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Note: This review covers the first season and the first twenty episodes of Fruits Basket (Furuba).

Given the target demographic of shoujo manga (teenage girls and young women), most shoujo-mangaka tend to tread a fine line between drama, comedy, romance, and, but not always, tragedy. The reason why Furuba became so popular and found its place in the pantheon of one of the best shoujo manga of all time was that it was able to balance the elements of drama, romance and tragedy with such exceptional panache that the series was appreciated not just by women but by men as well. This long-lasting popularity explains ... why, despite the source material, being over 20 years old was picked up for a complete adaptation. Alas, all that giddy excitement, was for naught.

Due to the large cast of the series, the writers struggle in developing the characters beyond caricatures throughout the series. Given the large cast of characters, this is not too surprising. Most characters get just 10-15 minutes of screentime in each episode. A typical episode runs as follows: a Zodiac is introduced and is usually shown as acting obnoxiously towards Tohru. Her friends (Yuki, Kyo, Arisa, etc.) are shocked but Tohru, being the saintly character, is unfazed. We are then shown a flashback in which the character’s painful past is shown and the character after being awestruck by Tohru’s kindness changes his/her ways.

If this were to happen just once or twice, such a story telling formula could be tolerated. But given that this formula is used more than 15 times, it becomes evident that the writers are using the flashbacks not to flesh out the character getting the screen time but are using them as a plot device to develop Tohru, Yuki and Kyo instead. In other words, the side characters add little to the story other than to give Tohru and her coterie of friends and impetus to develop. However, this in and of itself, is not the anime’s gravest sin.

What makes the adaptation bad is how it squanders these main characters (i.e., Kyo, Yuki, Arisa, etc.) that it painfully develops in the first season in the subsequent season. After episode 7-8 of the second season, the writing quality takes a turn for the worse and all the characters begin acting as if they were cast out of a particularly bad Korean melodrama. They don’t act as real people but instead act like billiard balls, whose trajectories and actions, can be predicted simply by knowing which two characters are on screen. One can easily predict that this is when a character will cry, this is when they will run away, this is where a misunderstanding will occur and so on. In other words, Furuba the anime, does exactly what Furuba the manga, didn’t – it can’t find the balance between the drama, comedy, and romance. In the process, it destroys beloved characters and ends up devolving into a bad melodrama.

By episode 20 of season 2 (i.e., episode 45), I had come to the painful realization that had I continued to watch the anime adaptation my fond memories of the manga version of Tohru/Yuki/Kyo would be replaced by an inferior anime version of Tohru/Yuki/Kyo. That is something that I’d rather not happen and so I dropped this series. I can imagine that viewers who haven’t read truly great shoujo manga series (like Nodame or Mars) may think Furuba the anime is the best series ever. Sadly, it is not.

Not recommended. Season 1 gets a 3.5/5, Season 2 gets a 1.5/5.

Shoujo/seinen manga have had a long history of combining psychological drama with romance, comedy and sometimes tragic elements. Maintaining a proper balance between these elements is crucial because if the tone is not right or if one of the elements is over-emphasized, the manga ends up devolve into introspective claptrap that feels weighty and profound but is actually the opposite. However, if the balance is maintained the results can be stunning. One of the manga-ka who did this balancing act best was Fuyumi Soryou in her short series – ES (Eternal Sabbath).

One of the first things about ES that makes it stand out is ... its art. While it is certainly “shoujo like”, it has sinister and psychedelic elements as if the artist had taken inspiration from a Junji Ito horror manga. For instance, in the first chapter the main character has a vision of a character who is plagued by guilt. His guilt takes the form of thorns that emerge from his spinal cord and impale our MC’s abdomen. His blood then splatters onto the ground from where barbed wires emerge and engulf the characters. The barbed hooks then transform into wasps that sting the MC before finally disintegrating into dust. It is ridiculously creepy and feels out of a horror manga. And yet, when not drawing such disturbing images – the art is very elegant. The characters looks less more Scandinavian or Italian than Japanese – tall, lean and ridiculously photogenic. Fuyumi uses such transitions from elegance to horror and then back again to tremendous advantage giving ES creating a sense of whiplash in the reader’s mind.

