Nine Puzzle

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Recently, I mysteriously got into the mood of reading shoujo romance mangas that I went on a little frenzy a few weeks ago and read a bunch of short ones. While they were all relatively enjoyable, understandably some of the stories that I encountered were better than the others. But for some reason, I couldn't help but to get the feeling that a lot of the overarching plot lines in many of the shoujo romance mangas that I read were extremely similar. Nine Puzzle is a direct example of that. While relatively enjoyable and quick to read, it brought absolutely nothing ... new to the medium.

Again, as I have already alluded to, the story in Nine Puzzle is your standard shoujo where the main protagonist, Mika Sawamura, is your typical high school girl who's never had a boyfriend. Meet Kaede Minakami, your typical mysterious classmate who seems cold and distant at school, but once you see him outside of school in an environment that he's comfortable in - Billiards is the name of the game in Nine Puzzle - you'll see a completely different kid. Ultimately, you read how Mika gradually enters the game of billiards and slowly befriends - and falls in love - with Kaede.

The one thing about the majority of the shoujo art is that I absolutely love it! It has that distinct style that is present - similar to other popular series as Vampire Knight and Lovely Complex. It's really detailed, realistic and neat and fits in extremely comfortably with the story presented. Which is why I probably rated the art so high. Hehe. However, besides that factor, there really isn't anything else that caught my attention about it.

With many of these short shoujo romances, you cannot expect too much from the character development department, and that's definitely the case with Nine Puzzle. Mika, Kaede and the other main character - Youhei Ueda (the owner of the billiards store Mika and Kaeda will end up frequenting) - don't have anything special about them and pretty much what you're presented with in the first chapter is what you'll see throughout the rest of the next seven chapters. They even look extremely similar to other female and male leads in other shoujo manga. But again, all three of them are extremely likable and with such a short story, you'll have no trouble relating to all three.

Ultimately, what everything comes down to is how well are you going to enjoy this story, and personally, I absolutely loved it. Yes, it brought nothing new to the table. Yes, its your standard shoujo romance. Yes, the characters are rather plain and not complex. However, the manga-ka uses a proven formula of shoujo romance in Nine Puzzle and without a doubt, that formula works especially well in this manga. I highly recommend this story to people who are looking for a quick fix, with something simple and easy to read (without having to think about complex situations) and a story that is cute and enjoyable to read.

i read this manga before i even knew about this site. however it is manga i have never forgotten. i read it years ago so i was still a bit of a novice, however i really enjoyed reading it at the time, i was fasinated. i don't think this manga suits everyone but i would reccomend it.

it is short and easy to read. the humor in the story was great. most of the humor dirived from the two main characters. i would explain them as two best friends who have known each other all their lives but they continusly fight.

my overall rating for this was ... 8 though it was very nearly a 10. this is simply because of the ending. the ending unlike the rest of the manga was rubbish. it just semmed to of finished in the middle. their wasn't a conclusion, their wasn't anything to even indicate the end in the story. the ending is very dissapointing and my friend who i had gotten to read it as well also agreed.

i remmember saying "that can't be the end" this was what ruiend the manga and decreased it's score.

overall all i would reccomend it to beginners and anyone who is bored and looking for something to do.

well. to tell u the truth i didnt really like the story.. the genre is suppose to be Romance but to be honest there was barly any romance in it.

Nine Puzzle. Review. By NnelL.


The story was great. It makes you suspense many things about what would happen next especially when your imagination is wide. But it lacks the romance i wanted. I was like 'What?! that's all?!'... But it was really cute. It made me wanted to play billiards too so maybe I'll meet someone like him. just kiddin'. But really, It made me realize that billiards are not only for bad guys. Oh, and the art was outstanding since the characters are sooooo cute! and COOL. Especially the covering, the girl was pretty. I enjoyed it but i kinda felt it was too ... short. Although i don't like too ling stories. Overall it's 9. Since the 'romance' thing.

I extremely recommend these to everyone since it's for everyone... hehehe....