Anime Blurb 50 Hiyokoi OVA

So I watched this long, long ago before the war was even conceptualized. I dunno what this means, but it sounds cool right? I had forgotten how blatantly awkward and relatively succinct everything was. Huh...

{Spoilers, but who really cares because you could always watch it in 22 minutes and then come back to read this to relive the kawaii-ness}

So the premise of this story is that there's this really short girl that got hit by a bus (??!) which prevented her from starting school with the others. I really don't understand how you can recover from getting hit by a bus in less that six months but okay??? And since she's really shy it's hard for her to make friends, but since she made friends with the popular kid she made hecka friends in one day. If you didn't get the hint already, this is a highly ideal situation and not likely to happen in real life like ever. And the guy is super tall so if you really like the extreme height difference trope maybe this is something you wanna check out.

Overall this anime OVA is extremely short at less than 23 minutes. There's a manga if you want more of this kind of thing. It's really cute for the doki-dokis. We've got some lil colorful spheres going on floating around and spinning flowers. Really good stuff here. And we've got some nice supportive characters. Honestly if you have 22 minutes then you have no real reason not to watch this OVA. It's short, it's cute, and it's kind of relatable if you're awkward like me. I can't say that you can find the best quality of this, the Youtube video is literally 240 pixels (which is why my screenshots suck, excuse me T^T I have failed), but it's a really good short watch. You don't have to think too much about whether to watch this or not because it just fills you with really fond fuzzies inside.

This is gonna be me my whole first year at college >~< I'm really not looking forward to the social part

This is probably the most iconic scene of Hiyokoi, actually kinda all I remember from watching the first time. The pain! The horror! The trauma!

I can't get over the lil chick on her head. If they sold a barrette of this I'd be down to wear it.

I could've ended it with a picture of Hiyori's blooming love...but I really just enjoy the relatable awkwardness which is her so...ya here you go

Manga Review 19 Faster Than a Kiss

I've been going through some of the shoujo manga on this list I stumbled across on the Internet because completed manga are somewhat harder to find and sift through. I've been picking out the more interesting looking ones and just browsing and to be honest nothing is really that exciting.

So the premise of this manga is a girl named Fumino and her little brother Teppei are orphaned and shuttled from one unhappy house to another until her teacher decides to end her suffering...permanently. Haha I made it sound really ominous right? But it's not really. Instead she demands he marry her and he really did...or did he? And so the entirety of the manga is based around the forbidden relationship between sensei and student and the awkwardness that comes along with the age gap between a more mature person and a person that is still developing. And it revolves quite a bit around the physical aspect of their relationship. One problem I have with manga is the fact that they dance around the forbidden nature of a kiss and sexual intercourse as if they were the same, and while I guess they both count as physical contact they're kind of on different levels, not to forget the fact that they kiss on the cheek and neck seemingly without a problem. That's just a sort of dissonance and skew in logic that I don't necessarily agree with. It certainly gave a lot of tension and suspense with the question of "when with they kiss?!"

Even though this manga is a shoujo/slice of life mashup, it's extremely slow paced. It's actually the same arc over and over again. It goes love triangle, almost being found out, love triangle, almost being found out etc over and over. In terms of length it's pretty medium in duration with its 57 chapters, but they felt so long and drawn out. I personally didn't like the pacing and the fact that it was just the same arcs over and over again. I would've probably liked it more if there weren't so many of the same arc. I understand that repetition is unavoidable. If Fumino just accepted Kazuma's affections right away that would've been extremely unnatural and wouldn't have allowed for a more natural progression of their relationship. It allowed for Fumino's emotions to develop gradually, even though I think most high school girls would react differently in this case.

There were some small inconsistencies as well. For instance, Fumino is portrayed as a bit of a ganster-like figure, although I'd like to say that it was more of a hero for justice. It plays upon the cliche of the girl being strong, but not realizing that it's okay to rely on someone as well. There was definitely the strong emphasis of Fumino having to rely on someone else...but if she's able to punch a guy trying to harass her friend I don't think she'd need sensei's help quite so much.

