Manga Match 91 Various Manga I've Completed

Here's a compilation of manga that I've read that haven't left enough of an impact on me for them to receive separate posts about them. This could be entirely because I've forgotten to do a post for them right after completion (this is actually the case but I'm trying to justify my actions) or because they didn't inspire me to write a post about them up until now. 

First we're going to start off with one that's actually a completed version of this newer subgenre of isekai where it's usually a girl that dies and is reborn into an otome game or a fantasy world where magic is real. Yeah, from my brief description it doesn't seem all that interesting, but I've really enjoyed discovering new isekai from a female's perspective. The only downside is that I think that this subgenre has only caught on recently, and thus there aren't many that are completed. This is one of the few that are. It's called Eh? Heibon Desu yo?? which is an interesting title in and of itself with the punctuation and colloquial nature of it.

It follows the rebirth of this ordinary schoolgirl from Japan that dies in a tragic accident and by "transmigration" ends up reborn as a baby in this fantasy land as the daughter of a count. Her father looks after the surrounding land and she uses knowledge from her past life in order to improve life in this new world. That's basically it. She teaches them things like how to increase crop productivity and about prenatal care, as well as alternative cooking techniques. It's a pretty mundane (in a good way) isekai about this little girl trying to do her best for everyone in the surrounding area. There is this one part that focuses on how OP her powers are, but overall it's just a very cute and calm story.

I'd say that if you're looking to be introduced into this new subgenre or you're like me and you're head over heels for this type of isekai and are looking for a completed one that this is a good read. It's 18 chapters so it's relatively short and it's lowkey realistic too with some pretty cute worldbuilding aspects as well.

This second manga is called Kaichou-kun no Shimobe and it features a closet otaku girl that lives a humble life, Hirayama, and a two-faced popular school president that's secretly the next head of the yakuza, Kujou. The story itself reminds me a little bit of Wolf Girl Black Prince, but with less romance and more conflict between the two main characters. This one is definitely more of a comedy with Kujou being almost a completely delusional idiot. Despite his outward appearance of someone put together and cool, Kujou is actually directionally challenged, not good at fighting, unable to swim, and is full of himself among other questionable character attributes. Hirayama on the other hand is a hard-working girl that just wants to draw her fan manga for Comiket and such, but doesn't want to be exposed at school for being an otaku so she's basically enslaved by Kujou. The story loosely follows Kujou's journey to become less of a self-entitled brat, as well as a spicy little subplot in there about how Hirayama and Kujou first met as children and led Kujou to believe that she was his fated fiancee through a tragic misunderstanding on his part.

I'd recommend it if you're looking for something that's definitely more of a comedy and if you get a kick out of kinda dumb characters like Kujou. I think that you'll find the yakuza portion of the story surprising as well. There's not a heavy plotline to follow or anything, but it's an interesting read.

The third manga was quite surprising. I think I found out about it through a collection of manga focusing on the theme of aliens. It reminds me kind of that series by Stephanie Meyer's The Host (yes I know the author of Twilight whatever) with the whole aliens taking over the bodies of humans thing. It focused on this girl named Chiyo and this popular guy she has a crush on named Tsubaki. The relationship between the two is just one sided love on Chiyo's part with Tsubaki treating her like the mortal enemy. This seems like the normal set up for a shoujo, but there's a twist when, due to various circumstances, an alien comes to inhabit Tsubaki's body. The alien goes by the name of Shin-sama and when Shin-sama is in control of the body Tsubaki doesn't remember any of what occurs during that time. Chiyo is conflicted because Shin-sama looks like Tsubaki and is actually nice to her which is kind of a dream come true. The only catch is that Tsubaki dies a little more the longer Shin-sama inhabits the body. And so, eventually the romance between Shin-sama and Chiyo is cut short as Shin-sama's friend's UFO comes to take him(?) away. And Tsubaki has changed too and become less of a jerk and more of a sweet and sensitive dude. So then Chiyo and Tsubaki end up going out...which I don't really know how I feel about this whole thing. And Shin-sama comes back to Earth and possesses a dog, only to see Chiyo end up with Tsubaki, the guy she's liked all along. And I really felt for Shin-sama because he loved Chiyo, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

It really was a wack manga. There were so many times I thought to myself "wtf am I reading?" in a good way. The feeling I got from the story itself was also super intriguing. The art style was a little strange for my tastes, but I think that's just the style from that time. I'd really recommend it. It's a short 7 chapter read for something that's very unique.

Manga Match 90 Classi9

You know, when I picked this manga up I didn't expect to love it so much. I hadn't even realized that I liked it until I got to the end and the scanlator said something along the lines of "even though the ending was rushed because the manga got discontinued, it was still good" which is a sentiment I share. There were a ton of screenshot-worthy and picturesque moments to capture that are both aesthetically pleasing and emotion evoking. Is emotion evoking even a proper phrase?

{Spoilers, but it's pretty light-hearted slice of life}

This story takes place in Vienna with a bunch of famous musicians you've probably heard of all enrolled in the same school. It fallows Taki Ren's experience through the school with familiar arcs such as the music festival and internal competition which could be likened to a school festival and sports competition of sorts. The only thing is, this school is an all-boys academy, so for Ren to enroll, she has to hide her identity and pretend to be a man.

