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Sometimes love hits you right away, but you're too shy to confess.
Sometimes love grows on you gradually until you finally realize your feelings.

Blue Sky Complex is a perfect emulsion of these two types of love.

The characters were easy to relate to and their relationship developed at a pace that was both realistic and enjoyable. As an avid reader of yaoi, it has been a while since I've read a storyline as genuine and beautiful as the one in Blue Sky Complex.

The main protagonist, Nagasaki, is atypical, exhibiting a soft, cool impression that balances his counterpart, Tersashima whom is tense, impulsive, and full of ... emotion perfectly.

I was captivated from the first chapter and I must applaud Ichikawa Kei for a manga that was well thought out, well drawn, and well written. No scenes felt forced, no cliches thrown in...I was pleasantly enraptured.

I couldn't put this manga down. It was enjoyable, touching, and it pains me to read posts condemning its development and in particular, the character Mamura. The manga touched me at length to different depths - the difficulties of communicating to someone when your nerves are all jumbled up, the reality that love is oftentimes not easy nor mutual, the ability of friendship to make you feel understood, and of course Suzume's relatable love of food.

I just want to say one thing with this review and it's to set the record straight. Mamura is NOT a misogynist. I am sure Yamamori Mika had no intention ... of portraying him so.
He, at no point, has the intention of hurting other girls nor does he "hate" them. He does not make open remarks about other women and he does not slam them neither physically nor verbally.
Misogyny is an innate hate of women causing discrimination, abuse, or sexual objectification. Mamura does not commit any of those mentioned unsavoury acts. The only time he shows a "misogynist-like" reaction to other girls is when they touch him.
I believe he is simply reacting due to his gynophobia (fear of the opposite sex). Symptoms include increased heartrate, trembling, desire to flee - reasons for why he produces a freezing and blushing reaction. He masks this reaction by acting annoyed or rude to the girl who touched him.
Throughout the course of the manga and through his interactions with Suzume, this phobia decreases (kind of similar to cognitive behavioural therapy - he slowly subjects himself to more and more interactions with the opposite sex).

So please, don't call Mamura a misogynist. It can give the wrong idea to people - some people have social phobias and cannot help their reactions and it would be wrong to label them unjustly.

You don't have to like him. You don't have to like him coupled with Suzume ("Mazume"). You don't even have to like the manga, but please do not incorrectly label a misogynist.

On a personal level, this manga was enticing. I liked "Mazume". I am obsessed with the idea of a "daytime shooting star". Just the thought of it makes me excited. A love that is beautiful, bright, and with which everyday is full of smiles. That's what Hirunaka no Ryuusei represents.

I am writing this review to try to persuade you NOT to give this series a chance.

After reading MoonLight's review, I was convinced to give Koizora a try. As much as I hate to admit it, I often judge manga by their cover - I'm more likely to read something if the art looks appealing to me. In the case of Koizora, the characters and detailing are spot on and art is more or less to my taste.

I've read numerous comments on the manga that touch on how sad it was, how touching, and how they would read it over and over. This bothers me ... as there were many themes in the manga that I thought were frankly quite wrong and troubling.

These themes were:
1) Rape is not a big deal, do not prosecute it.
Rape is a sensitive topic and the way the mangaka treated the issue was highly inappropriate. Rape is scarring, it has overbearing effects on the victim. Very few people actually just "feel better" right away. It's awful how the only retribution the rapists received was being forced to make an apology. "Sorry" doesn't make it better. Most rapists repeat their crime if not prosecuted and corrected.

2) Friendship should be fragile and revolve around attitudes about the opposite sex. It's never the guy's fault.
Aya's friendship with Mika was completely unhealthy. There was little trust. Aya repeatedly blamed Mika even in situations where the guy could've been at fault. True friendship should not be blame games. And it's never just one person's fault - this manga too often takes a misogynist viewpoint.

3) It is okay to hurt someone, mentally and physically, so that they are protected from the truth.
Lies hurt, often more than the truth does. Mika forgave Hiro far too easily for the damage he did.

4) Attempts at suicide will always result in positive outcomes.
The mangaka uses suicide too lightly, throwing it in whenever there needs to be an element of drama, and then having others come to the character's rescue. There are issues in mental health related to suicide, it isn't something you should be using to make your plot transitions. People who attempt suicide need to get proper help. Not just carry on with their lives. If you're going to use suicide in a manga, at least show gradual recovery and therapy.

5) Being someone's wife as a life goal/dream.
It's a nice goal to have, but to have that be the protagonist's main dream? Really? What are you going to do when that someone doesn't like you anymore? Please, always aspire to have something of interest outside of your significant other. It's never good to live a life where your happiness is entirely dependent on another person's decisions.

If you do read the manga/have read it, I hope you will note the lack of caution taken when approaching these topics.
Do NOT take suicide nor rape lightly.

I finished the manga for the sake of closure, but it was difficult for me to enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed other mangas. I wanted to see where mangaka was going with all the drama she implicated with Hiro and I must say even in that regard, I was thoroughly disappointed. The ending was indeed sad, but cliche and predictable.

