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The first manga i've ever read and completed is Kaichou-wa Maid-sama. I'm sure not everyone will agree with me that it's a great manga. Personally, it is for me. Although my reading experience is different from reading other shoujo mangas like Bokura ga Ita, Ao Haru Ride, Black Bird and Chihayafuru, Kaichou-wa Maid-sama opened up something in my mind that no other mangas have done, well since it is the first ive read, so that explains that.

While everyone is really giddy with Usui Takumi, well I was also 'Kyaa.. kyaa..' while reading it and watching the anime, it's Misaki Ayuzawa that made me feel self-pity. Her character is so strong that I don't think any other female shoujo characters can beat her. She's not just smart, she intelligent and diligent. She has a charming personality, especially to girls. She's got a strong drive in anything that she wants to do, especially in her goals for the school to change and for her family. She can be quite stubborn, but I've really felt that she did her best in order to be the best as well for Usui. She didn't back down and she didn't give up in reaching her goals. I believe that's the reason why I'm envious of her and I pity myself. I enjoyed reading the manga and it will remain my top-most favorite.

wait let me rewrite what i've written up there, it sounds like im a grade schooler or worse. it doesnt really explain what i feel about the manga. it should be something strong and inspiring because that's how Misaki made me feel, although it's a little too late now, since im no longer in high school. but i'll redo that. :)

following reviews of czxcjx, juungi, and Nervin

April 11.2016
i just cried after reading the manga Byousoku 5 Centimeter. it was really painful.. such pain from regret carried throughout many years of not seeing each other, not being able to convey what they felt for each other. :(

April 06.2016
I'm currently into Josei mangas. Lately, I've read mangas with characters in relationship with older men, or what they call 'oyaji' mangas. I find it interesting and has awakened my mind from what I've refused to accept, listen and understand. It's true that when you are aging you learn more and understand more of what this society thinks is unacceptable. If it is the high school or college me, I'd probably be like 'No you are too old for me'. But now I've matured and my world has expanded. My life is no longer limited to my parents and friends. I've walked different roads and one of these roads would probably take me to that path like in Josei mangas I've read.

Also, Josei mangas are really hitting me hard. While I can relate because of the age similarity, the circumstances of the characters are somehow new to me. I have to stop for sometime because my heart couldn't handle the pain that the characters are going through (especially involving infidelity).

March 2016
*pardon me, but my mind and heart have been consumed by Chihayafuru for these past weeks. :)

I would like to share a part of czxcjx's review about Chihayafuru's anime. It really describes why I am deeply affected towards Taichi's character.

--Preliminary Proposition--

Chihayafuru is good, astoundingly and courageously good. There is crying almost every episode and yet it still remains utterly utterly good. It has an abundance of Shoujo romanticism yet it is good. The characters are good. The moments are good. The fights are good. The battles fought are good. The entirety of the show I cherish in my heart. Every episode I cherish. Every single interaction I cherish. The jokes, even though not necessarily of highest standard, I cherish. This show I cherish and cherish again. When it comes to this show I have no choice but to be giddy with love and to fight for its reputation. I shall have to fight for Chihayafuru to be placed not just among the best sports animes but as the best sports anime. I shall fight because it is my utter love that drives me, as a writer and an aesthete, to edify what my love consists of; perhaps in the process to teach others how words heavy with love can weigh with significance and how expressing love is the pinnacle of all and every language. Even though my tongue is tied and tangled up in a million knots by love and already I feel the schoolgirl giddiness that comes with trying to describe why exactly I love I must still fight for my love. ‘Fight’ is appropriate because in the end Chihayafuru is all about fighting; fighting and victory in the name of love. I must love like a girl and fight like a man.

But already I am at a dilemma because I cannot start merely with the standard formal descriptions of the show. I cannot just go into character or art or story; there is no love in the mere description of things. As much as I love this show I also love the medium of writing. I will fight therefore in the form of writing too. Like all writers and critics I want to win; my views need to be heard so that my love can be known. To be known is not enough. I am greedy and I must not just express my love for a single entity but in describing the love I have for this show I must express my love for a greater entity – that of life itself. I must transcend the critic who writes with mere puppy love and reach those sacred peaks that only full on master wordsmiths can conquer. This then must try to be edifying in the same way Motaigne or Orwell is edifying. Only in showing a love for life can my words bear significance and with these words I will be able to love Chihayafuru in a deeper way than before.

--Love Letter--

Balanced on the weighing scale of spirit, Chihayafuru is a perfect gem. I would wish that Chihaya be the main shining star of the show but I have to award that to Taichi. The repetitions of failure, the despair over lost time, the thrills, the spirit all belongs to him. He is the pure representation of the symbol of the will; the romantic symbol representing will. Chihaya stands strong in spirit but she is never weighed down in the same way that he is. Her obstacles, in that sense, are of lesser magnitude because she does not grapple with sorrow but single-mindedly fights on. She is an angel but she from her I do not get as much the pangs of human pain as I do from Taichi.

Why I love Chihayafuru is because it shows us that there is still a place for the highly romantic in this world. Once more a lesson on the history of Literature (like you haven’t seen this before if you’re familiar with my review style) dealing with Romanticism. In around the 19th century when faced with the growing significance of industrialization, the human spirit was greatly impoverished. With the rise of the machines progress was prioritized but there was a lack of love for nature and humanity itself. Artists reacted to that by creating a literary and artistic movement where feelings and emotions were placed as paramount to realism and the ultimate ideal was beauty. The picture Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog is a key example of this; the man in it symbolized the triumph of human strength over the sea of uncertainty that was going on at the time. After a whole load of wars though disillusionment became the norm and the romantic ideal faded into the background. Anime, I see now, may be the return of the romantic in another form. Chihayafuru shows us how essential fighting with one’s own soul is in its own innocent Shounenesque way. It is perfect because it shows the will’s triumph over the very realistic obstacles of life. It is really one of the only shows to be able to do this without falling into cliché or overtly romantic tones. It does not have to be literary but it is heartfelt and resonates within those who know what fighting is. Some may call it naïve but I call it powerful. Sometimes this kind of power and wide-eyed idealism is needed these days.


***the text above isnt mine. Read full review from here