Hibi Chouchou

I think this manga is very good. The story line is about a girl named Suiren who is very shy and never talks to men due to all the attention males give her because of her beauty. Well, she develops an attraction to a male named Kawasumi who doesn't seem to look at her like all the other men do. Kawasumi is also shy a doesn't contact much with females. Well, I read this in less that 2 hours and I must say I love them. A typical romance plot is where a un-popular guy falls for a popular girl or a un-popular girl falls for the popular guy. This manga is unique because both characters are very shy, yet they both give a very good romance towards the audience. Suiren slowly begins to talk more to Kawasami as their relationship proceeds and same goes for Kawasumi. Both give off a cute romance that can make you feel fuzzy on the inside, this manga is a must read for those who enjoy a cute romance.

The characters are insanely boring, and you can honestly sum up the two main characters in two words. Girl = quiet and shy. Boy = quiet and shy. I'm halfway through the entire completed manga, and neither lead has made any personal character development. It's established early on that the female character is heavily idolized for being so pretty, and somewhat as a result of that, she's incredibly quiet and shy. I repeat: she's INCREDIBLY QUIET AND SHY. Quiet and shy to the point where she doesn't even talk to her friends, which makes you question how and why they became her friends to begin with?

I compare this manga a lot to a shoujo classic: Kimi ni Todoke, since both mangas have a shy main lead. Only, the difference is that while Sawako from KnT is shy, she works to overcome it, while Suiren doesn't. I guess another main distinction between the two is that Sawako is fairly normal looking in her universe, while Suiren is so beautiful it's a "burden," which I have some complaints about. This plot idea clearly has a lot of internalized misogyny rooted into it, but if the author truly wanted to discuss how overwhelming beauty can be a hindrance and the ideas of pretty privilege, I would much rather see that be the focus of the manga instead of Suiren remaining static for the entire manga. Instead, all we see (for 42 chapters at least because that's all I could bring myself to read), is that Suiren likes a boy for no particular reason, and then they have a real dry relationship. Because you never really get to see who Suiren is, or anyone else for the matter, it makes the main relationship really bland and one dimensional, and therefore really hard to root for. Personally, I couldn't care less about the main couple, but I stuck around for so long because I just wanted it to live up to something.

Pretty much nobody has a personality in this manga. If you want to enjoy some good art, go ahead, but honestly, even the art isn't good enough to top the shit show that is the story.

It's about a shy, quiet girl (doesn't talk to guys) who is beautiful and is the flower on the mountain that you can't reach. Until she meets a guy who is also quiet(doesn't know how to talk to girls). I love the art.
Its has it moment when you're smiling and you don't know it. Then you get all warm and fuzzy.
Its a cute shoujo manga.

The manga was really promising at the start , but as chapters pass by it just drags and drags and drags on without much story and character development that can be seen in the beginning. It really is sad to see a manga with much potential that the quality of the writing slowly decreases towards the end. The manga is heartwarming and fun, but then goes into a complete robot-disaster. I cant really feel any emotions, which is I guess the intended effect as most of the character are shy, but I don't know it just doesn't really kick.

All that said, the art is really pretty and beautiful though.

I remember reading Hibi Chouchou while it was ongoing but couldn’t continue for some reason. I decided to pick this manga again recently and not so surprisingly enough I completed it in one go. The art is really good too.
Hibi Chouchou is one of those refreshing romance shoujo manga’s and even if you aren’t a fan of cute things you’ll still be awed by the cuteness. All the characters are adorable, by all I mean ALL.
I also really liked the personalities of the so called rivals, they were mature enough to not cause any emotional dramas and such in the plot.

Also As someone who doesn’t speak a lot, I could really relate to Suiren, and probably that’s why I was really invested in the story. But yes I feel some may find it annoying as well because she usually just nods her head for everything.

As for Drawbacks, the ending seemed a bit abrupt, for whatever reasons it may have been. But atleast it gives a closure to the story so it’s fine.
I also wish other characters like Aya-Chan’s character had a bit of an in-depth story too but then she’s a supporting character so can’t demand more. There are a total of 75 chapters and trust me once you get into the flow it’ll be over before you realise it.
If you’re a big fan of shoujo I definitely recommend you to check it out, and if you aren’t and still interested in reading do give it a try!

This adorable slice of life drama is set in a small high school where our characters meet each other upon entering and build relationships until they graduate. It is of course character driven, with the overall theme being about falling in love and creating lasting relationships.

The characters represent all different personalities, from the painfully shy Suiren to the idol-like Atohira. The unique aspect of this story is that both the male and female lead are shy, making the way their relationship unfolds different from other love stories of their kind.



