Nousatsu Junkie

***Don't forget to check out my official blog for a more in depth review of this manga. Check my BIO on my profile for my blog!

Story: 7/10
Please read the synopsis first. Let's be clear, this manga is a shoujo manga and this type of conflict with our protagonist is not a first in anime/manga history. However, the story is still good. It separates itself from all the shoujo cliches that usually make up this type of story. The story had me HOOKED up until about halfway. After that, my binge reading had stopped because I felt like many of the same issues were repeated, and the story felt drawn out. Despite this, it was still a very enjoyable read. I feel as though this story is more of a coming-of-age or "life journey" type of story for many lovable characters, and that is why it is still enjoyable.

Art: 7/10
The art itself is nothing impressive. It is much better than I could ever do, and it certainly is not the worst; the art is good. If you were to see the arts compared to many other manga or anime though, the art style would not necessarily stand out. That is why I rated it a 7.

Character: 10/10
I feel like the characters is the part of this manga that truly stand out more than anything. We follow many characters, not just our main ones (Umi and Naka). I found myself relating to a lot of the problems, despite the fact they were in the modeling, artsy, and photography world. I cried with them, laughed with them, and followed the journey to them finding themselves. They are the most memorable part of this read.

Enjoyment: 7/10
I quite enjoyed this manga. Is it something I would want to read again? Probably not. However, it was a good read and I do not regret reading it at all. I would recommend this manga to anyone who enjoys shoujo manga that follows the characters closely, and has more than a few characters it follows.

Overall: 8/10
This is a very good manga. The characters make this manga what it is. The story and art aren't bad, they just aren't that memorable. However, I believe this manga deserves the 8 I have given it, because despite the cliche story, it is not a manga full of cliches. Very well done!

This manga is probably one of my favourites. I was surprised when I found out that it wasn't as popular as I thought, and this manga should really get more recognition for its coolness. ANYWAYS.

I love the story, this gender bender goes beyond the stereotypical sneak-into-a-school romance, instead it's about modelling.This story is humourous, captivating, and the romance is equally as enjoying with its characters. Even though the two main characters fall in love rather easily and earlier in the story, it's still entertaining.

The artist executes the art perfectly and personally, I am a fan of the clothing designs.

The characters are funny and unique, and they stray a bit away from your typical shoujo manga heroine. Naka, being a tall and pretty model, fails at smiling when she gets too nervous. Umi, a male pretending to be a female model, is quirky character who repeatedly insults Naka and is generally a rude and bad-tempered, softens as the manga processes.

I have definitely enjoyed this manga. The wonderful execution of romantic comedy, watching the main characters grow and see the story unfolds motivates me to keep on reading. I hope more English chapters release, as I will be keeping an eye out for this one.

I decided to edit my previous review and disregard my bias towards this manga. First of all, the story is original in small ways (such as the female lead unable to smile correctly) but is still enjoyable like other model based manga's. The characters, as the series goes on, are very much like teenagers trying to survive in the fierce entertainment light. And Fukuyama-sensei manages to combine both maturity and innocence in each of them. The artwork is very appealing, nothing skwed or makes you want to give up.

Overall, It's fun, sweet and generally a good read.

For a first serialization, this is impressive. I first read this a couple of years back, when the complete scanlation was not yet available. I enjoyed it, and when everything was translated read the rest feeling left satisfied. Charming Junkie is a shoujo manga first and foremost, and happens to be one with many shoujo tropes. That being said, the story handles them well, and the cliches are minimal. The story is basically Naka and Umi's journey and growth as models and eventual romance, with many more characters to help or harm them along the way. It's slightly like a coming of age manga in a sense.

It's simple yet effective, especially when you see how much the art improved over serialization. The art wasn't so bad in the beginning, aside from a few oddly drawn panels and proportions. One thing this mangaka does best is her reaction shots, which are hilarious. During the big reveal moments of Umi and Naka modelling, I was treated to truly lovely illustrations that really grasped how far the two had gone.

