Medaka Box

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No good reviews for this manga? None?

Ok, tuck the kids into bed, because it's fucking story time.

Please note your opinion doesn't matter two shits until you've read at least until the end of the Minus arc.

Medaka is a BATTLE SHOUNEN. No, not fucking hurr durr king of the ninjas, not a fucking rip off of Yu Yu Hakusho called Bleach (It's named that because when I watch it, I feel the need to drink Bleach), it's a real BATTLE SHOUNEN.

Medaka Box is constantly examining the tropes of Battle Shounen manga, and making fun of them. It's asking these questions.

Can a character truly be ... perfect?
What are the implications?
How will real people react to this?

An example of this is Medaka herself. Here's a pro tip, you're not supposed to like her one bit. She's not just a Mary Sue, she's the god damned literal definition of Jesus. She lives for humanity sake, she loves everybody, especially her enemies, and she constantly fights to reform them into good guys.

Also she's invincible. Later on, an antagonist refuses to fight her because "If this was a weekly Shounen Jump, she would be the main character, and the villain never wins against the main character."

Medaka is special. By the age of 3 she could solve any problem on Earth. She can beat up the bad guys, she's always right, and she's got the biggest rack in the show. At one point, she wins a tug of war contest, while the entire opposing team consists of the rest of her school.

Now after processing all this information I could have condensed better if I wasn't so lazy, you either hate her or like her. If you like her, that's fine too. But if you hate her, you're missing the point. You won't ever like her. Once you realize you aren't supposed to, maybe you'll be able to enjoy the series.

Have you ever read a story in which you hated the villain? Or despised the little sniveling coward who always tried to cling to the main character's coat-tails? There's a difference between a badly written character and an intentionally unlikable character. And ironically, that's what Medaka is as the main character. The best side supporting character ever made.

Zenkichi is the one you are supposed to like, him and a bunch of other supporting characters, and then Kumawaga steps in and you hate how much you love him. Or maybe you love how much you hate him? Shiranui is incredibly mischievous and cute, while Kouki and Maguro are both bros respectively. All these people, who are weaker than Medaka, make the show what it is.

Now, if you took this plot serious, Niso trolled the living shit out of you. You should feel ashamed for being such a stupid fuck. Example, at one point 6 villains are introduced that are supposed to be super strong, but then they all get their asses kicked in one page by a newcomer to the set-piece. Forget the plot, that's not what matters in the least, and that's exactly why I didn't open up this review with the story section. It's all about the theme. Which is the whole, is there such a thing as perfection, and if so, what does this imply? Does always winning make you perfect? Does being beaten down, but constantly standing back up to fight make you perfect? Are you born with it? Can it be obtained? That's where the categories of normality, specials, abnormalities, minuses, and not equals come into play. Niso is playing a literary masterpiece on the grand scales, he's cranking the volume to a double forte, he's putting one foot on the gas, and one in the grave.

And then there's Kumagawa. YES. He is just the greatest character. Here's a little bit of his dialog.

"Even though I'm not cool, or strong, or just, or beautiful, or cute, or pretty, I want to beat the cool, strong, just, beautiful, cute, and pretty people.
Even though I wasn't blessed with talent, even though I'm stupid and have a bad personality, have bad grades, am misguided and am a good for nothing, I want to beat the talented, smart, likeable, overachieving people.
I want to beat those with friends when I can't have friends.
I want to beat the people who work hard when I can't work hard.
I want to beat the victorious people when I can't win.
I want to beat the happy people when I'm miserable.
Even if I'm hated, even if I'm despised, even if I'm useless, I want to prove that I'm better than the main characters!"

Even though this is a Shounen, each page is more text than fight. This isn't because of the normal, making a speech in the middle of a battle, cliché. This is because words get the theme across better than action.

Please be aware.
Chapters 1-12 is a mediocre/ok comedy.
Chapters 13-53 is an OK battle manga that sets up the next arc.
Chapters 54-93 is what gives this manga a 10.
And then up to 140 is a series of Arcs that play on what the previous chapters set up. Lot's of Meta elements.

I've come to realize that people who watched the anime series will have an hard time to grasp what the series is trying to accomplish, as it only shows it's true colors by the third arc (I'm counting Uzen has first arc, since everything before it was just establishing characters).
It goes something like this:
Pre-First arc: Mneh.
First Arc: Okay, things are picking up, this may become interesting.
Second Arc: Generic yeah, but it's fun (This is where the anime ends, as far as I was told, btw)
Third Arc: The author comes at this point and laughs at you for having liked the first two arcs.
Medaka ... Box is simply a satire of shonen mangas tropes. It basically grabs Goku, Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, Jesus Christ and boobs and mix them together in the most overpowered, ridiculous, bland character of all time. Why is Medaka so strong? Well, the explanation is "Because she is the main character", you can't argue with that.
But I'd say that the strong point is, rather than the main character, everyone else. From Kumagawa, the boy who always loses, Zenkichi, the true main character, or even a villain that, even though she's the most OP thing in the story of OP things, simply refuses to fight Medaka because "Main characters always win against last bosses."
The third and fourth arc are what make Medaka Box what it is, because it's the one that really explores the ridiculousness of battle mangas, but not in a bad way. It's never "Shonen mangas are so stupid and ridiculous, you should be reading actual good things." it's more like: "Shonen mangas are so ridiculously stupid, but so what? They are supposed to be, it's what makes them fun, and that's why you should read them." And that's true, no matter how many complex and serious stories are there, there will always be space for simple fun stories too, and we should enjoy both.
So that's why Medaka Box exists, and you'll either love it or be pissed off by it.

In every story, every setting, every book or novel, there always seem to be that one character who just stands out a bit more than others. No, I don't mean that in an intimating way. What I mean is that there's the one character who stands out who is able to define him or herself in a different way than others. Why am I saying this? Well, long story short but there's a particular character in Medaka Box who fits into that category. Her name is Kurokami Medaka; just your everyday Abnormal Student Council president of Hakoniwa Academy. After gaining an overwhelming 98% favor of ... the student body, she stands now as the leader of both the academy and a role model of the students. She is seen with a million dollar body, an intellectual mind, an unrivaled charisma, and a commanding presence to the audience.

Color me surprised here but this girl just seems too perfect, huh?

In a nutshell, Medaka Box is a manga written by Nisio Isin with artwork by Akatsuki Akira. The author is known for his other famous works such as the Monogatari series that features exclusive dialogues that invites entertainment to readers and manga fans alike. Did Medaka Box achieve entertainment? Well, in some ways yes but in other ways a bit of no. But what it did achieve however is interest and maybe after reading this review, it will spark some interest in you too.

The manga takes place at a school life setting at a location known as the Hakoniwa Academy. It all seems pretty normal with the daily activities and school life themes. In fact, one can hardly tell that there is abnormality at all. However, you might want to change your mind once you meet Kurokami Medaka. As stated before, she is not your normal typical girl. In fact, she is a woman to be both feared and respected. The way she behaves in the manga often puts her on the edge of a superhuman with her achievements and actions. Luckily though, she seems to be using herself to help others which led to the formation of the Student Council. The club's goals features a little tool known as the 'Suggestion Box'. Literally, it's a box that accepts any suggestion from students at the academy. Whether it'd be problems related with parents, school, relationships, or just life in general, Medaka is willing to go about the end of the world to help those in need. Why? Well, I guess it's the root of her personality that makes her dominant and a person who is just willing to help others out of kindness. In fact, every time Medaka helps others, she would rewards herself with a pot of flowers. One day, Medaka hopes that a garden of these flowers will emerge in the academy and truly show her ways of kindness.

