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Dec 11, 2023
I was on a bit of a historical manga spree, and thought I'd finally give this a try, but was severely disappointed. First listing some good things about this story: the art is gorgeous and the action is great. Then onto the flaws, I have mainly three issues with this manga, which I feel to be shared with some other comments: the historical aspect, the treatment of Richard's intersexuality, and the author's clear obsession with trying to write BL harem (which pretty much ties into how the author treats the intersexual issue). Now, I think an amazing thing for historical fiction is how writers manage
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to blend fact with their own story, but in my opinion there should be some intentionality to it; when you pick a character, specially one for whom there's documented records, it's because they fulfill the purpose of your story, so that readers can go "Woah, I can totally see how well crafted this is because it makes sense". However, though the author in here does the bare minimum of following the documented history, there is absolutely no reason given for why this story is about the very real, very documented Richard III; no part in this man's trajectory fits the kind of storyline this author wanted to have. Like someone else said, his only ailment was scoliosis, which wasn't even a determent to his daily life, and the only remarkable thing about him was killing his nephews for the throne which basically every royal from back then did... how did the author even turn that into an intersex person suffering for years due to nobody loving them and not being able to love the one they want? Why on earth pick the most unrelated historical figure ever for such a plot? If such is the case, then just make up original characters and use history as a reference. I think even a full on story where Henry VI is the protagonist would have been much more compelling than constantly being subjected to whatever pedo mess that 60 chapter arc was. Again with intentionality onto the next topic... does Richard being intersexual serve any purpose for the story? Is it really an interesting read that X historical figure whose life story could not possibly make sense with such a plot point, is intersex? What does it even do for the character except 1) serve for childhood trauma... which honestly any other thing could have provided, most logically a disability like the real one had and 2) serve for a not gay enough its gay but gay enough the fujoshis jump at it encounter with about every male character in the manga? You come here and tell me he's identified as a male his whole life, and only starts to question such an identity when he's in some lovey dovey encounter with the ML, and only ever considers himself as "half-woman" in relation to the men around... what does that even say about this character's capacity of having any thoughts or troubles of their own. What does it even say about the author's capacity of actually using intersexuality as a complex plot point beyond being a romantic complication. If all they were gonna use it for is romance, then why not a crossdressing woman or a gay man or anything else? Back to the historical discussion, there was absolutely no reason to make this historical figure intersex, specially when it does not provide any vital eureka moment when recounting their life. Again, this could have very well been an original story with original characters.
Basically, there is about zero logic ever applied to anything in this story. Either pick a historical figure that serves your purpose so the narrative carries smoothly, limit yourself to a faithful historical recount, or write an original story; since you can't possibly have a well written manga when ignoring and not committing to any of these. For those who want good historical fiction there's better works around, hell I think even for historical BL, ao3 fanfiction would be a better read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 19, 2023
Though it is true this manga isn't a paragon on what intersexuality is, and despite the fact it getting axed took away a lot of potential for the story to mature and get better, I still find it a heartwarming story even with the classic shoujo cliches and annoying type jokes from the time, and is still a very advanced story considering it was published in 1999. It's nice to see how Megumi's intersexuality isn't a factor for her family breaking apart, but instead brings them together once again, and how losing her friendship with her former clique, and being suddenly subjected to the type
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of things women are subjected to, is in fact very overwhelming for her (even if everyone hounding her for a date is played for laughs, her feelings about the matter are still very much there). Again, this story could have developed much more if only it could have gone for longer, but as it is, it's a very light, enjoyable read about an intersex girl finding love and trust.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 16, 2023
Honestly this is an appalling manga to me, and it being so bad came as a surprise since Ai ga Shinu no wa Kimi no Sei, another work by the same authors, was one of the most thrilling sci-fi shoujos I've read lately. I wish I could give it a 1 star rating, but there's a salvageable bit at the beginning: the sweet relationship between Hayate and Nanoka, who are both experiencing their first love, feels refreshing and innocent. At the beginning of the manga, it seems the only major problems you could come across are usual shojo issues like miscommunication and a love rival.
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The start was, so you could say, very typical and inoffensive. However, the authors quickly decided to throw every cliche in the book into the mix, probably hoping to have a serious and engaging story, which never even happened. In the end, I believe the only thing they've achieved is writing the scariest, most criminal and disturbed male characters in psychological shojo, but even that comes as a price since theyre never even realistic or addressed as such, just creepy. All characters have unfathomable flaws: the female lead feels like a concoction of the most random tropes and despite making a whole deal of her feelings, never really arrives at saying or doing anything of them at all, she's just plainly indecisive of everything, the male lead is the most unrealistic, idealized version of a middle schooler you will ever see, and we never even get to see what his personality is supposed to be like cause all he does and feels is in response to the fl being hard headed and uncommunicative, the 2nd ml is a downright psycho, an assaulter and an obsessive creep that goes back and forth between his delusions, whenever it seems he's about to see the reality that he's two steps close to deserving a restraining order, he goes back to being the worst man on earth; at some point we are trust with a random villain that's the embodiment of cliche mentally ill psycho and it's so nonsensical it would make any run of the mill shonen author pale in comparison, lastly the friends are possibly one of the worst aspects since not only are they plain, boring and one dimensional, they are also as indecisive as the protagonists, you wonder 100% of times whether they want to help their "friends" or are just there as agents to ensure the crazy behavior keeps going.