Beyond the art though, ES is an unusual manga in that it doesn’t rely on the standard shoujo/shounen tropes but feels more like a Hollywood thriller. One would imagine that a manga that has elements of genetic modification and mutants running loose in Tokyo would lead into epic battles in which the future of the world is at stake. However ES keeps it small, choosing instead to focus on how such mutants would survive in a world that is alien to them and how the world responds to them. Along the way, it explored the question of “nature vs. nurture” – can a mutant who has potential to do tremendous harm be nurtured to do become a good person? Or is it in its nature to be harmful? The series has tons of twists and several plot revelations that make it an absolutely gripping page-turner. And along the way, the series obliquely makes social critiques on parenting, child-development, modern-age relationships etc. It is all executed brilliantly until…

Until the final volume where it careens out of control. For obvious reasons, I won’t spoil what happens but the final 5-6 chapters finish the series off in what feels like a simple ‘predictable’ ending instead of a ‘grand’ finish. By no means can I call it a disaster, but it feels like a slight put down considering just how spectacular volumes 2-7 are.

All in all, ES is a fine piece of work. It is short – just 8 volumes long but it feels much less short because it is so fast and gripping. I remember reading this first in 2007 and upon rereading it in 2020 – it still holds up very well. Highly recommended. Just be prepared for a slightly lackluster ending.

While many anime viewers and especially Studio Ghibli enthusiasts have seen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind movie, much fewer have read the original manga that served as the template for the movie. While the anime movie continues to holds up well even after 35 years since its release in 1984, the manga version of Nausicaä – serialized from 1982 to 1994 – is a mammoth work of both art and storytelling in the manga genre that is even more relevant even after all these years since its release.

However, before I start the main review – permit me to take two detours.

Detour 1: ... The foremost question in most potential readers’ minds would be “Is reading the manga worth it given that I have seen the movie?” I’d say Yes. The manga is much more complex, tackles environmental and philosophical themes in much more depth, has several characters and even countries that are limited to just the manga. In addition, the manga is much more darker than the anime. While the movie version of Nausicaä is also bleak, glimmers of optimism are present meant to leave the movie viewers with some hope. The manga, on the other hand, is devastatingly pessimistic in its outlook. Miyazaki purposefully builds a story that is meant to impart an impending sense of doom and dread in the reader. What makes Nausicaä so compelling is that despite the bleak undertone, we as readers root for our lead characters and hope that they survive.

**

Detour 2: Let’s skip to Spring 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic is raging and several parts of world are in lockdown with many countries trying to “flatten the curve” to reduce the spread of this unknown disease. Soon, videos on the internet emerge from various parts of the world that document how the environment in the absence of regular human activity is becoming “fresher and greener”. The canals of Venice, typically muddy with silt and waste, suddenly start running clear and are populated with swans and ducks. People in Northern India, used to living under a perpetual blanket of thick brown smog, suddenly see the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas from more than 150 kilometers away for the first time in their lives. People in London start appreciating bird songs, songs that were previously inaudible under the omnipresent traffic noises that snarl the megacity. Then a Tweet goes viral: “Air Pollution is down. Water Pollution is clearing up. Natural wildlife is returning home. Coronavirus is the Earth’s vaccine. We – the humans – are the virus”.

**

Main Review: I brought up Detour 2 because the theme of treating “Mankind as a Virus” (‘Eco-fascism” is the scholarly term for this) is a crucial theme in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In mid-way through the manga our lead character – Nausicaä – remarks: “I don’t need to be told that we are a cursed people. We’re the ugliest of all creatures. We do nothing but harm to the Earth. Plundering it and polluting it and burning it… Are we worth forgiveness?” Now consider that Nausicaä is a manga that began serializing in 1982! This theme is still as relevant, if not, prescient of the events that we are experiencing now! Simultaneously with such themes of ecocide and eco-fascism, the manga tackles other heavy moral themes that are equally heavy. For instance – what is the role of optimism when people have no control over the events in their lives? Can political power ever be held without leaders becoming swayed by corruption? Can we hold the notion of pacifism during a war? How should one deal with refugees in a conflict between two nations? Such questions, and more, saturate the world of Nausicaä making it one of the most intricate moral works that I have read in the realm of manga.