Let's jump right into our characters--

The Characters

Suiren
The main female protagonist was tormented in elementary school by her classmates because she is so cute. As a result, her best friend Aya took up the job of protecting her. Suiren, possibly stunted by her friend's protection, stopped smiling or talking to anyone else.



Now that the two have entered a co-ed high school, Suiren is again attracting unwanted attention, but in this school they will meet someone who inspires Suiren to come out of her shell.

Kawasumi
The main male protagonist is dedicated to his club activity, karate. He is very skilled in the sport and is a completely different person while practicing it. Outside of the club he is quiet and even timid around girls whom he does not know how to talk to.



He has a good sense of justice, and a healthy respect for hard work, but he seems lost when it comes to ordinary, un-regimented, high school life.

Aya and Yuri
Aya has been protecting Suiren since they were in elementary school. She is a no nonsense kind of girl with a mostly cynical outlook on life, but she supports Suiren's wishes just as much as she babies her.



She offers plenty of comic relief to the story along with admirable loyalty.
Yuri is a girl whom Suiren and Aya befriend in their first year of high school. She has previously attended school with the boys and therefore makes it possible to get the two groups closer together.

Yuri aids Suiren with girly things and dating advice, as Aya has no experience or interest in those areas.

Ryosuke
Ryosuke is Kawasumi's best friend. Kindhearted and loyal, he comes off as the type of guy who would blindly follow Kawasumi to the ends of the earth, but the more you get to know him, the more you get to see his spine in their relationship--that, and the fact that he's kind of a lazy goof.

He values his friendship with Kawasumi and because of this he is not afraid to push back against Kawasumi's "lone wolf" mentality. Ryosuke always wants to help those around him.

Koharu
Koharu is the senpai who confesses to Kawasumi, even though he is younger than her. She is very attractive, but Kawasumi does not know what to do in situations such as these and her confession does not go as planned.

Koharu declares herself Suiren's rival and you get the feeling that she is not a girl who is accustomed to being in second place. Surprisingly, her character is not as annoying as I had anticipated her to be, in fact, I found myself feeling sorry for her at times.

Ichi and Atohira
Ichi is Kawasumi's older brother. He comes off as quiet, spacey, and weird--but kind. The others joke that Ichi and Suiren are alike in their quiet weirdness, something that worries Suiren.

There is not much mention of Ichi's relationship to his younger brother.

Atohira is Ichi's best friend and frequently visits his and Kawasumi's house. He is senpai to Kawasumi and has left karate in favor of playing baseball at his school. Atohira is a foil to Suiren's character because he is a handsome male character who is popular with the females even though their attention is unwanted.

Atohira handles this situation much differently than Suiren. However, whether he handles it better than her is left up to the reader to decide. Atohira is cynical when it comes to love, especially love at first sight.



His intentions are a bit of a mystery at first, but his character really rounds off the story. Without him it would have felt incomplete. Especially with regards to his somewhat complicated relationship with Kawasumi.

The Plot

This story follows these characters through their high school career. Suiren and Kawasumi fall in love and have to learn what that means. Neither of them are very adept at communicating, nor does either one have any clue as to how to be in a relationship.

They figure things out slowly, including how to balance club activities, friends, and rivals into and out of their life they are creating together.



I really loved all the relationships that occur between all the characters.

This was a super cute, super quick, feel-good read, yet all of the characters have stuck with me.
I suspect that this must have been the case for many readers, because volume 12 of the manga is a nice little "closure" volume full of short chapters of whats going on after the end of the story.

Story: 5/10

The story is average. Even below average I could say. I started reading it because it is a 'slow build' but it is so slow that barely any progress is made. You will read 75 chapters where absolutely nothing happens. There are even some of them you could skip and you still wouldn't be missing anything.

Art: 8/10

If there is something good about this manga is the art.

Character: 3/10

If the story is bad the characters are even worse. I'm only gonna talk about the main character because I don't want this to be extremely long. The two main characteristics of the protagonist are that she is pretty and shy. A beautiful protagonist is nothing new, so the most interesting aspect is her shyness. And, oh boy, it is SO BAD WRITTEN. You are probably shy or know someone who is shy, and yes, shy people may not be the most talkative persons in the world but I swear to god the main character BARELY TALKS. Even with her friends!! If she talked as much as she thinks the story would be more bearable. She is so quiet she makes the story completely boring.

Enjoyment: 5/10

The story is any other shoujo out there but extremely slow paced. I don't like stories where the characters fall in love as soon as their eyes meet but this kind of story where it takes 70+ for a kiss (a pretty lame one) is not better.

Overall: 4/10

Average story and boring characters. The only salvable thing is the art.

