Shoujo – Completed Manga Review

The Day of Revolution

I wanted to read something else next, but then I stumbled over a picture I took of a manga I found at a convention. I decided I should go ahead and read this one next since it’s been waiting in my phone xD

The Day of Revolution (image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_Revolution)

Honestly, I didn’t realize it was so short when I decided to read it, but whatever! It had the tagline of being a genderbent story plot line, so it caught my eye xD I do not own this manga, so I will be reading a translation online.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

Review time!

3.5 stars

Plot: 1/2 star. Main character (male) -for medical reasons- decides to become a female. She’s supposed to dress like a girl, act like a girl, talk like a girl, etc. and even has someone with her at all times to help her learn. By the end of the series, she does voluntarily -and successfully- look more feminine. I can’t fully tell by the dialogue if she speaks like a girl, and she has a boyfriend, so I guess she’s acting like a girl? Honestly, it still feels like she has a long way to go, but she does have a lifetime to master this plot line; I just don’t feel like she’s there, yet.
Art: 1 star. I like the art of this. I like the different tones used, and the faces are very expressive. The story and panels flow well, so it’s easy to understand what’s happening.

Story Progression: 1 star. This manga has a lot of shenanigans xD There’s always something going on: someone else falling in love with Megumi, her old friends showing up out of nowhere, etc. If this was a longer series, the constant shenanigans would get on my nerves, but since it is so short, it is tolerable. Even when there could’ve been a lull in the story, they did a time skip to keep the shenanigans going. And even after two years, the same shenanigans were still going on; nothing had changed in two years! Story wise, it did seem like too much was happening, but that’s probably just a preference thing rather than actual criticism. Each chapter had a new and different joke, and in a way, the chapters were very episodic. Other than the main plot, each chapter completed its own story without bleeding over.
Genre: 1/2 star. For some reason, only shoujo is listed, and really, that’s not enough in my opinion. It seems very obvious that this is a comedy manga with shoujo or romantic tendencies, but the entire story is centered around comedic actions and reactions; that’s the driving force more than anything. Slice of life/school life could also be used since it’s set at school, but these characters aren’t dealing with slice of life problems; they’re dealing with comedic problems that are off the wall rather than realistic. Really, it should be comedy, shoujo; maybe romance. Heck, maybe it could be considered a reverse harem! I’m not sure if genderbent is a genre, but it would also definitely apply. I can only give this half a star since the comedy is so integral to the story, and it was left out.
Enjoyment: 1/2 star. This was an alright manga. It was short, so it didn’t have time to make me fall in love with it, but it also had a lot of little things that got on my nerves, so I’m glad it wasn’t any longer. It really does seem like a reverse harem; one girl who everyone falls in love with, but like too many harem manga, there is /no reason these characters should be in love with the main character/. The only time anyone tries to explain it, their reason is “she’s so beautiful!” (but beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, so I wasn’t wowed) or Mikoto explained that he admired her for being brave enough to change her entire life. What he didn’t know was that she tried to back out of it immediately, and she complained a lot about her new life choice in the beginning. So, she didn’t seem all that brave to me (wanting to become a doctor and take over the family hospital -by 8th grade!- seems way more admirable to me; kudos to Mikoto for being awesome and working towards his dream). Her four old friends got on my nerves a lot; they were way too pushy and also too dense to listen to Makoto’s advice and give Megumi space. They could have given her space, wooed her slowly, taken secret dates one at a time, played up on their old friendship and ties, but NO! They jumped the gun at the stop and continued steamrolling down that hill for the next 2+ years -in canon- with no signs of stopping or moving on or living their own lives. It was a shallow story, and if the comedy elements were to my taste, I would probably have liked it more, but as it was, I can see why I forgot I’d read it in the past. Mikoto and Makoto were my favorite parts to the story xD I love how Makoto manipulated everything and everyone; she was very interesting to watch ❤ Mikoto is just adorable, and I do admire that he’s going after his dream of being a doctor even if that means he has to deal with his horrible all boys’ school. He’s willing to go at Megumi’s pace and is willing to fight for her when opposition arises. He’s the golden boy of the series, and he can throw some good punches to boot -only when they’re necessary though ❤

To read my full review of this manga, please click <here>.

Hibi Chouchou

Hibi Chouchou (image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibi_Ch%C5%8Dch%C5%8D)

I decided it was time to read some shoujo; it’s been a while, and this one caught my eye. I didn’t intend to read a long one, but the art looks cool, so here we go!

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

Review time!

Plot: 1 star. The plot for this series seems fairly simple. The main girl, Shibazeki Suiren, wants to get to know Kawasumi, the only guy at school who isn’t falling over himself whenever she enters the room. The story mostly follows the development of their relationship. Sub-plots do show up such as karate tournaments or even different characters getting relationships and even Suiren working hard to come out of her shell, but none of these sub-plots seems like the main plot. They happen in the background, and there’s no real consequence or even drive for these plots to be accomplished. The final fight between Kawasumi and Atohira doesn’t even show us who won; not every character gets into an established relationship by the end; and Suiren doesn’t seem to have a significant change in her life by her strives to be more extroverted. Overall, I think the story does stick to its plot since we do see the progression of Suiren and Kawasumi’s relationship. The manga does a good job of focusing on this relationship instead of getting side-tracked by other characters and sub-plots.