This is not to say that Nausicaä is a philosophical work (though it certainly is brimming with such themes). It is packed with non-stop action: countries wage wars – both on land and air – against each other, genocidal mass slaughter occurs, wildly imaginative beasts rampage through the earth, biological weapons go awry, a sentient nuclear weapon runs amok – all of these events and more happen at a breakneck pace one after another making this as one of the most exciting and energetic works that you could possibly read in both intensity and scale. In addition, unlike Shonen manga like One Piece or Naruto where the plot nicely breaks into a “story arcs” with reprieves in the middle, the action in Nausicaä does not permit the reader to take a break. In its entire 1100 pages (or so), there are only a handful of moments where action is not present. Be prepared – there are few manga that hold a candle to the Nausicaä when it comes to action in terms of intensity!

However, as much as the action is enjoyable, what pushes Nausicaä into further greatness is the grandeur of the world constructed by Miyazaki. The manga comes with its own map just as how The Lord of the Rings comes with the map of Middle Earth. The movie (which covers roughly 20% of the manga) roughly takes place in a limited area corresponding to an area the size of the Shire in Middle Earth. After the events of the movie, the plot expands and an entire continent the size of East Asia is introduced. New nations, new tribes and even new languages (which are often left untranslated) are introduced. However, we are never truly told a lot about this post-apocalyptic world. It’s like as if Miyazaki – a master storyteller that he is – refuses to completely lift the veil from Nausicaä’s world – preferring to imbue it with an innate sense of mystery and wonder. We as readers know that this world has a long and deep history but as readers we can only guess and remain in awe.

All the while, Nausicaä’s character is like a pawn piece in a three sided game of chess. We follow her (along with a handful of other characters) and see how this 16 year old girl tries to make sense of the chaos around her. Again, her character stands in stark contrast to most protagonists in action manga. While most action manga have protagonists that are overpowered (e.g. Luffy in One Piece), Nausicaä’s role in this manga is as I described it earlier – like a pawn. While she does have agency, she doesn’t have any ability to fundamentally alter the events taking place around her. She has to go with the flow and simply do her best to avoid the bloodshed and carnage taking place around her.

Miyazaki is famous for making strong female characters and I think Nausicaä is the archetype from which all his female characters in his other works such as Sheeta from Laputa, Eboshi and San from Mononoke Hime, Sen from Spirited Away etc. emerge. As a result, she is truly a unique female character and I don’t think I have ever read any piece of fiction that comes close to having a female character this multi-faceted. She is simultaneously strong and fearsome but still fragile and delicate, empathetic with both her friends and enemies, a motherly figure to the less fortunate people around her, deeply moral and intensely resolute in her ethics, saintly and yet – dare I say it? – sexy and sensual. Despite all this, inwardly she is just as person would be in a war – given to tears, searching for help and support, trying to be kind in a world that is cruel. It is interesting that while contemporary Western media looks to female action heroines like Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel for inspiring millennial girls, they choose to overlook Nausicaä. This is a character who is almost messianic and yet so deeply human that in the end, one is just left with one word to feel from her – awe. I am not a girl, but if I were – I think Nausicaä is what I would aspire to be.

Finally, what makes Nausicaä as a standout manga is its art. Miyazaki is renowned for his artistry and nowhere is his talent on as much display as is here. Each panel is meticulously drawn, with shading and penciling that leaves regular manga artists in the dust. There are panels here so breathtakingly gorgeous with such intricate artistry that the reader is just supposed to stare at the page and revel in the art for a minute before moving on to the next page. And then there are scenes that if enlarged could easily become posters that could adorn a teenager’s bedroom wall. It is almost as if Miyazaki has thrown the gauntlet, daring other manga artists to come close to level of detail that he puts in into his panels.

If there is one thing that could be faulted in this work, it is that it doesn’t end on as strong as note as one would expect. While we do get an ending which is satisfactory, it is an ending that leaves too many threads open. Like his subsequent work – Mononoke Hime – we leave the work satisfied but we know that an entire other story that chronicles the events after the end of Nausicaä could also be told. This shouldn’t be surprising given that the world of Nausicaä has so many nations, so many tribes and so much history. Like Tolkien’s Lengendarium, it could spawn an entire franchise but Miyazaki simply concludes the story which, to some readers, could feel more like an ellipsis rather than a full stop. In addition, Miyazaki tends to focus a little too much on Nausicaä, giving short shrift to certain characters such as Asbel, Kushana and the Worm Handlers. Miyazaki himself remarked in a later interview that he would have liked to expand on these characters but felt that it would lengthen the manga even more than what it is presently.