This is definitely KAWAIIIIIIII! THE CUTEST MANGA I’VE READ!

I'm not a Shoujo person, but I could name a few archetypes that are present in it, I've seen tsundres and quiet couples, Naive and Smart, Rich and Poor, Hot playboy and Shy girl, Loud Perky and quiet, Childhood friends, Bestfriends, Rivals turn to lovers and so on... Most of them are opposite of their personalities or usually one person is dominant with the other, but have you ever wonder what happens when two extremely quiet person collides!?

Hibi chouchou, is a simple manga about two shy couple falling inlove with each other, and as they find meaning to what love is they face struggles and learn to overcome obstacles.

The plot looks as if it follows the formula of a typical shoujo manga, and some of the issues may seem miniscule (Suiren's adorableness causing uproar to all humankind) compared to other mangas, However it was a refreshing experience when you're tired of seeing stories with over the top dramas about family problems, Sickness, Love triangle, etc. It’s not something that you read for the angst or some intense emotional moments, No, it's just a light hearted romance story, full of rainbows, butterflies and cotton candies, and as the story progress the taste becomes sweeter and sweeter. Yes, this is the type of manga that I enjoy reading while sipping a nice cup of tea on a beautiful cozy night.

Sadly, some of the minor characters felt like the story just glaze over them however I still find them interesting and unique. The Female Main character might seem unrealistic that all males are head over heels at her but what I like about her is that despite her attractiveness, she have flaws, she's very awkward, clumsy and incapable of holding a proper conversation. Kawasumi on the other hand is also a very quiet person, but he's just an average looking guy who is really good and passionate about Judo.

What the manga excels is the artwork, It was neat and easy to read. The emotions of each character and environment are beautifully drawn. There are some mangas that tries so hard to make their character look cute which results to an overly cringy and irritating scenes but in this manga, the cuteness of Suiren is effective, she looks more natural.

I enjoyed this manga very much, As I was a shy girl back when I was in highschool and reading this was very nostalgic, I felt like I was back on those days again, the first eye contact with your crush, the feeling of happiness when you see him/her at the hallways, canteens and classroom which is the sole reason of why're even coming to school, even though it's sh*tty. XD

This is not for everyone, if you like to read romance mangas who wants the couple to "get it on" already, this is not for you. While I do agree that their progress is painfully slow however through the course of time the manga blesses us with scenes that felt like your about to explode due to the extreme sweetness level. And that being said the story is just staying true to the character, because you can't just force an extremely quiet, reserved and shy person to suddenly be intimate to her/his lover, No it needs to have a decent amount of gradual development to jump on that stage.

Overall what makes this manga appealing to me is the Innocence and Conservativeness of the storyline and the characters, which are pretty rare on Romance stories.

If you have time and want to read a calming, sweet and light romance story then please do give this manga a try.

So this is my first ever review, so be ready ;)

Story: 4
This manga is about a girl who is VERY pretty and usually gets a lot of unwanted attention from boys because of her looks. Because of that, she grew to be a shy and quiet person. In high school, she meets this quiet boy who doesn't make a big deal out of her looks, and she develops an interest in him.

To be honest, this story is a meh. It is so god dang slow and there isn't much juicy parts except a few blushes and that's that. You have to read A LOT chapters until the romance actually starts. By then, I would have already dropped it. If you don't like slow paced shoujo mangas, then this one is not for you.

Art: 8
The art is really good. And that's the only good thing about it. (Sorry to break it to you)

Character: 3
Usually, when I read manga or watch anime, the characters are the 2nd most important part. The characters here were pretty boring. The female MC's only major thing about her is that she's shy. I would've like it WAY better if she'd actually grow out of her shyness and have some character development. But I know that these kind of things are very hard to overcome, especially for some people, so I get that. But she was just plain boring. You can't have a good story without dialogue. She just sits there and acts pretty. The male MC, he was boring as well. I don't understand why he is considered "shy", cause for one thing for sure, he talks way more than your average shy person.

Enjoyment 4:
I didn't really enjoy it that much, since it was slow, and it wasn't interesting at all.

Overall: 4
This was just bad. It's just a manga that I would ditch anytime.

I’ve Literally read this manga like 5 times and I’m still going to read it more. It’s so cute and there characters are so sweet. I can’t believe it doesn’t have an anime yet!! Even if it’s slow I don’t like when manga is too rushed. I think you’ll like it if you enjoy a sweet innocent romance. Highly recommend if you like slow burn romance as well. I like the main boy better than any frivolous guy characters. He’s more mature and he deserves a beautiful girlfriend just like Suiren. The ending nothing spectacular but I think you’ll like this. I think anybody could love this if they give it a shot.