That One Manga Blog

What It’s About: High school student, Raku Ichijo, just wants to leave his yakuza family behind. However, an impending gang war between his father’s yakuza gang and another group of thugs, the Beehive gang, forces him to pretend to be in love with the annoying new transfer student and daughter of the Beehive gang leader, Chitoge Kirisaki, in order to keep the peace. Raku’s life just got much more complicated. Can he keep up the charade? And will he ever be able to confess his true feelings to the girl he actually likes, Kosaki Onodera?

The Good: Naoshi Komi is a fantastic artist.  I checked out a previously canceled series by Komi, called Double Arts, and the villain design in that one legitimately scared me. The art is clean and polished. Most importantly, the characters don’t look like aliens. While I never laughed out loud, I do admit to smiling a couple of times. I think that this series could be a serious mood-brightener if the synopsis sounds interesting enough to you. I certainly had a fun time reading it. The whole thing almost has the feel of a 4-koma series. It’s a fun little gag manga. In terms of characters, they are fine I guess. Chitoge in particular has the potential to be really interesting, yet also really annoying. I do believe this to be on purpose though. The series was based off of a one-shot that Naoshi Komi did in January of 2011, and if you enjoyed this volume, I highly recommend checking it out, because it is adorable.

The Bad: While I did enjoy this volume, I’m having a bit of trouble recalling anything about it, and I just finished it yesterday. Yeah, Nisekoi is kind of forgettable, and it’s not exactly going to rock your world with originality. This is a harem series, and just about everything in it has been done before. The series has a sweetness to it that I quite like, but I’m dreading the appearance of the rest of the harem. I think that the dynamic between Raku, Chitoge, and Kosaki is very amusing, and I worry about how other girls being introduced will throw off that dynamic. I also have to say that I find a certain storyline, which involves a pendant, to be face-palmingly ridiculous. Really Raku, she was the most important girl to you ever and you can’t remember her face or name, really?!

Availability: Nisekoi is available from Viz in both digital and print forms. A highly anticipated anime adaptation of the series is going to start airing on January 11, 2014, and will be streaming on Aniplex USA. 

What It’s About: After rejecting her at the audition, L.M.E. president, Lory Takarada, invites Kyoko to join the newly created Love Me section. The idea is that by helping established celebrities, Kyoko will regain the ability to love. However, how will she deal L.M.E.’s spoiled pop princess, Ruriko Matsunai?

The Good: This volume was even better than the last. Nakamura seems to have become fully comfortable with the series at this point. Yes, it is still quite ridiculous, but I don’t think that should really matter to a series like this. I like the way that Kyoko’s skills that she learned at the inn continue to help her in the world of show business. I just love Kyoko as a character so much. It’s very nice to have a “Strong Female Character” who is also quite girly and weird. Kyoko is truly unique and reading about her adventures is a real joy. I've noticed some improvement with the art from the last volume. The panels aren't as cluttered and everything has a cleaner feel to it. 

The Bad: I still am not really at all interested in any of the other characters. Sho is still spoiled, selfish and doesn’t care about Kyoko. Ren is rude and serious, yet also kind of noble. Lory has strange business practices etc. I would really like more scenes of Sho and Ren together. 

Mangaka: Yoshiki Nakamura

Classification: Shojo

What It’s About: Kyoko Mogami is a simple girl from Kyoto, who has come to Tokyo in order to help her childhood friend and crush, Sho Fuwa, achieve his dream of pop stardom. She happily does everything for Sho, working two jobs, buying the groceries, doing his laundry etc. That is until she overhears Sho telling his manager that, to him, Kyoko is nothing more than a maid to him. Now, she is out for righteous revenge. How will she achieve it? By becoming an even bigger pop star than Sho himself!

The Good: Skip Beat is the very definition of fun. Sure it is ridiculous. This is totally a fantasy, even if there be no witches or vampires. In the real world Kyoko’s antics would probably lead to at least a stern talking to from the police, not an audition offer. And I’m pretty sure there is no entertainment mogul quite like Lory. On a certain level, Skip Beat is pure wish fulfillment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. What really makes Skip Beat stand out is the heroine. Kyoko Mogami is a total delight to read. She has an infectious feistiness that you just don’t see in other shojo series. She’s gutsy and weird, and I love her to pieces. I also like that at least in the beginning, this volume has a very good message about not giving yourself over completely to a boy while totally forgetting your own goals and personality. Overall, Skip Beat Volume 1 is fluff, but it’s fiercely entertaining and loveable fluff and definitely one of the better shojo series out there.

The Bad (spoilers): The art isn’t great. Panels can be a little bit cluttered and Kyoko’s chin is so pointy that I’m afraid that she could kill somebody with it. Moving onto spoiler territory. Seriously we’re getting into spoilers so turn back now.

Availability: Skip Beat is available from Viz Media.