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Currently video games, manga and anime are one of the most popular hobbies among young people around the world that make up a global industry that is constantly on the rise.

These hobbies have been deeply installed in our lives and for many they are more than a way to pass the time since these hobbies have made them create memorable memories of their childhood, they have supported them during a difficult time or they simply find it enjoyable to interact with other people who share their hobbies within a community.

Wotakoi takes these elements that form the enjoyment of many and together with love, one of ... the most complex feelings of humans, presents us with the story about those who try to deal with work, relationships and hobbies.


Story(7/10): The main attraction of this manga is not based on the creation of a complex plot or development of supernatural characters, but rather it is based on showing us the daily life of a group of friends who share one of the most popular hobbies in Japanese culture: Video games, manga and anime.

Given the nature of this story, genres such as drama or action do not appear frequently or are simply non-existent, but others such as comedy or romance are more than enough to enjoy this peaceful story between Narumi, Hirotaka, Tarou and Hanako.


Art(9/10): As always, I like to mention that I'm not an expert at breaking down the art but I find the facial expressions, poses and proportions of the characters to be solidly consistent and visually pleasing.


Characters(8/10): The personalities of the characters are nothing that has not been explored before but that does not mean that they are boring and it is worth mentioning that each of them has a unique and intense passion for a specific hobby, the term to describe them is Otaku.

Narumi is the cute, goofy girl who is always upbeat and gets along with everyone, but underneath that facade she's a fujoshi otaku who writes BL doujinshi. Hirotaka is a hard-working, deadpan, and honest person who makes no secret of being a gamer otaku.

Tarou is a strong person with the traits of a leader who can be considered the least otaku of all but still has a strong interest in anime and manga. Hanako is the elegant and mature girl on the front but in reality she is a sensitive girl, cosplay lover who is always arguing with Tarou.

Observing the relationship between these four is fun, touching and comical that is worth the time one invests emotionally towards them.

The last couple to mention is Naoya and Kou. Naoya is a sweet and innocent boy who establishes a relationship with the shy and scary Kou, they have a development that starts in friendship and develops until they become close to each other.

Although the plot features Hirotaka and Narumi as the main couple, I personally enjoyed the love story between Tarou and Hanako or Naoya and Kou more. This is because Narumi initially seems to view Hirotaka as more of an otaku friend than a romantic partner, a fact that doesn't change until the very last moments of the manga. Seeing the past and near future of Tarou and Hanako or the sweet progression between Naoya and Kou is more enjoyable than seeing the main couple.


Enjoyment(9/10): 84-86 episodes of comedy, slice of life and romance that didn't feel too heavy or too light have made me spend a wonderful time with these characters. Something worth mentioning is that there are small details that I loved to see, such as the different references to games or series and the extra pages giving us even more insight into the characters.


Overall(8/10): Wotakoi is a recommended manga for its otaku theme and captivating characters that highlights the effort dedicated to its characters, art and that stands out for exposing the different feelings and hobbies that most of us who are in MAL share, without forgetting the romance between otakus , of course.

I hate you, I mean, I love you.

That is probably the most accurate way to describe Kaichou wa Maid-sama!


Story(6/10): The plot introduces us to Misaki Ayuzawa, a student who works very hard to achieve her goals and Takumi Usui, a boy who stands out for being perfect and mysterious. Misaki begins to establish a relationship with Takumi where her biggest secret will keep them very close.

In this way we gradually witness a typical high school romance. The story is not groundbreaking at all, but it works because the characters are well constructed.

Unfortunately, the problem with this series is perhaps that it wallows so much in ... comical situations that sometimes the relationship between the protagonists seems to not move forward.

I also want to mention that the arc where a certain important character for Misaki returns could have been exploited and developed more since it is a key factor by which Misaki is the way she is.


Art(8/10): As in other shoujo manga, the art stands out for presenting a pleasant-eye character design and, as usual, the absence of backgrounds highlights the expressions that are well worked out, as well as the movement scenes, providing the sensation without losing sharpness of what it's happening.


Characters(7/10): Misaki is characterized by being a diligent, honest, hard-working and physically capable girl, traits that do not usually match the typical protagonists of shoujo stories which are characterized by being clumsy, feminine and physically inferior.

However, when Misaki is around Takumi she tends to lose her strength that characterizes her and reveals the more feminine and tsundere side of her.

Takumi is the typical male shoujo character who is perfect in almost every way. He is handsome, smart, popular, and is always on the lookout for Misaki. Although he has a mysterious past and is distant from everyone except Misaki, he is a good boy.

