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It's a very short manga series but it actually tells what it want to tells without wasting anything, and it might just be the amateur me talking but it does feel like the author put a lot of thought into it.

The main character Asahina Wakaba is bullied by the girls at her school, and like many bully victims is the type who doesn't know how to stand for herself(although it does seem like it's a problem for most of the girls in her class).
Because bully got to bully, they trap her into the all too common "confess to x as a prank" game ... and given they entrap her by making her break an object she believes valuable on top of her being a pushover she "accepts"

Haruto, the male main character presents as the stereotypical, fat otaku, into eroge, and other anime/manga etc... I say presents in the sense that although he is actually like that it's not all he is: he turn the other cheek when he is hurt, he has the self awareness to hold back himself from speaking only of his own hobbies, is considerate of others, and in general a pretty honest and friendly person, who always try to make other people happy: as such the bad reputation he gets at school, while not baseless is highly exagerated, as Wakaba soon learns.

Learning to know him better and his backstory, she ends up falling in love for real, as one would expect. Obviously though the fact it started on a lie wasn't forgotten and had to be addressed but i believe you can work out the general outline of an happy ending

I rate this work so highly for those few reasons
-Going by the story as well as the author own mouth, it is meant to be seen as the growing up story of both protagonist. Wakaba might present as more flawed than Haruto but at the same time i do believe in succeeded in showing that they both needed growing: Wakaba needed to learn that her extreme non confrontational attitude, and lack of asking for help(which was available from the start: her family would have absolutely helped her, multiple people in the class were affraid of the bully but nonetheless never liked them, and haruto and his friends as shown in the conclusion would have been able to be understanding if she told them) only made things worse for both herself and everyone else. Haruto however had his own growth prior to the story, having once been in middle school a very similar person to Wakaba, but he took the steps on improving himself to become the person Wakaba fell in love with

-The romance was short but gradual: Wakaba at first only knew of his bad reputation, but at the same time still had respect for him as another person and didn't want him to suffer, then after knowing him better more and more saw how kind he was and his strength of character, which made her fall for him. As for Haruto, he of course was always to the cute and seemingly kind girl that she looked like from the outsie, but he truly fell in love when he could see the similarities betwent them, what was behind her gloomy mask, and that she was at heart a tolerant person who wouldn't drop him whennever just because of his appearance

-Despite being a short series, the side characters are surprisingly good, with a particular care given to tie them to either the main characters in multiple ways, when it would have been just fine not to justify anything.

The only point i can possibly dock from this story is some tropey siuations, and the fact mayybe soe elmeent might feel too melodramatic, but i feel like they all serve their purpose well and make the story better

The art is pretty good.
I would recommend for anyone interestied in picking up the final volume of the light novel, as it give more space and fluff, but the manga noonetheless adapts the source material nearly flawlessly

It's a very short light novel series but it actually tells what it want to tells without wasting anything, and it might just be the amateur me talking but it does feel like the author put a lot of thought into it.

The main character Asahina Wakaba is bullied by the girls at her school, and like many bully victims is the type who doesn't know how to stand for herself(although it does seem like it's a problem for most of the girls in her class).
Because bully got to bully, they trap her into the all too common "confess to x as a prank" game ... and given they entrap her by making her break an object she believes valuable on top of her being a pushover she "accepts"

Haruto, the male main character presents as the stereotypical, fat otaku, into eroge, and other anime/manga etc... I say presents in the sense that although he is actually like that it's not all he is: he turn the other cheek when he is hurt, he has the self awareness to hold back himself from speaking only of his own hobbies, is considerate of others, and in general a pretty honest and friendly person, who always try to make other people happy: as such the bad reputation he gets at school, while not baseless is highly exagerated, as Wakaba soon learns.

Learning to know him better and his backstory, she ends up falling in love for real, as one would expect. Obviously though the fact it started on a lie wasn't forgotten and had to be addressed but i believe you can work out the general outline of an happy ending

I rate this work so highly for those few reasons
-Going by the story as well as the author own mouth, it is meant to be seen as the growing up story of both protagonist. Wakaba might present as more flawed than Haruto but at the same time i do believe in succeeded in showing that they both needed growing: Wakaba needed to learn that her extreme non confrontational attitude, and lack of asking for help(which was available from the start: her family would have absolutely helped her, multiple people in the class were affraid of the bully but nonetheless never liked them, and haruto and his friends as shown in the conclusion would have been able to be understanding if she told them) only made things worse for both herself and everyone else. Haruto however had his own growth prior to the story, having once been in middle school a very similar person to Wakaba, but he took the steps on improving himself to become the person Wakaba fell in love with

-The romance was short but gradual: Wakaba at first only knew of his bad reputation, but at the same time still had respect for him as another person and didn't want him to suffer, then after knowing him better more and more saw how kind he was and his strength of character, which made her fall for him. As for Haruto, he of course was always to the cute and seemingly kind girl that she looked like from the outsie, but he truly fell in love when he could see the similarities betwent them, what was behind her gloomy mask, and that she was at heart a tolerant person who wouldn't drop him whennever just because of his appearance

-Despite being a short series, the side characters are surprisingly good, with a particular care given to tie them to either the main characters in multiple ways, when it would have been just fine not to justify anything.

The only point i can possibly dock from this story is some tropey siuations, and the fact mayybe soe elmeent might feel too melodramatic, but i feel like they all serve their purpose well and make the story better

Before everything, do note that this series is not fully translated in englis as of when I m writing this: 2 volumes were officially released, and fan translations that I m aware of only go up to ch 13(half of volume 3). I finished the rest of the series by buying the raw digital manga and translating them with google lens, so my understanding of the later parts is not complete, although suficient

As the synopsis would tell you, this short(by design) series mix harem to horror.