I remember reading Nausicaä the first time almost 15 years ago. At the time, it felt like a superb action manga with a kick-ass heroine as its lead character. That wouldn’t be an incorrect characterization but it would certainly be an incomplete characterization of this work. Nausicaä is an artistic achievement that is rarely seen in manga containing themes that remain as relevant as they were 35 years ago. Time is a fickle monster that often leaves works of art, wildly popular at the time of production, irrelevant after a few years. For instance, consider the show Baywatch. It was one of the hottest shows when it aired back in the 90s. Now, no one, apart from diehard Pamela Anderson fans, watch it. It is a show with themes that, in 2020, feel quaint. The same can’t be said for Nausicaä. It is as great a work as it was when it began serializing in 1982. Truly great art can withstand the test of time. And because Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind can do so, it deserves a 10/10.

Given the spate with which the "teasing-romcom" sub-genre has sprouted up in recent years, I decided to give Uzaki-chan a shot just to see how it holds up with the rest of the pack. (Also, because it's Covid19 and I don't have anything better to do!)

Let's get this out of the way - this manga is not very well executed. We have a large breasted girl who chases and annoys her 6 foot hunk of a senior. The senior is aloof and is, for the most part, a blank slate of a character. Apart from his physique, he has no traits that make him standout. ... The manga proceeds with their interactions and features a side-cast of characters whose main function in the series is to 'make' the protagonists a 'couple'.

What makes this series inferior to others is that the humor is very juvenile and clichéd. Let's take a few examples:
1. Senpai likes cats. Uzaki tries to catch a stray cat for her senpai. She gets stuck in a bush, exposes her panties. Senpai tries to untangle her, passer-by's think they are having doggie-style sex. hahaha.
2. The gang goes to the beach. Senpai has to crack open a watermelon blindfolded. Instead of cracking the watermelon, he grabs Uzaki's breasts. hahaha.
3. Uzaki wants to try alcohol for the first time. Senpai acts as her chaperone but she gets drunk anyway and ends up at his room. She pukes on his mattress. ewww/hahaha.
4. Senpai visits Uzaki's home. Senpai, who likes cats, glances one sitting on Uzaki's mom's lap. Uzaki's mom thinks that he is staring at her breasts. hahaha.

Now such humor in itself is not a bad thing. Heck, there are *far far* worse ecchi manga out there that cater to the male fantasy of boob or ass-grabbing. What makes Uzaki-chan unremarkable is that the characters don't seem to have any emotional connect with each other. To understand this better, take the equally (if not more) popular manga - Karaki Jouze no Takagi-san. It has a similar premise - Takagi teases a boy that she likes. However, beneath the teasing lies affection - Takagi makes it very clear that she not only enjoys teasing him but she also likes helping him (e.g. in his studies or cycling skills). She compliments him and occasionally let's him 'win' at the teasing. And so, the boy despite disliking the teasing, keeps coming back to her. He inwardly confesses that he enjoys her company. She is thus his friend, a romantic-interest, and a tease all rolled into one. Thus, as readers, we get a relationship that is both playful (in its teasing) but at the same time sweet (in its emotion).

Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai lacks this emotion. The characterization is stiff, the teasing comes across more as annoying and Uzaki's intentions seem unbelievable. I personally feel that if a girl is willing to expose herself to the man she fancies, this girl should not have difficulty in telling this man that she likes him romantically.

So, do I recommend this? Not really. Unless your humor preferences are positively correlated with disproportionately large breasts, this is not that great. Mind you - it's not horrible. It's just that, compared to other manga whose main theme is to show a playful relationship between the two lead characters Uzaki-chan is mediocre. And why spend your time in reading something mediocre when there are much better alternatives out there?

So here are my recommendations - read Takagi-san or Shogi-senpai if you want a similar theme but with younger characters. Read Kawaii Joushi wo Komarasetai if you want a similar theme with an older slate of characters.

Note: This is a preliminary review based off on the first 3.5 volumes on the series. The review/rating is subject to change depending on how the series progresses.