Naturally, this manga is not for everyone. Some people may be offput by how Naka and Umi's feelings develop for each other. At first, their relationship is one full of bickering and teasing, and its a wonder that the two even ended up together in the first place. The whole thing reads as a romcom in a way. However, I enjoyed their relationship so much because despite it's foundation, it grew into so much more. The way the two supported and encouraged each other, starting as the most unlikely of friends into something more, was great.

Currently re-reading this, and it's a series that I feel like is great to read once and then revisit in the future because of how enjoyable it is. Cliches it may have, but the way they're dealt with, and the many characters in the plot are ones that I feel like any fan of shoujo can grow to love. I don't mention the other characters so much, but they are also very notable for why thy contribute to the plot in their own right.

9/10 for me overall. Old but gold read. Check it out!

There are so many things I love about this manga. I am currently reading chapter 60 and all I can say is that it has been a beautiful ride.
As you can see in the synopsis this manga tell the story of the fateful encounter between a model with a scary face and a boy pretending to be a female model. But the truth is that there is so much more to this manga than what a short synopsis can tell you.
Honestly, I was starting to get tired of shoujo mangas. They were all the same: Love, love, love and more love. I wanted something deeper and I found it in Nousatsu Junkie.
It is incredible how well developed every character is, and how realistic the story gets.What I love the most about this manga is that every character has a goal to fight for and even when facing failure, because they fail many times, they are strong enough to keep moving forward. That is a real life lesson.
I also like the romance in this manga because of a very simple reason. Being in love is not an obstacle in the characters' life, but a force that pushes them to grow and to accomplish their goals in life.
If you are looking for a good shoujo manga with some depth to it, I would definitely recommend Nousatsu Junkie.

I just finished this manga and thoroughly loved the characters and the story plot line it was a really cute story for those who want a nice,sweet enjoyable story. Even though the manga is pretty long you should complete the whole thing and see for yourself if you really liked it or not. The art was very good depending on which source you get it from mine was a little blurry because mine wasnt on a good site but i still liked it.For characters the profiles are really cute and very well described and you can tell how their personalities come across. I enjoyed this to the fullest with so much fun and cute little romance lines too :]. Overall it was a really good read i think check it out for yourself and i hope you liked too. :] :] :]

I recently finished reading this manga and it got me really hooked up.

- The story is funny and romantic with the right amount of drama and seriousness. Although it's not like one of those type that you can say as "superb"romance manga, it is still very enjoyable to read. I like how the mangaka does not focus on the main characters only but instead gives everyone their own moment and a chance for character development as the story progressed.

- The art is great. I like how everyone is drawn especially Naka, her "criminal face" is super funny; (there was even a time when I laughed really loud because of her face expression practice) I also find her really beautiful during her photoshoots.

- Each characters personality are cute and unique. Considering their age as teenagers I find their personality pretty realistic especially in dealing about love and teenage life issues. All of the characters has their own strength and weaknesses. There is no character that really got in my nerves...well...except Umi maybe as I have a love/hate relationship with him, one moment I find him very charming and sweet and then next moment, I'm getting annoyed at him ( It really irritates me how he freaked out about body changes he might experience as a teenage boy and then became depressed in the next chapters bcoz his body is "not" changing like all other teenage boys... It got me saying "seriously! Umi, what do you really want?!")...My favorite character is Chihiro because he is funny and observant to everyone around him and treasure his friends :)

- Overall, if you want something refreshing to read, this manga is a must read ^^,

I recently finished reading all of the available chapters and I must say, I haven't read a manga this fantastic since Vampire Game.

The story starts out with Naka Kaburagi, a fourteen year old model who can't seem the get any jobs, mostly due to her inability to look "cute and less like a dangerous criminal". She decides to become like her role model, Umi. Upon running into Umi and picking up one of "her" belongings, she stumbles upon the secret that is mostly a base for the series.

Story 8/10: The story isn't horribly cliched like some things I've read, but has some cheesy parts that made me want to fangirl over. I really liked how the story mostly revolved around the two protagonists and how they slowly became comfortable with each other, supporting one another throughout the ups and downs of the manga. Some parts caused me to just close the tab out of anger, but eventually, I opened it again, mostly out of curiosity as to what would happen next and how the supporting characters would react to this new, "shocking" development.

