Category: No Good Cupid

No Good Cupid

Kyousuke Motomi’s debut manga! it was put at the end of Dengeki Daisy, so I thought I’d go ahead and review it, too, since I had it!
Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!
Review time!
3.5 stars
Plot: 1 star.  I’m going to say that the plot of this manga is for Matsuda to hit the target.  She’s new to Kyudo, and she’s never come close to hitting the target before.  Through the oneshot, she does eventually manage it.  Now, her reason for joining Kyudo club is to spend time with her crush; it has nothing to do with Kyudo otherwise.  Still, his goal for her is that she hit the target, and his training does eventually lead to that goal.  And by continuing to train and eventually hit the target, Matsuda does decide to stay in the Kyudo club, so she does end up spending more time around her crush.  Definitely one star for plot.
Art: 1/2 star.  Honestly, the art is not my favorite…  Then again, this is a debut work, and I just finished Dengeki Daisy, so my brain’s trying to make comparisons. … and there’s really not comparison.  The art in this is not at the same level as Dengeki Daisy.  For that alone, I want to be tough on it, but it came out about eight years before Dengeki Daisy.  Kyousuke Motomi’s style has improved tremendously.  If I’m being fair, I can understand what each scene is showing me.  Everyone is very expressive, and I have no trouble following who’s talking.  The art isn’t bad, but there’s definitely room to grow (which Kyousuke Motomi certainly does by Dengeki Daisy). … But I’m still not a fan of the art >.<; I’m sorry, but I’m going to give this half a star.
Story Progression: 1 star.  This is a oneshot.  There’s really not enough time to get bored, and I learned some things about Kyudo that I hadn’t known before reading this manga.  It’s a short and simple story, but I think that it flows well overall.  Some of the transitions are jarring, and I’m not very sure about the timing for a lot of things.  Time of day is not well portrayed in this story…  I have trouble telling when practice ends and begins, and I’m not sure how many days actually pass in this story.  But the story itself is well told even if the art does not always keep up with the flow of time.
Genre: 1/2 star.  Somehow, this manga doesn’t have a genre given to it (in the limited research I did for it).  It’s such an unknown, short, debut comic that most sites didn’t recognize it.  The few references I found only cited that it was Kyousuke Motomi’s debut comic and that it’s featured at the end of the Dengeki Daisy series… which I already knew.  I would give this a romance or school life genre.  Clearly, it has a genre, but since the internet has failed to assign one, I can only give it half a star.
**EDIT** (4/3/20) Sports is also a valid genre.  I would classify this as a romance/sport genre.
Enjoyment: 1/2 star.  This manga’s alright.  It is a debut manga; it feels and looks like a debut manga.  The art’s alright, and the plot’s simple; not the mention the flat and over-exaggerated characters.  Unfortunately, this manga was placed at the end of Dengeki Daisy which was fantastic to read with deep characters, incredible plot lines, and beautiful art.  By comparison, No Good Cupid just falls short in every category.  It’s not that it’s bad, but after a masterpiece, any other story even remotely related would have to be on its same level or else it’ll get worse reviews.  No Good Cupid definitely gets worse reviews from me.  Sorry, Kyousuke Motomi >.<;; she wrote that she hoped readers would see similar themes in both works, but I really can’t see it -other than female lead with mildly/excessively abusive male love interest set loosely at a high school. But protagonists have very different values and personalities; love interests have very different motivations and personalities, and other than what I state above, I have trouble seeing how they’re the same.  Their similarities could be applied to thousands of series (again, sorry, Kyousuke Motomi; I really love your work!  Honestly, I’ve loved to watch your journey as a mangaka through these works.  You’ve grown so much, and it shows so well!)  But being honest, as a stand alone work, I did not exceptionally enjoy this manga.  It wasn’t bad, but I can only give it half a star.
And that’s it!  To read my full review, then please click here.

No Good Cupid, part 0

Kyousuke Motomi’s debut manga! it was put at the end of Dengeki Daisy, so I thought I’d go ahead and review it, too, since I had it!
I am going to be doing shorthand as I read.  These descriptions are really more of a reminder to myself about what all I have been able to read so far.  Sorry if this bothers anyone!  I will do a full description on the final review page of each series I read.
Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!
it’s set in a Kyudo club (the traditional archery club) and follows Matsuda (rookie girl) who joined just to be near Sagami (genius boy) because she thinks he’s cute. he’s in charge of training camp and pushes her harder than anyone. the goal is to hit the target with your arrow; there’re generally 4 arrows in a set; the more you hit, the better you are. Matsuda can’t hit because she’s a rookie, she doesn’t have a feel or love for it, and her elbow over extends. by lunch the 1st day, she’s ready to quit xD the other girls in the club won’t let her quit because they want to support her crush and they don’t want to get in trouble with Sagami who told them to watch Matsuda xD Murakami -the girl captain- tries to let her quit, but Sagami won’t hear of it. the other girls warn Matsuda about Murakami since Murakami also likes Sagami. they also suggest that maybe Sagami pushes Matsuda so hard because he likes her? she likes that idea but has no evidence for it xD
Matsuda notices that Sagami grips his bow weird; she tries to copy it but fails, and he says it’s only for geniuses so she shouldn’t bother. he keeps pushing her, and even though she’s training until her hands are bleeding, he has nothing nice to say, only pointing out her flaws and calling her weak. he lets her take a break to get her hands fixed, and Murakami patches her up, saying she’ll help her quit if she wants. Matsuda resumes training, and Sagami can see that she’s trying hard, but she keeps messing up, and she finally goes off on him. he says the world judges you by your success, so he won’t “treat everyone equal” since that’s not how the world works. he also opens up about why he grips his bow different; he hurt his hand as a kid, so he can’t hold the bow like everyone else. when he 1st joined, his upperclassmen told him to quit, but he practiced more than anyone, and now he’s 1 of the best; that’s why he’s so hard on her, because they all have the possibility of being great if they work for it. feeling inspired, Matsuda decides not to quit. she does get better, and with more instruction from Sagami, she hits the target. she’s proud of herself, and he’s proud of her, too. later, she tells him that if she can hit a full set, then she’ll confess to a certain someone, so he’d better wait for her~ ;D he blushes, so I guess she hit his heart, too ;D
and that’s it! just a quick one shot! I’ll put up a review for this next time, so please click here to read it.