**

This is an unusual manga given the theme that it tackles – namely dead bedrooms. For those of who are unaware – a dead bedroom is one in which a couple (usually married) have drifted apart to such an extent that despite cohabiting the same bed, they have lost all intimacy with one another. There is little emotional intimacy and zero physical intimacy between the couple. The lack of intimacy is usually the result of one person having ... either lower sexual libido or no longer finding their spouse attractive/exciting enough to arouse the feelings of intimacy/love that was present at the inception of the relationship. Needless to say, such relationships can often be stressful for both partners and often result in the couple either breaking up or indulging in extramarital affairs.

Anata ga Shite Kurenakutemo is the story of two couples – Michi (the girl) and Makoto (the man) are colleagues who are married to different spouses. While both of them are deeply committed to their spouses and desire physical intimacy from their partners, they are habitually spurned by them. As a result of a chance confession by Michi, they reveal their problems to one another and start encouraging each other on how to reignite their relationships.

The series is quite well done. In the 3.5 volumes (17 chapters) translated so far, the series has continued to become more tense as it has proceeded and is delicately navigating the line between drama, romance and melancholy. The main characters are walking an emotional tight-rope trying to remain faithful to their spouses but at the same time unable to restore their lost intimacy. The two main characters – Michi and Makoto are given sufficient depth and proper back-stories to remain believable. For instance, Makoto chooses to marry a working woman because he experienced his own mother, a housewife, being taken for granted by his father. He felt sorry for his mom and didn’t want to enter a relationship in which he would treat his spouse the same way his father treated his mother. But lo and behold, while he avoided that problem – his wife is so committed to her work that she doesn’t have any time for him! From one extreme to another…

In its home country, the manga has created quite a stir with its realistic portrayal of relationships in modern Japan – especially amongst women in their 20s and 30s who have praised the manga’s portrayal of relationships. As for me, it has far exceeded my expectations. Given how most recent manga focus on high-schoolers who are either teasing each other or finding themselves reincarnated as superheroes in magical worlds, this series has been a bout of fresh air. Since only 17 chapters have come out, it remains to be seen how this series progresses. It could become a melodramatic dumpster-fire in a train-wreck that explodes in the reader’s faces or it could actually turn out to be a genuine well thought out drama that chronicles the strange and melancholy nature of adult relationships in the 21st century.

Do I recommend this? If you are a fellow who enjoys the typical shonen/shoujo stuff relating to fluffy romances, sugoi-dekai girlfriends or ideal waifu like characters – no. Stay away from this. This is not the manga that depicts “ideal pure” relationships where characters blush when experiencing an indirect kiss from sharing a can of diet-coke. This is realistic stuff and real life gets messy. If you are the type of person who is OK with reading a realistic take on adult romance – give it a shot.

The word “Ayumu” in Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru refers to two things. It can refer to the lead male character – a hapless novice when it comes to Shogi (Japanese variant of Chess), or it could refer to the Soldier/Pawn piece in the game of Shogi. As in Chess, if the Pawn (Ayumu) safely reaches the far side of the board – it converts into a powerful piece like the Bishop or Rook.

Ayumu, similar to the Ayumu piece in Shogi, wishes to convert himself into a powerful Shogi player and defeat the Shogi club president (Urushi, whom he is in love with). Once he ... has done so, he thinks he would be 'worthy' enough to confess his love to her. While the premise can feel as if it comes out of some sports manga, the series is anything but. It comes from the pen of Souichirou Yamamoto (the writer of Karakai Jouzo no Takagi-san) and if you have read/seen Takagi-san, it proceeds similarly. Most chapters are 8-10 pages long and are typically self-contained short comic skits in which Ayumu, despite being the weaker Shogi player, relentlessly conjures up situations in which Urushi ends up blushing or squirming. Most chapters simply end with a reset with limited plot continuity and can be read in 2-3 minutes making the series very easy to read and enjoyable. I think it would have taken me around 2-3 hours to finish all the 71 chapters that have come out so far.

An oft-repeated refrain that one hears from the readers of Takagi-san is their wish for Nishikata (the lead male) to win against Takagi (the lead female) at least once. Well, those readers ought to read this series because this series is exactly what they have been asking for. It is exactly like Takagi-san, only this time, it is Urushi who despite being a cunning strategist when it comes to Shogi is weak to Ayumu's 'verbal attacks' and ends up 'losing'. The art style too is similar and at a casual glance, viewers could be forgiven to mistake Ayumu and Urushi as Nishikata and Takagi's elder siblings.

