I didn’t think every plot got to be wrapped up (Like the ex delinquent not really doing anything) but as a result it also doesn’t drag out.

Now for the series issues, the ending really hurts it quite a bit. There will be spoilers for this paragraph and the next one so don’t read on if you haven’t read the series yet. As this is a romance series the final pairing is quite important after all so you don’t want to know about this before the right time is here right? Okay so here goes. Ranmaru ends up with Soh. Now to go into more detail on this, Ranmaru moved in with his cousin Soh and her folks as the series begins but he wasn’t always around there. Japan also treats that dynamic a little differently but either way it is the worst possible ship you could go with. I don’t care if they’re 5 times removed, it’s still a bad look. Even in series where they aren’t related but lived together for a while as a pseudo family like in Attack on Titan I tend to vent on that because it’s not a good relationship.

If you’re family or treated as family then that’s a no go. Do not pass start, don’t collect your reward. It’s just a non starter right from the jump and it felt like the series needed some rebound for Ranmaru since he was doomed with the main heroine due to how timid he was the whole time. This wasn’t the answer though and it was such a bizarre ending. A bad ending is one that you remember forever and so unfortunately this is now the legacy of the series. I don’t see how it can really come back from this and of course it hurt with the score for me as well. Definitely one of the weaker endings I’ve read in a bit. It’s no Attack on Titan of course but definitely a weak ending either way.

The art here is okay but not great. I remember having a hard time keeping character straight at some points and anytime I can mix up any characters (Unless there’s a narrative reason for that) I always take it out on the art. It can also get a little cluttered during some of the set pieces and design moments. It’s not bad but the art is below the average of what you tend to see from the Shojo titles for me. Maybe if the series went on longer that would have helped the artist clear things up but as it stands I wasn’t impressed.

We get a lot of good inspirational quotes and moments in the series as Ryuji tries to help Ranmaru stand strong. Part of Ranmaru’s character arc is about getting braver on his own as opposed to waiting for someone else to help him. I thought this was sound, you won’t always have someone out there to back you up. That being said, you absolutely can and should seek out advice and use any available resources to get past your fears but the final decision will be on you. Ryuji may be a tough character but he never held back on the advice and his tough love approach worked really well with Ranmaru. He would also let the kid have a break when he needed it and gave him space during the tough times.

In a way what this series lacked was more humor. I mean there are jokes and such as this is a fairly light hearted series but for the most part I would rarely find it funny. I liked the faces that Soh and Ranmaru would make when they were being timid as the author gave them really great facial expressions but that was it. Those visual humor moments were really the extent of what the series would throw at you. You had the really strict member of the movie club who had his dynamic with Ryuji and such but those scenes wouldn’t typically land as being quite as funny. As a result this series goes through the motions and is reasonable about it but I find that being funny can help a series and its replay value immensely. Every time you laugh or crack a smile is when the series has just risen up even if just a little more for you. It’s no surprise that all of the best romance titles are the ones that are part comedy like Nisekoi and Kaguya Sama. It just makes sense because when you laugh with the characters it is another way of truly connecting with them and so you naturally get more invested in the journey.

Overall, Behind the Scenes!! lives up to its name as sticking behind the scenes with the crew for the most part. This worked really well and it is part of what made the series solid in that area. It’s really just the romance that holds the series back but since that’s a major part of the series it is not something that’s easy to ignore. A sub par ending just doesn’t help matters at all and this has no real replay value. Without a lot of humor to stick up for the series or some grand climax, it will be lost in the wave of Shojo titles and can be safely skipped. I’d be interested to see another series try to tackle this angle. It’s probably not one that most should try for as it is more limited in how many fun situations you can craft around it but at the same time for a non action title, what really matters are the characters and interactions. You can make any backdrop work with good enough writing.

Overall 5/10

Tangled Review

Posted on November 5, 2022 by dreager1

It’s been a little while since I saw the Tangled movie. It was a pretty solid film and it actually had some real danger with characters getting stabbed and everything. The manga does a good job of readapting the events and so you do get the movie experience here. You won’t get to fully experience the songs of course but if for any reason you can’t find the movie, this will fill you in on the details pretty well.

The story starts by explaining how there was a magical flower that could be used to cure any illness and so this was given to the queen once she had grown ill. As a result her baby Rapunzel inherited this ability through her hair and so she was kidnapped by Gothel who had been using the flower for many years to stay immortal. Gothel would just cut Rapunzel’s hair and be done with it but the power goes away when that happens so her best plan is to trick Rapunzel for the rest of her life into working for Gothel so Gothel can keep using the power to stay young. This plan works out for many years but Gothel was a little too possessive in keeping Rapunzel in the tower.