The club isn't just run by herself though. If that was the case, she'd be dead tired about now. Luckily, the other members of the club each holds his or her own position to help Medaka with her goal. Among these members includes Medaka's childhood friend Hitoyoshi Zenkichi who reluctantly joined. He is seen as someone who is more aloof and the type who tends to keep to himself. Additionally, there's Kouki Akune who seems to be infatuated with Medaka. His violent past as well as tough personality has given him the title the 'Prince of Judo' and is considered the oldest member of the club. Last but not least is Mogana Kikaijima who plays the role of the school treasurer. Her past is also seemed to be not one of the happiest but her own will as well as obsession with money keeps her going. She eventually joined the club and becomes the treasurer. There you have it, the club. Four members all with different styles and backgrounds formed together with one single purpose: to help out others.

Oh but that's a lot easier said than done.

The problem is that there are people who goes against kindness and lives more on selfishness to fuel their own decisions that results in consequences. For example, there's a group of individuals in the series who tries to operate a secret plan for their own purposes. They ignore the fact that there are consequences while making the claim that it's for the “common good” of the people. The truth is that such a plan will result in collateral damage and only people like Medaka with a heart of gold are able to stop them from their ambitions.

At any rate, the series follows its format of a seemingly chapter-by-chapter daily activities in the beginning. Later on though, the series immediately takes off with full throttle action in the form of battle shounen. Yes, folks, this is considered a battle shounen rather than the typical shoujo or a slice of life story. It takes that genre and often makes exaggerations of it through extended dialogue (curtosey of the author Nisio Isin) and action sequences. Of course, it always tries to poke fun with word play and the action itself here and there. The manga in fact is divided into 9 different story arcs with each of them featuring a different way of presenting the series.

The action in the series itself is balanced but occasionally have problems in being a bit cliched. Additionally, Medaka is somewhat bit of being too overpowered and displays her overwhelming power constantly. This is especially true in the beginning chapters where everything she seems to make everything she does so simple. However, there is a lot of action later on and most of it is presented with a way that a battle shounen should be. Luckily, there are a lot of characters in the series (with more making debuts each and every arc). Some of these characters makes returns and brings interest while making his or her own spotlights for themselves. Examples such as Najimi Ajimu, Youka Naze, Misogi Kumagawa, and Hansode Shiranui make strong impressions in the manga and sometimes or not, outshines Medaka herself. There are also characters who have their own uniqueness that defines them who they are. In essence, there are many characters in this series and each and every one of them plays a type of role to progress the various arcs of the manga.

The arcs themselves aren't meant to be taken too serious though. It's more like one of those excuses where the manga over-exaggerates itself with the comedy and gags. In fact, there are many gags in the this manga such as the dramatic tones, the egos of some of the characters, the catchy poses, and speech mannerisms of some characters. In a way, Medaka Box is one of those manga where if you decide to read it, read it like you're having fun rather than analyzing the battles themselves.

Despite all the fun I had while reading this manga, I did ran into some problems with the pacing as well as the overall conclusion. I guess it's like reading a book and once you get to a certain point, you ask yourself if this is what the author wanted to happen. Among other factors, I find the artwork of the manga to be a bit generic, even for a battle shounen. The way the characters are dressed shows that they are students but more than just your every day kid with his or her head stuck in the books. Rather, most of the characters seemed to dress in an unique fashion but hardly shows anything besides that besides some of the more prominent characters. Medaka also seems to lack any sort of true emphasis behind her character despite being a title character. Throughout the manga though, I did find that her relationship with some of the other members, in particular her childhood friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi to be more detailed. However, the rest of the club members' relationship with Medaka seems to minimized and sometimes frustrates me.

Overall, this manga is a battle shounen that can be enjoyed at various levels. In many ways, its dialogues and humor will definitely spark some interest. Give it some time though as the first few chapters may seem normal but the later arcs will shift quickly to abnormal. Once that catches your interest, Medaka Box can be a fun read. In every story, every setting, every book or novel, there's always something that stands out. For Medaka Box, it's the fun that never ends with Medaka-chan and her friends.

Medaka Box.....

Before I start my review I wana say that this manga is underrated.
This manga is my fav and I think that until now no manga effected me like this one did.

At first I watched the first season of the anime, to say the truth more half of the first season was like a very strong and smart girl helping who needs help.
When I read that this is an action anime I said to myself where is the action?! the after more than half the series ended and nothing special happened.
I was surprised when it changed after that.

And then came the second season where I ... was a lot surprised of the changes that happened in it.
Medaka Box became one the animes i felt excited about.

But at the end of the second season the anime stopped at a weird moment, so i decided to read the manga.

AND IT WAS AS COOL AS THE BEST SHOUNEN MANGAS.

Story: A greatly superior girl helps who needs her help at her school by becoming the student council president. and forcing her childhood normal guy zenkichi to help her.
The student council gets another members and solves the students problems so I give it 9.

Characters: The characters is the main reason that will make you love the anime and this role will be for one of the support characters called Kumagawa,

To be short Kumagawa is the kind of character that you never expect what he will do, just a perfect mix for good and bad like (smart-stupid or strong-weak or even cool-lame) and this character may be the main reason for you to love Medaka Box.
And for our MC, its ok if you love her but its ok too if you don't love her, its not going to effect your opinion of the manga at all.

For the abilities in this manga, its not that kind of abilities that will make you wanna do cuz its cool its just cool cuz its weird, so I give the characters 10.

Art: The art in the manga or the anime isn't that attractive in fact the anime's art is something like the 2000's animes
but the art isn't that effective in the manga so i give it 7.

Enjoyment: I guess after reading all that I wrote, you know what is the rating. but well lets just say it perfect 10.

Overall: 10

NOTE: there is one thing that I want to say, at least for me unlike all the shounen manga there is 2 things that are alil bit different from the others

1) Normally you are waiting for the fight to get excited, but in this manga the trongest wepon is the character's personality and the words that characters say.
2) Normally in any anime te 4th wall breaking is meant for comedy but in this anime its kinda different and actually is kinda cool.

this is a review of up to chapter 46 but I don't think my view will change much on the series as it is that good

This is a series written by Nisio Isin the man behind many hit light novels such as Bakemonogatari, The Beheading Cycle and Death Note Another Note so you know that there's gonna be something about it from his line up alone. it's a story that when I first read through I thought Nisio had been watching too much Haruhi, take one look at the main cast then look at the Haruhi cast and begin a very hard game of ... spot the differences. After reading through what there is a few times i decided that I was wrong and it is not Haruhi, it's Haruhi on steroids and as you know steroids make you better (isn't that right Baseball). it takes the best aspects of Haruhi and gives them a brief look at and moves on to it's eccentric points. Let me get one thing straight it's not a rip off, even though the last few lines would have you believe otherwise, it's a refined work of art with alot of similarities.

