Jul 21, 2021
*spoilers*
There are mangas that look like junk, but are in reality great. And there are mangas that look like great and balanced alternatives to bad yuri stories, but in reality don't live up to expectations. 2DK belongs to the second sort.
I don't think the manga is particularly bad, but I think it is not as good as it initially appears. It's a soft and very slow manga. Usually this is a good sign, indicating that both the characters and their relationships are developing slowly and realistically. But this does not apply to 2DK, at least not throughout, because the manga complements the slow development with
...
comical and totally out of context actions.
Generally, you could argue 2DK has mostly good characters; I would consider some of them to be very good and to have a convincing back story. But it doesn't help if the character the story is all about, has such a boring and one-sided personality! And no matter how cute you think Kaede is, she's not a good character. She can be summed up as the person who only focuses on their mangaka work and behaves like a child. Done, that's all there is to her. Any plot that involved Kaede was only interesting because of other characters involved in it. Kaede seems to be a kind of MacGuffin in this story.
But the biggest disappointment was actually the end of the show. How can it be that the ending that actually gives most readers what they want, namely a good ending for everyone, is still so unsatisfying? It is because the ending is so undeserved - and that is despite the slow pace of the manga. I mostly enjoy it when the story develops slowly because it gives time to develop characters, etc. But 2DK doesn't do it well. If you look at the story as a whole it is obvious that this slow development has no meaning, it was almost just boring stretching of the story. Not because it takes a long time, but because there is hardly any progress and then bam! suddenly things change spontaneously.
The most glaring example: It doesn't make any sense that Kaede likes Nanami in a romantic way after all. For so long there has not been a single indication that she sees Nanami as more than a friend. Until she kisses her. Then she has an inner conflict that could be quite interesting, except that you don't even notice it because she just doesn't do anything until she changes her mind.
It would be so much more convincing with the narrative if Kaede were simply not interested. Because she shows hardly any romantic interest in anyone throughout the entire manga. Therefore this manga is neither realistic nor convincing nor satisfying. Ah, I also think it's funny that three different women all fall in love with Kaede. So much for realism, it's nothing more than one of those cheap moves to bring up the issue of homosexuality over and over without the main plot moving forward. Why couldn't it have been men? It would be so much more realistic and have the potential to get so much more complex.
Therefore: It's not a good manga, but I still had some fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