So one day Rapunzel decides to leave and her opportunity comes when a thief named Flynn barges in with a crown he stole. Rapunzel hides the crown and says that he won’t get it back until he takes her sight seeing around the kingdom and specifically, she wants to see the mysterious lights that go up once a year on her birthday. (Gothel messed up by not giving her a different birthday) Flynn agrees since he wants his crown but as their adventure goes on he learns valuable lessons about friendship and what it means to value someone over normal jewels and riches.

It’s a fairly straight forward story and you can pretty much guess how it plays out but the execution is on point which is the important thing. This is a very low key story but one that will keep you interested. The characters are good and we do still have some danger here as like in the movie Flynn does get stabbed at one point. Gothel makes for a very solid antagonist here. Sure, she may not be the smartest in some ways as she creates a lot of problems for herself but she did keep the ruse up for many years so she gets some props there. She can also fight and isn’t above getting her hands dirty. In some ways that may be the most impressive part of her character.

As for Rapunzel, she is a solid main character. She took matters into her own hands in beating up Flynn and had a nice plan for escaping. While her hiding skills may not be the best, she is able to keep on winning until she gets things right. She’s a very determined character and that’s a good trait to have in any main character. Rapunzel also sticks up for herself when she knows that things aren’t right. When you add that all up I dare say that she is more likable than a lot of the more classic Disney princesses.

Flynn is less heroic than most of the main guys in these Disney adventures but that does mean he gets to learn more lessons. He goes from being someone who will easily betray his friends to someone that Rapunzel can count on. I do think he looks rather unimpressive in the fights though as Gothel easily takes him out and he loses a lot of fights here. He will have the rare moment where he looks tough like when he fought the villains off with his frying pan but that’s about it. Usually it’s still game over for him but he gets some decent banter with Rapunzel.

The art here is okay at best. It’s pretty much what you would expect from a movie tie-in. It’s not going to get the high quality art of a classic ongoing but it does its best to look like the movie so that’s a decent start. Think of this like a Shojo one shot for an artist that’s just starting out. I will say that the paneling is good though and it’s easy to read through the volume. It feels really short by the time you are all the way through it and that’s always a good sign.

One of these days what they should really do is grab one of the movies but instead of ending where the movie ends, just keep on going. Have the series surprisingly become an ongoing where the adventures continue. Now that would be extra interesting and there are a lot of ways that this story could have kept on going naturally. They certainly won’t run out of threats to the Kingdom and having Rapunzel return could make a lot of thieves think about an easy pay day once her powers return. (Because you know that they would!) It could easily be a fun action adventure story.

Overall, Tangled is a very safe manga I would say and that plays to its strengths. It’s very low key and you won’t think about it all that much but at the same time it’s still easily able to achieve a high score because there’s nothing bad about it. It’s just a fun adventure that you read through in no time and have no regrets over. The core story is a solid premise that always works well with good writing. I would recommend reading this manga if you haven’t seen the movie. If you’ve seen the movie then I don’t think there is a whole lot of point to reading the manga but hey if you want to relive the adventure then this is a good way to get a different spin on it. It’s effectively the same but reading will always feel a bit different than watching something.

Overall 7/10

Snow White with the Red Hair

Posted on July 24, 2022 by dreager1

This is a fairly low key story so far about a girl who wants to be a master herbalist. It’s a fairly unique goal so I’m ready to see how it turns out. The series is off to a good start and the prince is solid right now as he could pass off for the main character in more of a Shonen title.. I’ll have a review up for the series as soon as I’ve finished it.

Overall 7/10

D.N.Angel Review

Posted on June 5, 2022 by dreager1

I remember starting this manga well over a decade ago. It may have even been close to 20 years ago at this point so it’s been quite the journey. Well, after a long hiatus it finally came back and actually got an ending so I figured I’d take it back from the top and read all the way through. It’s a fun title but one where the plot is actually the least interesting part. I was just way more engaged with Daisuke’s day to day life and comedic hijinks compared to the actual story which is the only thing holding this one back a bit.

The story starts off by introducing us to Daisuke who lives in a house that’s a bit out of the ordinary. His Mom is always building a ton of traps for him to get through, some of which are quite lethal and he has to get around them to leave for school. This is because he is training in order to be the next in line to house the Phantom Thief Dark as part of the Niwa family tradition. See, Each man in the Niwa family eventually takes on the role and they have to go around stealing a lot of treasures. Typically they focus on stealing artwork from Hiwatori’s family throughout the ages.

