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I really like stories about gifted athletes and their struggles, so given that's the main theme of this manga I thought I'd give it a chance. And don't get me wrong, it is good in the sense that the story is engaging and the main character really sets himself apart from other such characters in this trope. However, as it's being told from the perspective of an 11 year old, it's truly confusing and hard to follow most of the time. At the beginning I wondered whether it was my unfamiliarity with baseball, but the principles of a story like this (overpowered MC, pitiful players, ... petty adults) are much the same regardless. In the end, it's the fact that it's a child being tossed every which way by adults and peers alike, resulting in him not even knowing what he really wants or what really bothers him (Ayasegawa contradicts himself LOTS throughout the story which is obvious since he's a CHILD), that makes the story a bit hard to follow. As another reviewer pointed out, reading this from a psychological and drama lense might be better, since that would put center and focus Ayasegawa's growth into a kid that sets boundaries and constructs clear goals (a bit pointless for a sports manga to have a reader set the sports aspect aside, but it is what it is)

So first of all, I'm just happy that Fujimaki finally got another job serialized after that flop golf manga, since he's genuinely a great writer, and this work is proof of that... kinda. First of all, though it may sound like a trending type of plot in the current shonen climate, it's a step ahead of the many... many manga that have given it a try by makin the middle aged assassin not attracted to children, let's start with that. The relationships, the settings, they're all very good and entertaining, it's a series that sets itself apart from the rest. The only downside to this ... manga, and one i hope the author becomes aware of and finds a way to fix so this keeps on being serialized, is that he clearly believes at this point he can only make a manga work by using the Kuroko no Basket formula... which turns into some of the cast being cleat rip-offs of the Generation of Miracles, which really isn't needed for this story and only takes focus away from the spy plot, making this a regular school story with quirky kids. I mean, ANOTHER DID system and a troubled teenage sport genius? Don't get me wrong, KNB is my favorite manga, but it's because of that that i know he doesn't need to do all that twice as if that's the only thing he can make work with. All in all, although I have mixed feelings on its quality going forward, it's still so original with the kind of mature MC i always long to see, a very very comedic work with lots of action, so ill beg anyone to read it so long as i keep being able to read this for longer

I liked the beginning a whole lot, it's probably the most I've laughed when reading a gag manga cause of how ridiculous the situations were... guess they were crazy enough to bridge the cultural gap. The main characters were all great except for the female lead Adachi, and all character additions up until the prep school arc were very dynamic and interesting. As mentioned, from the prep school arc onwards the plot felt very half assed, the characters joining the cast were all very one dimensional, and the ending was just too damn incoherent to feel satisfying. Lastly, although I did like Adachi for her ... comedic moments, everything about her story felt shallow and vague, only once in the first few chapters do we get any insight as to what deeper reasons for changing herself (her yakuza family background) there might be but never again was any of that mentioned or even shown, and her stupidity, although for comic relief, was too damn inconsistent with serious moments in the story; the romance between the main couple, least to say, was disappointing. I'd say people should definitely read this for the comedy and the rest of the characters, not for its romance or coherence.

