Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi

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This is the kind of manga that takes overused stereotypes in the genre and knees them in the balls.

Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi is a rather relaxed romcom. There's no drama, no harems, no love rivals; just cute and fun chapters that end in such unconventional ways that they're funny.

Despite this, it's relatively quick and easy to pick up after a while of waiting (which is just as well, since it's a monthly manga). It cuts straight to the chase, doesn't waste time with frivolous conversations, and shines with personality despite its plain premise. I definitely see this going ... in a great direction.

I might write a longer review once more chapters come out.

Ch24 update: Holy shit. This is too cute. Read this right now.
Ch61 update: This manga is still going strong. What a gem.

As always, I like to post reviews on less known, and less talked about Manga/Anime. Be it to get more readers, or to at least peak your curiosity, or to steer you away potentially from a mistake I felt I made. This took a bunch of stereotypes, tropes, and cliche scenes, and turned them on their heads and really blossomed an interesting cast of characters, a lovable RomCom, and some unique art style, to deliver a growing & interesting story.

PFItStFJKH ... Man that's a mouthful, since this is an English site, we'll call it Dumb Prefect, which is part of the translated name. Is ... a coming-of-age Highschool Romance Comedy centered around a prefect who seems stern but... Really is just dense. Stupid, acts before thinking, dense as hell, and doesn't really understand the world around him, he's bound by morals and things he can understand. He's a great leading male because it's refreshing from the typical "I'm a handsome guy" or "I'm ugly and a loser but I can become better" or any of those effects. It's very straight forward, he's unique, dumb, straight-laced, and has a great heart, and he's learning to small things about the social world through a cute girl he just happened to have an instance with.

Story: 8/10
While it may not be heavily in depth, and lacking in certain areas of the story, pay it no mind because it has a great line of story. Our Dumb Prefect, is learning to cope with life, while also "keeping an eye" on Poemu and her friends, while slowly running into the usual "fall in love scenario." You run into a colorful (and I really do mean incredibly colorful) cast of people along the way who brighten up the story in ways it needs. At the end of the day though, you're going to pick this up and read it for the two main characters this story is about, and it's cute, heartwarming, comical, and captivating in light way.

Art: 7/10
Now here is where I hit the struggle-bus, I'm an avid lover of all things unique and risk-taking. As long as they do it right, and put an honest effort into standing out, I can grow to enjoy the unique art styles that are coming out into the scene. The lines, and drawings of Dumb Prefect are anything but usual. The characters are drawn a bit more blocky, but it works out perfectly, lending a hand to some serious tones, comedy sequences, and overall light moods that it aims to be often. I love it, but it's also a bit on the stranger side, and isn't "true beauty" it just works for the scenes.

Characters: 8.5/10
There are so many stereotypes and tropes for characters here, that it's wild. The cast is mostly small, but there's just enough personalities that you find yourself entertained. You have the usual Gyaru Trio (not sure why but Gyaru's usually work in squads of 3), the rule heavy prefect, the suave Librarian, the gangster, the Adult-esque Student Council, and so on. The great thing about Dumb Prefect is, they take those tropes, and flip them on their head by sprinkling in some extra factors that really spice it up. Like "what if our super responsible student council rule enforcer, who are normally studious... Was dumb?"

Enjoyment: 9/10

I'm a sucker for fun, cute, and well-paced RomCom's like this, what can I say? I'm having a great time turtling my way through the uniquely drawn panels, the fun and zany cast of characters. Of course there are some silly points that I just think that it's like any other manga, but while I can't always explain it, this is one of the ones I'm sticking with, and I want to see through. I'm rooting for the two characters all the way, and I think you'll find yourself able to enjoy it as well.

Like someone said before, this is a manga that takes cliche romance relationships and turns them into something different... this manga won't take you trough 10000 episodes until the protagonists express their feelings, but instead shows you how a beautiful and cute relationship is going to work between two persons completely different, and that's right! I personally feel like every character has his own personality, which is great because not every character is thrown to a side like it usually happens... as far as i'm concerned every character on this manga has a backstory, some are cool, some are not so cool, but it's nice ... to know more about the other characters, and not just focusing on the main characters (For example, you get to know more about the protagonist's parents on this story, which doesn't happen usually)... i really hope this manga to be succesfull, because it totally deserves it! believe me when i tell you that, if you're looking for something different and not so slow, you're gonna love this one!... ad if you do, please go give the Mangaka some love on his social media ^^ , you can find him as @kyooteta on twitter!

