Ichijou-san wa Kao ni Deyasui

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Cute, but devoid of any real tension better romcom's have.

The story has Mahiro, a high school student, in love with Ichijou, a popular and virtuous classmate. Mahiro finds out she's actually a vamipre, then spends the semester getting to know her better and develop romance along the way.

The story is frankly lame. There is little tension. Mahiro nor Ichijou ever find themselves in any real danger. Any dramatic moments in the story get mulled within ten pages. This is an underuse of the supernatural aspect of falling for a vampire. More on that, the vampire aspect of the story quickly wears off to the point ... the resder completely forgot Ichijou was a vampire. The only time one will remember she's a vampire is when her fangs are shown in a panel. Otherwise she feels like a regular girl, generic even. Lastly the story treats the characters like they're much more than what the story has shown us. At multiple points Ichirou or Mahiro will state how countless times the other helped them, saved them, or something of the like. However, we only get a couple of story arcs where these referenced incidents actually occur. It feels the mangaka wants the reader to build extensive backgrounds for these characters rather than do it himself. This comes off as lazy writing.

The story does have some redeemers though. Mahiro is decisive enough to somewhat avoid the "kind guy" MC so many other romcoms fall for. He does go through some development so that by the end he is more confident of himself. This is particularly felt in the last chapters. The close ups of Ichijou in her bloodlust state are a treat and give her some punch that is devoid in her normal state. These positives allow some enjoyment from the story.

While the positives exist, they are outweighed by the nagatives. This manga was obviously axed based on the ending feeling very rushed. The ax was necessary here, as it didn't seem the story was going anywhere otherwise. This leaves for a bland romcom that is helped by being short. Reading it should take an hour or so. I have no strong opinions on whether it should be read or not.

5/10.