I was on a bit of a historical manga spree, and thought I'd finally give this a try, but was severely disappointed. First listing some good things about this story: the art is gorgeous and the action is great. Then onto the flaws, I have mainly three issues with this manga, which I feel to be shared with some other comments: the historical aspect, the treatment of Richard's intersexuality, and the author's clear obsession with trying to write BL harem (which pretty much ties into how the author treats the intersexual issue). Now, I think an amazing thing for historical fiction is how writers manage ... to blend fact with their own story, but in my opinion there should be some intentionality to it; when you pick a character, specially one for whom there's documented records, it's because they fulfill the purpose of your story, so that readers can go "Woah, I can totally see how well crafted this is because it makes sense". However, though the author in here does the bare minimum of following the documented history, there is absolutely no reason given for why this story is about the very real, very documented Richard III; no part in this man's trajectory fits the kind of storyline this author wanted to have. Like someone else said, his only ailment was scoliosis, which wasn't even a determent to his daily life, and the only remarkable thing about him was killing his nephews for the throne which basically every royal from back then did... how did the author even turn that into an intersex person suffering for years due to nobody loving them and not being able to love the one they want? Why on earth pick the most unrelated historical figure ever for such a plot? If such is the case, then just make up original characters and use history as a reference. I think even a full on story where Henry VI is the protagonist would have been much more compelling than constantly being subjected to whatever pedo mess that 60 chapter arc was. Again with intentionality onto the next topic... does Richard being intersexual serve any purpose for the story? Is it really an interesting read that X historical figure whose life story could not possibly make sense with such a plot point, is intersex? What does it even do for the character except 1) serve for childhood trauma... which honestly any other thing could have provided, most logically a disability like the real one had and 2) serve for a not gay enough its gay but gay enough the fujoshis jump at it encounter with about every male character in the manga? You come here and tell me he's identified as a male his whole life, and only starts to question such an identity when he's in some lovey dovey encounter with the ML, and only ever considers himself as "half-woman" in relation to the men around... what does that even say about this character's capacity of having any thoughts or troubles of their own. What does it even say about the author's capacity of actually using intersexuality as a complex plot point beyond being a romantic complication. If all they were gonna use it for is romance, then why not a crossdressing woman or a gay man or anything else? Back to the historical discussion, there was absolutely no reason to make this historical figure intersex, specially when it does not provide any vital eureka moment when recounting their life. Again, this could have very well been an original story with original characters.

Basically, there is about zero logic ever applied to anything in this story. Either pick a historical figure that serves your purpose so the narrative carries smoothly, limit yourself to a faithful historical recount, or write an original story; since you can't possibly have a well written manga when ignoring and not committing to any of these. For those who want good historical fiction there's better works around, hell I think even for historical BL, ao3 fanfiction would be a better read.

Though it is true this manga isn't a paragon on what intersexuality is, and despite the fact it getting axed took away a lot of potential for the story to mature and get better, I still find it a heartwarming story even with the classic shoujo cliches and annoying type jokes from the time, and is still a very advanced story considering it was published in 1999. It's nice to see how Megumi's intersexuality isn't a factor for her family breaking apart, but instead brings them together once again, and how losing her friendship with her former clique, and being suddenly subjected to the type ... of things women are subjected to, is in fact very overwhelming for her (even if everyone hounding her for a date is played for laughs, her feelings about the matter are still very much there). Again, this story could have developed much more if only it could have gone for longer, but as it is, it's a very light, enjoyable read about an intersex girl finding love and trust.

Honestly this is an appalling manga to me, and it being so bad came as a surprise since Ai ga Shinu no wa Kimi no Sei, another work by the same authors, was one of the most thrilling sci-fi shoujos I've read lately. I wish I could give it a 1 star rating, but there's a salvageable bit at the beginning: the sweet relationship between Hayate and Nanoka, who are both experiencing their first love, feels refreshing and innocent. At the beginning of the manga, it seems the only major problems you could come across are usual shojo issues like miscommunication and a love rival. ... The start was, so you could say, very typical and inoffensive. However, the authors quickly decided to throw every cliche in the book into the mix, probably hoping to have a serious and engaging story, which never even happened. In the end, I believe the only thing they've achieved is writing the scariest, most criminal and disturbed male characters in psychological shojo, but even that comes as a price since theyre never even realistic or addressed as such, just creepy. All characters have unfathomable flaws: the female lead feels like a concoction of the most random tropes and despite making a whole deal of her feelings, never really arrives at saying or doing anything of them at all, she's just plainly indecisive of everything, the male lead is the most unrealistic, idealized version of a middle schooler you will ever see, and we never even get to see what his personality is supposed to be like cause all he does and feels is in response to the fl being hard headed and uncommunicative, the 2nd ml is a downright psycho, an assaulter and an obsessive creep that goes back and forth between his delusions, whenever it seems he's about to see the reality that he's two steps close to deserving a restraining order, he goes back to being the worst man on earth; at some point we are trust with a random villain that's the embodiment of cliche mentally ill psycho and it's so nonsensical it would make any run of the mill shonen author pale in comparison, lastly the friends are possibly one of the worst aspects since not only are they plain, boring and one dimensional, they are also as indecisive as the protagonists, you wonder 100% of times whether they want to help their "friends" or are just there as agents to ensure the crazy behavior keeps going.
Overall it's nonsensical, indecisive and unstable writing, where clearly the authors didn't know what they were initially aiming for and so it made it easier when the time to add and add random, badly executed plot twists to extend the publication came.
All in all, you could read this if you want, but honestly, if what you're searching for is something unserious and uncomplicated to pass the time, there's better works; if what you want is a love triangle, a first love story, an amnesia plot, even a "older girl younger boy" manga, there's PLENTY other works; and if what you're looking for is a psychological work with stalkers, abuse and yandere characters, there's also way better works! In the end, there's really no good reason for anyone to read this particular work, since there's not a single point that didn't make this a waste of time.