Story 8/10

The story is all about 1 abnormal girl, 1 normally abnormal guy and their job on the student council at a school fill of stereotypes. Medaka(thats the abnormal girl in case you couldn't guess) lives for others and so she sets up a box, the "Medaka Box" for any student to make a request and the council will take care of it. the first few chapters revolve around this idea and the collection of the rest of the student council members. after the student council members are gathered the story immediately jumps up 100 notches and kicks you in the balls with the arrival of discipline group which leads into a great big can of anger management issues for Medaka followed by a "shock twist". While this all may sound rather cliche that's exactly what it's trying to be many people think this is all a load of BS and a mistake in story development but the thing is Nisio knows story development too well not to notice what he was doing, it was scripted to be a parody of the Shounen genre which is exactly what make the story so great, it's doing what only the greatest of the greats can do, take the piss out of itself while not giving a damn.

Art 7/10

My only problem with the series would be the art, it's not that it's bad or anything it's that it just doesn't feel right to nisio's style. if you watch Bakemonogatari or Katanagatari you get a feel from the art work that Nisio had something to do with this because it does you don't get the same feeling that you get from those two, it feels rushed which is a general problem I get from reading anything punlished in shounen jump but that can't be helped because it is rushed and there's nothing I can do about it

Characters 10/10

While the supporting cast are generally a bunch of limp d***ed idiots this is perfectly compensated for by Medaka and other "abnormals" because they are truly that abnormal that you can't help but think they are epic. these abnormals add a sense of insanity to the whole series that just works and allows you to say that all the characters are epic even though only some of them are. Special props to Medaka, Miyakonojou, and "The Losers"

Enjoyment 10/10

Something is special about this series to me, I can over look any flaws involving weak side characters annoying rushed feel to the art and lack of true originality to the plot by the fact that is lives off the "Rule of Cool". the "Rule of Cool" states that you can over look a lot of bad things about a series 'cause it's just so god damn f***ing epic. it truely does live off the "Rule of Cool" but it does so well, as does any series that lives of the "Rule of Cool" just because it does.

Overall 9/10

Go.

Read it.

Enjoy it.



Special Mention to the fact that if you took the crew of DBZ and told them to go fight the Abnormals from Medaka Box you would get a battle that would have so much epic stuffed into it you couldn't see it without your mind exploding

DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, Fairy Tale, Naruto, Bleach.......

What do all these great stories have in common? One simple word SHOUNEN.

While all stories are different, they are at their base the same. Introducing vast words and intricate powers that fill every fan boy out there with envy while at the same time introducing the idea of hard work and friendship.

Yet in this day and age, say something like ONE Piece is amazing or Naruto is overrated, whether it be online or in real life, and you pretty much going to get assaulted verbally , emotionally physically or some combination of the three. ...

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of shounen and while I might have some nitpicks her and there with the series I mentioned before, I'd be lying if I didn't think they were ALL good in some way shape or form.

With that said, you’d think it would be rather difficult to come up with an original battle manga due to the fact that......well......THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS.

That’s where this series comes in.

Medaka box is a shounen manga that had been licensed in weekly shounen jump for just under 4 years with 192 chapters

The stories setting develops on a rather simple premise: The Medaka Box. The Medaka Box is a suggestion box established by the main character, Medaka Kurokami, who is the student council president of sandbox academy . She and the rest of the student council take the suggestions from this completely ordinary box, and try to help others with their problems etc, etc. Seems simple and cliché I know but keep watching.

After taking a few chapters to introduce the characters, I began realizing one of the main reasons why this manga seemed so different. That reason being that Medaka is probably the most annoying character I've ever had the displeasure of reading about EVER.

Sure there are a variety of different pain in the ass main character in other popular series that annoyed the ever living piss out of me. And i can easily go on a small petty rant about them. But I won't, because I'm to mature for that.

The point I'm trying to get at here is that the fact that Medaka is an annoying character is actually done on purpose. This series is not your standard shounen series whose main goal is to sway you with feeling of adventure and friendship. Nor is it there to draw you in with dark and often times repetitive themes. Medaka box my friends is a satire.

That means the sole purpose of this manga is to take the main elements of other shounen series, turn the dial all the way to eleven and watch the fireworks. Everything you can consider right or wrong with the entire shounen genre gets introduced in this series but the author presents it in such an over the top way that you can't help but laugh a little bit inside when you realize what going on. Take Medaka for example, she's beautiful, smart, knows how to give an inspirational speech about hard work and victory. She's OP as hell, never loses, is always right and claims to live for others. She's like Jesus Christ with breasts. Everyone looks week and powerless compared to her and that’s kind of the point.

Sure you could say there is a plot in this series but I'm not even going to try and describe it because that would be like trying to translate the disassociated ramblings of the special Olympics spelling bee. I mean one minute it's DBZ level child abuse and the next it's DBZ getting owned by some demonic loli. If you try to read this series for its plot than you are going to rage. A LOT.

This becomes more prevalent during the later few arcs of the series were overall plot consistency seems to catch on fire and jump out the window with the author introducing a variety of plot twists that despite being enjoyable, left me with this urge to flip a table. I swear there was one time were the author took 3/4 of a chapter to explain the mechanics of some awesome finishing move, only for it to MISS.

I mean honestly, if I were to meet this author in real life, I wouldn't know whether I should shake his hand or punch him in the face. You really need to keep an open mind while reading this series because literally anything can happen.

This series also shouldn't be noted for its action because while there are some fight scenes in the series, they are few and far in-between. After all, this series was written by NISIO ISIN, the same person who wrote the monogatari series which isn't exactly know for its action (insert toothbrush image here).

Rather, like the monogatari series, this manga shines in its dialogue and character development. As the series goes on, it's cast seems to get larger and larger. Introducing a variety of characters who have their own quirks and personalities. Sure some characters get far more development than others but I can guarantee that you'll find at least one character to fall in love with (*Cough* Kumagawa *Cough*).

Overall this series, while not perfect, was an enjoyable ride. Reading it made me feel a variety of different emotions including happiness, anger, confusion, sadness, anxiety, more confusion and that typical feeling we all get when we know the creator is just trying to fuck us over.

I'm looking at YOU Haruhi and Evangelion.

Despite all this, I can honestly say that I was never once bored reading each and every chapter of this series and even though it isn't licensed in the US, I almost feel tempted to order the Japanese volumes from overseas despite not being able to read or speak the language.

However, Medaka box is not a series for everyone and is definably more of an acquired taste than one that everyone will enjoy. But if you're in the mood to read something different, or just wanna read a series that intentionally pisses on itself and the whole shounen genre in general than defiantly give this series a try.

Just a warning though, this manga seems to take a page right out of Hitman Reborn and starts off rather slow before actually getting interesting. Just bear with the first 17 chapters and I promise you you’ll find it’s not like anything you’ve ever read before if I haven’t already made that point clear. =P

Ever wonder what happens when you try too hard at something?

Well, in the world of Japanese entertainment, you get Medaka Box. Minor spoilers ahead.

I can't even call this entertainment. It's more akin to torture; a joke gift you give to a friend. There's literally no way to read this manga that will leave you with a positive feeling when you're finally done.

Why? Let's start with the story.