Overall it's nonsensical, indecisive and unstable writing, where clearly the authors didn't know what they were initially aiming for and so it made it easier when the time to add and add random, badly executed plot twists to extend the publication came.
All in all, you could read this if you want, but honestly, if what you're searching for is something unserious and uncomplicated to pass the time, there's better works; if what you want is a love triangle, a first love story, an amnesia plot, even a "older girl younger boy" manga, there's PLENTY other works; and if what you're looking for is a psychological work with stalkers, abuse and yandere characters, there's also way better works! In the end, there's really no good reason for anyone to read this particular work, since there's not a single point that didn't make this a waste of time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Apr 10, 2023
Ah idk, im not gonna talk about how accurate this is from a trans point of view since im not trans, but im not cis either (and afab while at it) so it still left a bad after taste in my mouth. I'll talk about more general things instead.
First off, it seems this manga suffers from the very same thing most manga about trans characters written by cisgender people suffer, which is a very dragging negativity. Not to say hardships aren't part of what comes with existing as someone out of the binary gender, but now that there's more trans authors coming forth with their
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own stories, and despite their many different life stories, you truly realize how fundamentally different they are from stuff like this. Trans stories told by trans people tell you that there are ways to reach happiness and be yourself. But stories like this told by cis people are always suffocating, they make you feel trapped, like there's no way out of conformity, and they ultimately still see trans people as an experiment of sorts or the romanization of martyr pain (which is ironic since there's an obvious self insert character that does that... but anyway). They see trans people as troubled and impossible individuals, and so no matter how deep they try to dive in their psyche, they'll never get what existing and being happy is about for non cis people.
Although the author was very ambitious about this story, and i had good hopes for it, i ended up feeling awful by the end of it, as you could tell this wasnt for lgbtq people but a messy attempt to write about them. Sometimes it's better to not try writing about some things at all! Instead id recommend to support trans and gender x mangaka even harder, since their chances to tell real stories wind up being stolen by situations like this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 9, 2023
Despite being a very light read, this manga truly had everything: enjoyable characters, interesting plot, cute romance that wasn't too over the top either, and a great protagonist.
At first, seeing the number of chapters, i thought it would definitely feel rushed towards the end, however I think since it was meant to be a nice little short manga, the development and conclusion felt nicely paced and the bit of action packed there felt refreshing too!
Another good point was that there weren't many loose ends, except for just one that I'll talk about either, and the plot holes weren't too in your face so unless
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you're being specially nitpicky they don't become too much of a problem, and in my opinion they can even be covered with your own rational thinking based on the world building, like Eco's magic knowledge, how couples work, etc.
The only and main loose end by the finale is related to Eco and the reasons she's able to use magic. Although some may think it's central to the plot, I think the mangaka was mainly indecisive about what the main plot point was gonna be, since Eco didn't have as much interest as anyone else in finding out the source of her magic as much as just being able to use it freely and without being judged. Though it's true that point in particular could have been used if the story were to have gone on for longer, i think the two volumes and story resolved were plenty and it was a truly enjoyable read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 8, 2023
I initially read this because the basic plot of "girl is trained into being a boy" seemed interesting and I like those kinds of stories, however my expectations were veeeeeery low as they are with most korean manhwa. As expected, I believe only the first ten chapters were salvageable, out of almost 140 chapters. As most sunjeong (korean shoujo) this is an exasperating, badly constructed story where romance and fighting over annoying boy characters is at the forefront and any kind of thoughtful progression is thrown out the window. Only like three characters are somehow likeable, but again, since they're moved around by the brainless
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romance and the author's whim, they aren't the best either. I do wish we could see a similar plot be picked up by a modern korean webtoon artist since some of them have progressed into actually knowing how to write... and as long as they don't make it an isekai or high school romance which seem to be the modern bane of korean comics sigh.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 3, 2023
A veeeeeery fast paced manga, and since most of the focus is on the female character, my guess is the author ran out of time to do the male character's background. You could say it's unrealistic as well, and the side characters aren't even that much. A light read, if you may.
The main characters are pretty cute. Although I did find the age gap a turn-off, the story is so unrealistic and basic it didn't even incite that much rage in me.