In certain respects though, this is a superior work to most teasing sub-genre works (like Takagi-san or Uzaki-chan etc.) I say this because unlike those works where we see the world purely from the lens of the "teased" (e.g. Nishikata in Takagi-san), the same is not true here. There are chapters here that are shown purely through the lens of Ayumu, some other from Urushi's POV and even a few chapters from the viewpoint of side characters. This makes the jokes much more dynamic (unlike Takagi-san where readers can sense the punch line halfway through a chapter). It also makes this series much more readable and binge-able because the jokes no longer seem stale even after having read 30 chapters in a single sitting.

Of course, if you are picking up this series, don’t expect any major drama or heightened romance. Also, and if you disliked Takagi-san - this is clearly not for you. This is the equivalent to eating a pack of potato chips or French fries. You read this manga for a bunch of “lol” moments, to satisfy your cravings for some romantic-fluff and then simply put it down. Like Takagi-san, it is a brilliant palate-cleanser to lighten up the mood. Expect anything else, and you are bound to end up disappointed.

This is a very light-hearted romantic-comedy 4-koma that makes for a very fun reading. I am usually averse to reading 4-koma because I find them to be very episodic with flat stereotypical characters who never outgrow their stereotypes. However, this series was able to hold my attention and made for a very enjoyable reading.

We have two lead characters - a 31 year old career woman (Megumi) who has never been in a relationship and a 22 year old new employee (Shun) who enter into a relationship. Megumi is a classic tsundere and Shun likes teasing her despite Megumi being his boss. It's similar to ... the other teasing manga series like Takagi-san, Uzaki-chan, Nagatoro-san etc. but with the gender roles flipped. Also, while those teasing manga have middle-school or high-school characters, this is set in an office and so the character interactions are more mature/realistic.

In one way, the manga-ka is able to use the 4-koma format to his advantage - since the format lends is tailor made for episodic shorts - it doesn't feel as if the lead male character is *continuously* teasing the female but only from time-to-time. What really surprised me was that despite the episodic format, there is strong plot development here. Very slowly but surely, Shun seems to "get through" his emotions across to Megumi. Megumi, in turn, takes baby steps into entering into a proper relationship. In addition, the author likes to splice panels and character interactions from various chapters back-and-forth which further enhances the plot continuity. For instance, Megumi says something to Shun which makes him grin and her blush in one chapter but we never get to see what she said. The line is revealed two chapters later which is then used either for purposes of humor or drama. Quite clever. The drama which never takes the front seat, is present and that gives the series a greater level of depth than it would have had it remained purely episodic (which is a drawback when one looks at the other teasing series like Takagi-san which remain superficial when it comes to plot).

The biggest drawback that I have for the series is its insanely slow publication status. It is published monthly and each chapter is just 6-10 pages. This has two drawbacks:
1. It makes following the plot so much harder than it ought to be. Given that the entire series is based on character interactions with a single interaction lasting 3-4 chapters, it requires readers to go back and re-read the last 3-4 chapters each time a new chapter is released.
2. It makes readers jump to conclusions. Chapters 46 and 47 are clear examples where readers on Reddit are fuming how they will now drop the series and/or are hurling verbal poison on one of the characters. This is why one reviewer here finds the male lead to be narcissistic and the female to be inconsistent. Since I read all the 47 chapters in a single sitting, I certainly didn't feel this way.

In the end, give this a shot if you are in the mood for something light and want a nice romantic-comedy with a splash of drama thrown in. Keep in mind that this is a 4-koma meant for light reading and not overly consistent characters/plot. If you don't - it will end up disappointing. This is a good pastime for a weekend afternoon. 7/10.

PS: Also, maybe start this in 2022-23 when it is nearing completion?

As the summary suggests, the series is about a male real estate agent who get coerced into taking a female hentai artist as his roommate. The girl has knockers the size of which would make Salma Hayek and Christina Hendricks seethe with jealousy. It plays straight out of a 20-year old man's fantasy who wishes that he had a super hot female as his roommate.

Now, there is nothing wrong with having this as a setup for a erotic-romantic comedy. It's a guilty pleasure and there's nothing wrong with indulging it once in a while. Here is where the trouble is: The man has no backbone ... while the girl is manipulative and scheming. None of them have any redeeming qualities what-so-ever and their characterization even after 400 pages remains shallower than a teaspoon of water.

