Kimi no Sei

Bullying, romance and change of hearts - the story had potential but didn't develop really strong I am not sure if it was because they only had a few chapters that the story turned to be in a rush. It didn't even include what happned to Rino and the guy who looks like Takaya in the end. It would have been nice if they allotted a chapter or two just so they can add a resolution to that conflict. Presenting multiple conflicts in a story is not good if you don't plan to make the manga lengthy enough to resolve those conflicts. The art was good but I think it was more of the average. I think this manga may be good for killing time. If you'd want a manga with the same theme as this, it might be better to read 'The Silent Voice'. Speaking of which, I think I'll be rereading that so I can just make a review here. Tut :)

First off, this is a romance, so you know that Takaya and Yurina are going to have something, but the past keeps getting in the way. Takaya doesn't remember a thing about the bullying until Yurina tells him up front, and while he is sorry, he can't erase the past. What's more, he is in love with her. Yurina is dead set against liking him at all because of what he did to her in the past. It's something that she believes is unforgivable.

What's really great about this manga is the character development. Yurina has to come to terms with her feelings about the past and face the present while also recognizing the person she is now as well as who Takaya has become. I didn't cry during her troubles, but every time she thought about how she felt, my chest hurt a lot. Yurina was constantly battling her bad memories and she couldn't see why Takaya could love her now. I think the feelings that arose from being bullied at a young age were depicted very well.

Personally I am not a fan of love at first sight, but the way Takaya was portrayed really did make him look like he loved Yurina. He was a sweetheart. I would rate it higher, though, if it didn't seem like he was infatuated at first by her appearance.

There is a slightly crazy conflict in the manga that I won't reveal here, but it's another reason why I won't rate it higher than an 8/10. I really did enjoy reading it, though. Even though it was short, it was extremely satisfying and kept me going to the next chapter.

Imagine being bullied in grade school for no reason. Having no friends and constantly being picked on and being forced to move away. Then, years later, the person who started all of it confesses to you. You end up with Kimi no Sei.

Then a plan for revenge but what ho? What happens when you start falling in love with this person. And that's it. The rest of the story is the inner turmoil of the main character as she tries to overcome her conflicting feelings of her past, and her present. The story never surprises you, and drama is almost nonexistent, although it does remain interesting, at least for the 9 chapters this manga runs. You can really relate to the main character and you're not sure if you should hate or like Takaya.

Overall it's interesting and fun to read and realistic which is really nice, but there's definitely nothing that profound to be found. If you are into shoujo and you've got the time, go ahead and read this, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, unless you really want to read something about bullying without the extremes of something like Life, you should probably pass.

Geeze, Kimi no Sei is such a bizarre rollercoaster. It starts off normal enough, with the premise that Takaya used to bully Yukina in grade school, which for her was horribly traumatic, but he barely remembers it. In college, they're reunited, and not really remembering her, Takaya is instantly attracted to Yukina. Yukina does remember, and decides to get revenge. At first this manga seemed like it was going to be a realistic exploration of this type of problematic premise, so if that bothers you, then obviously don't read it. One thing I liked about it is that rather being nicey nice, the author wrote that Yukina was going to get revenge, which is an unusual direction, and also makes it more bearable to read about her hanging out with her former bully than if she was just continuously getting victimized. But then, the manga takes a bizarre turn into left field, changing genres entirely into an extremely out of place thriller. Throw in a couple of characters whose motivations are entirely unclear, and crappy writing that accidentally made her teacher into a MAJOR creep, when I don't think that was the author's intent at all, seeing as Yurina didn't really seem to question it. It's pretty impressive they managed to accomplish all this wrong in just nine chapters. The one redeeming feature is the art, which is pretty good for a shoujo.

Childhood, a time when most of your blissful memories are made. But what if the only thing you can recall most vividly is when you were bullied by classmates, treated as though you’re better off dead, and above all, were told to die?

Kimi no Sei is a unique, heartwarming tale of a bully and a bullied. Takaya, the bully, grows up from the boy who does things for the sake of fitting in with the crowd to a handsome young man who goes through various relationships. Yurina, the bullied, grows up less normally, and has developed a fear of accepting trust from men or being in a relationship altogether. They meet by chance at a blind date and Takaya, unable to recognize who Yurina is, falls in love and asks to date her on the spot. Yurina eventually agrees with the sole reason to get her revenge and thus, the clumsy, dysfunctional love story between the former bully and bullied begins.

The concept of the story is certainly unique. When is it the last time you have read about someone having a romantic interest in a person they once tormented in the past? It’s fresh, captivating but it is this marvel that holds the story against itself. It raises the question of whether pursuing a romantic relationship with the bully/bullied is even physiologically plausible. A relationship is built from love, attraction, and above all, trust. A bully/bullied scenario completely defies this. With this mindset, Kimi no Sei doesn’t quite throw that concept away which is refreshing but troublesome. How will character interactions run smoothly if a bully/bullied scenario isn’t exactly friendship material, let alone on romantic terms? This is where Kimi no Sei struggles to stay strong and pick itself in but does not quite hit the caliber.