To end on a slightly positive note, I did enjoy the little "be strong" and "enjoy life" messages the mangaka emphasized. I liked the perseverance of the protagonist and most of the characters were likable. I liked the development of the romance between Mika and Hiro despite it taking a huge turn for the worse. The mangaka's good at animating romance, not so good at avoiding cliches and sensitive topics.

Art can be influential. I ask that you please take caution in learning attitudes and behaviours from mangas. There are often stereotypes and insensitive behaviours that don't appear "wrong" at first.

Despite my overall rating of 7, I really liked Lucky Number 13. The concept, character and romance development, as well as the art are all above par.

Unlike the stereotypical yaoi manga, there isn't a whole lot of cheese (or sex scenes for that matter). I enjoyed the fact that the couple was believable (emphasis on couple, as there are a lot of other elements in the manga that are definitely not believable).

I've read a fair number of manga from the mangaka, Yanamoto Kotetsuko, and in general, she does not disappoint. She produces witty, original, humorous, and often touching manga with extremely cute characters.

If ... you're like me and switched to reading yaoi because of wimpy, crying shoujo protagonists (not referring to all shoujo, just a wide abundance), then you're probably going to like Yanamoto's writing style. Definitely do go check out her other work. If you're looking for an entry point into reading yaoi, I would highly suggest you go for something else (e.g. Totally Captivated, Junjou Romantica, Katekyo!).

If you're reading this review prior to reading the manga, let me warn you that the ending is sudden and severely disappointing. I think Yanamoto intended to end it lightheartedly and have the reader fill in the gap, but there was just an overall sense of irresolution. "That's it?" was my first response as well as many others. I think it was clever to end it at thirteen chapters considering the title of this manga, but there needed to be closure about the condition of Hiroshi's so called curse or "constitution". There is so much opportunity for development especially with Hiroshi's parents, but of course, I understand there are certain limits in the world of manga writing.

tl;dr: The manga is enjoyable and interesting; you should definitely check out other works from Yanamoto; but the ending of Lucky Number 13 is most unsatisfying.

Looking for a deep story with a plot twist around every corner? Looking for characters that are unique and captivating?

Well look somewhere else.

Sure, this manga does not have the elements for a breathtaking insightful manga, but i'll tell you what it does have:

1) A light sense of humour.
The characters are given personalities that are believable but at the same time so silly they make you laugh. No hidden meanings or moral implications here, but you do get a decent story for your time.

2) Hawt bishies.
Let's face it, this is YAOI. You must be a yaoi fan or someone who doesn't mind homosexual relationships to be ... on this page. Yes, yes, we all know that in real life two hot guys getting together and having this kind of relationship is incredibly rare, but where in "yaoi manga" are the words reality?
The manga is full of fan service (a.k.a. hot smex) so if you're really into that, then I suggest you look somewhere else for something to read.

3) A decent story
Not completely original as you the not-so-smart-guy falling for the smart-perfect-guy, but at least the mangaka tries to make it a little more believable. She gives flaws to both characters and balances it in a way that makes the manga just plain cute.

Basically, if you're looking for a fun little YAOI read, dive into Katekyo and have fun reading it. :)

At first glance, the storyline is completely unoriginal. The idea of a human falling in love with a doll is overused and not a new idea. However, Lovers Doll takes the whole idea into perspective.

Personifying a doll has been done before, particularly in yaoi. Some popular examples of this are Chobits and Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi). However, in Lovers Doll, we don't get some souped up sci-fi doll, we have a classic dress-up doll. The protagonist, Shin, enjoys sewing doll clothes as a pastime and chose to by a classic dress-up doll for this purpose.

Himeji, the doll's name, is infamously named 'the Bloody Doll'. The ... reason? It can move and transform into a human magically with the 'power of love'. As far-fetched as it seems, it's really something the reader can sympathize with.

Don't we all wish to be loved? Are dolls any different?

This idea of wanting to be loved is something I feel all readers can relate to. Sure, there's all that talk about soul mates and true love, but in the end, what we're all looking for is someone to spend all of your life with. Sometimes it takes a story like this to realize something like that.

I'll give you a warning right off the bat though, the story isn't a powerfully amazing. It won't break you down in epiphany or make you cry your eyes out (though it does provoke emotions of sadness). However, the story is heartwarming and reveals the imperfect nature of humanity.

I definitely recommend the story for anyone needing a special story to read. Take yourselves away from the stereotypical yaoi or shounen ai and read something with a meaningful plot and absolutely beautiful characters. Then ask yourself:

Do you wish to be loved?

The visual content or the art isn't exactly the best you'll ever see and the story itself isn't original beyond belief. However, this ordinary manga provoked tears in my eyes.