Although the main characters have a certain charm and are entertaining to watch, the same cannot be said for the supporting cast. Removing certain people close to the characters such as Misaki's family or Shintani, the rest of the cast simply does not have much appeal and can overwhelm the number of characters that are presented and have no importance.


Enjoyment(7/10): Seeing Misaki and Takumi together is a comforting thing that I never get tired of seeing and it satisfies my needs for romance. Although there are some flaws in the direction that the plot took sometimes or it was heavy for me to bear certain supporting characters, I think it has been a pleasant and entertaining experience.


Overall(7/10): Kaichou wa Maid-sama! It is an acceptable and entertaining story that, despite its age and flaws, deserves a chance for all lovers of the genre.

Bokura wa Minna Kawai-sou is a manga characterized by its high content of dirty jokes, physical aggression and the romantic development between two students living in a residential complex.


Story(7/10): The plot focuses mainly on Usa and Ritsu but also gives us enough time to get to know the rest of the residents of the complex, characterized by having peculiar personalities in order to provide the comedy that is mentioned to us, which most of the times they achieve, although on occasions it can be somewhat repetitive or predictable.

The plot has a good start but later on the pace drops off noticeably which can cause frustration ... for the reader due to Usa's repetitive mistakes and Ritsu's slow development. Although the plot slows down, it is not for a long time and during the final stage of the manga it regains the speed it had until the end.

The ending leaves with a feeling of happines, warmth and tenderness which becomes more intense after reading the extra volumes that show the life of the cast months after the ending, in which we can observe Usa and Ritsu's relationship in an even more mature and closer way.


Art(8/10): The drawing is clean and visually pleasing, especially when the author shows the expressions and emotions of the characters. I want to point out that it is very cute to see the panels where chibi Ritsu appears and shows a flushed and embarrassed face. Mayumi's expressions of anger and desolation contrast well with the joyful face of the masochistic Shiro.


Characters(7/10): Usa is a nice guy who gets along with both weird and non-weird people and doesn't really experience any further development except he gets more self-confidence. There have been times when Usa tries too hard to get close to Ritsu but it seems that in the end he would settle for just being a friend and that annoys me.

On the other hand, Ritsu undergoes further development as she goes from being a caged oyster to a girl who can socialize and express both her feelings and her thoughts. Even so, it should be noted that these changes are not clearly noticeable until the final chapters.

The rest of the cast can somehow be memorable due to notable traits like Shiro's masochism or Mayumi's physical attractiveness or anger just to name a few. Their main function is to create various scenarios and memorable moments for both Usa and Ritsu and the reader.


Enjoyment(8/10): Despite seeing Usa's same mistakes several times, seeing how the plot slowed down and at some point finding the comedy repetitive, personally I don't think it has affected my enjoyment very negatively and it has satisfied what I was looking for in reading this manga: Entertainment, development, comedy and romance.

Overall(7/10): Although this has been my personal experience, I can possibly see how other people would not tolerate the small errors that this manga has had, but I am sure that overall it is a manga that many will enjoy and in the same way, readers will possibly overlook the errors that I have considered as such.

If you have read a couple of reviews about this anime, you will agree with me that there are two clear opinions about it: People who paint it as a 'Masterpiece' (I'm serious, there are people who have rated it working with a 10 and also explicitly spelled 'Masterpiece') and the people who 'hate' it. I personally find that the most appropriate word to describe what is told in the synopsis and the premise of the series is 'misleading'.

Before continuing I would like to make it clear that I have seen a good amount of anime with the genres that are labeled My Dress Up ... Darling, 'Romance' and 'Slice of Life', so I do not consider myself to have little experience with the elements that make up animes with those genres.


Story(2/10): The series centers on the relationship between two 15-year-old students, the reserved and introverted Gojo and the outgoing and popular Marin. Initially we are shown that the reason why the protagonist is shy and has trouble speaking his mind is because when he was a child a girl told him that his love of dolls was weird and apparently that was enough reason to make Gojo have a kind of 'trauma' which prevented him from relating to other people and making friends. He spends his days not interacting with anyone until one day he is found by Marin, the most popular girl in school, doing textile crafts. Impressed with Gojo's skills, Marin tells him about her hobby of cosplay and tells him that she shouldn't give importance to what others think, from that moment they become friends and the plot 'develops'.

Starting from this point, one will believe that the bond between the two will develop at a good pace, but as I said at the beginning, all our expectations will be destroyed by a series of problems such as the incredible personality (not in a good way) of the characters, the excessive use of fanservice and events that ruin the little plot that is developed.


Art/Animation(7/10): The best aspect that this anime has and I don't think it's anything special, in general it has a good animation that can be easily seen in the movements of the characters although I would say that more emphasis was placed on this aspect to be able to excite the horny audience during the fan service scenes.


