nathandouglasdavis

In the beginning, this manga had something special going for it. It was a manga about poetry-writing just as much as it was a manga about the romantic tension between Eiji and Nanako. They had several chapters where Amane would ask the Lit Club to write senryu on a topic, and Nanako would come at it from a slightly unexpected perspective. It was funny. Eiji also did this, but feir takes were usually just overly literal. But over time, the senryu just became dialogue and it was a lot less about the poetry. This made the balance shift and the manga became (almost) entirely about Eiji and Nanako's romantic developments. At this point, each time a new character was introduced, I internally groaned--because it was such a blatant attempt to stretch the plot out as long as possible. A lot of the jokes started to become stale and even Nanako's constant open-mouthed exuberance became a lot less cute. With feir cheerful attitude, Nanako is supposed to portray an ideal girl. But once we think of fem in those terms (of idealized femininity), it makes apparent the underlying misogyny. Fe literally doesn't talk and fe unquestioningly supports Eiji in whatever fe does (even when fe's being dumb). Fe's the "ideal" submissive woman. And once I've thought of fem in those terms, it's difficult to go back to just enjoying the cuteness. That being said, throughout the series, I felt I could rely on both Nucky and Nanako's dad for a good joke whenever they were involved.

It might not be worth reading the entire manga (though at worst, it's just a shallow time-waster), but it's definitely worth reading at least the first couple dozen chapters.

[Originally reviewed at chapter 154]

[Updated upon completion]

Addendum: They just wrap up the loose ends--like by having Nanako's father and the love rivals reach states of emotional closure and stuff. And they also show some early events in the new dating stage of Eiji and Nanako's relationship. Nothing special, and nothing horribly additive either. And worst of all, a bit drawn out. But that was a problem the latter part of the story was already experiencing, so I don't think the score deserves to be lowered even further...probably...I dunno, it honestly should've just ended at the confession scene in chapter 152...