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After reading a manga like 'Liar Game,' many people find different meaning in it. For some it's about the value of honesty, for others it reflects society or maybe some problem closer to home. For me, 'Liar Game' was about the bonds between people - be them friends or foes.

Art (8):

The art is a little disproportionate in the beginning and not entirely my style but the more I read, the more it improved. I also came to really like the realistic style as it fit the story perfectly. Do not be deceived by the cover (which is honestly why I didn't read this for so ... long).

Story (10):

Although 'Liar Game' can't be said to be completely flawless, it's story is deep and the plot incredibly engaging. I do believe that some of the earlier events are a little flimsy but by the first Revival Round, things solidify and events become all too believable.

The actual events and thought process behind many of the player's strategies can range from amazingly complex to weirdly simple and although in more than a few cases I found myself figuring things about before the big reveal, there always seemed to be another hidden move, a deeper meaning and a hundred clever actions played out by the characters. While you're busy smiling smugly for figuring out the game's answer, you may want to wait before jumping to any conclusions...

Characters (9):

Despite giving the characters one point lower, this is really where the heart and soul of the manga is. Not to mention the mind. Nao, Akiyama, Fukinaga and Yokoya each have their own wonderfully designed personalities, all different and important to establishing the themes for this story. Not to mention the huge supporting cast that really take the story to new heights.

Nao is really the base of this story and while I've seen many reviewers rave about Akiyama, I honestly don't believe anyone makes this story more than her. Although she can be extremely foolish, her simple charm really makes or breaks the bonds between all the characters. She is the element with the power to draw people together and although is often duped, still trusts in the good of humanity. For a pessimist like myself, this usually would annoy me but instead I found myself effected just like the other players in the game.

I'll try to keep things brief with the other characters. Akiyama is an intelligent, ex-con, fresh out of prison who I honestly believe really enjoys the liar game. I think it must be fun to test your skills, especially when you have the smarts like he does. The jaded Akiyama is indeed changed by Nao but it's refreshingly subtle and it's always exciting to see Akiyama's plans play out and try deducing the next move. On the flip side, Yokoya is a great villain and very similar to Akiyama save for his ideals and the pride he takes in being the best. Yokoya is a very interesting character and although it is easy to hate him, I think the point of the story is to try and understand him as 'doubt' and 'trust' are large themes of 'Liar Game.'

Enjoyment/Overall (10):

I'd read this again. And maybe five times after that. It's just a really fun read and although it's only been hours since I've finished, I already feel a bit sad that I'm not going to get to read it for the first time all over again.

The story's message is important but even if you ignore it, you'll still have a great time reading it. It's just incredibly enjoyable. It doesn't preach at you and the human actions aren't unbelievable, in many cases it was easy to sympathise with why a character was doing something even if you didn't approve of it. After all... in the Liar Game, would you really do any different?

I honestly felt the strongest need to write this review since I adore this manga so much. Often the Shounen Ai genre is overlooked and not taken very seriously which is why it's really great that there are mangas like Silver Diamond out there to show that great manga can come from anywhere. I can't imagine anyone ever really regretting reading this.

Story: 9

It's kind of hard to believe that Shiho Sugiura didn't plan every part of the manga before it was released. It had that feeling of being meticulously planned out to play out so well. Although the pacing sped up as the series went ... on, I think this worked more in it's favour instead of becoming rushed like it could have.

A few people thought the ending could have been better and usually I am pretty picky about how stories should end but in this case I think things were settled nicely with a sense of hope for the character's and an openness to their futures. It's definitely not a bad ending although maybe not as final as some people might want.

My one and only complaint about the story is of course that I wanted the relationship between Chigusa and Rakan to be... more defined? It's not like I was looking for anyrhing explicit and they certainly have very strong feelings but... I can't help wanting more. The dynamics were just so perfect that you can't help but want more out of it!

Art: 10

The art in this is so captivating... Ah the drawings are just so pretty to look at but don't take away from the story focus at all. There are some little extras that the mangaka put in volumes every so often and one has detailing on the screen tones used... Ah I couldn't help but being fascinated due to my nerd status.

The character designs are really well done too. It's hard to get confused between characters despite there being so many of them. I find that this can be something a lot of mangakas struggle with but I was really glad that wasn't the case here. Each character is easy to identify and unique. Not to mention so beautiful!

Characters: 10

Speaking of the characters... I don't really think they could have been made any better. The main four guys (Rakan, Chigusa, Narushige and Tohji) are all really interesting with diverse personalities. Even with their lighthearted behaviour they all have something to struggle with and these internal conflicts make them so easy to connect with.

Not to mention the supporting cast... somehow each and every one of them feels unique and it's hard to call them minor characters when they often feel just as important as the mains. They all come together really well to create vital scenes and without one another the characters wouldn't truly develop properly. Chigusa in particular becomes more complex as the series goes on and his character develops without you even noticing...

One thing I often find in this particular genre is some sadly unlikeable and unrealistic female characters but in Silver Diamond, although there is few, the girls really are perfectly made. Karaku, Sae, Rinrai and Shigeyuki are all unique and interesting characters with their own complex backgrounds. I wish I had seen a bit more of them all but they were perfectly placed in the story.

Enjoyment: 10

I think I've made my point. Silver Diamond is extremely enjoyable. It's up there with other 'mainstream' manga and easily one of my favourites. I've read it a few times actually and with the length of it, I'm not just doing it because it was 'okay.'

