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Before Strobe Edge, the only Sakisaka Io work I had read was Ao Haru Ride (which remains my favorite shoujo to this day), so when I saw people online referring to Strobe Edge as Ao Haru's predecessor, I was more than excited to finally give it a try. Stories between the two of them are extremely similar (won't say what exactly to keep review as spoiler free as possible) and while a lot of people dislike that, calling Sakisaka-sensei works formulaic, I actually prefer them that way considering if I had a chance to read same stories are Ao Haru/Strobe Edge just with different characters, ... I would do it 100 times.

Story is a literal definition of love polygon coming-of-age romance shoujo that was very common in the 2000s, and yet it still holds its charm above some of the other titles in the same category, despite following almost the same formula. It had its ups and downs with unnecessarily added drama that gets resolved in like 1-2 chapters (classic Sakisaka-sensei), but they certainly help with reader engagement (and possible heart aches). Also, the few bonus chapters it had were absolutely amazing, and all of them (well, except one) added more context to characters and stories, so I enjoyed reading them despite being put in some rather cliff-hanger moments.

The main beauty and focus of Strobe Edge are its characters (which I admit are extremely similar to Ao Haru Ride characters, but ehh, I didn't mind, and neither should you). From main characters to side ones, every one of them had a lot of love put into writing them without any of them feeling shallow or one-dimensional. Side characters had as much character dynamics and love stories as main couples, making me root for literally all of them. Makes me kinda sad that my journey with all of them is over and we probably won't ever get anime adaptation, but also it's Sakisaka's manga, so I'm hoping I'll see them in her other works just with different names XD.

Lastly, art was beautiful, it was definitely a little bit worse than in Ao Haru Ride, but it just shows the mangaka's development, which is always nice to see. Despite having that average shoujo manga style, almost every panel still felt more beautiful than other titles in this genre.

Overall, it was an amazing read and an honor to express my thoughts on this manga. I'll continue hoping for anime adaptation, just like I'm hoping for Ao Haru Ride to be adapted fully (even tho I'm completely aware there is basically 0% for either of my wishes to be fulfilled). For shoujo fans, this is a must-read, especially at the beginning of the journey to get a good idea of what kind of world this genre of fiction is. If you decide to give it a try, I'm sincerely hoping you'll enjoy it.

When you see the horror tag on a manga's overview page, you usually expect the story to be scary, right? Well, not with Hiki, the scariest thing you can get here is 5 chapters of a somewhat entertaining mess. From actual potential to be an amazing read and a sleepless night, to a realization that you could just read Junji Ito instead of this.

I'm a sucker for dark side of Japan's countryside, characters being in an small isolated enviroment, story set that feeling from beginning with a key mystery starting in first chapter which I can admit was intriguing and had massive potential. However, every ... single chapter managed to be worse than the previous one, all the way to the mess of a conclusion. The story itself wasn't scary like... at all, the only thing that made me feel something was a few panels by the way the mangaka drew them. After checking her page to see other titles she worked on, I wasn't surprised one bit when I saw mostly BL and no horror, as it felt like she wanted to make this story BL as well.

All characters besides the protagonist felt one-dimensional, some of them were in the story for just one chapter, and yet felt like their story should have been much longer (stalker girl who served literally no purpose except to show up half a chapter). Even the characters who were there the whole story had a personality on paper, but not in practice. The protagonist was the only one who felt like an effort was actually put in while writing him, but even he wasn't anything spectacular. Dynamics as well were basically non-existent, besides the protagonist and his best friend, who seemed like they were fighting the strongest urge not to kiss each other the entire time.

Art was alright, had that shoujo aesthetic which I can always appreciate. Like I said before, horror panels were actually pretty nicely drawn, and some of them really gave off the unsettling vibe. I definitely feel like mangaka would be good at drawing the horror manga (without writing the story for it).

Overall wasted potential, if you wanna kill some time and really have nothing better to do, then sure give it a read, otherwise there are much better horror titles out there that deserve more of your attention than Hiki.

Wangan Jungle is a short one-volume collection of three individual stories, following characters who accidentally end up in rather unsettling scenarios. Chapters are similar enough for me to review them collectively as one manga, rather than three separate one-shots. Shoujo titles are usually tied with romance, drama, or high school plots, so I was pleasantly surprised to give a shoujo romance-horror mystery mix a try for the first time.

For starters, it really wasn't that scary at all, the mystery aspect had some unsettling scenes that got me a good few times, but that's about it, between the two mystery is much more expressed in the ... story. Besides the third chapter, which was pretty clear and straightforward, the first two had rather confusing conclusions, which were left for us readers to interpret however we want; unfortunately, for that to be done well, we would need more information through the story, which was lacking here. The romance was satisfying enough, although nothing special, your average boy-girl pair you can find in most horror movies.