She encounters many famous musicians who are with her in the trouble-making class S- which include Wagner, Back, Hadyn, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. Those names should be pretty familiar to you. Each of these famous musicians (and a few bonus characters) are portrayed in the manga in a way vaguely similar to their real life historical counterparts, but with a few artistic liberties taken to make them more personable and engaging in the story. Overall, all of these musicians will wiggle their way into your heart and make you feel like you know each of them by the end. Personally, when the cast of characters is this large, I tend to lose track of who is who and end up frustrated because it seems like a fruitless exercise to get to know everyone. Perhaps because all of their names are familiar or perhaps because each of their personalities and dynamics were so unique, I didn't have quite the same trouble trying to remember everyone's names!

Because this is a slice of life kind of manga, there's no definitive plot per say. It's more about the camaraderie that develops between Class S- and some of the funny antics they get up to because of their eccentric personalities. The class as a whole starts to get closer with the introduction of Ren who catalyzes their relationships into a more intimate one of familial ties which is pretty cute to watch unfold.

Overall, I definitely didn't do a good time persuading anyone to read this. But you should read it regardless of my execution because the story is so good. Usually with manga that have a similar premise, they lose themselves when the plot starts to revolve only around romance. In this case, the romance takes the back seat as each of the musicians works to build the others up and enjoy their time at the school. 10/10 would recommend. I'm not sure why the manga was cut short, but it was wrapped up nicely with a bow of an ending with all of the feels that I'm certain you will enjoy.

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. This is Chopin, the poet of piano, playing for Liszt and Ren and it looks like they've been transported to an underwater wonderland. Just looking at this image gives me goosebumps.

The internal competition is something that I think, if the manga were to go on, would definitely be a "redemption round" kind of arc if they were to continue on for another year. I mean just look at all these cinnamon rolls helping out their friend.

This whole section of trading partners was amazing. I haven't seen anything quite like this in terms of utilizing both sides of a page in order to create this kind of intimate moment. It weirdly enough reminded me of a father-daughter dance at weddings? 

Putting together these screenshots of the manga, I realized that it's been a long time since I've done screenshots. But I hadn't really felt compelled to, even for this manga, until I saw that scene with Chopin playing the piano. I even read past that part and meant to continue my streak of not including pictures, but I just had to go back and capture this. Please please read this! It's so good and so worth it. 

Manga Match 89 Hana to Shinobi

We've already long established my affinity to stories where the main couple is a pair of childhood friends. This manga is no exception. It wormed its way into my heart just because of this. Aiya, it wasn't that great, but just because they were childhood friends I enjoyed it.

{Spoilers, except it's shoujo so you know what end game is}

This story revolves around a rich ojou-sama Benio and her uber-traditional family. There's a tradition in her family that whoever steals her first kiss will be the one to marry her and inherit her family's fortune. For this reason and all the threats upon her life, Benio has spent the first 15 years of her life having never stepped foot outside. Her most treasured memory is of her making a promise with her childhood friend to live together forever. However, she can't remember what happened to her childhood friend after that because of traumatic experiences in her life. She sent lots of letters to him, but there was never any response besides marigolds in her mailbox.

Benio's grown up and wants to go to high school and have an ordinary "youthful high school" experience. Her uncle's condition is to have Tamaki be her personal ninja and protect her lips. Thus is born the iconic duo of a day-dreaming rich heiress and a playboy ninja. They go through many trials together with various people taking advantage of Benio's naivety to take a stab at her fortune. Every time, Tamaki is there to protect her and Benio slowly falls in love with this unexpected love interest.

Hehe, later it's revealed that Tamaki is Benio's lost playmate who left her to train to be a ninja worthy to serve her. This led to the two's mutual love to be brought to light, however it's taboo in this world for master and ninja to be together. Some wild as heck stuff happens, but the two live happily ever after. And for this I'm very much so glad. Just seeing childhood friends get together and live and love freely is some really wholesome content I signed up for. Would recommend.

I'm losing steam since this is the third review I'm writing in a row, so for now goodbye!

Manga Match 88 Ichigo Channel

My mom just relearned about my manga/anime blog and she's lowkey judging me for reading and watching so many things that have zero plot. And can I blame her? Not really because I'm judging myself too.

Alright, here's the deal. I've been reading Buddy Go! for a while now and it isn't anywhere near finishing (I think). So when I came across this manga that has a little bit of the same premise with the whole gender-bender and idol theme going on, I thought this would quench a little bit of my impatience with the other manga. Not to say that I can't be patient and wait, it's just I really want to know what's gonna go down in that one. 

