Barairo My Honey

This is a very good and realistic (even though it has supernatural themes) love story that has a very sweet ending. I love the art in this manga, it's very clean and simple, but still beautiful. Theres no a lot of drama here, just a sweet drama free love story. I think anyone thats wants a break from the normal angsty romance would enjoy this for a refreshing change of pace.

Initially I was put off by the 'doll' reference in the synopsis (I know, how weird?), but don't worry, it's just a reference to her appearance - she's not really a doll!

I actually really loved this story. Funny, touching, intelligent, creative, memorable. This particular author seems to be making a point of delivering fresh plot lines, directed by an intelligent human being, and usually (ok, so I felt the Kindan manga was an exception) wrapped up well. Best is her characterisation - she doesn't use stock characters and everyone has their own little drives and fleshed-out personalities.

What I didn't like is the same as her Kindan work - the storytelling. I did feel it was a bit rushed and I'm always a bit suprised at how fast her characters seem to fall in love with each other. Granted, it was much better than Kindan in the sense that you ARE following a solid storyline from A to Z, and it does wrap up in a way that makes you go "AWWWW happy ending!". It makes me wonder whether she was given a chapter limit for this work - a pity because I think if she'd been able to develop it over another 10-20 chapters I think the story would be a lot stronger.

What counteracts this 'I wish this was a touch slower and built up more strongly' storyline is the utter cuteness and hilariousness of the story itself. The tiger thing, at certain points, has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen and the play-off between two minor characters (you'll know who they are) is hysterically underplayed.

Still, this person is currently one of my favourite manga writers for a good reason. She's got great foundations and her storytelling skill improves leaps and bounds every new series - I think she'll really be a star in years to come!