I really like the main pair as well as the pacing, but the writing of some of the side characters is just so flimsy and inconsistent and kinda bad, but if you don't mind them the main pair are very fun to read about, and have a really fun dynamic, i just wish the mangaka put more thought in fleshing out the people around them, specifically the student council members. I know world building shouldnt be the priority of a rom com, but there should at least be some consistency with the side characters, cause sometimes something happens that just does not make sense in ... the context of the character, or just stuff that shouldnt really work out working out for the sake of the plot, which is just something that rubs me the wrong way to be frank

The long title aside, this short, ongoing manga is really fun. It's definitely not the best manga around, but it is absolutely worth your time. I found out about this manga while rolling on Mudae and randomly checked it out on a whim-- I couldn't be more happy with what I found.

#1 The Story: 8/10

Without spoiling anything, the story of "Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi" (which I'll just call "Prefect" from here forward) is cute. The dialogue feels natural and realistic, yet it still feels fairly generic. The author makes good use of tropes and counter-tropes to express strong ... dynamics, but certain plot points feel forced. I really do appreciate how the author gives you exactly what you want, though.

#2 The Art 9/10
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Prefect's artstyle feels sincere and realistic. The larger conversations having small minimalist versions of the characters provides comedic release. The scenery is really well done and feels as if ripped straight out of an anime. While I didn't like all of the colored pages, the openings to every chapter were a blast to check out.

#3 Character 6/10
Outside of Poemu, Tougo, Izubuchi, the VP, and the President, the characters weigh the show down. The remaining characters feel as if they exist only to provide more depth to the existing characters rather than to improve the story as a whole. However, the characters that are invested in shine the most.

#4 Enjoyment 9/10
With the artstyle and story combined, I found myself unable to turn away from this story. It consistently made me laugh-- I had a lot of fun reading!

#5 Overall 8/10
While the side characters and Poemu's two friends weigh the story down, the manga itself is absolutely a blast. I completely recommend it!

Every time I pick up another romcom, I find myself wondering; what is the purpose of these cute little books? Is it blatant escapism, hopeless romanticism, or even just waifu bait? Any seasoned rom-com reader, as I would consider myself, would realize these are just flagrant accusations cast by those who don't understand the genre, there is far more to a good rom-com than just these elements. But, in recent memory, most romcoms have fallen into the same, sullen tropes. It's not like this is anything new, tropes have been a standard in the rom-com genre for decades, and when handled correctly can lead to ... a perfect blend of comedic timing and romance (An example being Jin Kobayashi's "School Rumble.")

But, a severe lack of nuance in concepts has caused a bit of a rough patch in manga within recent memory, at least for largely published manga. That's why when I saw another long titled cutesy tsundere manga, I was initially disinterested. However, noticing the artist of Onani Master Kurosawa was fronting the project, I gained a bit more interest and decided that, due to its relatively short length (Like her skirt... haha...) I would give it a read. Honestly, it was quite a sufficient little manga. To be clear, this manga is not a gamechanger, and it's not a revolutionary piece of literature to be talked about for ages, rather its a culmination of what I love about romcoms as a whole, and how well even a simple one like this can work when these elements are linked together.
Now, when covering a rom-com there is a core element to every story to make it work; the characters. The essence of the "rom" elements are the characters, along with the essence of the "com". Fundamentally, a rom-com cannot feasibly work unless the characters are entertaining or interesting enough to maintain reader interest. The manga most certainly does not fail here. Criticisms first, it is extremely tropey. Aside from Sakuradaimon, every character mainly falls into a pre-established little role. Yuu is the ragged Yankee, Poemu is the Tsundere, Nadeshiko is the wacky school pres, etc. However, as stated before, if these characters work well in their dynamic, there is no issue. And for the most part, they fit perfectly! There's an engaging dynamic of stupidity between the stuck-up vice president Kaoru and Nadeshiko, and their antics are a fun little side plot. Other characters, however, are a little obnoxious in their trope-riddled development, though not to an extent that I'd say they are a detriment. Overall, the cast outside of our main two is solid and doesn't hurt or distract from the main dynamic whatsoever.

