Special A
S.A: Special A

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This is going to be the first review I'll be giving. . . .so I don't really know if this would be helpful or not. :) Anyway, Special A is a brilliant masterpiece, in my opinion. I usually prefer the anime over the manga version (I wasn't so good at reading manga before, I just couldn't get used to reading right to left - it confused me!) but I am pleased to say that this particular manga bested its anime version. There are a couple of reasons I can give to explain myself. . . .

To summarize everything up before you get bored of the ... long explanation coming up next: if you liked the anime version, you'll LOVE the manga even MORE! Proceed if you really want to waste minutes of your life to know what's on my crazy little mind.

First, the manga was actually better drawn than the anime. The characters are so unbelievably skinny in the anime (I think) and Kei didn't look as handsome as he was in the manga. For me it was unfair that I found Ryuu, Jun and even Yahiro more appealing than the lead guy (in the anime), of course in the manga Kei was putting up a better fight. :D

Second, the scenes from the manga were WAY better than what happened in the anime. It will make hopeless romantics like I am itching to read the next chapter without pause. Character developments were pretty good in the manga too.

Third, the ending of the anime left something to be desired and was albeit so WEIRD too. I mean, Kei and Hikari were flying then! I know they were inhuman from the start but flying was just so unrealistic I really had to just laugh it off. But in fairness to the anime, the manga's end was so anticlimactic and a disappointment to me. It was like the end was hastened and didn't quite have a romantic feel (though what Kei did for Hikari was VERY romantic). XD

Fourth (I know this turned out to be a long list), I really hope there's a season 2 for the anime 'cause the manga continues on very well from where the anime ended (which was the main reason for me to read the manga in the first place; I wanted more from Special A). If not, the manga is DEFINITELY better.

Lastly (No, I'm not quite finished yet), the manga didn't just concentrate on the two leads' romance. It also had the romance of the other characters inserted which made the story better. In the anime, only Ryuu didn't get a happily ever after (each member of the SA found their soul mates [even the twins and Tadashi]). I really felt sorry for him there,so at least, in the manga, he even had two girls falling for him. :D That isn't necessarily a very important point to go into but it just means that the story in the manga was nicer than the anime.

Special A is for me, the definition of an average shoujo series.

Characters:

We have Hikari, an initially refreshing female lead with a certain wide-eyed innocence and a strong desire to defeat her eternal rival Takishima Kei. Hikari’s got fighting spirit, something that is so often lacking in shoujo heroines of late. On the other hand she’s incredibly dense, a trait which becomes all the more prevalent as the manga progresses much to my chagrin. An important plot device is that the students in the SA class are the crème de la crème of an already prominent school for the wealthy. We are not so much ... as shown, but rather told that these characters are of high intelligence. Of course they all get high marks on exams but when it comes to basic comprehension skills in real life situations our characters often come up shorthanded. What was once endearing in Hikari becomes stale after one has read through several volumes of Special A. Other than Hikari, the rest of the cast is fairly stock. Kei is appealing in that smirking bishounen sort of sense but his character falls ultimately flat. Maki uses her other characters as means to extend the series, adding multiple couples to the point where almost no one goes single in the end. Even the conniving Yahiro who acted as antagonist in earlier volumes is reduced to a rather underdeveloped love interest for Megumi. When all’s said and done the characters don’t feel fleshed out enough despite the manga’s length.

Story:

Again, this is the definition of an average shoujo. Pure hearted girl attends wealthy school, oblivious to her long time rival’s affection for her. Misunderstandings and shenanigans commence as the two try to work out their feelings for one another. Expect lots of competitions between the two and the repeated use of the running gag of Hikari being ranked number 2 to Kei’s 1. Special A, aside from being a tad on the melodramatic side also relies heavily on comedy. There are many absurd situations for which one would have to put aside their sense of disbelief to enjoy. I myself got a few chuckles from the slapstick comedic elements featured during many of the competitions. In later volumes however, there are a lot of plot twists featuring conflicts that feel quite forced. The issue with Finn for instance, in which Hikari discovers that the “Prince” is actually a girl and is more or less imprisoned for discovering the secret borderlines on silly and needless. In this instance an absurd situation is used for the sake of drama and plot device rather than for light-hearted comedy and it fails to hold any kind of believability. Ultimately there are several arcs which could have been cut out entirely without much of value being lost. Perhaps if Minami Maki had skimmed the series down by removing clunky side plots with no real impact on the story, this manga would have been a little more enjoyable for me. As it is however, Special A dragged on and on, repeating similar jokes, similar conflicts and similar interactions between Hikari and Kei. When the series came to a close I was left unfulfilled and a little bit disappointed that a manga I had once enjoyed had become so stale and repetitive.

