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Decided to give this a read as someone who enjoys oneshots, not noticing the low (5.54 as of writing) rating. The rating more or less sums it up.

This oneshot is mediocre in every sense of the word. The art is alright but nothing special. The characters are around as generic as they could be design-wise, and none of them really feel like they have a 'character'.

The entire manga exists to set up the plot twist, which.... is just about as predictable as you could get for a manga literally named 'snuff film monologue'. Take a guess what the plot twist is, and then read it. ... You're probably right.

I do give sympathy as there's only so much one can establish in a one-shot but... there are plenty of one-shots which manage just fine. This manga just simply.... exists, not really saying or doing anything I haven't seen elsewhere but better.

A funny but nonsensical oneshot which is absolutely worth a read.

There's definitely questions to be asked (how the hell did the girl even want to work there in the first place?) but really, none of it matters due to the length. I don't think it'd need to be anything more than a oneshot!

The ending especially is wonderfully unexpected but absolutely made me laugh.

Also, the art style is super cool and unique. It really adds to the vibe! I love how the mangaka's art can go from being super cute to super exaggeratedly scary in the span of a few panels.

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Gachipin. (99387) and has subsequently been merged into Cross Account (107480).


Going into this, I didn't expect much. What I got was an absolute pleasure of a short read.

While the premise is not necessarily unique, this one-shot has an unbridled energy that I've rarely see in such a short story. One-shots often suffer from too big a concept for the format, resulting in either weak storytelling or it being plot point after plot point, with little break in between. This is one of the pleasant cases where the balance. has been struck.

With a quirky sense of humour and ... fun yet distinct characters, I absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick but fun time.

Sometimes, I read manga to experience a story which will invest, scare, amaze or impress me. Other times, I read manga to laugh at or indulge in degenerate shit. This one is the latter.

STORY - 5/10

First of all, let's address the elephant in the room: the fact that the story has weirdly pedophilic overtones. The main reason I picked this up was due to me being intrigued how that's handled. Essentially, nothing is considered weird about this girl being mentally 9 years old. Let you judge that how you will, though I'm assuming the target audience would not care.

The edgy romantic in me loves ... the premise- a girl killing person after person to save the one she loves. However I feel like it could probably have been used better, and while I won't spoil it, the inevitable moment where that comes into light didn't feel satisfying.

Other than murder/blood, it's not really much of a 'horror', so if you see the tag and decide to pick it up for that, you may be disappointed.

The pacing is too fast for my liking too, which may not help with the not-great execution. 10 chapters doesn't feel long enough, and it'd be nice to see this in a fuller story. It hits the emotional aspects the worst, giving you occasional whiplash from the tone shifts.

ART - 6/10

Simple and cute, though not nessicarily the nicest or least generic. The characters look anemic. Foreheads and head angles often look weird. But it works and does the job, especially during the cuter scenes.

CHARACTER - 5/10

The characters are exactly as you'd imagine, written more like a weird anime stereotype of a lesbian instead of like an actual lesbian. At the very least, the child-in-a-teens-body acts like an actual child and the actual teen's personality works.

My main issue, I found, is that the characters aren't particularly worth investing in. They're cute, and work for the plot, but I don't end up caring much about them coming out of it.

Other than the main character, noone is particularly developed. Which is forgivable, due to it's length.

ENJOYMENT - 7/10

Entertaining enough for how long it takes to read it, and not bad. Fanservice was less than expected, which helped the enjoyment a lot. Objectively, you'd probably like this less if you don't have a guilty pleasure for cutesy romance.

OVERALL - 6/10

It's okay, though the premise is better than the execution. While not a bad manga (unless you hate the pedophilic tones), there's lots of room where this could have been improved. If you're bored enough though and want unrealistically cute lesbians, this works.

The first manga I've read from Inuki Kanako, and it's not disappointing.

STORY - 7/10

Being a collection of oneshots, it varies. I personally enjoyed House and Nightmare the most, though that will likely vary depending on which horror tropes you enjoy.

Without spoiling anything, lot of the horror relies on grotesque imagery and the sense of horror due to the main characters being young girls. Nonetheless, there's some fun concepts behind some of them and none are exactly bad, even if they can feel generic.


