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nathandouglasdavis

  • Joined Feb 23, 2019
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Stories need some sort of hook, some way to draw readers in, to captivate readers. The hook can be any number of things depending on the type of story being told. Some stories rely on dramatic twists and turns and in maintaining high levels of tension. But in this type of low-drama, heartwarming romance story, it would have to rely on more low-key things such as humor, adorability, aesthetics, world-building, and character appeal. This manga is not really funny. And it's not really all that adorable or heartwarming either. It's aesthetically mediocre, with nothing in the art being noteworthy or beautiful (at least not to the level that you'd care about soaking it in). There's basically zero world-building since it focuses solely on the main couple, and the characters aren't actually all that appealing (at least to me). In fact, the adorability is tied in with the character appeal. If the characters felt more believable or if they captivated me in some other way, then I probably would've found their actions much more adorable. But this manga is relying entirely on creating a gap between our expectations (monsters are bloodthirsty, kids are scared) and what we actually witness (the monster is blushy and the kid is apathetic) in order to create a reaction in the readers. And the gap is obvious, but it doesn't evoke a sense of adorability when I read it because only shallow reasons are given for why that gap exists. If the gap is weakly explained, then any adorability that gap is supposed to evoke will also be weak. There is a twist in the third chapter, which creates some small level of dramatic intrigue and romantic gooeyness, but it still feels like it's primarily relying on the blushing itself to make the scene adorable. And just seeing a character blushing isn't enough to make a scene romantically heartwarming. I have to be drawn into the action. I have to be drawn into the mindset of the characters and feel what they're feeling. That way, when they blush, I blush. And when they feel gooey inside, I feel gooey inside. But if the story never hooked me, then just seeing a character blushing isn't going to do anything for me.

2/10 story
6/10 art
1/10 characters
2/10 overall

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