Overall: 10

Please just go read it. Or if you've come here because you've already read it than go sob about it being over for half an hour before trying to move on.

'Saihate no Kimi e' is a manga that's easy to forget. It's short and missing a lot of proper depth because of this.

Story:
The story had a bit of potential to be interesting. I liked the set-up of the two brothers even if you never saw them together properly. The family had possibility to go further into and the romance wasn't too bad despite the unfortunate dynamics of feeling used and unloved by each other. I couldn't really be happy with the story as it was. It felt a little rushed and missing important elements.

Art:
I wouldn't say the art was a masterpiece but it got the ... job done and nothing seemed too unrealistic. The look of the characters was a little too angled for my taste but ultimately not a problem at all.

Characters:
I didn't really love any of the characters. I didn't know them well enough and the two main guys seemed a little generic and boring. There were other characters that could've gone on to be interesting and if the story had continued the main characters would've had more time to evolve into complex people. There was nothing too wrong with them though but nothing too great either.

Enjoyment:
It was okay. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I don't have any plans on reading it again and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone but it didn't seem like a complete waste of time which is something.

Overall:
This manga is fine. Nothing special but okay if you just want something quick to read with a few sex scenes here and there.

Let me start off by saying that I am not anywhere close to being a fan of short manga. For me to actually really love a manga it has to go on for a while so that I can live with the characters for a bit.

That being said... I really did love Seven Days.

It was sweet and fun and overall a nice thing to read. Considering it couldn't have taken me over half an hour to go through the story, it did a surprisingly good job at making me smile. This is probably my favourite manga under 20 chapters.

Story:
Ah... is there ever a more universal ... plot then love? I'm not a person especially believing in true loves and happy endings but I have to say it's something manga always (or at least some of the time) seem to be able to pull off. Everything was nicely paced (which is hard to do in 13 chapters) and the dialogue always seemed to fit. I found the whole premise somewhat interesting but I think something more important to the story was the way people perceive one another. Seven Days really managed to show this concept off nicely and simply. Everyone wants people to love them from who they are. This is what the story is based around and it's not overly played with, the theme distributed in the right places and leaving room for other ideas and interpretations.

Art:
To be honest, I'm not the best judge with art in manga but... I know what I like and I know what I don't. Usually I get caught up in the story but if the art is good enough, I'll look over something more than once. Despite my lack of attention, character facial expressions and I guess overall appearance matter to me. Often enough I'll find a manga with (usually) old art and cringe at the face some poor guy is wearing. Seven Days was easy to look at though. It wasn't eye-catching to the point where you became distracted (which is good) but it was also really nicely used to show subtle emotions and give hints to the characters pasts.

Character:
It's normal for everyone to grow attachments to characters. I am no exception. That's usually why I dislike short manga. They reel me in with an interesting character before slapping me across the face with an ending. The characters were interesting and complex people with similar wishes of 'acceptance' and 'love'. It was nice to have characters that weren't built up from each other. Both of the main boys are their own people and unlike a lot of other romance-themed manga, they didn't rely solely on each other (how could you in 7 days?) which I felt was a good point of showcasing originality. They're characters you can feel something for without it going over the top to the point where you're frustrated by the length.

Enjoyment:
Did I enjoy this? From all my points you could probably gather yes. Hell, with the way I went on with each aspect this seems like it should be a 10! Alas, I can't find it within me to rate such a short series a 10. But it was still a really fun read. Especially for 13 chapters (I know I keep going on but ehhhh I don't care). Seven Days was fun and curiously simple. It's something I can imagine re-reading at some point. I'd say that it would've been nice for a longer story (maybe they could've changed it so he dates people for a month?). I dunno. I just can't ever seem to get over my sulking of short reads...

Overall:
It won't take you seven days to fall in love with this title. Maybe you won't love it at all but it's worth a read for a lot of audiences due to the story and characters. If you are going to take anything from my review take this: strong concepts are what make good stories into more. Go read it and find out if you understand that. Trust me, you will.

I put off reading Loveless for ages due to its 'ongoing' status but just a couple days ago had nothing to read and shrugged myself into reading it.
It wasn't long before I'd really been captured by the story. It started off with Aoyagi Ritsuka being just the most adorable, smart and overall great character he was. The thing that really interested me to start with was his desperation to create memories with people and not be forgotten due to whatever happened two years ago.
He was just the first of many good elements though.
The story was really interesting and unique, the idea of having sacrifices ... and fighters and not knowing if you could really trust people. Character interactions could go between funny and cute to strangely intense and scary.
Soubi and Ritsuka are really fun to read about and their development is emotional and sweet. Usually I would've been worried about the character's ages but despite all the closeness between them it didn't seem weird or unwanted and there wasn't really a sexual element to it (despite the kissing). Soubi in fact had stated a few times in the series that he wasn't going to be interested in a little kid that way and it always seemed very close due to the sacrifice and fighter dynamics.
There were a lot of other interesting characters that were quite original and added a lot to the series. The artwork was beautifully done, simple in the right places and complicated during times that it should be.
I had a great time reading Loveless and upon catching up to the latest chapter wanted to reread it and find other people who liked it as much as I do.
The only reason this didn't get a 9 or 10 score was the annoying filler chapters that were constantly springing up out of nowhere and the shortness of the chapters. It's one of the first manga I've read that have done such a small amount of pages and it honestly just pissed me off that they spent that small amount on things that had nothing to do with the story.
But overall, Loveless is definitely worth reading, if only to watch Ritsuka develop and grow as an amazing main character.