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Wow, this really was an unexpected gem. I-Revo is a laugh-your-guts-out, cute, inspiring figure skating story.

By now, almost every conceivable storyline has been done before, but that's okay. What I really want in a manga is good execution and a warm fuzzy feeling. And that was all there.

The art was really fantastic. I loved how the artist mastered the subtle differences between guys and girls. Since this was a gender bender, the protagonist (a girl) had to often look like a boy. Although I could tell how people would mistake her for a guy, her basic features still had a feminine touch to them. Not ... only that, the outfits, figure skating movement, expressions were all on point and well drawn.

The protagonist had just the kind of personality I've come to love in manga: determined, hardworking and lively. She really makes this story enjoyable despite the rather shallow storytelling.

What I didn't really like about the story was the romance. It seemed too sudden and a little forced. Also, from how this story was set up I thought it would be super long like Hikaru no go or Skip Beat, but it ended up only spanning 11 chapters. I still wish I could've seen more of Misaki but at least the ending wrapped things up nicely.

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga. I would definitely recommend it for a light, fun read!

Like many people stumbling upon Kono Oto Tomare!, I found this from the Chihayafuru page. And I've got to say I'm not disappointed.

What I notice first about manga is the art. And I am absolutely in love with Amyuu Sakura's art. It's cute, clean, and extremely detailed. I like how it isn't too flashy like Arina Tanemura's works (she's the mangaka of Full Moon Wo Sagashite). The characters look realistic yet still have that manga vibe to them. And--brownie points!--the guys look like guys and girls look like girls. So the art is really a ten out of ten for me.

But art is just ... one component. I really like the story and characters as well. The story is pretty simple, and I can pretty much predict what would happen from this point. But what can I say, I'm a sucker for work-hard-for-common-goal-with-team-usually-in-competition stories. What really has me hooked are the characters. Specifically, the character dynamics. I especially love how their interactions are pretty normal (as in real people act like that), yet there are some typical shoujo moments. It's great, because while realistic character interactions are great and all, I still like those sa-wooon moments you get from reading shoujo. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a shounen manga. Yet I can see some itty bitty romance down the road, and it would be interesting to see how this plays out. Something I never got to see in other mangas *cough* princeoftennis.

I'm really excited for this manga and am constantly checking for updates. I see so much potential for Kono Oto Tomare! and definitely recommend it to anyone who even remotely likes work-hard-for-goal mangas.

Shokugeki no Souma is taking over the manga world by the storm. The volumes fly off the shelves and fans absolutely rave about it. And to good measure. The art is fantastic, the premise is interesting (food battles--what can I say, I'm a sucker of cooking manga), and there's a diverse cast of characters. That being said, I don't think Shokugeki no Souma will ever be regarded as a classic such as Hikaru no Go. The main reason being that the protagonist, Souma, wins too easily. He almost always pulls through in matches by thinking of some clever scheme. Not only that, but Souma doesn't ... have strong rival to compete with. (VERY slight spoiler: some may argue his dad is his rival, or the number one, but none of these characters are very developed.) To compare, Hikaru had an extremely strong rival and had to suffer numerous losses in order to achieve his goal. Hikaru and his rival pushed themselves hard because they had each other, and you could really see their growth without. This pattern is often seen in other "greats" such as Glass Mask and Death Note. However, it's missing in Shokugeki no Souma. A small but critical point which would have really pushed this manga to be better.

Basically, Shokugeki no Souma is pretty enjoyable with fantastic art, but I don't think it'll ever be considered a 'Great'.