Daisuke isn’t thrilled about this but there also isn’t really anything he can do to refuse. Dark just appears in his soul at one point and now it’s time to start the party. Whenever Daisuke’s heart rate speeds up, it triggers his transformation into Dark and then he won’t change back again until Dark’s heart speeds up or if he just chooses to cancel the transformation. This will be difficult for Daisuke since he has a crush on Risa. Will he be able to get close to her without his heart rate going crazy or is he doomed to be forever alone as long as Dark is here? Also, can he keep his double life a secret without any of his friends finding out?

There’s a whole lot of rules to the body swapping part and it keeps on changing as the series goes on so it’s really rough for Daisuke. He doesn’t even care about the whole stealing art thing and just wants to be a normal kid but his mom is super enthusiastic about it. She’s always encouraging Daisuke to steal the artwork and will even put up signs and notices for him to alert the authorities. This all must be done by the book after all and Dark puts in a notice so the cops have a fair chance to try and stop him. Daisuke’s dad doesn’t care as much and in fact he never got possessed by Dark back in the day but he does his best to help out. He makes up for his lack of physical abilities by being great at finding research and ancient scrolls to help the heroes out.

The end game for Daisuke is that Dark should eventually fade away and in the past that has happened if both Dark and his human host fall for the same girl. The issue this time is that they’ve fallen for different people this time as Daisuke likes Risa and Dark likes Riku. Both of them are twins and this complicates things because then Dark may never leave which would make things really difficult for Daisuke. Another wrinkle is that Risa likes Dark while Riku likes Daisuke. As this is a romance manga first and foremost, expect those pairings to change quite a bit as the adventure goes on.

Now you may be wondering, why would the rom-com moments beat the actual plot? Well, the story tends to be very repetitive when it happens. For example, one arc may have Daisuke fall into a painting where he is now in a what if universe where there’s another kid who likes Riku. Another time he’ll fall into a painting where he has to confront his confidence issues. Each arc tends to feel like a bit of a retread of the last one and the arcs can be a bit long. So it can just feel like nothing is really happening the whole time and you want to get back to the real world to move the story along. Typically you do get a lot of lore and sometimes you will get a new supporting character but that’s about it.

The arcs aren’t bad or anything but the just aren’t as interesting. It feels like the real world is where things are going on. As for the characters, I’d say we’ve got a reasonably solid cast here. As the main character, Daisuke definitely has to be strong enough to hold the story and I’d say that he pulls this off from an interest standpoint but he’s not really my kind of character. The guy isn’t very confident and gets pushed around throughout the whole series. He tends to be a little too forgiving even when someone is trying to murder him.

He can also be a little flip floppy. As mentioned earlier, he likes Risa at first but gradually changes to Riku. This is exactly what I would call a rebound romance since it was clear that Risa was not interested in him. The same is true of Dark who ends up switching sides so only Risa and Riku followed the person that they actually liked from start to finish. Daisuke is a nice guy and he will ultimately make the right calls in the end but I just wish he had more confidence. Even by the end of the series you can say that he still isn’t very confident yet so he hasn’t gotten the full amount of character development that Yugi got.

As for Dark, well I like his confidence but he is definitely more of a flirt. He’s fallen for many different girls and so as a result it’s hard to ever take his romances seriously. Does he really love Risa or is he just going to move on again? That’s how I always feel for characters like this. At least in a fight you can certainly count on him though. This series doesn’t have too many action scenes but Dark is consistently shown to be one of the more powerful fighters in the verse. He can definitely hold his own and then some.

Then there’s Risa who is my favorite member of the twins. Risa ultimately steps up when the going gets tough and she is also quicker to realize when something isn’t right. While Riku is still fumbling around and unsure of what’s going on, Risa is always 5 steps ahead and still making plans of her own. She doesn’t get discouraged as easily as Riku does and still looks out for her sister all the time. Risa plays a big role in at least one of the dream adventures and she comes across as being more understanding. She certainly takes more risks as well which isn’t always a good thing but it all tends to work out for her.

She just does all of the right things each time. Riku’s fun enough too though. She does her best to uncover the situation behind Daisuke always running off. She does suspect that he might be Dark but the whole concept of that is just so out there that she has a hard time convincing herself of that. In fairness to her it can be hard to believe but she needs to trust her eyes more like Risa. Risa ultimately just took a look at the facts and it added up so then she connected the dots. Riku takes a bit longer to get to her destination. Risa and Riku definitely end up working well as the two heroines though.

