Gimme_Apen9

I could talk about One Piece for hours, and I wouldn't get bored, and neither I could explain what I feel about this manga. I literally fell in love with it! A mammoth manga like this can only have 10. It is obvious that every work has its flaws, even One Piece, but this work has everything I look for in a complete work, mixed with barrel, plot, mysteries, themes that reflect reality, tears and laughter. I was a little held back from putting 10 because it is not finished yet, but for now I think it deserves this high rating, a work that still continues to row straight for more than 20 years and does not show any signs of wanting to stop getting excited and keep us on the thorns! And then there is Eichiiro Oda who in this manga puts all his passion and works like a madman, and I hope he does not disappoint us with the ending like someone else did. We just have to wait and see what adventures still await us. But in the meantime .... READ ONE PIECE!

If you were a bully, would you try to change who you were? If you were a victim of bullying, would you forgive your assailant? Koe no Katachi (literally translated “The Shape of Voice” in English) by Ooima Yoshitoki details the story of Ishida Shouya, and his growth from a savage terror in elementary school, concerned only with satisfying his own need for stimulation, to a young man with concern and empathy for those around him.

We’re first introduced to Shouya as a child, performing a “test of courage” with his friends. You see, dear reader, Shouya is afraid of boredom. School is boring, stagnating is boring, living is boring, so he has to do something to cut through that cloud of drivel. What does he do? He jumps off of bridges. He pours salt on slugs. He eggs his two best friends on into getting into the same sort of trouble that he does. Shouya is a problem child, and this is made very clear from the very beginning of Koe no Katachi. When he meets Nishimiya Shouko, a deaf girl who transfers into his elementary school, he does not treat her like a person – he treats her like a tool to alleviate his boredom. He yells in her ear, pours dirt on her, and tosses out her hearing aids, not thinking for a moment that she is just another human being. No, she’s an alien from the planet Nishimiya, and she doesn’t understand human speech.

Still interested in this manga? Hopefully, you are. The first part of Koe no Katachi is written so realistically that we can only feel hatred for Shouya as he goes through the motions of his existence. His behaviour toward Shouko and his sudden realization that what he has been doing is wrong is portrayed so masterfully as to be simply exceptional. This primarily unlikable child, Shouya, is the main character of this story, and this story is about his redemption as he transforms from a bully into a good human being. We watch him as he ruins his life, and we watch him try to build it back up again. His development is handled marvellously. His desire to better himself and help his mother (as well as Shouko, when he encounters her again later on) is commendable, and his ability to face the facts and stand his ground despite the shame and hatred he feels toward himself is nothing short of amazing.

However, since Shouya is the narrator of our story, he is also an unreliable one. We don’t learn much about Shouko due to his influence. Now, some people may complain that it is because Shouko is poorly developed as a character. I disagree. I think it is more because we see Shouko through Shouya’s eyes, and Shouya himself doesn’t know very much about her. The only thing he can see is her expressions and what she says through her hands. That is all we can use to infer how she feels and what she thinks. And, for the most part, she is very expressive. It isn’t too difficult to guess what her emotions are based on the way her eyes blaze or which way her mouth curves – up or down. What about the more intricate thought patterns, you ask? Well, that’s all up to our own interpretation, and Shouya’s, too, which is where we begin making mistakes, and where the majority of the problems our hero faces stems from.

We have the same amount of information about the other characters in the manga (of which there are numerous), but these characters speak with their voices, which is why we find them to be more readily understandable (and Shouya as well, by extension). None of the characters fall into regular tropes such as tsundere or yandere – although it could be argued that Ueno has traits of both – and they all feel like very real people. They are likable and dislikable just like regular old individuals. Some of the most important characters we come across are Ueno Naoka, Kawai Miki, and Sahara Miyoko, all of whom were Shouya’s classmates when he was a child.

Ueno, at first, seems like a fairly pleasant girl, until we learn how bratty and spoilt she is. She joins right in with bullying Shouko, and indeed doesn’t seem to grow up, as she carries her hatred with her all the way into high school. While she is definitely a dislikable character, she is a well-crafted one. She understands her flaws and she wants to change who she is, but she doesn’t know how to and isn’t sure how to move forward. Moreover, her own motivations trump any sort of misgivings she has for her own behaviour, and while she may do a lot of things wrong, she also does some things right. She is forefront, honest, and blunt. She speaks her mind, and in some ways is a true driving force for the plot later on.

