Aug 22, 2021
The premise is great and, at first, the story feels quite unique, in my opinion, and it does have a bit of that mature air that I simply love but I also feel like it evaporates with each volume.
Since the first thing you see is art, that's what I will touch on first too—it's very good, I enjoyed the visual part a lot; the backgrounds, the expressions and the general layout are clean and convey what they need to.
Now, for the characters, the male protagonist, Hideki, is... not unlikeable. He doesn't really stand out as a main character and he does feel plain to the
...
bone. But is by no means an unsocial jerk, no, far from it; in fact, he is often said to be "a good guy" but there's not much story to either back that statement up or debunk it. He's just a decent human being but somehow gets glorified into a saint–the trope I sincerely despise. Also, Hideki is utterly useless and halfway through the story and on he basically says only three things over and over again:
1) What does it mean?
2) What is Chii to me?
3) I don't get it
which is simply bad writing.
The female protagonist, Chii, on the other hand, I like a lot. Her introduction is nice and it does seem like she develops, matures and learns.
The side characters, however, are a mixed bag, in my opinion. Not only were their stories more engaging than the main plot, but also those characters were the ones who drove the main plot forward, which shouldn't happen because, well, the side characters are supposed to support the main cast, lie on the side, right? Well, not according to the authors, apparently. I guess it turns out okay, in the end, because if it weren't for the stories of the bakery guy, the computer genius kiddo and the teacher, I would've likely dropped the manga at one point or the other.
The premise overall is nice and engaging, as I've already said, but the development and execution of the story is where it falls short. It's all quite predictable, there's nothing particularly ingenious there. The addition of the picture book narration was nice and innovative at first but it was overused to the point of becoming obnoxious. In general, the story tries to be philosophical and touch on the nature of the human heart and love itself but I think it takes on more than it can handle and ultimately crumbles under its own weight.
It's an okay read. Nothing too bad but nothing too great either. I definitely wouldn't say it's a must but I think it's still worth giving a shot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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