That said, while I have my issues with Daisuke and Dark, they do have a fun dynamic as well. Naturally they are complete contrasts to each other and Dark will occasionally try to be helpful. Sometimes he’s clearly just there to get in the way and make Daisuke feel bad but other times he’ll do his best to help the kid out. It just ends up being frustrating for both of them since only one person can use the body at once. That makes going out difficult on both of them, especially since the other is always watching so it can be a bit awkward.

Then you have Hiwatori who is a big detective and the latest in the lineage of the family that Dark robs from. Naturally that means that he is a very big character here and with Daisuke not always being very clever about hiding his secret, Hiwatori is always right on his tail. Hiwatori does have some honor so he won’t just attack Daisuke at school or anything like that. If not for that self imposed rule then Daisuke would have been really doomed.

I’m not really a fan of Hiwatori though. For starters the manga tries to build up a bit of a romance with him and Risa but it starts off way too late for it to work at all. He needs to stay in his lane there especially since he’s trying to destroy Dark and he knows how she feels about him. Hiwatori is the kind of guy who tends to follow orders most of the time and doesn’t question them. He is dealing with a lot as his alter ego Krad isn’t as nice as Dark. So you do feel bad for him and things rarely go his way. That said, he just doesn’t make the right choices most of the time and is certainly not someone that Daisuke can rely on. I don’t blame the mom for being really concerned whenever Hiwatori is around. I’d say he has earned that distrust from how he acts in the manga.

I never really ended up becoming a fan of that guy. His alter ego Krad doesn’t appear as often as you’d think. At first you would expect him to appear almost as much as Dark but that’s actually not the case. Krad makes the most of his brief amounts of screen time and is one of the only people who can actually fight Dark in close quarters combat but I still didn’t care for him much. His goal isn’t great at all and he just feels desperate since he knows that he can’t actually beat Dark in a fair fight. It’s impressive of Hiwatori to hold him back all the time but it’s also a bit of an anti feat for Krad.

After that we get into the art characters. So you’ve got Towa who I completely forgot from back in the day and she’s a nice enough supporting character. She knows a bit about the supernatural stuff going on in the series and can usually provide insight to the characters not trapped in the mirrors. Ultimately her function is more as a guide/informant than as a fighter but she adds to the dynamic reasonably well. The cast was really small without her there so she helps to round things out a bit.

Then we have Argentine who is the first big villain. The guy starts off rather whiny though and so he never got to be all that good. He just wants to be loved and all of that which is pretty deep for a painting, but in the end it’s never going to be one of the best character motivations for me. He tries to be helpful later on but I can’t really think of any really big moments where he contributed. He’s around a lot but just doesn’t do much of anything so that doesn’t help his case either.

Then you have Manisumea who ends up being one of the biggest threats in the series. I’ll give him props for having a painting arc with more personality than the others. Seeing Daisuke have to fight with a new kid for his romantic dreams and Risa actually getting her own plot was nice. None of that really helps Manisumea though who comes across as rather desperate. It seems like the only way for him to get his own identity in the real world is to replace Daisuke which is definitely a rough deal but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. He’s less memorable than Argentine but I suppose he’s a better villain.

Outside of the paintings you’ve also got Saehara who is Daisuke’s best friend. The guy serves his role as the comic relief character but doesn’t actually do much beyond that. He’s a big Dark fan and also wants to catch him someday so the guy has spirit but you almost forget that he exists half the time. He just doesn’t tend to leave a big impression and I don’t think the series gives him a ton of screen time either way.

The final main character in the present is Hiwatori’s dad- Elmroot. So that guy is an interesting figure because the whole time you’re waiting for him to make some kind of grand move. You know it’s going to be really epic and then you see that the series is almost over and he hasn’t done anything yet. He’s a little more on the ruthless side compared to Hiwatori but ultimately he does have a pretty good backstory. By the end I thought he was an interesting character. Definitely an underused one without a doubt, but I was glad that he was around. It would have been nice if he could have met Daisuke’s Dad at some point though. I think that could have been a lot of fun with how different they are. Daisuke’s dad always had a lot of good moments even though they were low key. You’ve also got Wiz who does his best to help Daisuke out. He’s like a little winged rabbit who initially can’t talk or anything but can gradually talk a bit. This is perfect for helping Daisuke’s cover when he has to be in two places at once. He’s also Daisuke’s wings most of the time so yeah this little creature is absolutely a crucial member of the team and should not be overlooked!