Roughly 20 chapters in, it becomes clear what the author 'motive' is. He likes to draw extended pseudo-sex scenes that drag on 40-50 pages stretching across 2-3 chapters only for the scene to resolve with some half-assed excuse (pun intended). Then 1-2 chapters pass which are akin to slice-of-life only for another 40 page pseudo-sex scene to ensue. There is zero chemistry between the two lead characters, their relationship continues to be one of frenemies and the only interactions they have with one other are either ones that involve hurling insults at one another or sexually arousing one another. While the art is visually appealing, the lack of emotion between the two lead characters makes the manga not worth recommending.

If you want to read something which is borderline hentai but executes this better - read something Nozoki Anna or Nana to Kaoru or Onani Master Kurosawa. Heck, even Futari Echhi is better. While these series are not exactly masterpieces, they do walk the line of erotic-comedy and drama/romance a lot better than this series. Give this a pass.

Berserk is what happens to a series when it tries to one-up itself in each passing page and when the writer promises so much that he can't possibly keep his promises.

It starts of strong, with a bang. Guts, our scarred hero, battles monsters and creatures from some other dimension with n sword almost as large as him. He alienates the people around him, hurts them but we soon learn that it is he who is being hurt more than anyone else. Like a Byronic hero, he is menacing but simultaneously compelling. The first two volumes itself are a testament to great storytelling. And then, the ... flashback that reveals Guts's past and his relationship with Griffith is epic storytelling at its finest. Until volume 13 (or so), Berserk keep building up the tension, raising the stakes and which finally results in a (horrific) climax that makes the reader shower Berserk with the hype and praise that it receives. And then... And then, we get a slow downward spiral into mediocrity.

The trouble with Berserk is one that plagues most fantasy series in which the author simply doesn't know his own limits, his plot's limits and his character's limits. There comes a point after which it becomes impossible to raise the stakes any further and so the author to make up for his lack of ideas, instead introduces new villains (satanic priest anyone?), new side-kicks (loli witch anyone?), new sub-plots (psycho-elf valley detour anyone?), makes the action scenes even grander, more gruesome, more violent but devoid of the same emotional stakes that made the first third of the series so great. The result is a series that while amazing to behold in its scale and scope is no different from a hack-and-slash RPG game in which the main character levels up, dons a new armor only to face a larger and more powerful monster. Guts, Griffith, Casca - all the characters the reader comes to love/hate by volume 13 (released in 1997) are exactly the same in volume 40 (released in 2018). Guts, while much stronger, is still hacking at monsters and villains with no clear sense of direction. Mysteries introduced in 1995 continue to remain unanswered in 2020.

During this time, the manga-ka (Kentaro Miura) at the age of 54 has burnt himself out. He takes long hiatuses, designs mascots for vocaloid software, plays Idol-Master videos games and puts out 3-4 chapters a year. Only 40 chapters have released in the last ten years and in those chapters, the plot has advanced less than what it did in a single year when the manga was in its peak during the mid-1990s.

To be sure, the art is magnificent. Each panel of each chapter is a sight to behold. But here's the thing - if I was truly interested in art, I visit the Louvre in Paris or purchase an artbook by Akemi Takada. What I need from a manga is both art and plot. Berserk has the former but by volume 35, it has become clear there is not a morsel of plot here. And given how slow Berserk's production is, I don't think Berserk will ever finish or deliver upon the promises that it made when it started in 1990.

Would I recommend this? If you like something with great potential to devolve into brainless hack-and-slash and side characters that include a prepubescent elf and a loli-witch, go ahead. Otherwise, don't believe the hype and give this a pass.

NOTE: This review is in direct comparison to the anime and assumes that the reader has either seen the anime or is at the very least familiar with it. Some minor spoilers for the anime are inevitable and so reading discretion is advised.

