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It is quite shocking to me to overview briefly the wide range of emotions this particular show has evoked from the people of MAL. I am seeing everything from tens to twos for this particular piece, and honestly, as with most issues, these two ends of the spectrum find truth in their judgements somewhat in the middle of things. Kotoura-san is an average show. It is not, as one user described, “like rubbing lemon in your eyes”. But on the other hand, it isn’t the hard-hitting emotional piece that the writers clearly think that it is. Unfortunately, this is one of those shows that has ... a very interesting concept, and therefore, the writers think that they can slack a bit in the plot department. And while this shortcoming isn’t immediately obvious, by the third or fourth episode, you will no doubt be scratching your head and wondering what exactly happened.

The show starts off emotionally powerful. Many reviews complained about how Kotoura’s life was just one negative event after the other…but that’s kind of the point! Plus, to the writers’ credit, the pacing of what was basically blatant exposition is excellent. The juxtaposition of Kotoura twirling around in a cute pink backpack and her mother shoving her makes this first episode work well. It forces the viewer to see themselves in Kotoura’s shoes as we follow her from childhood to high school, and it’s this first episode that convinced me to binge on this particular show to begin with. Sadly, everything from here on out goes downhill quickly. The show’s first episode seems to establish itself firmly as an anime that’s going to contrast slice-of-life-esque fluff with serious emotion – a pattern confirmed by the second episode, where we see Kotoura making friends with a blue-haired sempai in the same breath we see said friend’s mother hanging from the rafters. But halfway through the writers sort of shrugged their shoulders and said “fuck it” and tackled fan service more in what was probably a pathetic attempt to market Kotoura to a more otaku-oriented audience. Either they realized their mistake or they were just running out of ideas, because this style of writing randomly comes back around episode ten when Kotoura and company try to locate a criminal in what becomes one of the most unnecessary “plot twists” I’ve seen in my life. Now, I’m a relatively easy girl to please. If I become invested in a character, I usually don’t realize how bad the show I’m watching is until I really get the time to think about it. But even I, in my Kotoura-adoring glory, could see how pitiful the “drama” of introducing a character for two episodes for the sake of showing “just how far out little Kotoura has come since she has friends!!!” was.

Kotoura herself is a standard character. Believable, sure, but nothing that the anime field hasn’t seen before. She’s kind of like a mix-and-match toy of anime tropes – we’ve got our tragic backstory, our special ability, our “moe” appeal, our aversion to sex and therefore being preyed upon by a sultry male character…she’s cute, sure, but that’s about it. Manabe, as many have pointed out, is one punchline. Perverted but honest. Which is strange, because in the first episode, we see that Manabe is capable of some freaking weird thoughts. The fact that the writers passed on expanding on that joke (it could have been something along the lines of mini Nichijou sketches!) in favor of showing how much of a “pervert” he can be is a national tragedy. And this makes his character suffer greatly, because it makes him look like more of a jerk than Kotoura’s “white knight”. I get it. He’s a teenage boy. But when Kotoura nearly drowns and all you can think about her small breasts pushing against your chest, what does that say about you as a person? Add this on the fact that Kotoura’s grandfather also sexualizes his own kin beyond belief (especially because you know how every joke involving him and Kotoura is going to end, completely reducing whatever element of surprise that this show had left) makes it almost unbearable. I don’t think that I have to explain why that little fact greatly detracts from his dramatic role in the first episode. It all really comes back to the first episode, have you noticed?

And now we get to my real problem with the show. The mother. God almighty, do I hate what this show did to the mother. I’ll take an overly perverted Manabe. I’ll take a weak willed Kotoura. What they did to this mother character is unacceptable. I’ll spare you the gory details, but basically, her and Kotoura’s entire arc can be explained by this simple imitation: “I know that I mentally abused you for your entire natural life, but I made you shitty eggs, so we’re on good terms again.” It is sloppy. It comes out of left field (well, you knew she had to come around because of her inclusion in the OS, but still). And most unforgivingly? It takes so long for them to resolve their conflict that we get a whooping three minutes left for Kotoura’s confession to Manabe. And let’s face it, if you’re still watching this show, it’s for their relationship, and not any of the other shit.
So how exactly can I claim that this show is average at best with all of my criticism? Because it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. These same condemnations can be applied to anime in the same vein of Kotoura across the board. It is not spectacularly bad, and it is not outstandingly good. It’s something to fill up time between the wait for better anime. This show is very easy to get into. Whether or not you want to watch this knowing what’s wrong with it, well, that’s really up to you. Ultimately, Kotoura is little more than a convenient time killer.