Art:

Minami Maki’s art is decent enough. It just doesn’t really stand out. Her character designs are often a little too similar and there isn’t a ton of distinction. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with that. I’m actually just thankful that she doesn’t draw eyes in the same style that another famous mangaka does. Aside from character design, Minami’s backgrounds go almost unnoticed. To her credit, the little stick figure drawings so often used in moments of humour are quite hilarious to look at. She’s good at utilizing simple sketches for slapstick comedy.

Overall:

At its best this manga is mildly amusing and heart warming in that “doki doki” shoujo manga sense. At its worst it feels redundant, silly and utterly cliché. Special A is a fun series that just started to run out of steam and ideas long before it finished. It’s nothing outstanding in terms of art, story or characters but it’s not particularly bad either. If you’re looking for a nice light-hearted shoujo series to pick up and you can look past a certain amount of banality then by all means go for this one. If however, you’re after something a little more substantial and semi-realistic you’d be better off picking up a copy of NANA or Honey and Clover.

For the record I don’t consider 5 a bad score. Merely average as it was meant to be used for.

The series is set in a high school (completely original setting). The series is based around 7 characters. These 7 characters are the top 7 students in the school and are known as Special A. The MMC who is no. 1, The FMC who is no.2, Hot Twin boy is no.3, Hot Twin Girl is no.4, Punching Bag is no. 5, Violent Tsundere is no. 6 and AnimaIIover69 is no. 7. Together they form the group known as Special A.

The story mostly revolves around the MMC and FMC (obviously). They have a rivalry going on. The FMC is trying super hard to beat the ... MMC but she fails every single time. The MMC on the other hand is in love with the FMC. You kinda have to feel bad despite his teasing he does try to show that he likes the FMC. But she is sadly suffering from density syndrome. Truly an epidemic in romcom main characters. The problem with there relationship is that its not really equal. The FMC despite being incredibly talented needs rescuing from the MMC multiple occasions. No wonder she can't beat him. Even then its really disappointing how she just loses all her charm just so the MMC can come in and save the day. Despite these negatives. I did like the comedy surrounding those two (albeit they over do it by making the same joke over and over again no. 2). Their romantic interactions were cute. In the much more later half of the series the FMC does help the MMC more and more. Its not enough but it does balance the relationship more. I also had an issue with there rivalry. It never ends. It got from being decent to being a mess. It feels less of a gimmick and more of a reason to make the characters more and more stupid. Honestly it was rather disappointing. Than their is the ending. Its the equivalent of Naruto not becoming Hokage or Luffy not finding the one piece. Thats some stupid ass shit.

The side characters as well are not all that better. Violent tsundere and Yahiro (Asshole as i will name him from now on.) Were both garbage characters. They constantly pulled the series down. By doing the one thing they are noticeable. Complete assholes. Holy shit. When will Japan learn that tsundere is the most garbage tier lazy ass piece of trope to ever exist. It is literally done to extend pointless drama and is just overall awful implementations in the series.

The story is not much better. Oh everything's resolved? let me add another love triangle, and another, and another. It wouldn't be problem if the character that were introduced didn't just fall from the sky (some literally).But also the fact that they are some of the boring generic characters man. They have no real personality. Its like the author picked there personalities out of a hat and then decided to remain the exact same for 11 volumes. Characters is incredibly small ways but not in any meaningful way. And definitely not enough to be satisfying.

I also don't like the main drama involving the grandfather. Its completely random for one thing. I don't just mean how its introduced but how its resolved too. Its like the author got too lazy to find a way to properly finish it and instead opted for those really bad twists instead that make no sense. Everything that gets resolved feels that way. To the characters personal story to outside interference that occur.

Another disappointing aspect was the flow of the series. Characters would just appear in places randomly, settings would change, straight up character personalities would change. All for an stylish artwork scene but it ruins it because the motivation and/or reason behind it is plastic. I took it for granted. The flow and continuity in a series. But now seeing such a massive mess its hard to believe I never noticed it before. This series is a joke and i hope the author's other works aren't as disappointing.

Overall im disappointied. This had so much potential. There were lighthearted kind moments in there all the time. Romantic interactions as well. But its such a complete fucking mess that i can't really recommend this to anyone. 3/10 bad manga