In terms of relationships in the manga, they were a bit random. Like her uncle's relationship with his martial arts student. Pretty unnecessary, but cute at the same time. I guess that lent his psyche towards being more empathetic in regards to the relationship with a large age difference between sensei and Fumino. Ah, Kurosawa. The guy that showed up and had one of those spontaneous high school crushes on Fumino, promised to show her the benefits of having a boyfriend the same age as her...disappeared for a lot of chapters even though they were at school and could meet all the time...and then came back towards the end without making a move. And he wondered why it ended up like that. Consistency is key as we learned from the number of times sensei saved Fumino and showered her with affection. Something else kind of random and what felt a bit childish was Shouma's crush on Fumino. He already had Meg and it was almost established that they would go out, but in the end it seemed as though Shouma liked Fumino after she showed her good sides while admiring sensei. So I feel like all of these crushes are a bit superficial. They're all like "oh he/she's so nice and brave" without any other real substance. Fluffy.

Overall, if you're looking for something fluffy and doesn't take a lot of brain power you could read this. It's a medium read, perfect to download for a three or four hour flight. It's the same arc over and over again and it's not one you get super emotionally invested in. It's like watching a Disney movie, you know you're going to be satisfied with the ending so there's no real reason to get stressed out while the plot unwinds. I think there's better manga out there, but this is a pretty good relaxing one.

Here's some screenshots for you *throws confetti*

I would say that you could just read this for the little oneshot that's in the middle of the series because it's actually really good. I really enjoyed it.

He lifts. 

I present to you Hell's Ma-kun turned Prince Charming.

This was actually one of the highlights. Teppei was such comic relief, but he made the series so enjoyable.

The dynamic between Kazuma and his dad is pretty common in manga, but it gets me every time

Shot to the heart. Poor Shouma

You really can't help but feel sorry for Shouma

Anime Blurb 49 Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou

So I accidentally rewatched this one. The story behind this one is I think I started watching it three years ago, finished it, and watched something with a similar protagonist or something so I completely forgot that I finished it. I ran across a gif set of the series on Tumblr and thought to myself, "Self, did I ever finish that series?" And I thought to myself, "Self, no I don't believe I did." Which led to me fabulously rewatching the series. Amazing memory. In my defense though slice of life anime don't have a clear plot in the traditional sense some of the time. They're meant more for relaxation and different arcs/experiences rather than an action packed series with ups and downs. I couldn't remember the ending is what I'm trying to say.

As far as rewatching it went, it was rather pleasant. I wouldn't say you should watch this in public though. If you value your reputation as a respectable member of society I wouldn't recommend you watch this in places you could be seen. There's a lot of ecchi in here if I'm being honest. At first I thought that it would get better with time...it doesn't. I think it was because I was so innocent the first time I watched this through (thinking about this maybe this was the third-ish time I rewatched. I think the first time I didn't finish it because I forgot about it lol) that I didn't get all of the innuendos. But now watching it I'm just glad no one came into my room at the wrong time because oh my lord this was truly the stereotypical perverted teenage boy anime. I can't elaborate further so I'll just let you imagine the depths to which this anime went.

Besides that though this anime has a lot of entertainment value. Just on the surface the OP and the ED are both very cheerful and the ED is mildly vocaloid esque. I couldn't tell you which song because I never went through the vocaloid phase myself, but it reminded me of some of the songs my friend made me watch while going through said vocaloid stage. And visually it makes me really happy. The art style is so shoujo. We've got all the lens flares, all the rosy tones, and all the shoujo sparkles to make anyone's pastel aesthetic pleased. And their eyes too. It's just a very pretty anime. My friend would go so far as to say it was very kira kira. *sigh* I know, my friends are all lowkey weaboos. But the pastel aesthetic and all the sparkles are really very pretty. Just the last couple seconds of the OP are great in and of themselves. Standalone art pieces.