Like I said, the pair from chapters 1 and 3 is an average horror couple; however, the main three from the second chapter were much better in comparison. They had distinctive personalities with more of goofy traits, like other reviewer said reading their story was like watching Scooby Doo episode and I completely agree. I had a much better time with them than the other two.

Art was alright, same type you see in every shoujo manga, except this one had some questionable panels from time to time (although they just made the read funnier, so I can't complain much).

Although I did criticize it more than praise it, I still found it pretty enjoyable and believe most of you reading this will too, so I recommend. Overall, it's a fun, short 5/10 manga for a quick late-night read.

If you're scrolling through this website in search of short, binge-worthy shoujo manga, then Tennenkei Ouji will do the job. Most of its aspects are rather common in the shoujo manga world, but the one thing that hooked me is the rich-poor dilemma of the male lead, which I haven't seen before (or at least not as frequently).

The story follows Aoi, 17 year 17-year-old high school student with a big family and even bigger financial struggles. I feel like her family could be developed a bit more, which would be interesting to see, but considering it's only 5 chapters, I can't fault mangaka for it ... too much. Humor is basic, but it does give a good laugh here and there. There are bits of drama that felt pretty natural, and I really liked it, but obviously main genre is romance, which was pretty well-handled for such a quick read.

Despite its length, few characters besides the two main characters managed to stay memorable: Aoi's two funny elder brothers and Masafumi's grandparents, who made every scene they appeared in more cheerful. Aoi is an average main character that you can see in 8/10 shoujo manga, and yet I always manage to like that trope, while Masafumi became the MVP of this story. He's the only character that has a bit of depth, so to speak, with his backstory, and only one with character development.

Art had its ups and downs; most of the time it was a bit rusty (it's possible it's scan quality and not actual art, although I can't fact-check), but it was good in some character portraits or scene focus panels.

Overall, Tennenkei Ouji fulfilled its purpose of short romance shoujo manga and gave me a nice 30-minute read session. I don't see any reason for people to dislike it, so I can definitely recommend it to everyone.

When I read the synopsis, I thought this would be like every other emotional Shoujo romance drama, which I love to read from time to time. However, it ended up doing a complete 180 and surprising me in almost every way possible, to a point where it was hard for me to even turn to the next page. I can proudly say it had me on the edge of my seat almost the whole time, just not in a way most people would imagine when they hear that phrase.

The story although seemingly pretty generic coming-of-age at first, managed to give a good emotional rollercoaster. I ... liked the way the author used time skips so that we could see characters go from kids to true grown-up adults. When I say emotional rollercoaster I truly do mean it, from all positive and happy feelings to the most negative painful ones. From the beginning, the atmosphere had its melancholic vibe which is why I said it had me on the edge of the seat. Every time I turned the page I felt like something bad would happen no matter if the current scene was happy or sad. Someone in their review before me said how MAL didn't add a psychological tag to this manga and I can definitely see why's that lol. The last two chapters gave me mixed feelings tho, the conclusion in the final chapter although a nice life message wasn't really satisfying for my shipping ass, while the epilogue did justice for that it felt rather rushed and could be thought out better.

The most important aspect of this manga is the characters, the main four that is. Every one of them flawlessly represents their traits and fits their role in the story perfectly. I really enjoyed seeing them grow over the years, both their good and bad sides. Now I can't speak for female characters, but the two male MCs were pretty relatable. I saw my younger self in 12-year-old Daigo and my current self in teenage Fuji. Like with my complaints in the last two chapters for the story aspect, I have the same feelings for Daigo and Ann in those two chapters, they felt weird and not entirely true to their built-up personas.

Lastly, the artstyle was pretty nice. Although most of the time it was the generic old school shoujo style (which I adore don't hang me pls) it did have some amazing panels during some important scenes. Plus the double-page panels were absolutely stunning. There were a few instances where characters looked so similar that I couldn't tell them apart immediately but besides that, I really have no other complaints.

Overall I loved this manga, both the main story and bonus side stories which gave some side characters more depth and background. I can see why it holds such a high place in the shoujo world and it absolutely deserves it if not more. Now that the author is under my radar I'm planning on trying some of her other works in the future.
Rest in peace Ashihara Hinako.

I'm not a big fantasy world fan to be completely honest, so if I were to encounter manga like "Nicola no Oyururi Makai Kikou" I wouldn't even give it a minute of my time to consider trying it. The cover on MAL page doesn't seem appealing, and stories that can remind one of the babysitting slice of life aren't my cup of tea. However, it was recommended to me via MAL Secret Santa event so I decided to try it (and I'm really glad I did).

The plot isn't anything spectacular, it's a demon merchant Simon, and a human child Nicola traveling around the demon world, ... exploring new areas ranging from cities to dark forests all while meeting new characters every chapter. And yet despite that simple explanation and just 25 chapters of the story, the author truly managed to make the world feel alive, with every place they visited having its feel and story to tell. You'll feel like you are reading some of those old nostalgic fairy tales like "Little Red Riding Hood" or "The Three Little Pigs". It's pretty warm and cozy, perfect to read before bed to prepare you for good sleep.