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Art:
I have been watching anime since the mid-1990s. However, most of the spurt happened only in the early 2000s with the onset of fansubs and series like Naruto and Bleach. The reason why I bring this up is because the first impression that one gets when starting Maison Ikkoku is something similar when reading a work by Shakespeare. The language is weird with ... phrases like “where art thou?” which throw off the modern reader, the humor is off-key and is not readily accessible and so on. And yet, as one reads on – the reader becomes used to the language and even starts enjoying the rhythm of Middle English and revels in Shakespeare’s comedy/tragedy. Something similar happens with Maison Ikkoku – the first few volumes just seem jarring – the character designs are weird, the shading is very different from modern art styles and the art just feels “off”. And yet, as one reads along, one comes to the realization that the art is not bad, it’s just different. For instance, some backgrounds are downright gorgeous – with meticulous detail given to penciling and shading. Also, the way Rumiko draws Kyoko’s hair (especially in the latter volumes) reveals that she is as talented in drawing as any other manga-ka today. The Viz translations translate all the SFX effects which are of great help considering much of the emotions of the characters are revealed by that. Sadly, Viz eschews with the honorifics which in my opinion is a mistake.

Story and Characters:
As mentioned earlier, I will refrain from going into depth on the positives and negatives of the story. They are similar to those in the anime – i.e. there are a lot of sitcom hijinks, people don’t communicate properly and some characters can come off as either crass or irritating. In the following part of the review, I am going to focus on the differences between the manga and the anime.
1. The biggest difference between the anime and the manga is the flow of the plot in the manga is much smoother and is handled better. The anime sometimes resorts to filler, leaves out some characters (e.g. Nikkaido) and on the whole sacrifices the drama/romance for the sake of comedy. Here is one example: In the anime, when Godai moves back into Maison Ikkoku in episode 30, it is never shown how he gets his lost stuff back. However in the manga, it is shown how Kyoko helps Godai in getting his stuff. Now this is hardly a major plot point but it reveals that the anime prefers to leave out these few scenes which could have given the characters more depth for the sake of comedy.
2. The other major point of difference is that while the manga keeps both Kyoko and Godai in focus, the anime focuses primarily on Godai. The manga gives Kyoko a lot more screen-time and internalizes her far more than the Kyoko in the anime. To take another example: just as how Godai daydreams of living with Kyoko, Kyoko too sometimes begins to daydream of being with him (much to her embarrassment and for our humor). She gets angry, seethes with jealousy, throws temper tantrums whenever someone gets between her and Godai. When he doesn’t come to see her, she gets despondent and forlorn. She feels lovesick when he is not around and is shown to be a far more supportive of Godai in the manga than in the anime. This too results in some very humorous and touching scenes that are much more prevalent in the manga than in the anime.
3. However, where the manga clearly outshines the anime is in the final two volumes and how it deals with the characterization of Kyoko. For a manga that has male readers as its target demographic, the final two volumes are incredibly mature for their time. The final volume, especially, forgoes all its shonen-rom-com tropes and has events that are no longer PG-13. Again, while the anime chooses to put Godai in the center with Kyoko being the passive person in their relationship, the manga chooses to place Kyoko in the spotlight. We see that just as how Godai wants to be with her, Kyoko also intensely desires to be with him. However, her inner conflict of being loyal to the memory of her late husband remains and while in the anime it behooves upon Godai to break her prevarication, in the manga it is Kyoko who actively breaks the final barrier. And the way the final volume executes on this is so natural and realistic, that it ends up becoming one of the most poignant and rewarding moment of the entire series. While, the manga shows both of our protagonists trying to move towards each other, the anime persists on keeping just Godai in the center of attention. And that to me, makes the manga superior to the anime.

Value:
Over the past several years that I have seen anime and read manga, Maison Ikkoku (both the anime and manga) stands out as one of the few series that I have read, seen, re-read and re-watched over and over again. The words "epic" and "masterpiece" are words that have sadly lost much of their import since they tend to be used indiscriminately to characterize works that don't truly deserve such epithets. I can safely say that Maison Ikkoku is a work that does deserve such an esteemed title – it is truly a masterclass when it comes to romance. Like Nausicaa (another work from the 1980s), it is a masterpiece because it’s evergreen. Or as the Japanese would say "名作こそ青い".

I can't urge people enough to read this work. Maison Ikkoku is intended for all those who like their romance which progresses slowly and steadily, who like their stories to culminate in one of the most satisfying endings that they can ever expect to see/read in the history of anime/manga. While it does have age going against it, and the art takes a while to get used to, the characters of Maison Ikkoku remain as fresh and as poignant today in 2020 as they did when they originated from the pen of Rumiko in the mid-1980s. Such poignancy can only come with sincerity. It is now up to the viewers to read it and enjoy this gem.