ART - 7/10
...
With round faces and peropero-esque sparkly eyes, it feels like an odd mix of anime styled features and non-anime styled features. In general, the art tends to be slightly wonky, but has lots of charm compared to the usual polished work of many others.

The backgrounds are often not overly detailed but pleasant, and the actual horror part is effective and grotesque. Perhaps not a masterpiece of artwork, but nonetheless it holds up well.

CHARACTER - 6/10

As can be expected from oneshots, there's little chance for development. Instead, it has to rely on making the characters stand out and serve their purpose.

The main characters in each of the stories are girls, which really adds to the sense of vunerability and shock which accompanies the horror aspects.

In stories such as Mirror Mirror and Hell Mother, it suffers from the issue of the two characters being similar in personality a lot. Most main characters do end up acting similar, a 'innocent girl' which something happens to. This serves it's purpose, though it'd be nice to see anything which would make them stand out better.

ENJOYMENT - 8/10

Despite any flaws I've mentioned, there's nothing which makes it an unpleasant read, and at no point felt like I was wasting my time with it. It was a fun twenty minutes or so.

OVERALL - 7/10

Perhaps not the most memorable horror oneshots you'll ever read, but there's some interesting concepts and execution, and seeing as it's only 5 'chapters' long, absolutely worth a read to any horror fan.

Youkai Watch. It's an anime you may have heard of, a lot of people compare it to Pokémon partially due to it's growing popularity in Japan overshadowing Pokémon's. However, this anime is not actually as similar to Pokémon as it seems.

Both series center around a boy in a world filled with monsters, but the main difference is that their stories and interactions are presented completely differently. They both function as kids 'monster of the week' series but Pokémon is filled with epic battles and plots about evil teams wanting to take over the regions. In contrast, Youkai Watch is a pure humor anime consisting of ... multiple skits per episode with no real plot or purpose. That is not to say Youkai Watch is good or bad, but if you're expecting an epic quest or any overall plot, you'll most likely be disappointed. The series is about Keita's daily life and interactions with youkai, plain and simple. Occasionally there will be plot but it's few and far between.

The anime tends to follow the same structure as the episodes go by, but the series manages to keep most of the jokes refreshing. Some jokes can grow stale but it stays entertaining for the most part. The humor is mainly self-aware, it's a series that is aware that the premise and characters can get ridiculous and embraces it. As such, the jokes can rely on slapstick humor and ridiculous circumstances. For me, the humor rarely fell flat though that will possibly not be the case for you. Still, if you're looking for such a light-hearted humor anime, this may be an anime worth considering.

Another difference between Youkai Watch and Pokémon: Keita, the protagonist, is completely normal. In fact, the only truly unique thing about him is the fact that he can see and interact with youkai. He's constantly referred to as 'normal' and 'average' by his classmates, which I find to be a nice touch to the anime. Keita is more relatable to most children than most protagonists who have something special, a power or being the Chosen One. He's simply an ordinary boy who stumbled upon a gachapon machine by accident.

Even these youkai don't help him out that much- for the most part they just cause him trouble. His 'butler' Whisper is incompetent and knows little about youkai and the series' mascot, Jibanyan, rarely ever wins fights he's summoned to. So really, even his special skill serves to hinder him more than it helps.

He is also not a boy made entirely of moral fortitude and a will to do the right thing like many other kids anime. He can be troublesome and naughty at time, but he can also have many moments of wanting to do the right thing. Again, it serves to make Keita represent an actual child more, which is a nice change from the generic protagonist.

In fact, character is one of Youkai Watch's strong points. Although there tends to be little character development due to it's lack of plot, the characters are full of charm and each character is unique. Each youkai has has their own distinct personalities and abilities which helps prevent the repetitive format from growing stale.

The art and sound are average, typical for most kids anime. It's not amazing but it still has it's own charm.

Overall, I think the series is worth picking up if you're looking for a lighthearted humor anime, or are fond of anime featuring numerous different monsters. Just don't expect any real plot and you'll be fine.