Speaking of characters, every one of them has its unique characteristics and uses in the story without many of them being empty or generic. Dynamics between them, despite there not being many, are also pretty nicely done. Especially between Simon and Nicola (later on Bruno too).

Art is alright, on some occasions it can be kinda whacky, and on others pretty beautiful (landscapes especially). Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

Overall I don't have many negative thoughts about it, it truly is a relaxing and cozy short read that I can recommend to almost everyone, especially if you're in a more stressful/exhausted period in life.

For people who watched the anime and want more of Pon no Michi's world, this manga is a must-read. Even though it is a "what if" spin-off, it still felt like I was watching bonus OVA content.

The story was pretty fun seeing characters grown up and yet still act like their teenage self while enjoying a good game of mahjong. Manga did feel more mahjong-oriented instead of CGDCT like anime did so as a fellow player I really enjoyed that part. Also, there's an ecchi aspect to the story that felt unexpected but I liked it. I feel like Mangaka could expand the story and ... write more but I doubt we will get to see any Pon no Michi story ever again, unfortunately.

Characters thankfully still have the charm that we see in anime (like Nashiko being a clumsy player for example) so I appreciate that part. Even the new character Touji managed to fit pretty well into the plot and main cast dynamics. I wish we got to see Emi but considering she felt neglected even in anime I'm not surprised at all.

Lastly, the art was pretty damn good, a bit above your average art so I really can't have any complaints about it. Characters look stunning and their facial expressions look so as well.

Overall for Pon no Michi fans I recommend it, I'm sure you will love it!

Musubime Nemuri wa Shite Kurenaku mo Nai managed to surprise me at first with its premise of a boy and girl sharing one dream, with the boy being in control of it. However, the more I read, the more it became awful and repetitive.

Plot-wise, it started strong. It had that interesting concept of dream sharing, which isn't really common in the manga world, so I had high hopes. That was until I realized every chapter is the same as the previous one, just with a different kind of fetish. I'm 100% sure the author would have had a better time writing it as a hentai ... rather than a simple ecchi manga. A few good and comical scenes made me laugh, but that's as far as the story goes. Overall, it had potential but it completely wasted it.

The characters aren't any better. You have the average pervy boy going through puberty and a girl who obviously has a crush on him but is too much of a tsundere to admit it. There really isn't much for me to say about them, except that the MC was probably modeled after the author himself and his own fetishes and kinks.

Lastly, the art was awful. The characters looked more like middle schoolers than high schoolers, so slapping G-cups on the main girl just looked hella weird.

I couldn't find any information on why it was discontinued, but I'm almost certain it's never coming back—and probably for the better. While most discontinued manga would stay with you and make you wonder what happens later in the story, this one really doesn't do that at all. Overall, I don't recommend it. I wished it fulfilled more of the potential it had at the beginning, but it is what it is. If you wish to kill some time with a short story, there are far better titles out there than this one.

Considering its length, you obviously can't expect much, not to mention it's also the author's debut manga. Despite that, it was good enough to kill 10 minutes of boredom and free time. It's my second time reading Sakai Mayu's work, and I really love her characters, even though they're your average shoujo tropes you can find in any other similar manga.

I can't recommend it for the same reason as Nine Puzzle: the story is too niche, and I'm sure 95% of the manga community would find it boring. But for my fellow shoujo fanatics, it's enjoyable enough to be worth our time.

For such a short story, it really was an enjoyable one—not only plot-wise, with billiards and a bit of romance, but also character-wise. In just a few chapters, the author managed to get me attached to the main pair and the shop owner, and I enjoyed every second of their interactions, despite them being your usual shoujo characters (an airhead girl with no romantic experience and a mysterious boy with some sort of family or social issues).

The romance was definitely underwhelming, but it was just enough to feel a bit satisfied with it by the end. What had more focus was billiards, which, as a ... fan of the game, I thoroughly enjoyed.

The ending, as other reviewers said, was very rushed and underwhelming. Heck, I didn't even know it had ended until I realized every chapter afterward was an individual, unrelated one-shot. I definitely believe the story could have been a few more volumes longer, but instead, I had to make my own headcanon of what happened after the end.

Going back to those unrelated one-shots, there were three of them, and despite having no connection to the main plot (I really don't know why they were included with the manga and not as actual standalone one-shot stories), they were pretty fun to read. Each was 50 pages max, so obviously, they couldn't tell much, but they still managed to make my reading experience satisfying.

Overall, I liked the manga and will definitely keep it in my memory. However, due to its length and usual shoujo plot format, I don't believe it's for everyone, which is why I chose "mixed feelings" instead of "recommended." However, for all of you shoujo fans, this one is definitely a nice, quick read.