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Jul 18, 2024
Oh, Val x Love... Where to start? This manga is a beautiful dumpster fire. I mean, this is a harem ecchi, so you should know from the start not to take the plot too seriously.
But still, I had a hard time with how stupid or illogical it can be at times. The whole plot is centered around fanservice, using it as an engine, quite literally. The female characters need to do ecchi stuff to bond with the protagonist in order to level up and beat the villains.
Speaking of the main character, he is your typical spineless "scary-because-mean-eyes-and-asocial" big guy, alternating between a demon terrorizing background
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characters and a scared chibi when a woman approaches him. He will obviously always have those "lucky" falls and accidents, getting more exaggerated and stupid each time. I hope you enjoy this because it will happen in every chapter, sometimes multiple times.
The real surprise was that after some time, the fanservice didn't feel so forced. As the story progresses, it becomes justified and less random. The MC actually plans dates and stuff, very unexpected but appreciated.
As for the other characters, all the Valkyries and characters coming from Valhalla have names from Norse mythology, but that's all. I could have missed a few references, but there could have been much more to do with such a cool setting.
The characters' powers are pretty interesting and original. For example, each of the Valkyrie sisters' powers represents a different weapon from Odin's castle. They can transform fully or partially to fight, and the enemies are diverse too.
The scenario itself is full of holes and inconsistencies, so much that at some point I was actually convinced that the villains had a better plan than the heroes, even though they were obviously evil and corrupted. Some characters switch from one personality to another in less than a chapter to fill a role and try to justify a hole in the plot. Even if I tried to ignore it and not care too much, it gets really annoying seeing characters change all the time, and the plot seems improvised as each chapter goes.
Now onto the next point, the art. I mentioned the overused chibi style whenever the protagonist is flustered, which means about a third of the time in the beginning. The artist has a real problem drawing certain things, like hats for example (the back of the skull is cropped, it looks so weird). I mentioned characters switching personalities, but in the first half of the manga, some characters will change physically too from one page to the next (inconsistent height, key features, eye shape, face shape, hair style, etc.).
The ecchi part is well drawn, you can see the effort compared to the rest. Still, there are some inconsistencies in perspective, but the poses are diverse, and in 16 volumes of non-stop ecchi, not feeling repetitive is a pretty good achievement!
Val x Love is one of the strongest "Mixed Feelings" I have ever had. It moved me, but not always for the right reasons. It could have been boring, as I was planning not to care too much, but somehow I got hooked by this mess. Even if I can rant about it this much, the fights were good, the transformations were badass, and the ecchi was really nice.
I would recommend it if you're not too bothered by what I mentioned, but I can see it being off putting for some people.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 16, 2024
Your Enemy-to-Lover School-Life romcom, where the "prince" is seeking revenge after the "princess" fueled by a decade-old grudge, after drastically changing his appearance! (he was just a bit chubby, somehow the FMC doesn't recognize him...)
The manga starts off like a typical romcom where many problems could be resolved if only one of the characters were honest or spoke up, which, in my opinion, is one of the biggest red flags for this genre of manga. Many situations are reminiscent of Nisekoi, where just when you think the plot can finally move forward, a new character arrives and stalls the story for several chapters.
However, the manga
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manages to quickly break free from this terrible pattern, and the side characters, initially slowing down the story, eventually become essential drivers, which is very enjoyable.
Nonetheless, the plot remains interesting, even though the manga drags and tries to buy time at the beginning. Once the first step is taken, everything starts to unravel. The characters, now established, face more difficult choices, and we can see that everything cannot be resolved so easily and the characters do their best to move forward.
The basic plot is interesting and promising, and despite the frustrating start, I highly recommend this manga to romcom fans. The artwork is very enjoyable throughout the whole story, and the plot is more complex than it initially appears.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 8, 2024
A very cute and chill story, published in 8 volumes that feel a lot shorter since it's so easy to read. Cute girls doing cute things, lots of cat trivia, a bit of romance, and tons of friendship!
The story is set in a world where people randomly contract a syndrome giving them cat-like features and a full cat transformation, but the technical side isn't important; most of it is left unexplained. Some are born with the syndrome, Riko, the human main character, seems to be a cat magnet, and only girls seem to contract the syndrome, etc. The story technically has the Supernatural tag, but
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what we're looking at is a cute Shoujo Ai Comedy with catgirls, and from time to time, a new invention from the professor to play on the cat attributes.
The romance part is teased throughout most of the story, but the focus is clearly on the friendship between the girls and their growth.
The art is unbelievably cute, especially the 'classic comedy chibi characters' and the emotional scenes. Each character has their own quirks, which work really well. My favorites are the Hannya face Yuki makes when she is frightened, and the internal consultations she has with kittens appearing on her to discuss.
In conclusion, it's a very sweet and relaxing story, with an adorable art style and a cast of characters that you cannot get bored of!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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