Back to 1yuri2's Profile 1yuri2's Profile

A good special, we get to revisit a lot of the main cast, and the jokes were funny :)

something to note is that I had heard this episode was less accurate than the others in the series, I can see why someone would say that, however, I'm afraid I have to disagree. yes, in real life there isn't an exact parallel to a virus-infected cell and a normal cell playing pranks together, but I saw that as a metaphor for a friend that is a bad influence and ends up betraying his friend, which is a good way of showing how virus-infected cells act like ... a wolf in sheep clothing by disguising themselves as normal cells, and how many viruses infects other cells by tricking the cell into thinking it's something good/typical and letting the virus in, and although the previous depictions of the virus as zombies where cool and a good analogy, this episode was the first to expand on that and show how the deceptive side of a virus strategy.

For example,e the rhinovirus from this episode takes advantage of e ICAM-1 protein that is usually used to help white blood cells transmigrate into tissue, but instead of being helpful like an immune cell, the virus "betrays the cell" and starts recking havoc inside the poor cells home (ToT)

Being fair this is a bit more of a stretch than the usual metaphors in cells at work (even the more subtle ones like the fact that since B cells are part of the humoral immune system in real life, and since humoral means fluid, their guns are actually water guns in the format of an antibody)

But I can overlook that since I have a soft spot for the series that made me like immunology and helped me study for immunology during med-school, so I don't care if I am being biased, everyone is biased, art is subject, cells at work is the G.O.A.T, and death of the author is a thing ever since Ken from Fist of the North Star famously said to the author "Omae wa mou shindeiru" (to be honest I am not sure about the last one since I never watched Fist of the North Star, but my point about cells at work being peek fiction still stands)

this series is short and sweet so I'll try being the same with this review

if your looking for a cute romance manga to binge quickly then this is definitely a good pick. the characters nor the plot are all that deep but they don't need to be, the romance is cute and the jokes are inventive, that's all this is trying to do and it's doing it well, and even if the theme of how "love makes people act stupid" is nothing new in romantic comedies doesn't mean that it's bad, it's got great potential and this series uses the trope creatively enough

it also has ... a surprisingly satisfying ending (even if it's nothing mind blowing)

tl;dr: overall this is a fun and short read (it only has 12 chapters after all)

Tearmoon is like a delicious hare stew, every ingredient is appetizing in its own right but the synergy between them is what elevates the meal, the same applies to this manga, I have seen every individual element of what it does before and I've seen stories that look similar to it on the surface, however the polished of its ingredient and the way it combines them is what sets tearmoon apart from its peers, in the following review I'll analyze each ingredient individually so I can explain why every factor works so well:

let's start by talking about a very underrated part of the series, ... the world-building, although easy to take it for granted, it really spices up the series and helps give the manga (and light novel) its own unique identity, from simple things like citizens from Tearmon using moon way more own its popular idioms or the fact that the book is pretty grounded with no magic or superhuman moves (the closest thing there is to magic in Tearmoon is a made-up vegetable cake, a tasty fictitious spice and a special pretty wood that is rainbow colored ), its setting resembles actual medieval Europe way more than the worlds of "swords and magic" commonly seen in light novels with medieval settings, having a more realistic setting not only differentiates the series but also fits this french revolution expired story way more, but still, even if Tearmoon is not a fantasy story its geography is still fictional and needs to be properly flashed out considering the book deals with it's politics quite often (even if it's for comedic effect), thankfully it also does that well, for example, there is a harmful structural stereotype in the kingdom against farmers, so they make sure to give a historic explanation for it and how it's harming the kingdom. yeah everything I said so far is pretty simple and not groundbreaking by any means but it still elevates the series even if just a bit, in conclusion, the world-building in Tearmoon is just good enough to serve as a backdrop for its political comedy and spicy up the series it gets a solid but not great 7/10