STORY: 3/10

If this is your first time with any anime or manga, this story will seem innovative. If you have seen at least one anime or read at least one manga in your entire life, then you've most likely ... witnessed a similar plot to this or better.
If you're more experienced with the medium, you'll be rolling your eyes. Set in a prestigious high school where there are seemingly no adults, first-year Kurokami Medaka wins the position of student council president by a whopping ninety-eight percent of the popular vote. How? Well, it's Medaka Box. More specifically, it's Medaka herself. She's good-looking, super smart, super strong, super persuasive, and super busty. I'd love to go on, but I'll save that for later.
As soon as she's given the position, she sets up a suggestion box (or "meyasu" box, from where the titular wordplay comes) and encourages the student body (A.K.A. the entire school) to drop in suggestions or problems, for which she offers to help 24/7/365. Having the mention of this box in the title itself would infer that it's a really important item throughout the whole story, right? Wrong. It's completely forgotten a couple dozen chapters in. Only about two to three times is the box ever brought up later. Additionally, most plot points or backstories aren't brought up until very late, usually for the sake of pure convenience or to make a gag, which always fails to extract even a mild chuckle.
Time to address the most glaring problem with Medaka Box: Until about chapter 20, I was reading it under the impression that this was a manga written with lots of effort, was meant to be taken seriously, and reflects what the author (and artist) wanted the reader to take away from it. It was not only until I did a little more research that I found out this was a satire, or parody. Upon reading that, I said out loud to myself, "what the fuck?"
That's right; this manga is meant to be a satire of every imaginable generic shounen trope. It's too bad that NisiOisiN has no idea how to do satire. Never is there a single tell or sign in the beginning that it's of that genre, and instead goes on happily assuming the reader already knows what it's doing. I had to go out of my way to have someone let me know that it was a satire, and it was only after that realisation that every attempt to subvert some trope became more and more jarring, as if it were saying, "Guys, just to let you know, this is all ironic. You know what would normally happen in a generic shounen? Well, that's what we're doing, except ironically!" It goes from being incredibly ambiguous with its purpose to having so little faith in the reader's intelligence that it feels the need to constantly point out when it's subverting something, which is about 90% of the time. Also, its attempts to cleverly break the 4th wall are played so childishly that it'd make even a fan fiction look amazing.
As a side note, I'd like to point out that Medaka Box was serialised on Weekly Shounen Jump. Constantly throughout the series we get characters saying how rudimentary and childlike manga in that magazine are, while it sets itself up to be so much more mature simply because it subverts everything. People make this out to be a taboo of criticism, but I'm not afraid to say Medaka Box is utterly pretentious. It thinks it's so much better than the rest, yet is exactly the same, if not worse.
Furthermore, how the hell would you criticise something like this? If it's always being ironic 100% of the time, then it's impossible to rate it; it's always going to be an instant 10.
Manga did some stupid shit? Hah, no worries, that's the point, it's SUPPOSED to be bad! We just set ourselves up for an impenetrable defense against criticism! A foolproof excuse for every time we may falter!

The reason it's so detrimental for Medaka Box to try to subvert literally everything (emphasis on "try") is because that's all it eventually becomes: A manga that's just pointing out typical shounen tropes and how clever the author is by announcing that it's subverting them. It does this so often that it destroys its own identity, and any later attempts to create one instantly fail. Not only that, but it's also devoid of genre. What IS Medaka Box? A slice of life? A drama? A battle shounen? A sports manga? A martial arts manga? A psychological manga? A romance? A comedy?
The correct answer would be, "everything." But a more correct answer would be, "nothing." It crams so many genres in one package and tries to pull them all off at the same time that none are ever fully realised. In trying to be a little bit of everything, Medaka Box succeds at being a whole lot of nothing.

ART: 3/10

It's difficult not to associate "art" with just the quality of the drawings; however, in manga, "art" also refers to other things like style, backgrounds, paneling, expression, and consistency.

Akatsuki Akira's art in Medaka Box is pretty detailed by itself, even though most characters have bags under their eyes all the time and a criminal case of sameface. Fortunately, in terms of quality, it's not bad. It's in everything else that the problem lies.
Character designs are exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous and downright offensive to look at, with a few exceptions. The most notable examples of this are the villains, especially ones like Miyakonojou and the generic antagonists in the first few chapters. But oh wait, they did it on purpose, so it's okay!
No it isn't.
If that was on purpose, then was the questionable paneling, disconnected movements and the artist's lack of ability to draw hands also on purpose?
Yes, the artist can't draw hands. You can see how hard he tries to hide hands in his art, whether they be out of panel or in pockets, but when they show, 90% of the time, they're all in one single position. I recommend you see for yourself and imagine that for 194 chapters.
Backgrounds are done well enough, so I have no complaints there, though it's what you'd expect in your average manga. One gripe I have with the backgrounds is that they never make anything truly stand out in the world. Everything looks just as much like everything else as, well... everything else. All in all, they're average. They do their job, but I never found myself in awe over how a certain background was drawn.

On a smaller note, it looks awful in color. Characters that would be drawn with black hair have a really ugly brown color, and Shiranui's bright blue hair gets on my nerves. And speaking of characters...

CHARACTERS: 1/10

And now, the moment of truth.
Characters can make or break a series. For Medaka Box, it's the latter. Apparently, in a satire like this, there has to exist at least one character whose sole purpose is to subvert a certain trope. I know I'm sounding like a scratched disc, but this manga absolutely LOVES drilling in the fact that they're trying to be meta right into the reader's brains.
You have your average guy who tags alongside the protagonist because he's her bitch, is average at everything, does average things, and reacts accordingly to every situation. In other words, the most boring conceivable human being. Now, later in the story, he has some basic development, but it's all so predictable that you wonder why they didn't make him like that from the start, since pretty much no other character gets any development, aside from bad guys turning good.
And it's not like the rest of the main cast is any memorable, either. Not only are they pretty much idle for the majority of the story, but they only show up when absolutely necessary, save for Kumagawa, but he comes later.
As for the rest of the cast... who the hell are these people? Their names are completely forgettable, their designs are not even worth mentioning, and they all only ever get a few lines before the manga decides it's had enough of them. As a desperate attempt from the author to convince the reader that these characters didn't just phase into existence as soon as the story saw fit, they throw in a vague, quickly mashed together backstory during a battle. Seriously, six characters were introduced in one chapter only for them to be instantly defeated in the next and never brought back. Speaking of characters, there are many. And I mean like, more than this manga knows what to do with. They're all different variations of the same generic archetypes anyway, so if you just skip every page where they appear, you'll miss out on absolutely nothing. It's a privilege to even call these soulless, concave shells, "characters," anyway, given how many times I just used the word.

But you don't want to hear about them (and frankly, neither did I); you wanna hear about our lovely, beautiful, strong, athletic, busty, generic, overpowered, conceited, arrogant bitch of a protagonist that is Kurokami Medaka.

What is the point? As in, what is the point of Medaka existing? She's perfect in every way. She can do everything right, and if she doesn't know something, she'll just learn and master it in the blink of an eye. "Mary Sue" would be an understatement for this sort of blemish on the art of writing itself. She's good at everything, she never fails, she's popular, and there's no way to defeat her. Coupled with the fact that she has about five different god modes, in what way do you ever expect any battle with her to have any sort of tension? There simply is none, because you always know she'll win. It's established from the beginning that she'll always win. You're plowing through 194 chapters simply just to see Medaka win over and over again by pulling something out of her ass or bending the rules of storytelling itself to her favor. Was she made to be this formulaic and boring by design?
Of course. Medaka is singlehandedly a worse protagonist than even Amagiri Ayato or Kirito, because they at least have a personality. Medaka has nothing. She does things for the sake of people. For the sake of the reader. She does what the reader wants her to do all the time. The entire concept of this character is so inoffensive; so formulaic; so safe, that you never expect anything out of her than what you always would. Medaka will always win, whether you like it or not. She'll never do anything stupid, or screw up, or say anything out of character. She exists for the sake of filling in the protagonist slot.