Ah idk, im not gonna talk about how accurate this is from a trans point of view since im not trans, but im not cis either (and afab while at it) so it still left a bad after taste in my mouth. I'll talk about more general things instead.
First off, it seems this manga suffers from the very same thing most manga about trans characters written by cisgender people suffer, which is a very dragging negativity. Not to say hardships aren't part of what comes with existing as someone out of the binary gender, but now that there's more trans authors coming forth with their ... own stories, and despite their many different life stories, you truly realize how fundamentally different they are from stuff like this. Trans stories told by trans people tell you that there are ways to reach happiness and be yourself. But stories like this told by cis people are always suffocating, they make you feel trapped, like there's no way out of conformity, and they ultimately still see trans people as an experiment of sorts or the romanization of martyr pain (which is ironic since there's an obvious self insert character that does that... but anyway). They see trans people as troubled and impossible individuals, and so no matter how deep they try to dive in their psyche, they'll never get what existing and being happy is about for non cis people.
Although the author was very ambitious about this story, and i had good hopes for it, i ended up feeling awful by the end of it, as you could tell this wasnt for lgbtq people but a messy attempt to write about them. Sometimes it's better to not try writing about some things at all! Instead id recommend to support trans and gender x mangaka even harder, since their chances to tell real stories wind up being stolen by situations like this.

Despite being a very light read, this manga truly had everything: enjoyable characters, interesting plot, cute romance that wasn't too over the top either, and a great protagonist.
At first, seeing the number of chapters, i thought it would definitely feel rushed towards the end, however I think since it was meant to be a nice little short manga, the development and conclusion felt nicely paced and the bit of action packed there felt refreshing too!
Another good point was that there weren't many loose ends, except for just one that I'll talk about either, and the plot holes weren't too in your face so unless ... you're being specially nitpicky they don't become too much of a problem, and in my opinion they can even be covered with your own rational thinking based on the world building, like Eco's magic knowledge, how couples work, etc.
The only and main loose end by the finale is related to Eco and the reasons she's able to use magic. Although some may think it's central to the plot, I think the mangaka was mainly indecisive about what the main plot point was gonna be, since Eco didn't have as much interest as anyone else in finding out the source of her magic as much as just being able to use it freely and without being judged. Though it's true that point in particular could have been used if the story were to have gone on for longer, i think the two volumes and story resolved were plenty and it was a truly enjoyable read.

I initially read this because the basic plot of "girl is trained into being a boy" seemed interesting and I like those kinds of stories, however my expectations were veeeeeery low as they are with most korean manhwa. As expected, I believe only the first ten chapters were salvageable, out of almost 140 chapters. As most sunjeong (korean shoujo) this is an exasperating, badly constructed story where romance and fighting over annoying boy characters is at the forefront and any kind of thoughtful progression is thrown out the window. Only like three characters are somehow likeable, but again, since they're moved around by the brainless ... romance and the author's whim, they aren't the best either. I do wish we could see a similar plot be picked up by a modern korean webtoon artist since some of them have progressed into actually knowing how to write... and as long as they don't make it an isekai or high school romance which seem to be the modern bane of korean comics sigh.

A veeeeeery fast paced manga, and since most of the focus is on the female character, my guess is the author ran out of time to do the male character's background. You could say it's unrealistic as well, and the side characters aren't even that much. A light read, if you may.
The main characters are pretty cute. Although I did find the age gap a turn-off, the story is so unrealistic and basic it didn't even incite that much rage in me.
It was interesting, however, seeing the author, Yamazaki Kore, transition from this kind of mindless seinen writing onto the masterpiece that is ... MNY.