Beyond the surface of the anime are the interesting inhabitants of the Kawai Complex. We've got a guy that looks super suspicious but is really a huge M (Shiro aka comic relief), a country girl that underwent a complete transformation and now plays with the hearts of any and all males (Sayaka aka comic relief), the owner who facilitates this all and purposefully made the boarding house the zoo it is (Sumiko aka comic relief), a girl who can't get herself a man for long because her tastes are terrible (Mayumi aka comic relief), a girl who likes to be left alone to read (Ritsu aka main love interest), and a guy who wanted to turn over a new leaf in high school but ends up with weirdos all around him again (Usa aka comic relief while being the protagonist). As you can see there's a whole lot of comic relief, mostly because the genre itself calls for it to be. Slice of life is meant for relaxation and when you watch this you can feel very relaxed because nothing really dramatic goes on. All of the characters deal with their individual situations and congregate in the house to hang out. Something that makes it nicer than other slice of life is the varying ages of the inhabitants of the Kawai Complex. You aren't only seeing high school romance. You see the off time of office workers and of people with unconventional jobs and how their lives differ from said high school arcs. This gives some more variety as to the kind of happenings. A lot of scenes are based around the common area where everyone can get together, with the most common location being the dining area. Everyone comes together to eat, celebrate and catch up with one another. It's extra special when one of them gets to eat their favorite food. I read this one section in some packet for AP Lit talking about how eating a meal isn't just eating a meal with other people. It also reveals the dynamic between everyone. And I think in this case that's very true. There's a lot that can be revealed with how the characters interact with one another, like how Shiro interjects himself into conversations, how Sayaka and Mayumi have their cat-and-dog fights and how Ricchan, as everyone close to her refers to her, sits quietly and reads or snickers as an onlooker at everyone else's antics. I think these scenes make the series more quaint and give it warmth it wouldn't otherwise have.

Overall this is a really great anime in terms of visuals, music, mood, and aesthetics as long as you can overlook the ecchi aspect of it. If you can do that get ready to enjoy a beautiful piece that has a variety of arcs and leaves you with a homey, familial feeling.

See what I mean by aesthetic?

This was so funny just because it was so completely and utterly ridiculous. No gust of wind could only knock her book out of her hand of course, but beyond that her whole explanation and her facial expression while she was delivering her lie were priceless.

This wasn't supposed to be a sad scene, but it was definitely for me. Chinatsu became friends with Shiro because he reminded her of her weaknesses and while he was happy that she made up with her friends, he was still sad that he was alone again. Also the Rue Goldberg machine they made together was such a beautiful testament to their friendship.

Suss! I don't know why I found this so funny, but I did so here you go. Super suss!

Knight in shining armor revamped

Episode 8 was my favorite because of happideath and embaricide. It was overall adorable and gave me the doki-dokis.

The facial expressions in this show are priceless. Ah, I dont have pictures of chibi's, but chibi Ricchan's expressions are the best.

I thought it was fitting to end with a picture of the ED because they're all such cute friends.

Manga Ramble 18 Chocolate Cosmos

Whenever my parents come into my room while I blog I feel really awkward. Because even though I'm going to college in the fall and I have a job and I'm by no means the proverbial child living in their parents' basement, I still feel like it when I blog. Heh.

One thing I noticed when it comes to older manga is that they're more predictable and cliche. Well, in some senses. If I had to define this manga in a single phrase I'd say that it's Daytime Shooting Star but with a happy ending if you know what I mean. While I'm definitely not saying anything against Daytime Shooting Star because I frickin loved that manga, the ending surely shook me to the core. In this manga the protagonist Sayuki has a lot of romantic idealizations that don't come true because she has a strict appearance. However when she's on the beach she has a chance encounter with a handsome stranger who awkwardly enough...goes to her school...and is her teacher. How she didn't recognize that dude as her teacher I have no idea, but hey he's cute. But everyone else seems to think he's cute as well which makes it hard for her to get close to him. Even though she makes every effort to get close to him, it seems like he will never reciprocate her feelings. Except he does. Because this is entirely unrealistic because the only thing that sets her apart from the other girls is that encounter on the beach. But I suppose all shoujo manga romances have to be based upon something similar anyways. To feed the fantasies of all the teenage girls. And so they get together and live happily ever after. That's the easy summary anyways.

