Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro
Chio's School Road

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'Bloody Butterfly.'

That's Chio's online gamer-tag name and the one she uses to associate herself with gangs and the police. You'd think for a manga that appears about Slice of Life that they spend most of their time at school. It's quite the contrary. They are spent having many hilarious and absurd moments, while on their way to school. It brings many chuckles out of to the reader. I find the comedic duo Chio and Manana to excel seeming genuine while devious at times, being that they're childhood friends. They bring out the best out one another with the many side characters that get introduced later ... on each having their own tropes and mini-arcs. It artistic and simplistic but with enough, energy and emotion that you get from each look and circumstance are what make this manga fantastic. Give this short manga a read is a pleasing welcoming delight.

The concept of walking to school couldn't get any better than this. From fighting with friends to getting yourself into the worst scenarios possible, sometimes due to video game influence.

The concept of walking to school is a simple one and is seen in many animes and mangas, there isn't much going on besides walking and maybe talking. Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro's best trait are the characters, with some relate-able moments here and there sprinkled in. Chapters include various characters from her class mates, best friend, a homeless guy, and a bike gang member to name a few. All the characters feel fleshed out and work alongside ... each other for such a simple manga. Each chapter should give a you a smile and chuckle from the comedic writing or the great art style.

As I mentioned in the beginning this manga has a decent amount of video game references in it, so if you enjoy a variety of video games maybe you'll relate to Chio-chan such as myself. If you aren't into video games DO NOT let that stop you from reading as most references are accompanied by small bits where Chio-chan explains them, they're short and insightful and don't break the pacing of the manga. She goes from parkour-ing thanks to Assassins Creed, trying to stealth and talk her way out of things due to Hitman, and even using tactics she learned from Payday and Counter Strike. If you've ever walked to school as kid you can understand that adventure it can be, especially when video games influence you.

It's a fun manga with lovable characters that'll make you smile from the comedy and even the occasional touching friend-to-friend moments. You won't regret reading this manga, I'm sure of it.

Chio-chan is a great read that makes me laugh hard every few pages.

The stories are mostly about Chio-chan going (walking / running / parkouring) to school, but the setting doesn't really feel like that usual high-schooly thing. There are rarely any pages where the characters are actually in school.

Sometimes the humour comes from strange situations the characters get into, sometimes it's the conversations they are having, but it's usually great. Its nature is intelligent, and often a bit absurd, but nothing close to Excel Saga, for example.

Sometimes you also get ... lewd vibes from some pages, but it's not the point of the manga, and ... it's done in a tasteful way.

I can't wait to see the anime version. Hopefully it will bring attention to this great manga, which you should read, if you like the pure comedy genre.