Oh yeah, Kumagawa.

Kumagawa Misogi could be considered the saving grace involuntarily stuck between this trainwreck. His role in the story is that of "the loser," and in no lighthearted way. He serves the purpose of being the person who is always destined, or cursed, to lose. He can never beat the main character or anyone simply because he's the bad guy and not the protagonist. He's come to terms with this fate and puts himself down with those who are weak to study them in order to strenghten himself. That sounds great. If only the author didn't make him talk about how it's all so different from a stereotypical Shounen Jump manga, then I'd like his concept even more. On top of his power being cool--though not properly used most of the time--his design doesn't give you eye sores, which is always a plus in Medaka Box, saddening as it may be. Unfortunately, he's not our main character, but he's still redeemable and memorable enough to stick in your mind even after the PTSD has worn off.

ENJOYMENT: 1/10

What is there to be taken away from this manga? All that's visible is a perfect example of how not to write anything ever. In fact, this series would be more informative than anything if read from that perspective. There's just nothing enjoyable about this. The characters are bad, the interaction is bad, the art leaves much to be desired, and the story is dreadful and just keeps going. As soon as you think it's reached a satisfactory conclusion, it suddenly keeps going, immediately jumping into a new worthless arc that by the third time would make anyone go, "there's more...?" The more the story goes on, the more you want to see Medaka dead and everyone else doing something with their lives. What you've seen here you can see anywhere else, and done better. Please do not waste your time on Medaka Box, even if by mere curiosity.

A 1 might seem harsh, though. After all, I just mentioned some redeeming aspects that would save it from the title of absolute worst.
However, this isn't a review that tries to appeal to a general audience; it's one that expresses an opinion. If there was no such thing as perfection to the mind, the 10 on a rating scale wouldn't exist, making the highest score a 9, and since a 9 would be highest, an 8, so on and so forth. The same applies for the 1. Simply having some redeeming factors doesn't mean one can't think something isn't absolutely bad, and vice versa. The nice animation in Sword Art Online alone doesn't make a person want to keep watching for forty-eight episodes; similarly, okay art and one good character don't make a person want to read through the entirety of this mistake.

OVERALL: 1/10

This manga is not fun. This manga is not interesting. This manga is not engaging. Please, by all means, stay away from Medaka Box. Please, don't watch the anime thinking it'll be better. And if you ignore all of this, then at least don't raise your expectations too high, otherwise you'll be as criminally disappointed as I was. I wanted to like this series. I went into it thinking, and hoping it would be good. But by chapter 12, I simply couldn't continue. I gave up on that notion. As soon as that happened, everything fell right into place exactly how I thought it would. It's predictable, it's degrading, and it's insulting. Not just to the reader, but to itself. I wish Kumagawa could make this manga have "never happened."

This review has been written with only 11 chapters out, so try not to judge it too harshly please.

Ok, the basic storyline follows the adventures of Zenkichi Hitoyoshi who helped his childhood friend Medaka Kurokami to become student council president with a 98% of the school's vote. He is then roped by Medaka into joining the council himself and she forces him into many bizarre situations in response to the many suggestions in the suggestion box. Hilarity ensues.

Story: 8/10
A classic style storyline, but a good one nonetheless. (I'm a bit of a sucker for school life.)

Art: 9/10
I find the art very well done. It ... allows you to really feel the character's emotions.

Characters: 10/10
This is where I think this manga really shines. The characters are the most enjoyable part of this manga.

Medaka Kurokami is a genius, brilliant at sports, and extremely rich. She also has a toned body and rather generous buxom (both of which she has little hesitation in showing off). Her dominant demeanor led her to victory in the student council election despite being a first year student. She often manipulates her childhood friend into helping her, despite his constant insistance that it's "just this once."

Zenkichi Hitoyoshi is Medaka's childhood friend. As is often stated at the beginning, he is also the one who understands her better than anyone else in the world. He is a rather hilarious fellow, who always falls for Medaka's "cute girl" switch. Putting all that aside, he really does care for her a lot, and will do almost anything she asks of him.

Last character review: Hansode Shiranui.
Though she's not "officially" a main character, she does appear in almost every chapter after the pilot. In my mind, she is the most amusing! She collects data from places "you're better off not knowing" and takes great pleasure in watching diabolical acts and humor. She has an baby face, immature body, and a severly twisted mind. Truly amazing!


Enjoyment: 9/10
All said Medaka Box is one of the most enjoyable slapstick style manga I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I really look forward to the next chapter and I hope that it proves just as enjoyable for the rest of its circulation.


Overall: 36/40=9/10

On a side note: there's just one thing in the manga I don't get:

Why on earth do several of the characters seem to think of the student council office as a changing room?

[Quick Review] (for the people who don't have the time to read lengthy reviews)

Medaka Box, a manga written by Nisio Isin, is a satire disguised as a Shounen Battle manga. It mocks every aspect of the shounen genre as well as extending its mockery to include even ecchi and "perfect-girl" manga (if such a thing exists). Every part of this manga is intentionally bad and exaggerated to emphasize just how ridiculous and poorly executed most (but not all) shounen manga are.

If you have not read enough shounen, you won't get it.
If you like a lot of shounen, you won't like it.
But if you're open-minded and ... enjoy a good satire, then Medaka Box will be your cup of tea.


[Actual Review] (an over-analysis of the manga for people who have the patience to read lengthy reviews)

This manga is bad. Really bad. The thing is, it intends to be bad. While you lie on your bed, reading the pages that comprise this manga, disgusted at just how generic it is and laughing at how this manga can drive the shounen battle genre to new extremes (extremes that not even Dragon Ball could reach), the manga will be laughing with you. It is self-aware on how awful it is, and actually quite proud of it.

The best part of this manga is its characters.
Medaka is a parody of not just the shounen protagonists, but of perfect-girl characters (most notably Haruhi from TMoHS). She starts off as a perfect little student council president, hell bent to reform everyone who she deems as delinquents, then BOOM, sudden tone change. Medaka is now your usual overpowered protagonist, who gets more and more powerful as the manga progresses. Her perfection makes her into an irritating character (this can be seen as a critique of the shounen heroes).
Hityoshi Zenkichi, Medaka's long time friend, is basically a shounen battle version of Kyon (from TMoHS). He complains about having to be with Medaka, but actually cares. He later becomes the bitch of the series, but I won't get into that.
The rest of the characters are very distinct from each other (a trait Nisio Isin perfected in his continuous quest to create the oddest characters). Although, their distinction can't make up for their lack of depth (another critique on shounen). They fill a singular role (without any groundbreaking development) and function to play that role well at the same time to parody it. The manga also illustrates one of the most basic traits of shounen battle manga, big villains get bigger and badder. Each villain is stronger and more overpowered than the last. Heck, at one point, God was a villain. GOD WAS A VILLAIN. AND GOD WAS HOT! (note that this is not an actual god from any religious text nor any from mythology. Just a chick strong enough to be considered god. A chick who could make Goku her foot stool and Vegeta her jester while nibbling on Luffy cookies).

[. . . .]