Of course there's some maybe love triangles and some hints at other relationships. For example it seems like Sayuki's senpai or her senpai's older sister might've been Katsuya's past lover or perhaps even current love interest. This suspicion only lasts a chapter to be frank. A more subtle but more constant love conflict is the maybe love between Yuushi and Sayuki with the whole childhood trope and all. But that's addressed with Sayuki laying her old feelings for Yuushi to rest and Yuushi being the great guy he is and saying that he's okay with her dating another guy. It would've been a cute relationship. But it also would've been like Daytime Shooting Star and leave me scarred forever. They had me there for a second, they really did.

To address why I thought this was like Daytime Shooting Star but with a better ending it has to do with the premise and how it was resolved. While there was the whole drama with other people being involved in the romance, it boiled down to the teacher and the student. And while there was the whole drama with what if they were found out that was quickly resolved with Yuushi's sacrifice. So it was a more simplified version of the plot. Not to mention that the teacher and student actually ended up together. I'm still amazed at that. I thought the whole reason they avoid the route of the teacher and student actually ending up together is legal reasons. But huh go figure! (Just kidding, it's just speculation since I've read other manga where the teacher and student end up together, it's just a more rare outcome is all)

Overall it's a pretty short read. It's only 16 chapters long. The plot is easy to follow and the character mentality is easy to relate to. It's simplistic and ends happily. Not too shabby at all. I recommend reading this if you're in the mood for something lighter and happy.

This was just a little extra, but it was so funny and innocent I had to add it in.

Yuushi shenanigans

Yuushi x Hagiwara sensei

"Yuushi is very pure" :') smol

"I was shy in middle school" Man I love Yuushi

Lookit this happily ever after

Breaking the fourth wall and it's glorious. It feels like when you stick until the end of the movie and there's a little silly outtake. Those are some of my favorites.

Manga Ramble 17 16 Life

The tricky thing about manga reviews is that unless they're really old or they're really short they're not complete yet. And it's hard to fairly and properly review something that hasn't been completed. So I've been reading some older mangas just to keep an unequal balance in my review ratio (let's forget about the ratio of baking posts please).

So this is a fairly short manga with only 11 chapters and another filler sort of episode. It revolves around this girl who is fairly average with no real aspirations. Her friends say she should go into music, but while her family is musically inclined, she herself feels like she's not worthy of pursuing the same career. When she goes to sing karaoke by herself she's scouted and under some unfortunate circumstances turned into a singer. Because of the short duration of this manga, the plot is very rushed. The rationale the author tries to whip up behind the whirlwind romance between the protagonist and the main love interest is quite rushed, but might actually happen in show business. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? But anyways the way it plays out it seems like Takase only kisses Saya at all to convince her to stay on as a singer against her wish to stop singing for fear she isn't good enough. It seems his actions if interpreted in a certain way all point to him selfishly doing this for his own gain rather than for true feelings for Saya. With the cliche point of falling in love just because someone passionately kissing you *cough* Saya *cough* and the other cliche of falling instantly in love because of seeing Saya work hard, you've got yourself an extremely cliche manga. Though it's full of cliches and an extremely straightforward plot, it's not to say that this wasn't a little bit uplifting all the same. Saya does become a successful performer (thank god there was no arc about her sister becoming jealous and sabotaging her) and she and Takase end up living happily ever after. There was a slight hiccup with some other random Erina girl trying to monopolize Takase, but that's pretty easily wrapped up. Same with the problem of Saya resembling Takase's ex. There's not a whole lot of drawn out conflict at all.

Overall if you're into a shorter read and you want something that's not very stressful this is a good one for you. It's heartwarming, it's earnest, and it's just got this kind of innocence about it. That's probably due to the fact that she's 16 and naive, but it's just cute. And the ending is very satisfying if you love happily ever afters.

I just thought this was funny because he's like "Let's go eat bear paw" and she's like "wtf nah man I'll take a hamburger"

Ah, I forgot to mention the meaningless love triangle (if you could even call it that) with Takase, Saya, and this blonde boy. It doesn't really do much and it's kinda pointless, but eh it's there.