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jenvile's review against another edition
5.0
I've finally finished this manga, this story, this wonderful journey.
I started reading this manga in 2012, where the latest chapter was chapter 32. There are so many points, so many things I want to talk about. So I'm going to break this up into 7 parts. Please bear with me.
PART 1 - THE STORY LINE: This manga is roughly about a young 16 year old girl, named Teru, who a year ago, lost her brother due to an illness. However - there is one thing that he left her. And that is a cell phone. To contact 'Daisy', a person that her brother has entrusted her with and to protect her when he passes. And so, when she loses her brother, she emails Daisy for support, for guidance, for strength, and the beginning arc of this manga is about their connection over email. But they never meet due to difficult circumstances. Little does she know, that Daisy is someone that is so far, but so near to her.
THE CHARACTERS: I have to praise the author tremendously for creating, and fleshing out such interesting and non-stereotypical characters within a Shoujo manga. Teru is incredibly strong, hilarious, smart, witty and oh so lovable. But not because she is the stereotypical "save me damsil in distress" protagonist, but she is genuine, realistic, different, and this really touches the reader's hearts. Kurosaki, who is revealed early on to be Daisy and the school janitor, is the most deepest, funniest but fleshed out man that I've ever read. He isn't your typical rich hero, nor is he charming in any way. He's a 24 year old blonde and poor delinquent, who is a heavy smoker carrying a horrible, dreadful sin. But he is real, and truly connects with our Teru in such an interesting and original way that leaves the readers in awe and understanding of their relationship. Throughout the manga, they both deepen each other, and the way that Teru 'saves' Kurosaki, has been so magnificently conveyed to us by the author that we really just don't know whether to laugh or cry in joy - or just do both. The side characters are also very important, especially Teru's brother, who you also want as your own brother. Not because he truly cares for his sister, but he cares for those around him. Also he is really silly. Riko is not your stereotypical bitchy extra female character, instead she is strong, capable and dependable. Teru's friends grow tremendously throughout the manga, as do many others. And there is one specific character - who you think is an extra, which ends up to be the most important character of them all. The characters that the author introduces to us are original and so beautiful in their own way, that there is nothing to complain about.
THE ART: On first impression, I wasn't a fan of the art. It wasn't "beautiful". However, as I continued reading, the little comic relief and cartoons that the mangaka included immediately converted me and I instantly fell in love with the way that the story flowed within the squares. The 'dramatic' and 'gory' scenes were done incredibly well, despite it being a Shoujo manga as does the 'beautiful' and 'precious' moments of the manga. The tone of the art compliments with the story, and there is more to praise on the way that each character is drawn in such detail, that it just stuns you and makes you appreciate the raw beauty of it.
THE DEVELOPMENT: The development of the characters I have already briefly touched on, and despite Teru beginning as a strong and capable heroine, the mangaka indeed does not leave out her vulnerable and weak side. Same with Kurosaki, despite his scary and strong demeanour, the mangaka does not leave out his hilarious and witty responses. These characters develop majorly throughout the manga, and there isn't a moment where you want to just sigh and slap your forehead in agony because of a character's actions. The development of the art is incredibly done well - and while it does start off a little too fuzzy, and blurred with some parts of the squares hard to make out, as the story progresses the art clears and every detail is important and distinct. As each character's fate and decisions start to interwine with each other, there is not a moment where you don't want to find out what will happen next to these characters and the plot. Especially in cliffhangers at the end of the volume.
THE PLOT: The plot line is, complete genius for a Shoujo manga. The mangaka did a fantastic job. I cannot praise her enough for this. It exceeded any stereotypical or repetitive moments that you normally see in romantic mangas especially a majority of the plot set within a high school setting. There are several themes that are explored throughout, most notably, guilt, romance, friendship, family, revenge, self-loathing and the most important of them all: forgiveness and gratitude. Also humour... how can I forget about humour. Every chapter will make you want more, will make you laugh, think and feel sad, and this cycle doesn't repeat itself. It jumps out when you least expect it. The story starts of simple, but it gradually builds into something deeper and again for a Shoujo manga, I did not expect the idea of criminal hacking and decoding to be so important. And oh yes, it is important.
THE ENDING: It left me in tears. It left me smiling. It closed my heart. It tore my heart. It healed my heart. It was beautiful. Every character, eventually had a resolution. Whether it was good or not... read for yourself to find out.
MY OVERALL FEELINGS: Of course I maybe biased, but I do not for once regret investing my time in this manga, in this story, and in these characters. Since 2012, I have been waiting for a new chapter to be released, sometimes a couple of weeks, sometimes months. And in the latest case... a year. I have been waiting, and every time a chapter was translated and scanned... I was never left disappointed. This manga was not your typical manga... and I know that there isn't a manga out there that is like this. And I've read more than 300 mangas in my life time. These characters, they live with you. They make you feel, and they make you realise things about yourself, about humanity that you don't usually think about.