Finally we get to the 3 flashback characters. Near the end of the series there was a quick mini arc about one of Daisuke’s predecessors and I thought it was handled pretty well. In fact you could probably say that it was the best arc out of the big story ones. So Taize was considered a rebel in the family and he refused to steal anything. He got along with Dark well enough but the issue was that Taize was also a big flirt and so he didn’t actually feel a special way about anyone. As a result Dark couldn’t come out. Well, one day Taize runs into a girl named Fukami who works for Yuu and that’s when his heart speeds up for the first time.

It’s a very dramatic story for sure with a lot of drama but the big 3 had a better dynamic than the main 3 in the present timeline. I think what helps a lot is how confident Taize is. He’s certainly not about to get pushed around here and he also has a lot of skills even without Dark stepping in. Taize ultimately worked on his own terms and left in much the same way. He was just a very interesting character through and through.

Fukami made for a good heroine as well. She was insecure about her voice and so initially she would only speak to Yuu. She only made an exception when Taize stole Yuu’s painting so that she could get it back. She succeeded in getting it back but Yuu was super petty and upset that she talked to someone else. Throughout it all Fukami always took the high ground and would even talk using paper after that so as not to upset Yuu. She was a very considerate person and I’m glad that things went well for her. A tragic ending would not have felt right there.

Finally there was Yuu and I didn’t care for him. You can see how the whole thing is tragic for him since he clearly liked Fukami a lot but basically lost her in an instant. I just lost my respect for him when he was upset at her about the whole thing. He only has himself to blame for not making a move and he needs to keep that in mind. From there it continued the eternal rivalry between the two families on an even more intense level. It was a nice way to see further into the rivalry and the arc was just really good.

Now after all of that you may be thinking, this review seems pretty negative eh? Can it actually achieve the positive score in the end? Wel, I’d say that this one is able to do it. It’s true that I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters or the story but I was always engaged with seeing what would happen next. The series is a good page turner and that’s because the dynamics are solid.

Dark and Daisuke always have a lot of fun conversations. Riku and Risa also have a nice bond going and the series is definitely at its best when it is focusing on the comedy. It has a lot of charm to it and the adventures are nice. In a way the stealing things element is just the backdrop for these school adventures. If you cut out the actual arcs of falling into a painting each time then the series would excel even more. Perhaps it would run the risk of being too low key but I think it could pull this off.

As for the artwork, it definitely changes a lot as you go through the series. It makes sense when you consider how long this series had to wait until the final arcs. There is something nice and retro about the original art but either way I would say it looks solid throughout the series. You can definitely follow along with no trouble at all. The character designs are all unique and at most you can just have trouble when Daisuke is turning into Dark sometimes. You aren’t always sure if he’s in the hybrid form, the faux form, or if he actually is Dark now. In fairness to the art though, sometimes the mystery is intentional by the manga since you aren’t supposed to know how it is. The transformation rules can be a little complicated as I said earlier.

Unfortunately I was not a big fan of the ending at all. I thought they kind of fumbled the ball there a bit. It reminds me of the ending for a series with a dynamic very similar to this one and it made the same mistake. When you’ve been together for so long and become best friends, you want both characters to be able to have a satisfying end. When that doesn’t happen then it just feels like a really big shame. Especially because the journey was so long. There is still more to like than to dislike here of course but a nice ending would have been a good cherry on top for the experience.

As for the romance, I touched on it a bit earlier but I wouldn’t call it particularly strong. Mainly because both characters are on their second choices in a sense. Not saying you can’t change your mind or anything but it’s always a bit of a trickier sell as opposed to going for the main pick. That’s when you can really get behind the romance and it all works out nicely. There’s no room for doubts or anything like that.

Overall, D.N.Angel is a good series. I’d say the best way to describe it is as a very peaceful manga. You can easily blitz through 20 chapters or more at a time because you are always eager to see what will be happening next. The story knows how to keep you at the edge of your seat even without any action as you wonder how Daisuke will get out of revealing his secret identity this time. The series just tends to stall a lot whenever it enters a story arc. While that may seem like it should be reversed, it is the slice of life moments that feel a lot more important. I think a better cast could have helped it turn around to the next level but if you’re looking for a solid romance type manga then this is still a good one to check out. The phantom thief element shakes things up a bit and there’s nothing really crazy here. This is the kind of title you could recommend to someone who hasn’t read much manga before and they’ll be able to follow along real easy.

Overall 6/10

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