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This is seriously a masterpiece of a manga adaptation. I liked the original light novel, but the manga took it up a whole new level in terms of quality.

Firstly, be warned. This isn't a story about wish-fulfillment. There are some elements of romantic fantasy to this, but generally it's a bittersweet story about a young girl who tries to do her best within the confines of the worlds that she was forced to be in.

You SHOULD NOT READ THIS if you are sensitive to themes of portrayals of underage sexuality including sex-work (negative and positive), sexual assault, consent (dubious or otherwise), extreme misogyny, ... and societal failings.

From the modern "real" world she came from, to the fantastical "isekai" world she now has to survive in, Haru has never broken free of the societal confines she is trapped and dirtied by, but still, she works her hardest.

Not everyone will be able to call her respectable, but frankly, the only person that she needs the respect of is herself.

People who complain about Haru's lack of agency really don't understand the themes of this story. Sometimes you can't fucking change the world. She's not wrong to try to live her life and do the only job that she's allowed in a fucked up situation.

If you can put aside your qualms about the subject matter and extend some empathy, the story really flows beautifully, with foreshadowing all the way up to the twist, and you'll feel for these characters enormously. No, perhaps the story isn't realistic, but exaggeration is why fiction exists, to push and highlight aspects of reality and portray something interesting and potentially evocative for the audience.

General notes about this series.

Character: Haru is one of most nuanced female protagonists I've seen in a long time, in her cheerfulness in shitty circumstances, in her resilience and determination to continue her role, in her cold and practical inner core that's necessary for her to survive. Her friends and coworkers are all portrayed as decent people who work hard for their living and make the most of their situations. Her male clients are all benefiting from the society they live in and it's noted deliberately, but there's some level of nuance to their characters and the story is not unsympathetic to them either unless they've committed some truly heinous acts.

Art: Gorgeous and beautiful. The paneling is one of the most elegant things I've ever seen, and it massively benefits how beautifully the internal monologue and story flows. It can keep the light-hearted moments silly and endearing, while also showing how harsh the world can be in to those who have no agency. The character design is diverse and lovely as well.

Story: This is tightly written as the entire thing heavily and constantly revolves around its specific themes about agency and systemic failures, as well as specifically humanizing people that are uncommonly empathized with. Haru does end up taking agency of her life, but it's not in a way where she decides to obey the rules of the world. Instead, she finds her strength in her compassion, her love for her friends, and finds her own path through it all.

Man, this is hard to write, because I love this kind of formula, and the action and the people and everything is pretty darn good. The whole girl getting dressed up in disguise and is gorgeous and super cool is one of my favorite tropes. Genderbender too? SO AMAZING. I love Tsukasa a lot, she's kind of dumb at times, but she has a nice heart and a strong will and she's great, so great.

As I read the manga, however, I just couldn't make myself like Ryuuji. Given that he's literally one of the most important parts of the manga, a love interest and everything, ... this made my reading of Tokyo Crazy Paradise hard going.

He's not a horrible person, but the way he treated Tsukasa at times was verging on sexual harassment, if not just that. He kind of bullied her a ton, which I don't really find amusing in love interests, and sure he got better, but I still couldn't find it within me to think, "Oh but look he's changed for her kya kya they're so cute/hot/adjective."

In the manga, it was always depicted in a "Oh Ryuuji and your silly shenanigans!!" way, but I found it kind of gross to get through. I didn't really want Tsukasa with anybody really, but if I had to choose, it would not be him, my sincere apologies to the 99.99% of the readership who ship it hard. It wasn't my cup of tea.

Also, while I'm ok with nudity, (if it's there, whatever man!), the constant input of "Tsukasa has breasts!, look at them, also they are huge, and she is fourteen and super hot and the way dudes look at her is totally expected, (and for love interests, complimentary). Like, I didn't need that at all. I wanted Tsukasa being awesome, kicking ass and being super pretty. I didn't want her shown as a sex thing since she was supposed to be my cool protagonist with flaws.

In general, this wasn't for me I think. Heavy mixed feelings, sorry. At times, I adore this, at times I hate it, so I have to give this a 5 overall.