It was interesting, however, seeing the author, Yamazaki Kore, transition from this kind of mindless seinen writing onto the masterpiece that is
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MNY.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 15, 2023
I can see why people would leave good reviews, but I've read enough of this genre to not really see anything special in this story or that makes all the flaws worth the read. This is, first of all, too pretentious for its own good: a slight case of "virgin loser" type shonen writing that showed specially in the female side characters (useless and whose actions didn't make any sense) which was a shame since the protagonist wasn't as annoying as other cases of this, a great amount of predictability that the author attempted to solve by pulling dumb plot twists out of thin air,
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using a flat and hollow character as a villain (that remains hollow and flat and underdeveloped even after said plot twist) that can only be sustained by making up characters that were never before even hinted at as existing, thus compromising their previous story building and making more than a quarter of the manga feel rushed for no reason, since this wasn't a case of "you're getting axed so solve this now". A bunch of unused, flat, weird side characters that never really do anything for the plot, as well. Now anyone would say, well the plot is interesting, well the art is gorgeous, well at least it's entertaining, but it really isn't, the delivery is actually more annoying than entertaining, and once again, there are ENOUGH stories in the shonen, seinen and even shojo and josei tags with similar plotlines and wonderful breathtaking art that are far more entertaining, some of them even with the shonen tropes and nonsense writing if that's your cup of tea, so it would be a better use of your time to go on either of those and search something similar. But just to get the kick, this one's too boring and way too average, and for dumb stupid plot twists, this is too mediocre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 2, 2022
This was a good read, basically this poor girl that is so bullied at her school she breaks in hives when people touch her comes across three rich boys, among which the richest is Itaru, a bratty heir that feels trapped due to their gender identity; they disappear, and the one closest to him, Ryou, contracts her to be a stand in until they find them for their coming-of-age ceremony, after this she truly needs to go through many tribulations: Ryou is aggressive and dismissive of her because of her status, she needs to change her physical appearance and personality so people don't suspect her,
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so she even takes up smoking (to deepen her voice) and exercising (to gain muscle mass and build), and she's caught in the crossfire of family problems in the Nogi household. Despite the plot being this interesting, the author failed to pull their weight at times so it truly felt like most of the story didn't live up to the plot, like it could have been so much more. Though you understand a bit of Atsuko's pain from the get go (see it more than feel it), when it's time for Itaru and Ryou's pain to be shown, it comes all over the place and at a very surface level, which leads to barely any sympathy for both these characters: the author tells us their issues as facts at a surface level, but you can't get us to feel bad for them by just telling us they're trans or an illegitimate child and so they had it rough. The pacing in this manga, both narratively and in the story, is also quite poor, you never know when things are happening or for how long, and it may focus on one character for entire chapters only to not bring them up again until later on, so it feels like we are watching two stories develope instead of one cohesive plot. The storyboarding is also quite confusing, so some panels and shots might not deliver any emotional significance or impact at all at narrative points you may want them to. I could also point out the inconsistency in the characters personalities and actions at times, but I'd like to think of that as a good (although not well developed) point. Overall, it's a bit of a waste, considering how interesting the plot is, how much potential the characters had and how truly engaging the main couple of Ryou and Atsuko is (i did squeal once or twice lol), however, considering this was the author's first shojo work, coming from exclusively making yaoi (where stories are usually shorter and a bit more hollow on the narrative side of things), so it was plenty promising as a debut, which also makes it a bit sadder that they haven't ventured in this genre ever since.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 23, 2022
I think this might be Tanaka's most compelling story just yet... BUT.
The premise is absolutely interesting. Tanaka has a way of writing realistic, strong female leads that make use of reason and feel like actual thinking people. Ena might be one of the best in that sense: she speaks openly about her feelings and thoughts as to not cause misunderstandings, she trusts the man she loves without being overcome by jealousy the way most shojo protagonists still do, she's loyal, hard working, and is overall the kind of girl you'd truly get from her environment. The male lead, although a cliche heir, stops there
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with the stereotypical role: his family's trade isn't a fuzzy one related to stocks, but a security company, he works a job like any other adult and it has nothing to do with his position as heir, even the premise of him losing that title at any moment is refreshing... all in all, he's just, truly, Some Guy, but what a guy he is. Kind, mature, respectful, and with a good head on his shoulders. Tanaka has a way of writing age gaps where you really get them the least gross and concerning they can possibly get (which is not a 0 but well, it's something), and I think the most refreshing thing in this story is the complete trust and respect the main couple have for each other, and you can actually believe they want to be on equal ground.
Now, as for the BUT. A bit of a spoiler, but Ena's magical barbaric strength (she's even depicted to be able to carry a man at least 70kg+ with ease)... suddenly disappears once she starts dating the ML. And for some reason she seeks to be the perfect housewive as a way to... support him? Because that's her strength from now on? To put it nicely, Tanaka starts tripping over the characterization she herself made so solidly, and to put it bluntly, she clearly got lazy after the confession and took out some completely different characters of her *** to spur the romantic plot along. So maybe she should have ended it after 20 something chapters, but we'll see if the chapters after that mark are dragging filler that ruin a plot that should have just been left alone, or bring some sense into a suddenly scattered plot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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