{Spoilers, but it's shoujo so you kinda already know}

Ichigo Channel follows this girl named Ichiko and her brother Ken into the world of idols. Ken has always dreamed of being a star and when given the chance to actualize his dreams, he jumps on it. There's a catch though. In order to debut as an idol, he has to debut with Ichiko and this other already-famous guy Kanzaki in an all-boy group. Thus, Ichiko is forced for Ken's sake to debut as a boy Ichigou in the all-boy group. Things get a little more difficult, as they tend to do in gender-bender/hidden identity plots, when Kanzaki takes an interest in Ichiko's alternate self Ichigo. Now Ichiko is caught in a web of lies that gets more and more complex as she can't reveal that she was a girl during their idol contract. Don't even get me started on when she starts to fall in love with Kanzaki and the idol contract ends. It was an absolute mess, but a great mess if you're into pretty messy dramas. *pours tea*

As far as shoujo manga goes, I've definitely seen better ones in terms of how natural and believable a relationship is. Let's start off with the more ridiculous one, shall we? The random one-sided love that Tendo had for Ichiko. Like, when did that even start? I have no recollection of sparks flying actually ever. Was it when she took refuge in his apartment after her mother acted unfairly? Was it their first meeting? I felt like that romance was unnecessary and took away from the plot. Sure, maybe if I were a 13 year old girl that might fly and might quench my thirst for a love triangle. But looking at it now, it's just a little bizarre for this 10 year age gap between them and some chance encounter that led to Tendo's heart afluttering. Maybe this is a model of real life and how messy and random it can be, but honestly it felt unnecessary. Next on the list is Kanzaki and Ichiko's relationship. I would say as far as relationships go, on Kanzaki's side it's a little superficial. He bumps into her during a shoot and likes how mysterious she is and she's pretty cute. That's all it takes for him to fall in love. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh because it could have been love at first sight, it just seems a little rushed again. On the other hand is Ichiko and her falling in love with Kanzaki because he's such a hard worker and really kind even when she's Ichigou and seemingly holds back the boy group from becoming wildly successful. This side makes more sense. And I understand that there has to be a "chase" in order to make it more popular and dramatic and create a sense of doki-doki for young girls out there. However, it just felt a little bit over the top for me and kind of unnecessary with how much back and forth there was between the two of them with "I'm sorry I can't be with you" but "I can't stop loving you" and an endless stream of this at that.

All of this is to say that although I read lots and lots of shoujo, maybe I'm growing out of it. I'm definitely not the target demographic in terms of age, although I am in terms of realistic love experience. So if my review comes off as a bit harsh, just know that it's not out of a place of ill intent, but rather of someone that just refuses to transition fully from shoujo to josei.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Perhaps if you're like me and looking for something along the same premise as Buddy Go!. That would be a good way to quell your desires for that kind of thing. And as far as stories with the same premise, this was pretty well executed, albeit a bit dramatic for my tastes. 

Manga Match 87 Manga Dogs

Welcome to my first post of 2020. Currently it's not yet 2020, haha I'm writing these in advance as I finish up some bits and bobs of manga and anime throughout my summer. As my summer classes have wound down and my internship only sporadically assigns me stuff, I'm able to read a lot more and...uh I guess this means I have time to watch a lot more but I'm in a mental block now when it comes to manga. *wheeze*

{Spoilers, except it's really short and more slice-of-lifey rather than plot-heavy}

So, this story follows a girl who's enrolled in a high school that recently launched a track for people interested in becoming mangakas. Honestly the only reason that Kanna enrolled in the school is to have more time for her recently debuted manga Teach Me Buddha. Yes, I do acknowledge that the title is wack and the little inserts of Kanna's manga that the author puts into the actual manga is even more wack. I'd say it's so incredulous that you might want to read the manga just to see these parody clips of her manga. With the help of her joke of an editor, they've certainly turned into a beast of their own.

Between Kanna's genius plan to go to school and work on her manga and antisocial nature, she's not really looking to get a slice-of-life "we love high school and youth" experience out of high school. She's more so looking towards her future of being a professional mangaka and somehow getting her manga out of the bottom rankings of the magazine. This turns out to be difficult when the three other guys that are in her manga-track class start to bother her, calling her Sensei and asking her for advice on being a professional mangaka...all without any of them having any practical experience in basically anything. Whenever there's a contest for making manga, none of them are ever motivated to finish a four panel comic even. But, I think that's part of the charm of this manga, is that the three of these boys aren't there to become professional mangaka per say, but more so there for the experience of youth and to express their love of manga.

Would I say that there's a ton of plot and much of a reason to know everyone's names? Absolutely not. This is an almost entirely fluffy manga that relies on ikemen and bizarre situations to keep you engaged. You can imagine those anime where the main character is totally uninterested in high school and then gets pulled into the whole experience by being forced to join a club or something like that. This gives off the same feeling with extremely wack characters that keep the manga interesting.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yeah, if the friend were a little down in the dumps and looking for something funny to keep them entertained. Truth be told, I had started this manga before, but dropped it because I just didn't find it engaging enough amidst all of the other manga I was reading. However, I've been going through a mini-kick of manga that are about manga. The inception kind of draws me in and it's funny seeing how mangaka tell the story of their kinda daily lives in terms of the realities of their profession and such. Also, the side panels that are reserved for the mangaka were translated in the scanlation I read and the mangaka is really funny as well. So, it's a good laugh with not a whole lot of plot. But I would still recommend!