Art 9/10: The art wasn't perfect, and what initially put me off greatly was the facial expressions. Throughout the 62 chapters I have read, I came to enjoy and occasionally giggle at the funny expressions. The art doesn't completely give the feel of "shojou", but there are some panels that just ooze it. Shojouness, that is. I very much liked how the mangaka drew all the clothing, even some of the scenes that required a lot of deformed persons. Other than that, the art was lovely.

Character 10/10: The greatest thing about this manga, in my opinion, was the character development. The characters have so much going for them, and I couldn't but hate some, but immediately love them a second later. The relationship factors between each character was great and I enjoyed seeing Naka and Umi grow closer and more trusting of each other. Some characters just pissed me off and I just wanted them to drop off the face of the earth. Some of the male characters (honestly, some? Most all of them are!) were really cocky and their interactions with the other (namely female) characters were extremely amusing. The character who I absolutely despise acts, heck, even looks like a pedophile. I won't disclose his name for spoiler purposes.

Enjoyment 10/10: I definitely enjoyed reading this. I loved the romance factor, fangirling whenever Umi did something ridiculously pervy to Naka. Honestly, at this point of 62 chapters and going, I think anyone would enjoy this, even a completely shojou-manga-despising person.

Overall 9/10: The story itself and everything in between sparked my interest. I love anything and everything about crossdressing, so this was definitely a must. I loved it so much I am considering getting every single English volume out. The characters are amazing and I love them all, 'cept that pedophile guy...

I would honestly recommend this to anyone, though some points may seem too inappropriate to a younger audience. I loved it absolutely and to bits, and I am sure anyone else would feel the same way.

i love how this story go. it's so simple yet exciting. i wondered how can this manga isnt populer. indeed, this is kind of cliche manga, but this manga is so lovely! once you start read it, no wonder if you dont want to stop. me too. when i read it i really really really dont want to stop. but, unfortunately, i need to go to school, so i stop read it for a few hours.

this manga is about a girl who cant smile, want to have a shining smile like the cute model umi, who is actually a boy! but the way author conveyed the story is so amazing. i even carried away, and, as i told you, dont want to stop.

the character too, i love it! umi is so cute and so cool and so handsome. i love how thick headed naka is. i love how tsundere umi is. i love how umi confessed and how naka react to it. i love how ikue provoked umi. i love everything about this manga.

maybe my review is subjective, but i dont have any problem with this manga. because this is my very favorite manga!!

i recommended you all to read this adorable manga!! you must! because this is one of the best manga ever!

I just recently finished reading the available chapters of this manga and I must admit it got me hooked up.I was searching for something fresh and entertaining after reading more serious stuff and "bumped" into this series.
The story is cute and although the gender bender detail is pretty weird,it's thins detail that actually makes this manga interesting!
What I most like about the manga is the relationship between the main characters,which gives the reader a confortable feeling.Naka is a girl full of complexes because people keep on telling her that she has a criminal-like face while Umi is a person that lives 2 completely different lives,being forced by the cicumstances to pretend to be someone else almost all the time.While becoming friends,the two of them start understanding each other and healing each other's pains.Naka finally founds somebody who accepts her together with her flaws,while Umi finally finds somebody to whom he can show his true self.After all,isn't this everyone wants to find?A place where you can be yourself,a place next to someone who understands you and accepts you the way you are?I think this is the main idea of this manga and this is the thing I like most about it.
The plot is also fun and it gets more and more interesting while the storyline evolves.So if you start reading it and don't find it interesting don't worry!Please give it a chance and don't drop it!If at first this manga seems pretty ordinary,you'll be surprised be the fact that it gets more and more fun!You'll get the chance to see really cute moment ^_^ and you'll find out surprising new parts of the characters' personalities and feelings (especially the boys').And if it doesn't seem interesting enough,how about the beginning of a love triangle?
As a conclusion,I think that if you are a shoujo manga fan , Charming Junkie is a promising manga that you should consider reading!Sorry for not giving other details,but they would have all turn into spoilers probably XD