Thank you Kyousuke Motomi, for creating such an incredible story. For creating such deep, insightful and unexpectedly hilariously beautiful fleshed out characters. I don't know who will read this review... since it's like an essay, and it's way too long. But, if you're into comics/mangas... read this manga. I promise you, it will not disappoint. If you have any more questions/comments about this manga that you would like to write to me, feel free to add me, and message me in my inbox. I will always reply.
Until then... goodbye Teru. Goodbye Kurosaki. Thank you for lightening up our lives for the last couple of years. It's been a long journey, but it's been a wonderful one.
I started reading this manga in 2012, where the latest chapter was chapter 32. There are so many points, so many things I want to talk about. So I'm going to break this up into 7 parts. Please bear with me.
PART 1 - THE STORY LINE: This manga is roughly about a young 16 year old girl, named Teru, who a year ago, lost her brother due to an illness. However - there is one thing that he left her. And that is a cell phone. To contact 'Daisy', a person that her brother has entrusted her with and to protect her when he passes. And so, when she loses her brother, she emails Daisy for support, for guidance, for strength, and the beginning arc of this manga is about their connection over email. But they never meet due to difficult circumstances. Little does she know, that Daisy is someone that is so far, but so near to her.
THE CHARACTERS: I have to praise the author tremendously for creating, and fleshing out such interesting and non-stereotypical characters within a Shoujo manga. Teru is incredibly strong, hilarious, smart, witty and oh so lovable. But not because she is the stereotypical "save me damsil in distress" protagonist, but she is genuine, realistic, different, and this really touches the reader's hearts. Kurosaki, who is revealed early on to be Daisy and the school janitor, is the most deepest, funniest but fleshed out man that I've ever read. He isn't your typical rich hero, nor is he charming in any way. He's a 24 year old blonde and poor delinquent, who is a heavy smoker carrying a horrible, dreadful sin. But he is real, and truly connects with our Teru in such an interesting and original way that leaves the readers in awe and understanding of their relationship. Throughout the manga, they both deepen each other, and the way that Teru 'saves' Kurosaki, has been so magnificently conveyed to us by the author that we really just don't know whether to laugh or cry in joy - or just do both. The side characters are also very important, especially Teru's brother, who you also want as your own brother. Not because he truly cares for his sister, but he cares for those around him. Also he is really silly. Riko is not your stereotypical bitchy extra female character, instead she is strong, capable and dependable. Teru's friends grow tremendously throughout the manga, as do many others. And there is one specific character - who you think is an extra, which ends up to be the most important character of them all. The characters that the author introduces to us are original and so beautiful in their own way, that there is nothing to complain about.
THE ART: On first impression, I wasn't a fan of the art. It wasn't "beautiful". However, as I continued reading, the little comic relief and cartoons that the mangaka included immediately converted me and I instantly fell in love with the way that the story flowed within the squares. The 'dramatic' and 'gory' scenes were done incredibly well, despite it being a Shoujo manga as does the 'beautiful' and 'precious' moments of the manga. The tone of the art compliments with the story, and there is more to praise on the way that each character is drawn in such detail, that it just stuns you and makes you appreciate the raw beauty of it.
THE DEVELOPMENT: The development of the characters I have already briefly touched on, and despite Teru beginning as a strong and capable heroine, the mangaka indeed does not leave out her vulnerable and weak side. Same with Kurosaki, despite his scary and strong demeanour, the mangaka does not leave out his hilarious and witty responses. These characters develop majorly throughout the manga, and there isn't a moment where you want to just sigh and slap your forehead in agony because of a character's actions. The development of the art is incredibly done well - and while it does start off a little too fuzzy, and blurred with some parts of the squares hard to make out, as the story progresses the art clears and every detail is important and distinct. As each character's fate and decisions start to interwine with each other, there is not a moment where you don't want to find out what will happen next to these characters and the plot. Especially in cliffhangers at the end of the volume.
THE PLOT: The plot line is, complete genius for a Shoujo manga. The mangaka did a fantastic job. I cannot praise her enough for this. It exceeded any stereotypical or repetitive moments that you normally see in romantic mangas especially a majority of the plot set within a high school setting. There are several themes that are explored throughout, most notably, guilt, romance, friendship, family, revenge, self-loathing and the most important of them all: forgiveness and gratitude. Also humour... how can I forget about humour. Every chapter will make you want more, will make you laugh, think and feel sad, and this cycle doesn't repeat itself. It jumps out when you least expect it. The story starts of simple, but it gradually builds into something deeper and again for a Shoujo manga, I did not expect the idea of criminal hacking and decoding to be so important. And oh yes, it is important.
THE ENDING: It left me in tears. It left me smiling. It closed my heart. It tore my heart. It healed my heart. It was beautiful. Every character, eventually had a resolution. Whether it was good or not... read for yourself to find out.
MY OVERALL FEELINGS: Of course I maybe biased, but I do not for once regret investing my time in this manga, in this story, and in these characters. Since 2012, I have been waiting for a new chapter to be released, sometimes a couple of weeks, sometimes months. And in the latest case... a year. I have been waiting, and every time a chapter was translated and scanned... I was never left disappointed. This manga was not your typical manga... and I know that there isn't a manga out there that is like this. And I've read more than 300 mangas in my life time. These characters, they live with you. They make you feel, and they make you realise things about yourself, about humanity that you don't usually think about.