A death god, a shy little girl, and the boy whom the girl loves. I'm disappointed in the amount of character development done by the author, but the plot was perfectly tragic.You don't really get to see the relationship between Ayumi (the shy girl) and Musashi (the boy she loves) develop, however, you can see her relationship with Shino (the death god) change. The amount of development wasn't adequate considering there were 8 chapters...at first glance ... you would think this manga was another one of those typical shoujo mangas. Can't say I disagree.

This manga, however, did provoke emotional interest in me. As you read this manga, you can feel the feelings of the author as she was writing and drawing this. The characters' feelings really come to life even if the art doesn't.

The author brings out human nature in this manga.

We naturally resent death.

But we naturally don't want those we care about to disappear.

This manga brings you through the lives of four children. While reading, you can almost feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. This manga isn't a lovey-dovey manga where everything just works out. The mangaka shows you the harsh reality that is life and makes you ask for more. This is a manga that you shouldn't miss reading.

Story: 9/10
At first glance, the manga seems like just any other shoujo manga. As you read on though, the development is quite original. The story is quite believable and could very well happen in real life. The way the mangaka makes it resemble reality was very effective.

Art: ... 7/10
I admit, the art isn't the best out there. It is, however, decent compared to other (shoujo) mangas.

Character 10/10
This is the part that I loved most about Sand Chronicles. The character development was amazing. The mangaka was able to dig deeply into the past of all four characters while at the same time progressing on in the storyline. The flashbacks were keep short and simple and in no way hinder the story. Instead, the author showed that the pain from the past doesn't go away until you let it go. I was captured by Ann's endurance, Fuji's fake cool exterior, Daigo's indecisiveness, and Ann's persistence.

What I loved most was how the mangaka didn't make the characters weak and dependent. They all had painful and sad times, but they got over it. The characters didn't need to depend on anyone or anything. Their personalities were real.

Enjoyment 10/10
I really enjoyed this manga and I endulged myself into the storyline. It showed the ups and downs in life. It is certainly a manga worth reading.

Overall 10/10
I love this manga.

I hope you'll at least read into chapters 3-4 before judging it. It really is an amazing manga. One that you really shouldn't miss out on reading.

Story: 7/10
The story is what saved this manga for me. Well, the third story did.

The first story provides a forceful love, a mere fantasy. Still, in the end...aren't shoujo mangas supposed to give you fantasies? It was decent...unreal, but decent.

The second story was a little worse. A high school idol falling in love with a plain girl? Extreme bullying? A very typical scenario. No brownie points, especially with the mushy ending.

The third story was different. It was original and non-typical of a shoujo manga. Many mangas try to show that rape=love. It isn't true and that's what this manga showed. It showed ... severities of rape. A story like this usually ends up with depression and more drama. This one went straight to the point. It showed comfort right away. After all, a rape victim shouldn't suffer. They shouldn't blame themselves. I was happy with the ending because the mangaka didn't try to prolong the story or emphasize on the bad. She tried to tell us that we have to make a stand for ourselves if we ever get caught in the situation. We shouldn't accept it as it is (as many mangas I have read before tried to do), but instead use our rights as power against what has hurt us. It was truly an original story.

Art: 6/10
It was fair. Not all that cute or pretty, just fair.

Character: 5/10
Very little character development: The first story had decent development (probably because it was the longest), the other two showed that the mangaka clearly didn't bother. Minami Kanan tried to focus on a big story rather than small character defining ones. It's really not that effective. We can't get in touch with the character...instead, we're merely watching them.

Enjoyment: 8/10
The third story was good. That's the only reason why my enjoyment is an 8. Even if you don't read the entire manga, read the third story...Question your beliefs about rape. Face reality.

Overall: 8/10
Simply because of enjoyment.

Story: 6/10
UNBELIEVABLE. This story is harsh. The mangaka must've enjoyed tormenting her characters, especially Ayumu. This story is harsh and sadistic to the point where the plot is almost unbelievable. I didn't cry for her nor did I pity her. The story is just that unbelievable. Still, I like the way that the mangaka didn't
provide a hero for Ayumu. Most shoujo fantasies have heroes, it's overrated.

Art: 8/10
The art isn't bad. I'll give this manga that much. The mangaka's drawing style really fits the plot, so if you must read this manga, you will enjoy that fact. The drawings are probably the only part ... I enjoyed in this manga.

Character: 7/10
Very harsh characters. I dislike Ayumu's weaknesses, but I understand that there are girls out there like her. The thing is, there will always be at least one person who takes notice (even if they don't help immediately.) The guys in this story are almost nonexistent, they don't notice the suffering and bullying of the girls.I found this part the most unbelievable. Still, if you like sadism, this manga is for you.

Enjoyment: 6/10
I had to drop it. I couldn't stand such a sadistic manga. That's probably the one word that describes it the most.

Overall 6/10
I couldn't handle the depression, but perhaps you will like the bitterness of it. It's perfect for those who enjoy watching people suffer...wait that sounds a little off. No, it's perfect for those who enjoy an exaggeration of reality. A story that shows pain and suffering with no end in sight. If you love those kinds of stories (which I normally do), then you may try this manga at your own risk.