Few oneshots are well written enough to make their readers want more, yet Black Peach Flower seems to reach this status within all of twenty six pages, even with its average, stereotypical shoujo art and underdeveloped characters. In a word, this manga can be described simply as "charming". The characters are charming (even though they're rather fluffed up; you have the girl desperate for a relationship, her gaggle of friends whom constantly berate her, the somewhat cool senpai, said senpai's friends who want him to date the desperate girl), the art is charming, the motives that push the characters to do what they do are ... charming. It's this, paired with the somewhat predicable plot twist, that makes a reader wonder if they legitimately want more of the series, or if it's simply the drive to attach more substance to a somewhat flimsy idea. At the end of the day, depending on how much you enjoy shoujo, it can go either way for you.

The setting of BPF is, again, stereotypical of the shoujo genre: a generic high school where girls evidently have nothing better to do then stalk their crushes and be teased by gaggles of their friends for doing so. Such is the case for our main lead, Tsukimi, who is currently watching as her crush walks hand in hand with another girl from her classroom window. After seeing how hopelessly in "love" - she shyly confesses to never talking to him once - she is, her friends point her in the direction of chemistry lab affectionado Okino-senpai, who they claim has accidentally created a love potion.

It's interesting to see Tsukimi interact with the world around her, as the plot line progresses, she's one of those characters you can almost feel the desperation wafting from. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as anyone who was once a teenager can easily identify with this feeling.

To go into detail about what events unfold would be indirectly giving away the entirety of the short, twenty six page plot. It certainly brings a rather dark undertone by the end of the story, and leaves you with a question about what merits true love at its core, so if you're an overanalyzer, this might be a field day for you.

While the ending will be clear to some, it's still a worthwhile read if you can spare ten minutes of your time. It's certainly a cut above most oneshots, and is a great filler in-between longer mangas.

If there's one thing a manga should not feel like, it is a chore. And, unfortunately, this is one of those pieces that will, something you're drawn in by solely by the cover art, and live to regret. According to Wikipedia, this is one of the very first Magical Girls manga. And let's just say there's a reason we talk about Sailor Moon, not Cutey Honey.

So, onwards with the review.

Story - 3

We're introduced to our main character, Honey, in the wake of her creation by her "papa", a scientist whose dreams have, apparently, "come true!". It's also the moment where you, as the reader, ... begin to regret opening this seemingly charming book: the art looks like it belongs in a Japanese grade school's hallways. I'll get more to to that in the art section. The storyline then revolves around Honey, who fights against criminals. Each "twist" of the plot gets progressively worse and worse, supplied with the worst gore I've had the "luck" to set my eyes upon. Again, art section. There seems to be some effort to make it work on the writer's part, but in the end, it just falls flat.

Art - 3

It's not just the fact that it was written 1970s that makes the manga so bad, because you can't even get a charge of nostalgia from it. It's the fact that the artist can't draw the same eye twice, the ridiculous anatomy, paired with the unbelievable characters, that makes this eyesore tick. And if you're only there for the occasional ecchi, the art manages to screw that up as well, making the characters look stiff and unreal.

Characters - 2

It seems kinder to give the characters a two instead of a flat out one, even though some would argue that's the score they deserve. I honestly can't tell what's worse: the character's one dimensionality, or the fact that everybody and their father (literally) wants a piece of Honey's body. When I say there's no characterization, I mean that there is no characterization to be spoken of. There's just Honey, the teachers who would risk jail for a night with Honey, the S and M rapist teacher who gets a kick out of kicking little girls, and villains who wear paws on their head.

Enjoyment - 2

Like I said previously, it feels like a chore just to read the first chapter of this thing. If I can't even get into your porn, then forget about it. It isn't even one of those mangas that's so bad, it's good: it's just flat out bad.

Overall - 3

I feel like this score is too kind. The plot sucks, the dialogue is grating, the art is horrible, and there is literally no reread value. And the fact that the first chapter/volume (not sure which) is 216 pages long? It's 216 pages too long for your time.