Sound(6/10): Nothing particularly remarkable, I've listened to both the opening and ending theme s couple of times and I don't think it's anything amazing, if anything I think the ending theme is better than the opening, it doesn't mean it's bad but it's not special either.


Character(2/10): I could write a long essay on why the characters were the worst of this series but I think instead of ranting I'll try to be short and to the point.

Gojo: He is a shy boy with social problems because when he was little, a girl criticized his fondness for dolls and that prevented him from making friends until he met Marin. Is there really anyone who accepts these facts that were presented to us in a short flashback and never talked about again as reason enough to be unable to make friends?

When Marin strips naked in front of him or jokes around in a spicy way there are times when he seems to have memories of Vietnam but in other scenes he is completely indifferent and doesn't care how she acts. Honestly, it seems very complicated to me that a person with half a brain can relate to him.

Marin: I will go straight to the point with Marin, she is an incredible person in the sense that it is impossible to believe that a girl can be perfect, in every sense of the word. She is attractive, pretty, hard-working, popular, she shares her 'geeky' tastes with Gojo and he makes her fall in love in a relatively short time and without making any effort other than being himself, Mr. Good Guy.

I haven't said anything new that other reviews haven't pointed out in a more detailed and passionate way, if you want a more deep though in Marin's traits i suggest you reading those reviews who have a more well explained essay about her. Marin is simply a bait to call her 'Waifu of the season' and satisfy the horny weebs in the community.

Sajuna & Shinju: As soon as Marin realizes her feelings for Gojo and the plot advances a bit, the series introduces these sisters with no purpose other than to add 'waifus' and mess up the plot again. Sajuna is a 17-year-old girl with typical loli characteristics and her younger sister is 14 years old and apparently surpasses her sister in all the attractive physical aspects. As expected the sister with great 'personalities' is used for the fanservice scenes and they both do not really add anything of importance to the plot, they just serve to add girls to Gojo's harem and once again satisfy the community cheaply.


Enjoyment/Overall(3-4/10): If you want to turn your brain off and shrug off the many serious issues that have been pointed out by many different people who haven't been duped and are looking for more than just fanservice this anime is what you've been looking for.

It is really sad to see how people label this series a masterpiece despite the fact that the problems that its characters have have been pointed out many times and people get carried away by a pair of boobs, thights and ass.

Romance is one of my favorite genres and I have recently started reading the manga of those animes that I first saw as a teenager in order to remember their stories and be able to write a review years after having gained experience within the world of manga and anime. Ao Haru Ride was one of the first animes I watched so I thought it would be a good idea to start with this one.


Story(7/10): The story has a good start introducing the main characters, showing how they met and the current state they are in. Later they introduce the different secondary characters, who are ... also given a story that explains in some way their way of being and how they interact with the protagonists. With 55 manga chapters, I think the story has a good pace of progress in general, except for the concluding arc, which deals with a love triangle that for some readers may seem somewhat forced, but I think it is understandable given that the author was possibly looking to finish the plot with a drama that would be resolved in order to make the reader go from a state of worry and nerves to a state of relief and happiness.


Art(7/10): Since it's one of the first manga I've read, I may not comment on everything you should know about the art of a manga. I think that the strengths of the author are reflected when drawing the facial expressions and the general anatomy of the body, I think they convey the feelings of the characters correctly. It may be a minor detail but I think the chosen outfit has a cool design and I think I'll be able to remember the characters' faces for a while. As for more technical aspects, I think that the positioning of the panels is adequate and the backgrounds are fine, nothing to particularly highlight.


Characters(8/10): Most of the characters have a decent level of development and a backstory that justifies why they are the way they are. Taking into account that the characters are students around 16 years old and in the situation they live in, I think they act in a way that is consistent with that and makes it possible for the reader to relate to one of them.

Kou was probably the character with the most depth and development due to the events he lived through when he was younger and even though he acted weird at times at the end of the manga I think he was a good character overall. Futaba also has a slight development throughout the plot but doesn't have as much depth as Kou, although I think it's admirable that she does not fit into any of the "dere" types.

The supporting cast is formed mainly by his close friends, which I would point out that some of them have an interesting story that at times is more plausible than the main relationship of the plot.


Enjoyment/Overall(8/10): Ao Haru Ride is a manga that I think other people will enjoy for all the points mentioned above, it is a relatively short manga for the genre that it is and possibly both lovers of romance and those who do not find it entertaining. I have had such a good time reading this manga that it is possible that in the distant future I will read it again. I recommend it!