And how could I not mention Kumagawa Misogi? In my opinion, his arrival marked the point when Medaka Box became a grand manga. He is a one-dimensional character, the villain of a later arc, and an overall amazing add to the mix. He is the Joker of the manga (that is, if the Joker was a loser.)

The story is a gem in terms of satires. It is the perfect satire of the shounen genre (although perfection in this field doesn't mean that it is good). The first arc establishes the student council, the main characters, and that Medaka is too perfect. That arc demonstrates just how bland shounen can get when setting up. It's so bland you don't need to read it. Just go read a synopsis then skip to the battle part. After that, the story takes a bumpy change in tone, shifting from being a slice-of-life shounen manga, into a battle manga (kinda like KHR). Here's where things pick up. The pacing becomes faster once they introduce Unzen (the first villain) and the manga goes from being unusual to illogical. And it doesn't stop. It gets crazier in the next arc, introducing Kumagawa Misogi, and further demonstrating why the powers in Medaka Box easily trump all other powers in shounen.

But I think I fell in love with this manga after Kumagawa's arc. The arc that follows challenges the Weekly Shounen Jump. It bites the hand that feeds it. It is filled with 4th wall breaking, which is used not just to mock Shounen Jump, but to challenge it. Sure, this arc dragged on for too long, but don't most shounen drag on for way too long? This arc concludes in spectacular fashion with troll-like humor and every trope you pull out of the book of shounen.

[The art is nothing special so I won't talk about it (maybe it was intentionally mediocre?)]

To wrap it all up, I think this manga is a genius at what it does. A masterpiece in terms of manga satires. This alone will not justify how bad the manga is, but is sure as hell makes it worth the read.

okay, for a note, this is actually my first review, especially in manga, but don't know why, i have the urge to write a review for medaka-chan and her klutz companies..

first of all, when i first read it, i have great anticipation for this manga, but.. after reading 14 chapter that anticipation gone whatsoever, but deep down, i hope it will get better cause it still ongoing anyway, but this is my review after 14 chapter bear with it

Story 6/10
-what can i say? the first 3rd chapter is good (not fascinating) but have potential to became one, but after that it became stagnant (school president ... looking for member, bla2.. and currently still looking for one) it's like a dud, scary at first, but when it hits the ground.. bam.. nothing happens..

Art 7/10
-the art is good, no complaints there

Character 4/10
-this is the thing, the thing that make me sick of medaka, there is no significant character development whatsoever, cause you know what? she (medaka) is too damn perfect! she can do anything and i mean anything! You have a broken machinery? go to medaka and she'll fix it for ya. You have a complex arithmetical problems that even einstein can't solve? go to medaka! see what i'am saying?

uhm.. so there you have it.. but i can be wrong (and i dear god i hope i'am wrong) cause just like i said this series is ongoing, there's still room for improvement. But if it's not, i think i will suggest ishin-sensei to take this manga to medaka for better stories.

Warning: this review may have some minor spoilers

FIRST COMMENTS:
==============================
I've started reading the manga after watching the anime. Well, the anime covered the first two arcs, and of course didn't end properly (manga is 194 chapters long). More motive to start reading the manga.

I would say that it have a mix of everything: School life, comedy, romance, fights, riddles, puzzles, suspense, drama, and a lot of side characters. Its difficult to classify. Its more like the next arc always present an new element that sum up with the previous arcs.

I recommend reading at least the first arc after the anime ends (third arc: minus). At this ... point you can say that you like or dislike it. So I will make a review of the first three arcs.

ART: 7
==============================
The art is good. The characters are well drawn, in spite of the great variety. The author did a great job, making every character unique. The quality don't drop through the arcs. With the focus on the characters and dialogues, the background was left with bare minimum. Its interesting that sometimes you get so into the dialogue that you forget where you are, or that you still are on a school.

STORY: 8
==============================
The plot and character development that make this manga great.

The first arc (Unzen arc) covers the first season of the anime. Starts with a overpowered, charismatic main character. School council president, a monster of a fighter and with the manga title in her name, Medaka could be the center of some comedy, romance, school life manga. This arc only works for presenting the story, the characters and to initiate the second arc.

The second arc (flask plan), things start to change. A lot of fights take places, people with odd skills appear. At this point you can notice that the plot really starts and the story progress in a way totally different from when started.

In the third arc (minus), you can notice that the atmosphere changes. The plot kicks in, the manga start to develop the characters psychologically. You still have a lot of fights, but their content is not entirely exchange of punches and kicks, weird skills and such. There is a lot of "talk no jutsu", drama and suspense take its course.

Personally, toward the middle, I found this manga a little repetitive. Its not like you don't enjoy it, but over several fights, for someone that master any skill, gets hard to create someone that can put up a battle. Some parts are too focused on japanese characters (kanji and hiragana), so the english version totally miss the effort the author put in it. Well, the author do explain every pun, but you will miss the effect it was on the story.

==============================

CHARACTERS: 6
=========================
The characters are original and unique. With a lot of characters, there is absolutely some that you will like most, be it a protagonist or coadjuvant. Downside, its hard to keep track of then. Some you will forget quickly, others gets sequence in the story.

CONCLUSION: 7
==============================
Definitely enjoyed. Got addicted in the end of the second arc. The story is not that much, but the plot was well made, original and unpredictable to the very end.

Well, Medaka Box is about a history of a two classmates, Medaka Kurokami and her childhood friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi.

Medaka-chan, as Zen tells her thinks that her does make everyone happy , becomes the 48th president of her high school with the 98% of the votes.

One of her new ideas is to listen the requests of the all students and resolves thier problems through a suggestion box that her calls "Medaka Box", whereby Zenkichi doesn't agree but he helps her for his friendship.

Their adventure becomes with their finds of the rest of members for the Student Council and the differents problems of students, and the secrets ... of their high school.

If you lke the battles, and find a little of romance is the correct series, with the humor of NisioIsin and the draws of Akira Akatsuki.

All characters have their own personality definite.

IS a very good series for all of people. Enjoy it!!!!!

I avoided this manga for so long because I thought it was gonna be a slice of life type manga. The description in the wiki completely misled me. Don't be confused, this is an action manga like One Piece or Fairy Tail. If I was to compare the fighting style to another manga i think I would choose "Get Backers" or "Yu Yu Hakusho" as a comparison. As the fighters use a complex strategy to beat each of their opponents.


Story: 8/10

They did well overall in this area. I like stories like Record of the Fallen Vampire or One ... Piece where you know there is a history there right from the start of the manga but the author only reveals parts of it. Medaka Box does that but the story doesn't seem to have too much depth so I am docking a point from story for that.

STORY -1 POINT FOR ABOVE REASON

For the first 15 chapters or so the story is about taking student suggestions in the "Medaka Box" and is about the comedy of watching this superhuman president solve each of the problems. Its quite entertaining too and well made. That's only the first 15 chapters though...

After that the story completely changes. I think the mangaka was bored with the idea himself and saw that he had a chance to change it to an action manga. From then on it becomes based on a group of super-humans called "abnormals" trying to use Medaka for their own purposes. In fact the Medaka Box which the manga is named for becomes a joke which is commonly referred to by the series villains "Why don't you leave a suggestion in the Medaka Box" they say.

STORY -1 FOR ABOVE REASON

Art: 9/10

Wasn't anything wrong with the art I just didn't think anything stood out as overly creative.