The main characters are the bully, Takya, and the bullied, Yurina. As hinted/mentioned before, Takaya is the instigator of the bullying Yurina had to endure as a child, resulting a mental scar Yurina has to endure. Takaya is an interesting character, and the term, ‘happy-go-lucky,’ best describes him. Of course, he isn’t entirely happy, but doesn’t show this much when around Yurina, claiming it’s best when he’s around her. Takaya is shown to be a ‘devotional character,’ willing to sacrifice much for Yurina’s happiness. He’s also been shown as insecure, and is jealous of Yurina’s interactions with certain men. Yurina, on the otherhand, displays the opposite sentiment. Takaya is sweet as candy while Yurina can be considered bitter as coffee. She’s sharp when recognizing off the bat who Takaya is and knows she’s not to fall in love with him. She tries to be as harsh as possible but occasionally shows signs of weakness when around Takya. Don’t misunderstand this, however. She is not a typical, shojo heroine who falls weak to the other gender’s charm. She’s aware of her growing emotions for Takya and doesn’t embrace it illogically like the standard heroines. But even so, there is something troublesome with the way their relationship works which is something should be mentioned.

Again, the concept of a bully/bullied is treading towards dangerous water. Will you be able to forgive the sins your ‘lover’ did to you in the past? The sins that corrupted the very being you are today? Sure, Yurina didn’t initially agree to the relationship with Takya but the fact that she eventually did, and that she was able to somewhat converse with Takya, is mindboggling. Hello, this is the boy who ruined your self-confidence. One will surely not want anything to do with him or to just kindly reject the person. And Takya is, interesting or not, also mindboggling in his own way. He doesn’t display much consideration for Yurina’s interest yet goes about saying that he loves her. Hopefully it’s character development that will eventually transform him into a well-mannered gentleman Yurina deserves but as of now, it is highly dislikable that Yurina and Takya will get together (even though that is predictable from the start).

Art is pretty much shojo-styled. The characters are drawn clearly and fully enough to portray the emotions the mangka wants to express. The expressions on the characters are plentiful as well. What should be most observed is the clothing that the characters wear. They fit their individual personalities and are usually fashionably pleasing to look at. Backgrounds are nicely drawn as well, the scene accentuating well the mood of each page.

Kimi no Sei, though unique and heartwarming, is not a tale without its mistakes. It’s easy to overlook them with the standard shojo fashion flowering the entire manga but what is a story without mistake? Kimi no Sei is a nice read for anyone looking for a unique piece and a heroine who is a crying, helpless idiot. And, if you ever happened to have encountered a bullying incident or experienced something of the sorts yourself, surely this manga will affect you in some way.

Kimi no Sei, a story of acceptance, forgiveness and romance. A story worth reading.

(Thanks for reading and those who disagrees with what I’ve written or doesn’t particularly like my writing, feel free to express me your opinions. I love getting feedbacks on how to write better reviews.)

Some may have gone through the experience of bullying, whether it was direct or indirect. What if the person who bullied you fell in love with you? Would you be able to forgive and love in return? Kimi no Sei is a shoujo manga that tries to build a romantic relationship between the bullier and the bullied, though it fails to present it in a believable way.

The story of Kimi no Sei centers around Takaya, the bullier, and Yurina, the bullied. These two encounter later on a mixer. Takaya immediately falls in love with Yurina, promting her to date him; however he doesn't recognize her as the girl he tormented in his childhood. She eventually accepts the date, but with the intention to make him suffer.

The premise is interesting, but as the reader may be thinking, how will it be possible to make a working romantic relationship between these two? Throughout the story the reader can observe how their relationship grows, however it leaves the reader thinking whether the behaviour and reactions of the protagonists are believable or not. The final plot twist of the story really felt far-fetched and unrealistic, which I personally found to be the part where all credibility of the story left. Nevertheless it was still intriguing to see how the story progressed.

The cast of characters is limited in Kimi no Sei, having as main protagonists Takaya and Yurina, and a few friends of these. The bullying in the childhood was mainly caused by Takaya, who did it in order to blend into the society, while Yurina was faced with the inability to trust the other gender. The secondary characters have almost no significant interaction with the protagonists, besides to create jealousy in the main characters.

The art of Kimi no Sei is well done. The characters design is what the reader is accustomed to see in a shoujo manga. Backgrounds are drawn when necessary, leading overall to an enjoyable read.

Kimi no Sei had an interesting idea, though it failed to transmit it in a believable way. The lack of character depth of both the main and secondary characters, with the unrealistic story progress was the biggest drawback of the manga. Nevertheless, if you can ignore this, Kimi no Sei is certainly worth a try, as it was enjoyable to see how the author developed the romantic relationship.

Thank you for reading.