Kawai may be kawaii in appearance, but personality-wise she is anything but. Giving off the façade of a well-to-do honour student, Kawai breezes through life by doing whatever best benefits her and her vision of the world. While not as influential a character as Ueno, she certainly has her part to play in Koe no Katachi, as you’ll see once you read it. Sahara is a shy bookworm sort of character who warms up to Shouko the best in elementary school, although her attempts at making contact are ruined by peer pressure and psychological abuse. She is one of the characters who truly tries to make Shouya portray how much he has changed as a person.

The rest of the haphazard group is composed of Nagatsuka Tomohiro, Mashiba Satoshi, and Nishimiya Yuzuru. Nagatsuka wants to become a movie director, and his attempts at making a movie are what draw the characters together in the first place. Mashiba is one of the people Nagatsuka drags in to his dream. Yuzuru, meanwhile, is Shouko’s younger sibling, and enjoys taking pictures.

No character roster of Koe no Katachi would be complete without naming Shouko and Shouya's mothers. Both are very well designed characters, Nishimiya especially, and they both showcase different forms of love to their children.

This manga is riddled with hints, foreshadowing, and seemingly insignificant or confusing phrases and expressions. Certain heart-tugging events that may leave you stunned and at a loss for words may seem very natural and even inevitable when you take into account the main character’s lack of understanding of the situation and the cryptic messages we were privy to earlier. The second part of the manga, detailing Shouya’s growth as a person while he tries to make amends to Shouko, mixes the genres of drama, psychology, and slice of life together in a wonderfully immersive tale. The third portion of the manga is just as well-written, if more drama-filled than the relatively tame second part. Nothing changes the fact that the author seems to have a very good understanding of the mind. While she certainly could have made this manga darker, it is very good for what it is, and realistic enough that it doesn’t need anything more depressing to be considered a masterpiece.

Ooima Yoshitoki is a very good artist. Koe no Katachi has stellar art for a manga published on a weekly basis, with very few inconsistencies and no deterioration in quality that I have been able to notice. Both characters and backgrounds are detailed, and each character has a distinctive design to make them stand out from the rest. Characters are actually fairly realistic looking apart from Nagatsuka. Screentones are used to their full potential and there are definitely no cuts and corners taken when it comes to the artwork.

What can I say about Koe no Katachi, in closing? It was certainly an amazing ride and I’m glad I came along for it. While it does have its issues here and there, one must take into account that this is the debut work of a very young author. It is truly an exceptional manga with the subject matter it tackles and the quality it is written, and I wholeheartedly label it a must-read for anyone interested in literature in general. Remember, kids, no matter what mistakes you’ve committed in the past, if you regret them and see them as they are, you’re a good person. Don’t be afraid of facing your fears, because that is only the first step of the journey you’re about to take. Growing up is a painful process – but we all have to do it. And at the end, you’ll reach a door. You know what you’ll find behind that door? Your future, yours to take into your own hands, as bright as you are able to make it. You can only help yourself as long as you are alive.

Plainly put, this is garbage.

This is the type of story writing and story telling that is killing the writing industry.
It's a story disguised as a complex one, but at the core, it is simple beyond belief.

The twists and turns of the plot are simply there to briefly trick you even though you've already known the outcome of a certain event.

All its "complexity" just seems like the author getting new ideas and then cramming that idea into the story, realizing it doesn't end in a favorable outcome, and then finding ridiculous ways to explain why the favorable outcome was achieved.

This is just over-hyped beyond belief.

--An update--
I never imagined my review would get top.
I've had countless angry fans raid my inbox and comments. Most want to just berate me, but some do want more information. For those few people, I will add some more:

The interaction and dialogue between characters seems off. To me, they do not communicate like a normal person. I know they are meant to be odd people, but the writing made it difficult to understand or even become interested in what they had to say. The best way I could describe it is if aliens came to Earth and only studied humans via anime. And then they tried to write a story based around two awkward anime characters, that's what this felt like.

Some people have pointed out that it is due to bad translation. My first language is Japanese, I read all Japanese literature untranslated.