ART -1 FOR ABOVE REASON

Character: 9/10

I liked the characters, each of them have a backstory and each of them have their histories explored a little bit in each chapter. I like how they hint at each character having a history as well right from when they are introduced, but the author only tells you what you need to know.

The reason character lost a point though is that I don't really see how the characters are tied to the main story line. They did very well in that they gave each character an interesting back story, but these back-stories are each independent and don't seem to be related at all.

CHARACTER -1 FOR ABOVE REASON

Enjoyment: 10/10

I have enjoyed every moment of the manga. Nothing bugged me enough to really be worth mentioning. The occasional plot line I didn't like but that's just a matter of opinion.

Oh and theres some good fan service too. Medaka has no problems with walking around in her braw and panties and the girls clothing usually gets torn to shreds.

Overall: 9/10

You can tell its a Weekly Shounen Jump manga right from the start. Everything screams teenage boy. If you like one piece, bleach, Naruto, Get Backers, Fairy Tail, Psyren, Arago, Histories Strongest Disciple Kenichi, etc, etc. Then this is another one for that category. Try it, its pretty good.

I had to drop this one after one volume. The story itself seems nice enough, but the art/translation are not good! the black/white balance is skewed towards black, and I have a hard time following the font the scanlators used :-(

sorry Medaka's Box - you seemed like a good idea, but I wasn't engaged enough after one volume to persevere.

Medaka Box came off as a school life driven by its characters. I felt like leaving a review for it and thus added it to my list, but please bear in mind that i don't normally update my list simply because i don't want to.

Story: 8/10

-The story is your typical school life/shounen battle series. But like every other above-average manga, the way the story is told and executed is what makes it stand out. It starts off slow for a couple chapters but kicks into high gear and defines itself as an action manga afterwards. I'm a fan of nearly all genres and i have ... to say that my mood is what pretty much causes me to read certain manga. The story is told in a way where you won't be confused, but the what's going in is actually quite confusing. Not sure if i'm alone here, but there are certain holes in the story that will either leave you saying "wtf?" or just "that's understandable". It's no Cavalier of the Abyss, but it does have it's moments where things get a little out of hand.

Characters: 9/10

-Best part about the manga in my honest opinion. Medaka alone has a great impact on the reader. I like how the manga incorporates plenty of different personalities within both their enemies and their main cast. Medaka comes off as a very strong-willed person, but you discover sides to her that aren't so easily read. Like all characters in this manga, the development they go through isn't minor at all nor is it too major that it changes the character itself. The student council all display personal feelings and emotions that prove they aren't retarded or robots in any way. Hell, i have to say that i really like Kumagawa's and Miyakonojou's characters. They really shift the mood of the manga quite well.

Art: 7/10

-No complaints from me. It's fine, not great, not bad. Characters are easily recognizable for the most part and it's not extremely plain. Backgrounds and scenery could be given some more detail, but it doesn't do anything detrimental. Easy to look at and understand what's going on.

Enjoyment: 8/10

-Let's just say you'll burn through chapters pretty easily. I was actually able to stop reading after a couple chapters at a time so i'll admit it wasn't the most exciting manga that i've read, but it does it's job at keeping you interested. Lives up to being a shounen manga with those lovable "epic" moments and it has barely enough romance to notice that it's there.

Overall: 8/10

-What can i say? Entertaining read, interesting characters, fine artwork. But i will say one thing before i end my review; Kid in the mask is a faggot. That is all.

Have you ever thought to yourself, as you read through various shounen over the years, that everything just seems a little too well tread? The plot devices have been done, the archetypes are very familiar, and in the end the good guy is going to win because in the world where you appeal to young males the audience doesn't want to go home with a frown, but with a smile as the heroic hero slays the villains and is victorious through a variety of obstacles that were merely illusions, set pieces for the victory itself.

Be glad then that you are not alone, and someone ... that thought a lot about this has written a very, very fine shounen manga for your enjoyment.

Medaka Box starts off as a story about a girl who loves everyone and will help anyone in need twenty four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year and turns into the finest satirical and self-aware shounen out there. As the story unfolds the manga shifts around to suit its moods. As the manga went on is true form became more and more apparent: the story was not meant to be taken seriously, but the message behind it was. Medaka, as a main character, is as mary sue as mary sue gets. There is simply no way around this fact. She does everything perfectly, and the things she doesn't do perfectly she learns to do perfectly, and sometimes even beyond perfection. She represents the hero that many have a soft spot for but wish would be more complex. The brilliance of this manga though is that the supporting cast shares our sentiments. They worry that she doesn't understand them, that she values her enemies more than her friends. That she can't truly like someone until she's fought them, which is a common theme in battle shounen and is on full display here.

There will probably be times where you won't like the main character, and this is by design. Unlike some manga though when she is at the peak of her tyranny, as other characters see it, the manga subtly shifts away from her a fair bit to an amazing supporting cast which is as fleshed out and complex as you could ever ask from this type of manga. Each villain of the major arcs offers something completely different from the last, posing different challenges both to the main cast of the story as well as to the reader. This is a manga that, if you allow it, will make you ask some interesting questions about not only some of our favorite stories but about life in general. There are characters who talk about life in a very frank and real way, a stark contrast from the world of shounen and it makes it all the more refreshing to see it.

The art is pretty great a large majority of the time. It doesn't inspire all of the time though, just because it lacks a certain edge that a lot of great manga have when it comes to art style. But the drawing always seemed to fit the mood really well and helped portray the characters different emotions.

If you want to root against the main character in a healthy way, are sick of reading generic shounens, and have a story whose undertones hit all of the right spots I would really recommend this manga to you. If you aren't much for "meta" humor where the characters examine the tropes they live in, and like a more well defined and structured battle shounen, then Medaka Box will probably end up disappointing you.

I will say this though: Get to the part where the character Kumagawa appears. If you don't the manga after that then this won't be for you, because he is its shining star.

While reading some of the reviews about this series it seems like people only read the first 10 chapters then decided to write a review of this.

Medaka Box starts out as a gag mange following the life of Zenkichi Hitoyoshi and the President of the Student Council Medaka Kurokami. However the series soon becomes a fight manga ( around chapter 20ish ).

Story 7/10

As I stated the beginning 20 chapters are typical slice of life/gag manga antics. You have the pool chapters , the help someone in trouble chapters , you even have the "rival" chapters. The story then shifts to the student council taking ... on this evil organization ( and this is the turn into a fight manga ). While cliche , the story gets above average marks because of how it puts twists into the story. I won't spoil anything , but you will see what I mean if you take the time to read ~ 30 chapters.

Art 9/10

Solid character designs , Zenkichi has a different look than most protagonists but it works well for him. The fight scenes are also very well done , unlike other fight mangas where it can be hard to tell what is going on sometimes. The only thing keeping me from giving this a 10/10 are the backgrounds , or lack of , I should say. This becomes painfully obvious during some scenes where you see very basic backgrounds.

Characters 8/10

I was debating between a 6/10 and an 8/10 for this , considering only 2 major arcs have happened ( of the time of writing this review ) I decided to be considerate and give this an 8/10. The main hero Zenkichi goes through some decent character development , as does the heroine Medaka. There is also the rich cast of side characters ( though only Kouki and Akane have shown any sort of character progression ). I would write a basic character analysis for these characters but it would spoil major plot points.

Enjoyment 9/10

Series had my on the edge of my seat for most of the major fights , there was never a time where I thought a fight was bad. The slice of life/gag early chapters also were enjoyable.