I am also happy to inform you that the presentation of this plate is also quite good, the art is just as adorable as the illustrations from the novel, the exaggerated facial expressions are always a treat, and the paneling is creative and easy to read, something that originally had me worried but I can thankfully say it wasn't an issue is that they were accurate to the novel and didn't sexualize the child characters in the bath scenes, it's weird to say this for a manga but the bath scenes always have a purpose, for example showing that mia doesn't discriminate against commoners and likes bathing with her maid, it always shows restraints making a scene that other artists would make crepy come out as just comfy instead, the art is great so it's only fair for it to get a solid score of 8/10

the recipe of this stew is also interesting, although the plot isn't the main focus of tearmoon, it is still good, the arcs are very diverse, cycling between; adventure, school life, and regional politics depending on the arc, which not only helps to keep the jokes fresh (since tearmoon is primarily a comedy book and the main objective of the plot is to serve as a good backdrop for the hilarious jokes) but changing genres from time to time makes the relatively simple plot more engaging since one arc might be a more laid back school life while the other can very well be a shipwrecked adventure, overall the plot of tearmoon is a solid 7/10

when you take a sip of this stew you might think it tastes a bit funny, and you would be right because (contrary to this joke) TEARMOON IS HILARIOUS, ahem, bad jokes aside tearmoon's jokes are genuinely technically competent, with unique setups and unexpected punch lines, not only that but the sacartic narator of the series really sets the comedy apart from other books, even if he can be a little unreliable in the extent of how much he dowplays some charcters in order to make a sassy joke he is still riotous, "but what type of comedy is tearmoon" you might be asking, well, if you asked most tearmoon fans to define its comedy I bet most of them would say that it is a comedy focused on extreme misunderstanding (like gamers, Handa-kun, or school rumble) and honestly they would be totally right, however I would like to expend a bit more on that, tearmoon isn't just jokes about misunderstandings but also jokes focused on humorizing the banal, from just boring politics to familiar tropes in media, tearmoon cames up with extreme misunderstanding for everything it touches, that ability to humorizing the banal is present in many great works (from the Japanese kaguya-sama to the American Gumbal) and since tearmoon is a master at that, and never fails to make me die from laughter, I have no qualms about giving tearmoon's comedy a 10/10

err, let's talk about erm... the hares in this hare stew? (the metaphor really fell apart uh... well whatever) most characters start out pretty superficial, but they have incredible hilarious chemistry with each other so they are still likable from the start, and thankfully as the series goes own more and more characters get flashed out, except for Mia, Mia is great from the start and only gets better as the story goes on, she is the funniest character in the series so most jokes involve her in some way (which honestly isn't a bad thing) and she is a genuinely complex character that also gets a great character arc which gradually develops in a very natural way, she slowly improves as a person while still not completely getting rid of her flaws, she stays selfish, but her selfishness stop being harmful and just turns cute, describing it might come out weird but I guarantee you'll also be rooting for Mia and shouting "Sasuga Mia-sama" as you see the girl try her best, tl;dr she is a gremlin but she is OUR gremlin, Mia the protagonist gets a 10/10 but the characters in general get a 7/10

in conclusion, tearmoon is an amazing dish, I highly recommend both the manga and the novel, the novel gets an easy ten and the manga is on the same level, however since the manga has yet to conclude adapting even the first volume I'll have to give it just a nine since it has only 14 chapters so far, but don't be surprised when I change the score to a ten after some more chapters come out, as it is teramoon gets a great 9/10 for me.

this is my first review so Let's go by parts.

ART: the art for the backgrounds is really good with stunning attention to details and great lighting, and the art for the characters is also great with a distinct round look and unique expressions for every character and recognizable silhouettes, BUT there's a huge problem, the background and the characters don't mix, they look too different too fell like they are from the same world, a simple way to fix that is to make the backgrounds more cartoony (that would fit the manga more) or to make the characters more realistic.
conclusion: background art 8/10 Character ... art:8/10 total 7/10

story: even if I am enjoying the story for now it's still "a been there done that" type of harem that makes it very obvious which girl is gonna win by the start so probably the anding will suck 6/10

Character: all the characters are well-done versions of their tropes (except for Sagawa-san she's unique and I love her) and have great interactions with each other(the comedy is the best part of the manga for me but that's subjective) 7/10

Enjoyment: I had fun 8/10

Overall: it's good manga but noting special that will probably have an unsatisfactory and predictable ending 7/10

I hope this was helpful :)

edit: this story has gone downhill, it still doesn't even have ANY character development nor does it feel like the series has progressed in any way, even though it teases story development all the time before pulling back (which is really annoying), this had potential to be an entertaining manga (because the start was ) but the absurdly slow passing (even for herem manga) dragged it down, tl;dr: I don't recommend it anymore, it's a 4/10 at best for me now, which honestly just makes me sad :(

(the reason I decided to keep this review up is that I honestly think my reaction to the series is a good representation of the experience of many people so it serves as a nice time capsule)