Back to MrsMinty's Profile MrsMinty's Profile

Opening thoughts:

First and foremost, the first 30 chapters of this manga are a hot mess. HOWEVER, after you get over that 30th chapter, this manga goes from a 3 star to a 7 star real quick and I'm super glad I kept reading because at the recent translated release of chapter 64, it's only getting better.

No, it's not the best manga, shoujo or otherwise, you'll ever read, but after chapter 30, it does satiate that more mature romance scratch that is difficult to find in shoujo romances. So if a high school romance that deals with the more blossoming idea of "adult love" is ... your thing and not just handholding, then I highly suggest trudging through the 30 chapters to get to the sweet center of L♥DK.

Onto the full review...

Story - 7/10

I already stated this, but the first 30 chapters of this manga are seriously a hot mess. The story is all over the place. Aoi is extremely annoying and I started getting frustrated and really rooting for the "rival" which shows up VERY early into the manga. Shuusei as well bothered me. I kept thinking, "For the love of God, just kick this idiot out if he's that much trouble". There is very little character development, and honestly Sanjou and Moe were the only likable parts.

After chapter 30, the story gets so much better, if you can manage to get that far without giving up on these stupid highschool idiots.

What comes in the second half of this manga is a truly wonderful relationship between two "kids" who are probably maturing quicker than they need to. The "living together" shtick is actually great, and you get to see them struggle in ways that people who are dating and living together face. As the two characters begin to finally show development and grow, they lean on eachother for help, improving themselves not just for the other person but because they realize their own flaws and want to fix them.

There are some typical shoujo cliche's here. There are many 'love rivals' but they're extremely superficial and really are just used to drive drama and grow Aoi and Shuusei's relationship itself. At no point did I ever think, "Oh no, I don't know who she/he is going to pick!" It was never like that, but I was interested in, "How is Aoi and/or Shuusei going to deal with this situation?" and in that regard, this shoujo avoided some typical romance manga pitfalls.

Overall the story is not the greatest. The real gem in this manga is getting to watch the maturing love between Aoi and Shuusei. That, I believe, is where this manga's strongest point is.

Art - 5/10

The art style is honestly average. It's not bad. It's not amazing. There are some genuinely wonderfully drawn scenes, but for the most part it is nothing extraordinary. I will say some of Aoi's humorously drawn scenes make me giggle, but overall this is your standard shoujo art style. If I had one complaint, it's that the women are drawn very similarly to the point where it can be difficult to figure out who is who -- ESPECIALLY Aoi and Kaede. There was a good few chapters where I honestly couldn't discern between the two without re-reading.

Character - 6/10

Outside of art, this is where I think the manga falls a little flat. Character development is stalled until after chapter 30. Once the two mains start having a proper romantic relationship, it's all uphill from there.

If not for the story and two main characters picking up after chapter 30, this would be a 3/10 for me.

I'm just going to touch quickly on the two main characters here, since the manga is mostly about them and the side characters are simply not that memorable (which is another reason why this didn't get higher marks).

Nishimora, Aoi

Aoi is a pretty poor heroine in the beginning, and very cookie cutter. After chapter 30, however, there is visible change in her as she deals with growing up and being in a serious relationship with someone who has a lot of issues. Her innocence of character and "cookie-cutter" personality is a bit due to the fact that Aoi has never been through real hardship or pain before. She has a very loving, albeit "out there" family, and has friends that she obviously cares for. The real character development comes from how she learns to interact properly with her surroundings, especially Shuusei, who has been through difficult times and comes from a broken family.

She is a selfish girl who is in the process of learning how to be unselfish. She is someone who has never had to make huge sacrifices or deal with things like death and loss but gets to know people who have and must learn how to properly act around them. She is also a girl who grew up in a naive, fostering (but loving) home and is just now beginning to understand her own much more mature feelings.

She is no Teru Kurebayashi, but she does grow on you with time, and by the end of the translated chapters I believe she is someone you will want to cheer on, if not maybe smack a few times.

Kugayama, Shuusei

Let me just say this, Shuusei is not the terrible jerk that all the bad reviews make him out to be. I fully expected him to be similar to Kyouya Sata from Wolf Girl and Black Prince but instead he just ended up being a typical guy with some deep-rooted issues. I won't get into spoilers, but I do believe he has a reason for acting the way that he does, though I don't think he's innocent by any means.

Shuusei starts off with a real typical "bad boy who looks like a prince" persona. He is a jerk, to the point where you really start rooting for his rival and even at chapter 30 you might just put down the manga and be like "I don't care, screw this guy". Even after that, after some of his confessions of ways he acted in the past, you think, "This guy was really a player".

But after chapter 30, it's clear that Shuusei is a deeply insecure teenage boy who has seen the uglier ends of "love" through a broken marriage and his own skewed idea of it and his other family relations don't help in this matter. It's also clear that he is just as selfish as Aoi, but handles that selfishness differently based off of those insecurities that he has.

Once their relationship becomes serious and begins to blossom, his character opens up a lot more, and we see the cracks in his armor. He becomes much more likable. You can relate to him, and his struggles. He also apologizes genuinely and frequently when he messes up, and does not repeat those mistakes again. His love for Aoi shines through, and by chapter 60, I found myself enjoying his character A LOT more than I ever thought I would.


Enjoyment & Romance - 7/10

I'm putting these two in the same category and will probably combine them for other reviews as well, as my enjoyment with a romance manga relies heavily on whether or not the romance is actually good.

In this case, I believe it is, and I think it's going to get better with further translated releases.

This manga has some extremely romantic moments & scenes that are very believable. There is sexual tension that does not feel at all forced or overdone. There are also some very cute moments that made me smile and yes, I even laughed a few times, though humor is not the strong point of this manga.

The interaction between characters is also very enjoyable, and the maturing relationship between Aoi and Shuusei is something that I am rooting for. I love their lovey-dovey "living together like husband and wife" type scenes, and I love the way they try to protect eachother.

Ending thoughts:

Overall, this is an enjoyable romance manga that is a true gem if you can just get through the first half. Aoi and Shuusei are characters that I did not expect to like or root for, but by the end of it, I am, and I want to see more. I think any one looking for a manga romance that goes beyond the confession and the first kiss and wants something that moves more towards "Josei" territory of maturity should give it a chance. I'm glad I did, even though I had to waste 30 chapters of young teenage drama to get there.