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Again, another really underrated Manhwa that is so much better than so much of the other stories that are more known than this. While dramatic confessions, and awkward lovey-dovey scenes are what a lot of people look for in romance stories, you can't deny the greatness of simple, casual confessions that represent a real-life situation between two people who truly love each other but don't contemplate and make it nervous between them. A personally vexing scenario is when stories drag on for ages even when we know the lead couple love each other but they don't confess.

That's one of the beauties of this story, ... while we know the couple both hold feelings of affection for each other, the ML is conflicted because of their age gap and his personal history. How they overcome this together and eventually get with each other is what makes this story so memorable. For those who know, this story is very similar to Higehiro in the beginning in that a young girl seeks refuge in an older man's house because of her personal problems. The good thing is that she's already 19, although this is considered underage in Korea and the ML is only 5 years older than her. There's also none of the dirty aspects such as having to fulfill sexual favors in order to stay with them.

The dynamic between the couple is great, the story has actual good comedic moments and all the characters including the side characters are enjoyable so overall, this is an amazing read that I can recommend to anyone.

Very rarely do you stumble upon something that is so truly underrated like Castle with so few members and no review. I'm not a review writing specialist so this is just to give you an idea of what to expect with this Manhwa.

As you can already tell from the synopsis, this Manhwa is about crime and gangsters but written in an actual dark and serious undertone. It's already one of few in such a genre so if you're a fan, definitely give it a try. The story mainly follows one man, Kim Shim also known as Amur Tigro, who seeks revenge on an omnipotent ... crime organisation that has roots in the politics, policing and economics all around the globe. He's incredibly strong but not stupidly OP, is resolute in his decisions and cold-blooded but also cares about his allies. At the start of the story, he starts with only one ally but has connections with other organisations. He eventually builds up his 'gang' and the finale is a showdown between three out of seven of the main pillars of Castle.

One thing I personally found enjoyable was the absolute size of the cast, and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say there are probably around 100 named characters in this 120 chapter Manhwa. While I do understand some of the reader's complaints about the amount of characters, I always found a wider cast to be more enjoyable as it's rare for a story with a small cast to stay consistently enjoyable. For those new to Korean Manhwas, the names do take some getting used to as there's a lot of very similar names.

The art was amazing as well, really captured the evilness and seriousness of the gangsters facial expressions and the fight's were choreographed brilliantly unlike a lot of other stories where they have a blank 'swoosh' when someone punches/kicks. One thing to note would be that because it tries to keep it realistic in a world of guns and knives, some of the fight choreography feels repetitive. Although it's definitely not a bad thing that there are so many action scenes, when you're binging through many chapters at once you do feel yourself looking for break.

The ending is left at a bit of cliff hanger but that's can't be blamed as the author does set it up nicely for a second season although some of the logic behind how some of the characters ended up where they were was shaky. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read and I will definitely be looking out for the completion of the second season.

{[This review contains minor spoilers.]}



So first of all, as someone who generally dislikes romance anime I am writing my first review on MAL for this movie because it is the first of this genre to have tugged at my heartstrings and make me genuinely like the characters. Secondly, this review will kind of be a review for the entire series because I thought it'd be better to review it entirely instead of giving a review for each season and movie.

[Story]: 8
The story kicks off on a sunny spring day with cherry blossom petals dancing in the air when Tomoya (the MC) picks up a hat ... blown off by the wind for a girl standing on top of a hill. This is what spurs Tomoya to create a dating sim, as described by the synopsis based on this encounter.

However, as Tomoya later finds out, the girl, Megumi, is as ordinary as one gets and then some more, completely different than his imagination. So, with the help of the artist Eriri and the writer Utaha-senpai, the group begins to create their game while at the same time trying to turn Megumi into a heroine more fitting of a dating sim. The show has very little fanservice (except for the OVAs) and is not your typical romance built on a plethora of cliches. Sure you have your tsundere childhood friend and the sort but I'm talking more about what happens in the show. In that regard I think the show is executed very well and, if I can put it this way very "smooth".

