Jul 28, 2022
So I'm a huge fan of the original Ganbare Nakamura manga, it's one of my favorites, in fact, so needless to say, I was super hyped when I saw there was a sequel. Naturally, a scanlation come around, and I read it up until the 9th chapter, where it abruptly ends. I thought this was some kind of mistake on the translators part, theres no way that was it, right? I was in huge denial until the official english version came out, and yeah, that was it.
My problems with this sequel isn't that it's not funny or lacks the charm of the original, but that
...
it's disappointing and like I said earlier, abrupt. There was no character development or growth between the relationship of the main two, unlike in the first volume, theres a blossoming and believable friendship between them, while here, we're right back where we started. I'm not asking for them to get together right away, the fact that they left off as friends in the first volume was actually one of my favorite parts, I just want them to get closer and learn more about each other, whether its romantic or platonic.
Individually, each chapter is hilarious, but combined into a full volume, there's no advances in the story, making the manga seem kinda pointless. Unlike the first volume which was hopeful and satisfying, this one was disappointing. I think what could've saved it was at least one more chapter at the very end proving that they've progressed, even if it's in the slightest, that they're just a little bit closer, like the first volume did.
Then there's the whole subplot with the teacher, which is... well gross. It was fine hinting that Hirose had a crush on him when it was one-sided, but I feel like it was played up here more, with some chapters focusing on those two more than him a Nakamura.
The art was fine for the most part. It didn't improve or get worse. I appreciate that they brought back some characters from the last volume, along with adding some that were just as memory. The only problem I have with the art and characters was that syundei tends to lack unique designs for their older male characters. This isn't reserved for just Ganbare Nakamura, and can be spotted in their other works. Here though, Nakamura, Otogiri, and the gym teacher all look identical, with me confusing the last two throughout the manga a lot. You could say this is just Syundei's art style, but when background characters have more unique and recognizable designs, it obviously isn't the case.
Those are all my qualms with Motto Ganbare Nakamura Kun. Overall, this sequel felt pointless and disappointing. It's super funny but when compared to the original, it's just bad. There's a reason the first one is so memorable, and this manga missed all the marks. Really, the original manga was better off as a standalone oneshot, and this addition isn't worth the time of day.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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