The plot is simple, and really works to support the most enjoyable part of the manga, that being Sakuradaimon and Poemu's dynamics. Basically, Poemu wears short skirts as the rambunctious tsun that she is, and the straight-laced Sakuradaimon doesn't like it and tries to get her to stop. Their exchanges aren't necessarily negative, and they tend to understand where each other comes from mutually. It's this wholesome little charade that carries along with the plot at your typical romcom pace for the first 20 or so chapters. The plot does surprise here though, as, forbidden by romcom law, the two actually... get together??? Initially, I was a bit skeptical at how fast the story was moving, though maybe that was in part due to whiplash thanks to many other romcoms I've read in which it takes upwards of 300 chapters to get anywhere (Looking at you Komi-san), but the change didn't hinder the story at all, rather bringing it to a higher level than before. Some minor drama ensues, including the ever loveably dense Sakuradaimon figuring out the nuances of relationships, all the while Poemu bashfully makes gradual steps towards taking their relationship further. It's not only a lovely setup but also feels unique, as few romcoms explore this sort of dynamic whilst the two are actually in a relationship. It also helped that, while he is extremely dense, Sakuradaimon isn't doing that just to prolong the plot, but rather because after having withstood proper moral boundaries for so long, he has to learn how to open up. While not groundbreaking writing, it's this small amount of development and progression that allows the reader to stay interested in both his character and the typical rom-com shenanigans. It works, and as is commonly said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

The artwork is, to put it bluntly, outstanding. Anything Yokota draws I will read, as this style is just so appealing! Every character feels so vibrant and expressive, the paneling is gorgeous, the sleek lines add emphasis, and almost a Sunrise style aesthetic that I absolutely adore. It's definitely personal preference in this department, but I feel like the manga would not be nearly as good as it is without Yokota's outstanding artwork. It really is impressive to see the progression he has made from the subpar and often confusing paneling and artwork in Kurosawa/Chikan Otoko to this manga and the Magic The Gathering one he's currently working on. Not much else to say, if you're going to read this manga read it for the art if anything!

In conclusion, is this manga a groundbreaking piece of literature? No. Because that's not what it needs to be. It is an entertaining, wholesome rom-com with some simple development, believable character progression, and vibrant, fun character designs/interactions. If you ever feel like "Hey, I just wanna read a simple short rom-com!" I would highly recommend this title. Thank you for reading!

If you're wondering if you should read this or not, I have to say of course you should, this might just be one of the best-damned mangas I've ever read. Between the rap battles, a crazy trio of male MCs, actually good romances, hilarious stunts, perfect comedic timing, and just overall good comedy/romance writing I just haven't enjoyed a manga this much in a while. I'm not going to get too much into the story here, as there are only 43 chapters as of writing this it's a relatively short read, and honestly, you probably won't regret it. Also, I really dig the art style ... in this manga so much

Ponkotsu Fuuki Iin to Skirt-take ga Futekisetsu na JK no Hanashi (Ponkotsu) is surprisingly good and this manga deserves to be well-known more than some shitty >200 chapters.

Story 8/10

Not only about perfect dumb boy and disobey girl, but also connection between them with other characters being described and told so smoothly.

Character 9/10

Tougo, he's...so dump and dumply honest. And i love it! Why? Because that helps him not to be passive in any situations facing with his trouble girl - Poem. She can't stand stopping being blush when our boy talks about her beauty and attraction. We surly that they will become a cute couple. ... And in chapter 24, OMG!

About Student Council, we have Izubuchi working corncered with medical. He used to be a bully :o. Tsukishima Seiichi, working in library and his true appearance can be seen when books are near him =)))). Kaoru, vice president, never win in any competition from his chilhoodfriend, Yamato, leader of Student Council.

Variety characters make variety different situations in this manga.

Enjoyment 8/10

Overrall 8/10