The connectivity of the dialogue and the scenes runs smoothly into each other without being overly forced. The dialogues fit with the mood and personality of the characters and also the atmosphere of the room. The scenarios make sense and fit and doesn't leave the watchers wondering why it's happening.

The many challenges the group faces as they make their game are tough but realistic and will feel rewarding at the end of it all. Same with the relationship between the characters, as they face challenges together, fight against each other and eventually reconcile with each other, it is all very emotional and thought provoking. Oh except for episode nine in season one with Eriri which brought out different kinda of emotions in me.

The anime has its fair share of serious moments but there are also light comedic moments like misunderstandings and fourth wall breaks which are refreshing and keeps the story digestible. The romance, in my opinion is amazing. The relationship between the MC and the girl he eventually ends up with (yes the MC actually ends up with a girl) develops nicely and meaningfully.

The ending (as in the movie) left me very satisfied, but that could be biased as my (and many others) ship successfully sailed, but the conclusions with each character was pretty good. One of the main complaints with the series is that the ending (again, the movie) feels rushed and doesn't nicely wrap up the relationship with the other characters, but I feel that with the length of a movie the studio did a nice job. They prioritised developing the relationship with the MC and the main girl to give it an amazing conclusion to the romance. Yes, perhaps a third season would have been better to finish up some of the side characters like Izumi and Michiru but I'm not complaining.

[Art]: 9
The art is amazing. End of. There is nothing to complain about, the character designs, although nothing new were solid and overall the colours just fit. The animations are also fluid with no choppy movements.

I respect that the studio tries to give the background life and they did a good and bad job in parts. In season one there are many moments where the studio uses CGI to have the background characters move and give it life (like the scene where MC and Megumi are resting in the shopping mall) but sometimes it stands out like a sore thumb and just looks bad. They did a good job like with the clumsy waitress in the cafe that the circle usually goes to and the barista who suspects Tomoya and Iori of BL lol. It's just a small detail but, again it gives the background life.

[Sound]: 8
I don't usually pay much attention to the music or soundtracks and most of the OP and ED sound the same to me (sorry I'm so uncultured teehee), but I do notice when a good OST gives me goosebumps during fight scenes or romantic scenes. The soundtracks here are good and it helped make the final confession scene (in the movie) beautiful. Overall it just fit but none that stood out to me as out of this world.

All the VA's captured the character's personality and expressions well. Personally I loved Megumi's monotonous voice and her voices when she got emotional.

[Characters]: 8
Characters are amazing. Megumi is best waifu. I'll fight you. She's the one that made me realize I don't love busty, lustful, ara ara senpais but instead I love quiet, kawaii, silently hard-working girls who can nonchalantly stroll into my house with her own set of keys and make me dinner while I be my usual weebu and pull an all nighter playing games together. And also beautiful yes but personality first and foremost. But seriously I don't think I liked any other girl in any other anime better than her. "Insert Bronn I...I'd love her meme".

You could say the MC is your typical wimpy, kind MC that doesn't notice all the girls around him love him but I don't mind him. I don't know what it is about this particular MC but his manner in which he speaks and acts around the girls are refreshing. Maybe because he's a hardcore otaku who looks down on love with 3D girls but you won't see the common annoying MC who gets flustered when just about anything happens to him with a girl. Also he chooses a girl at the end so that's something.

The other main characters are more your norm like the tsundere childhood friend, posh on the outside but secretly a famous ero doujin artist. A beautiful long, black-haired ara ara harsh but actually kind senpai. Nothing wrong with them, nicely written characters. The supporting characters are also decent and help with the story but there's really nothing to write about.

[Enjoyment]: 9
Overall really enjoyed. As far as the romance genre goes this is one of the best ones for me. It has its serious and emotional moments but at the same time it's really easy to watch. Should definitely give this a go if you are a romance fan. Even if you're not that big of a fan like me it is still good. The first season is more slice of life and the anime actually replicates a realistic representation of the life of creators in the japanese industry for dating sims and doujin for example.

In short this is not your typical cliched, fanservice but rather a more serious (mature?) romance. The story actually has a goal instead of just high schoolers encountering endless amounts of ecchi moments.

[Overall]: 8.4