Art: 1 star. This art style is so cute! It’s soft and airy, and the lines are very clean and thin. The use of shadows and textures was nice and helped with the dynamics of the different scenes. Even though Suiren didn’t talk much, I was able to see how she felt about different characters by her reactions and expressions. Every movement, action, and reaction was very easy to follow.

Story Progression: 1 star. Honestly, I really enjoyed the writing. There were times when I would read a chapter and not much seemed to happen, but when I’d go to write about it, I’d end up writing a lot xD This manga is very subtle with its writing and story telling, but somehow, all those subtle, little moments ended up meaning a lot to me and showing me the deeper side to these characters. As you can see from my full reviews, I’d read 20-30 chapters at a time because I wanted to know what would happen next. This wasn’t because there was so much going on, but simply that the current story thread was leading me to continue reading! There are not many distractions in this manga -which I enjoyed-, so whatever was going on became the main focus of the characters and me as a reader. I became invested because they were invested, and it was a really wonderful journey.

Genre: 1 star. Shoujo, romance, and slice of life definitely cover this manga. I am not sure if school life and slice of life are different; I have a feeling that it depends on the site you’re reading from. I would say those are the same since school life is still part of slice of life (when you’re a high school student, school is your life; it makes sense to me). Really, I can’t think of any other genres that would describe this manga better. Your main character is a girl who falls in love at school, and the rest of the manga follows her time in high school; if that’s not shoujo, romance, slice of life, I’m not sure what is xD

Enjoyment: 1 star. I was surprised how much I loved this manga and these characters. Honestly, I had been looking for an over-the-top shoujo so that I would stop giving everything 5 stars, but I found this jewel instead, and I am so thankful ❤ Seeing this sweet, gentle love story was incredibly refreshing ❤ I loved how adorable and sweet and awkward Suiren and Kawasumi were together xD ❤ I like how hard Suiren worked to grow the relationship, and I loved when Kawasumi finally realized he needed to put work in, too! ❤ I liked how the focus wasn’t always about the love story. I also liked how subtle each chapter and character was. I liked that everything took time, and that the characters had to figure out their flaws and strategies to better themselves and their lives. I liked the slice of life, daily challenges and struggles felt by high school students. I liked the friendships and relationships and how those grew and changed over time.

This story has reached and/or surpassed my criteria, so it has earned 5 stars!
I definitely recommend this manga to anyone who is looking for something sweet, refreshing, and adorable ❤

To read my full review, please click here.

Crescent Moon

I want to start this blog with the first series that I ever read, Crescent Moon. The series that started it all for me!

Crescent Moon

image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Moon_(manga)

I actually own this series, so I will be reading the official English translation rather than reading from a website.

The back cover reads:
“Mahiru Shiraishi has an uncanny ability to bring good luck to everyone she touches -except herself. She’s constantly haunted by a recurring nightmare that ushers her to a dreamworld. There, she encounters a tribe of demons -a werewolf, vampire, fox, and bat- called the Lunar Race. Destiny calls when they need her help to recover their source of power, the stolen “Teardrops of the Moon”. In this fantasy adventure, Mahiru must battle the rage between the human race and the Lunar Race, whose powers are awakened by the dark side of the moon.”

Crescent Moon has 25 chapters through 6 volumes. My review will be below, and if you continue reading below the stars, you will see my explanation and my recounting of what I read.

Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!

Review time!
Crescent Moon review

Plot: 1 Star. The manga has a single main plot of finding and recovering the Teardrops of the Moon. Since they do this, they earn a full star.

Art: 1/2 Star. I love the art in this manga. The designs, expressions, variations of features, effects, and use of shading are all wonderful! Unfortunately, despite how many times I’ve read this, I can’t always tell what is happening, who is talking, or what is a thought versus spoken word.

Story Progression: 1 Star. Every moment that happens has a reason, even if it’s small, so there’s never a dull moment.

Genre: 1 Star. This is definitely a shoujo, fantasy manga what with the strong female lead, spells, barriers, transformations, and other dimension. On sites, it may also be listed as romance or comedy, but I believe those fit as well. Since they weren’t sited on Wikipedia, though, I’ll just stick with shoujo fantasy.

Enjoyment: 1 Star. This is my all time favorite manga because it was the first one I read, and it introduced me to so many new things. I still love this take on demons and how it combines Eastern and Western demons to make up the Lunar Race. I like the depictions of the demons, and though I’m not a fan of Dawn’s Venus, the human aspect is well explained as well. There’s only two plot points I didn’t like, and they were minor (read below to find out what they were); everything else is wonderful. After all these years, I still love this manga, and there’s a reason I’ve read it more than a dozen times.

So even though this series does not have five stars, I still highly recommend it,
so I’m going to put it on the “Recommended Manga!” page.

If you’d like to read my full review, please click here.