Hajimete no Gal

nathandouglasdavis Jun 25, 2020

4

This is a great example of how a manga can devolve into worthless junk by relying on harem stuff rather than on the development of the primary relationship. Or more accurately, it's an example of how a story reliant on its protagonist being unable to cut ties with molesters and schemers is worthless. Why does Junichi feel any pressure to treat these girls with decency when they've been completely rude to fem? I can't overemphasize how stupidly awkward it is for fem to consistently hang out with people who have repeatedly molested and abused fem. Like, fe spends time out of feir day to go places alone with these stalkers. Why? And why does the manga act as though some of these girls deciding to insert themselves into feir life and try to win feir love even after being rejected isn't problematic (to the point that fe should be getting restraining orders)? Ranko is a tan gal; feir interference begins in chapter 14. Nene is a big-breasted childhood friend; feir interference begins in chapter 23. Kashii is a secret live-streaming idol; feir interference begins in chapter 32. Yuki's an underclassman whose interference begins in chapter 52. Iris is the student council president; feir interference begins in chapter 65.  It was always pretty obvious that the author was forcing drama into the story, but at a certain point it started feeling like fe was intentionally writing stupid storylines just because they were more drama-filled. That being said, the main premise--and what made this manga interesting in the beginning--is the dynamic between Junichi and Yukana. Junichi is pushed into confessing to Yukana by a group of friends because they think it'd be easy to graduate from virginity with fem, since fe's a gal. These normie-hating friends remind me of the group in Prison School, especially the fat guy and the glasses guy. In fact, there's even a gag parodying Prison School in chapter 66. Anyway, they have a weird schizophrenic support/hatred for feir relationship with Yukana. A lot of the initial plots involve them instilling an idea in Junichi's head (kiss fem, grope feir boobs) and then fem obsessing over it. As for Yukana, fe's always aware of Junichi's desires and latent expectations, even if fe doesn't immediately call fem out for it. And fe raises feir eyebrows in a way that makes it seem like fe knows what fe's thinking and finds it amusing. Fe doesn't like the idea of being used for sex and will ruin the mood to stop feir advances until fe feels that fe can trust fem more. But then even once fe does trust fem, Junichi still feels wary of potentially misreading the situation and hesitates to act. Throughout the manga, there are a lot of sexual fantasies and quite a few chapters begin with scenes which initially appear sexual--from the angle and word choice--but then are revealed to be something completely different. There are a few instances of people losing their inhibitions and acting more sexual than normal because of alcohol or mushrooms. Most of the plotlines end up involving the group of stalker-friends spending time together in various settings, with stupid harem shit. [Reviewed at chapter 102]

charicner May 7, 2017

9

I started reading this because I thought it was going to be like To-Love-Ru, but the more I read it it is much better. I didn't expect the humor or all of the embarrassing situations. This Really reminds me of Nana and Karu, in that it is an adult novel involving adult situations, but isn't just hentai.

DeterminedMan Feb 15, 2023

4

Man, it was good for a while. But it feels like it should have ended fifty chapters ago. But no, it keeps going- and keeps interrupting all the actual romance between the main couple with annoying side characters who keep falling for MC despite the fact that he's got a girlfriend. I actually like the MC too! He starts off whiny and a massive pervert, but he actually sticks to his guns and rejects other girls WHILE having character development and growing his relationship with his GF. The FMC on the other hand is way too happy to keep these damn side characters around, including the one that tried to break up their relationship! And of course the most recent arc (Chap 150) adds ANOTHER garbage character to join the harem, who despite being a complete ass to MC gets no repercussions and now MC has to pretend to be her BF. This sucks because the romance between the MC and his GF is actually cute at times, but no- we just NEED like seven girls trying to get into MC's pants. Jesus christ author, where are you even going with this story?