Thank you Kyousuke Motomi, for creating such an incredible story. For creating such deep, insightful and unexpectedly hilariously beautiful fleshed out characters. I don't know who will read this review... since it's like an essay, and it's way too long. But, if you're into comics/mangas... read this manga. I promise you, it will not disappoint. If you have any more questions/comments about this manga that you would like to write to me, feel free to add me, and message me in my inbox. I will always reply.
Until then... goodbye Teru. Goodbye Kurosaki. Thank you for lightening up our lives for the last couple of years. It's been a long journey, but it's been a wonderful one.
annelives's review against another edition
3.0
The ending was rushed and considering all the filler at the end of the volume it's unnecessarily rushed.
lnluck13's review against another edition
4.0
I binged the end of this series, so I need a bit to gather my thoughts for the final review, but here’s a couple of notes for that review for future me:
Good Stuff
1. Not Your Usual Shoujo - Romantic comedy encasing a spy/hacker/action thriller.
2. Intrigue and Mystery.
3. Deep Dive into Realistic Emotions: Yes, Kind People Can Still Hate People Who Abuse Them, and That’s Valid.
4. The “Lolita Complex” Thing: Self-Awareness and Limitations.
Bad Stuff
1. The “Lolita Complex” Thing: Self-aware enough to know it is not great, but STILL DID IT ANYWAY. Hypocrisy. Making him 18 or even 19 would not have actually changed the story because he still could have done everything he did. He’d just be younger and closer in age to the main character. I can’t give higher than a 4* because of this problem.
2. Some of the plot gets confusing with the sheer amount of information we are given sometimes, which is sometimes later shown to have omissions and false aspects. I rarely get confused with stuff like this, but I still did. This would have been less confusing in some places if some elements had been introduced early. The full action-thriller plot lines really only began halfway through the entire series, but some things maybe could have happened sooner or have been foreshadowed. However, I know that the reason for this is that the first “mystery” of the series (Who is Daisy?) needed to be solved and have its conclusion, but still...
Volume: 4*
Series: 4*
Warnings for pedophilia/relationships between minors and adults, including the main relationship (16 & 24 years old), violence, blood, kidnapping, drugs and drugging, killing and assassination, death related to cancer, kissing without consent, psychological abuse, human experimentation, implied rape (in this case, not truly consensual sex with a partner—side character)
Good Stuff
1. Not Your Usual Shoujo - Romantic comedy encasing a spy/hacker/action thriller.
2. Intrigue and Mystery.
3. Deep Dive into Realistic Emotions: Yes, Kind People Can Still Hate People Who Abuse Them, and That’s Valid.
4. The “Lolita Complex” Thing: Self-Awareness and Limitations.
Bad Stuff
1. The “Lolita Complex” Thing: Self-aware enough to know it is not great, but STILL DID IT ANYWAY. Hypocrisy. Making him 18 or even 19 would not have actually changed the story because he still could have done everything he did. He’d just be younger and closer in age to the main character. I can’t give higher than a 4* because of this problem.
2. Some of the plot gets confusing with the sheer amount of information we are given sometimes, which is sometimes later shown to have omissions and false aspects. I rarely get confused with stuff like this, but I still did. This would have been less confusing in some places if some elements had been introduced early. The full action-thriller plot lines really only began halfway through the entire series, but some things maybe could have happened sooner or have been foreshadowed. However, I know that the reason for this is that the first “mystery” of the series (Who is Daisy?) needed to be solved and have its conclusion, but still...
Volume: 4*
Series: 4*
Warnings for pedophilia/relationships between minors and adults, including the main relationship (16 & 24 years old), violence, blood, kidnapping, drugs and drugging, killing and assassination, death related to cancer, kissing without consent, psychological abuse, human experimentation, implied rape (in this case, not truly consensual sex with a partner—side character)
piratenami's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really cute series overall. I enjoyed it as fluffy fun. Extra star for the flashback stories about her brother, and the future stories showing Akira becoming a regular part of their group.
marjolaine_lafreniere's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pretty good series all in all. I like the found family aspect, and the espionage mystery/thriller. And... I'm also a fan of the romance aspect. I'm not saying it's perfect, there are some pretty serious issues (he's 24 and she's 16, he's keeping some serious secrets from her for at least half the story, and the text acknowledging it doesn't necessarily make it better), but the trope of "the bad boy who's secretly soft, especially for one (1) good girl, and who destroy his enemies with military precision unless and until they go after one (1) good girl which triggers the berserk button" works for me in a way that I can't really explain. The trope can have some bad implication, but it still makes my heart go doki-doki.
sarahc_98's review against another edition
2.0
I absolutely LOVE this series, and I was really anticipating the final chapter after that last cliffhanger... but this? This was one chapter of finale to tie up loose ends and an entire volume of bonus materials. I love the story. I want to get that straight. What I wish, though, was that this final tie-up chapter had been included in the last volume. If they wanted to publish the bonus material, fine. But give it a volume of its own. So my complaint is about publishing, not the manga.