Overall 8/10 ( 7+9+8+9/4 = 8.25 )

I recommend this to anyone who likes a light fight manga ( think Reborn or the first 100~ chapters of HSD Kenichi ). For people looking for a gag / comedy manga I suggest looking elsewhere as the comedy aspects of this are really toned down after chapter 20ish.

Hands down, one of the best manga I have ever read. The only huge negative about this manga is its purposely made 50 mediocre chapters until the Kumagawa Incident Arc.

This manga is not for everyone and people who are never exposed to the completely unique writing style of Nisoissin could think series is suffering the problem of ''not knowing what to become'', If you are looking for a basic school romance/comedy/battle shounen, I do not recommend Medaka Box. Yeah, you will get all of those if you read but none of those are the main focus. Medaka Box is like a dissident infiltrated into ... the Shounen Jump and made its critique from inside.

NOTE: This is my first review so please keep in mind it may suck. (^_^)


Well, well, well, What do we have here?
A typical highschool ecchi and a plot that seems to go nowhere with the crappy theme of "Gotta save my F**** nakama every single chapter!" plus, the characters are pretty stupid.
But, when did I say that was a bad thing?

Introducing to you! Medaka Box! A manga about highschool and how every character has some type of problem that needs to be solved by the student council everyday. Now, you might ask, highschool ecchi? Helping my nakama? Stupid characters that are 2D ... and do not have any realism to them?
Mr. Reviewer, WHY THE ASDFHJFDKSLH WOULD I READ THIS SHIT!?!?!?!?!

Well lets first begin our review at once!

Story: 7

Typical MC and childhood friend arrives at their first year of highschool, childhood friend is amazing and good at everything from athletic to academics and blah blah blah blah. Of course childhood friend and MC are different genders, and they become part of the student council without going through much hardship since they are the main characters -_-

Oh, but wait, there is a catch,
They make a suggestion box for the student council which can handle any, ANY requests 24/7. Hmm.. ok Mr. Reviewer, so what? Who actually gives a crap about a suggestion box? No one puts stuff in those anyways!

Ya, but this is a manga so TOO BAD, and also the suggestion box is everything in the manga,
starting an arc? Lets put in a request! Can't find a solution to a problem? Put in a request!
The whole plot of the manga is the box, the box makes the plots, the problems and everything that has to do with the story!
Now that is something different and unique ehh? Don't see boxes creating plots in other manga do you?

Now onto the Art!

Art: 7
Meh, looks just meh nothing that gives me a "OMFG IT'S THE MONA LISA!" feeling. But it fits the characters, the flashy ones, the boring ones, and the ones that always lose *cough* Kumagawa *cough* . It's not good or bad, if it works and fits with the plot, fine with me.

(IDGAF about art cuz i usually don't notice it, not worth criticizing or praising, don't wanna talk shit about how one finger is a cm off the other)

Characters, OMG, they are so stupid that they work

Character: 10
Ok, this is where the meat and bacon comes,
Characters can be summarized into one word...............






















Just kidding they are so stupid that they cannot be summarized into a word, imagine a cardboard box that has a hole cut into it and TV is labelled on it, then imagine a kid walking up to it and staring at it, and then comes along 10 or 20 other kids that sit beside the same kid and start watching the box, before anyone knows, everyone starts to watch the box and finally someone's mom comes and asks, "What are you guys doing looking at a cardboard box?" and one kid replies, "Peer Pressure, I thought everyone here was an esper so they were actually watching TV!" Coincindentally, the kid beside that kid also thought that, and the kid beside that kid also thought that and on and on and on, till they realized the first kid was trying to keep the cardboard box company because she thought it was lonely.

Yep, characters in a nutshell, they follow a stupid person who does stupid stuff and then realize how stupid they were but they still follow her stupidly. Each character is stupid in their own way, stupidly normal, stupidly talented, stupidly weak, stupidly OP, and stupidly stupid.

But you know what, that's why it's so fun, the way they handle situations is unthinkable! Even people with no common cannot understand them (me T_T). Some characters consider themselves boss characters and there's even an arc where the objective is to make a character the main character, it's just so different and interesting to read, each character is refreshing and brings out the truth about mainstream battle manga even though it is one itself.

The characters are the steak, the steak that is mixed with ketchup, mustard, pepper, tartarsauce, applesauce and even more which brings out a really crap flavour, but it is also in a way refreshing because we have never tasted something like it before, it may not be to our liking, but it's unique and sometimes that's what matters!

Enjoyment:
Its awesome, i think wrote all my opinions already in the other sections so :P

Overall: 8
Ya, even though I gave it alot of praise, the beginning was pretty mediocre IMO so I had to lower the score for it but ya!

TL;DR: TOO BAD READ THE REVIEW YOU LAZY ASSES!


Anyways, thanks for reading my review and gimme some tips, I'm lazy so I probably won't write one for a while.

Bye guys! Hope You liked my review! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Point is I'm not gonna give this manga a "10" or a "8" or even a "5" and say "lol omg this was meant to be a joke, you people just can't understand true artistic genius"> NO!, IT WAS MEANT TO BE BAD, SO I GAVE IT THE RATING IT DESERVED. (yes I read every single chapter, and watched all the episodes) I won't spoil so im giving vague descriptions here.

This manga is bad and you should feel bad if are enjoying this manga. I HAD TO MAKE AN ACCOUNT JUST TO LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHITTY THIS SHIT ... IS (I felt like this website would get my opinion across). Let me remind you I'm not your typical hater I started this manga back when it was still new, AND I'M STILL READING IT. EVERY GOOD DAMNED CHAPTER THAT COMES OUT. I bet you're wondering why I'm still reading it huh?, I guess you could call it a test to "I'm gonna see how bad this can really get". All jokes side my jimmies have never been rustled to this extent, until I read this shit.

I know there are white knights out there who will defend this manga to death but it is terri-bad and they know it too. What started off as a Slice Of Life became an Action, Shounen, School Life piece of crap, THIS MANGA GOT SO BAD THEY HAD TO CHANGE THE GENRE OF IT. I watched the anime too(but that's a story for another time) AND THAT SHIT WAS JUST ASS BAD IF NOT WORSE.

Now listen I know this manga "was meant to be horrible" but I do not care, This crap was bad and to anyone who hasn't read it yet brace yourself. There were times where the story got so bad, I almost bought a plane ticket to japan to beat the fuck out the creator/author and editor.

The main problem is that within the mange they try to portray the anything is possible through "medaka magic logic". Meaning?? Well look at that a very OP well developed villain I wonder how the story will play out? What powers does he have? How will Medaka beat him, what tactics will they use in the manga? Will Zenkichi finally be of some use, will Kouki or Mogana get in the way? I wonder.... *Medaka just one punches the villain* WELP! next chapter then... I guess *continues with the Goku effect*

Like I get it, she's the main character but dam even Goku fails and Vegeta has to help him and shine a little but no, NOT here, this is Medaka world where if she didn't have to power to win she just pulls some godforsaken ability she never had before out and ends the shit. LIKE REALLY?


ALSO FOR ALL YOU MORONS DEFENDING THIS CRAP, I have read every single chapter (which is 178 for now and later when this review is old probably 240 or something) and watched all the episodes of season 1 and 2, so I'm pretty well researched on this opinion. Look at the other reviews, now how many of them have done that? None.