Asunaro, the male "MC" is an highschooler so average that he would almost stand out for that. He doesn't really ... have a passion or dreams, and mostly spends his days idly, lamenting that fact about him.

After picking up the (wrong?) bottle he unwittingly summon a demon, Zepaful. As her own code would not allow otherwise she endeavor to thank him for unsealing her, by making his fantasies(which are quite precise and vast, considering he daydreams constantly as a way to cope) come true

Unfortunatly Zepaful is also an hungry demon, so she won't miss her opportunity to gain something along the way: Trapping the 5 girl whom he has a crush on in An harem death game, her goal is to get the souls of the inevitable 4 losers to bring to hell.

That's it for the synopsis, as of now I'll dissect things more individually




Characters



All of them: Obviously, being a short series, You cannot expect characters whom we could write entire essays about. That being said, for the short time we had them, I believe they are mostly well used and enjoyable
The girl's particular arc varies, but as a group they evolve from being out only for themselves to acting like a corp,


Cerica:the brain of the girls, her main trait is her unyieldingness as well as analytical spirit, both in the game and in school. Both because she does not have confidence in her chance of winning(She IS a beautiful lady, but so are the others, and she lacks feminine confidence in that regard)and because she finds the idea abhorent, she strives to not play by the game rules at all turn in order to ensure hers and her co-victim survival. She is a pretty good main character.
Her common point with Asunaro(that she lacks an actual direction in life) is also compelling for me


Liru: aka the loli. Jokes aside her design is that of a loli but she is really only a year younger than the rest of them, so it's not exactly a great move to frame her like that, especially considering the type of plot she is in and the rest of her character.
That aside she is pretty interesting. She is the classical trope of the older siblings who is really a secondary parent for her poor family.She is also an aspiring manga artist, and her anxiety about that probably come from experience of the author himself.

Saaya: The "popular one". Feminine, sweet, she is also heiress to a kendo school. Her father is her role model and she strives to succeed him one day, despite what male chauvinist would have to say.Alright character in my opinion


Heather: The "genki girl". She is the trackstar of the school and trains to become faster everyday. Part of her reason is to follow the footsteps of her big sisters, and she take it very seriously.
She is mostly the "act first, think after" type but she is not stupid, just simple.

Ren: imo the second most interesting girls, and the secondary brain. Much like Celica, she doesn't hesitate to take the initiative and is quite cuning, although has a tendency to overestimate herself.
Her arc of growing more attached to Celica(she is...handsy at first) and more caring of others in general is also very nice.
I like the artstyle of her eyes

Asunaro: Now I gave away most of his character in the synopsis so no need to be long. Being unaware of what he has caused, his carefreeness clash with how serious the situation really is.
Since this manga is pretty self aware in general(classical harem tropes are invoqued in a twisted way) it's not necessarily a bad thing that he is purposefully bland compared to the other girls, and he does end up being more than a blank slate in the end.



Story



I won't discuss the "games" and shenanigans here since it's a short manga after all but they were interesting enough.
Due to being unaware and partially at fault for this situation, I do think the story gives a good balance between acknowledging the fact he is not the culprit and ignoring that fact.
Asunaro being a "classical" harem protagonist, he is not very well defined at first, but the fact that he is generally attentive to them and well meaning does help in the fact they do not hold too much grudge(and fortunately he does graduate from having "actually nice" as his only quality)

As for the ending, wont discuss it in detail but I do think that it was a good one and well executed, using correctly the rules as well as one aspect you wouldn't be blamed to have forgotten in the beginning

Spoiler


them ending in this time an actually chosen harem is pretty sweet, and I don't think it's glossing over things, as they all evolved, including Asunaro, and they have otherwise no reason to dislike him
Art



Pretty average art from what I could judge, however one thing that stand out in a good way are the serious face of he girls when strategizing or when the restrictions of the game hit them where it hurts. Whether anguish, smugness, anger, focus or otherwise, their expressions and state of mind are well nailed and as they should be.



Overall I enjoyed this series and I think it had the right pacing and ending
Wouldn't have been opposed for more detailed fluff in the end but that's a me problem

When i was waiting for this season i was waiting inpatienly for this adaptation because
1)I Watch mirai nikki and wanted to see what the author can do again
2)I read the manga and found the work good, not a masterpiece but good
Then i watched this...And i faced an harsh reality. But before let 's see the good point of this show.
Firstable it's mostly like the manga in the art and the general ambiances and story even if there is some flaws and différences that i will speek of later. Then i like the opening that i think suit well to the series; I dont remember ... of the other ost but it never sound bad for me.Finally the 3 firt episode were well done

For me the biggest flaw of this show is the realisation. I understand that there wasn ' budget nor time for this and i think the studio tried to do a good thing but it didnt worked out.At the end of the 6 first épisodes i always had a feeling that Something is missing as every victories of the protagonists seem plot-guided(but this can be the manga fault though).Then in the last part of the series this feeliing parly disapeared but the didn't stop to make the show look ridiculous.I wont talk of the end that i think is interesting but i think that it could have been better if better explained and less rushed. Yes rushed : if the general flow of events is llike the manga(except the fact than the manga does not end and some minor or medium changes and cuts), everything is too short or bad cuted. The characters evolution also seem to be too fast (again it's half the anime fault, the manga also do it to a certain degree): i talk about espiecally about kurenai rin and the MC: both of them do or think things that don t have any sense.

However this general crazyness and nonsense is also a part of the show charm and while i enjoyed it i onlly can point out the flaws.

You can Watch it as an unintantional comedy or like a story about the desires and the haate(i point out the public hate for the MC and the philosophy behind order power) but dont expect a masterpiece. I highly recomend you to read the manga than i think better than is adaptation