As stated before, the "complexity" is just a mess. The many "rules" of the world are not defined, but this seems to be very intentional, but not to provide "mystery" or "twists". It seems as though the author made it so they can add or modify rules for their needs. The "twists" only seek to surprise us without adding any value to the plot. Situations in the novel change, drastically at times, for no apparent reason but only to meet the author's objective. This is a classic blunder by bad writers. They have a beginning and an end, but they don't know how to write the middle to tie the two. "the man fell off the cliff...but didn't die because a dragon saved him! and the dragon never comes back into the story"

Hope this helps

For those who love the retro manga from the 80s, I highly recommend this one. Luckily, I came across this manga when I was tidying my brother bookshelf. The original Japanese version includes two volumes (but for the Thai version I have, it has one volume, which combines the original volumes together). The story (by Marley Caribu, 狩撫麻礼, who sadly passed away in 2018) concluded the atmosphere of the 80s + jazz lover. The main protagonist (Reiji Ariyama), a Vietnamese war veteran professional killer (also a talent pianist) tried to seek the meaning in his life after returning from the war through jazz music. The author and illustrator (Tadashi Matsumori, 松森正) could combine the taste of 80s along with the action storytelling well.

So can I just say one thing here, ‘Oh god the triangle of romance.’ This manga seriously had twists and turns that made the little fan girl in me swoon a bit in that it is about two people who seem to be fighting to not be seen as homosexual all because of the feelings they had for people of the same gender. I know, confusing right? Well that was what I felt trying to piece it all together. Basic idea, Tsukasa liked a guy he was somewhat rivals with; his teacher had a crush on her upper classmen though both say it’s not in that way. Now they both have a person of the opposite gender that they want to be with, though because of past experiences, they are scared. So what is the normal response to get over the phobia with someone that has the same phobia? Let’s do it together and act as a couple! Ya… it made very little sense for me too.

The two of them get together to try and combat each other’s ‘phobia’s’ but seriously, it’s a rather cliché idea for a story, one you would probably figure out the ending to. And hence the name ‘Sexless Friend’ comes into play in the story because they want to make sure that it’s without sex. Of course, since it is an Ecchi, we have a whole manner of images pertaining to sex even if they aren’t doing it for real. You know; nude images that go through the perverted mind of a guy. And because of how the relationship is kept secret, we have the problem of people misunderstanding what is going on outside the relationship. I want to say it’s a lot like Please Teacher in that respect. Hell, it’s like a lot of shows and manga that have that same sort of story line. Although I do have to laugh at the comedy, it does get a little to predictable that I wish they did something else.

Now on the other side of the spectrum, the ending was a bit surprising and was not that predictable. The ending made me laugh at how I thought it was going to end up because you wouldn’t be able to figure it out without reading it. It was short but I feel just right as they didn’t let the jokes become old and stale. They kept feeling slightly refreshing to read even though you knew what was going to happen in each scenario except the ending.

The artwork is rather good looking except the fact that the mail character doesn’t seem to look like he would be the most popular boy. I don’t see what’s so great about him that all the girls have themselves going gaga and calling him prince. He looks like an average guy compared to the rest of the guys in the show. His personality doesn’t seem to stand out; he’s just a nice guy. So why is he so popular? The shading with the pantones and lines are really nice, everything is super detailed in that aspect down to the slightest little detail but I have to wonder if it really needed that much work. It’s wonder, I can’t stop that, but some of the tiny detail didn’t need to be shaded to the max. I won’t faultier it though as I like when they put time into the artwork. The design for their teacher is pretty much like a child who makes me wonder why people are so into manga with a character that looks like a loli child as a teacher rather then an adult.

To be honest, this manga is to waste your time when you wait for your other manga chapters to be released. Don't expect that much from it. Just your classic Isekai story where the MC reborn into a new world that it's incredibly OP.

The story overall is quite, strange but what do you expect from Japan :') I'll let you readers find out what this manga has to offer but that's truly it. If you have spare time, give it a read.

The art style is actually decent, something that looks very pleasing for the eyes, including all the delicious fan service you get ;) Certainly enjoyed some chapters because of this.

Overall I'm giving the Manga a 5/10, but there is still plenty of time to improve because I'm writing this review when it only has 31 Chapters.

NOTE: I have only read 2 of the 5 chapters, so this review isn't going to be as full or detailed.

~STORY: 7~
To be completely fair, I haven't read all of Kanojo no Honnou's chapters, so I gave this manga a slightly higher ranking than I should have. The stories were very predictable, firstly. And speaking for myself, I hate mangas that I can easily predict (and I am not quick-witted). It was also pretty simple and plain. Nothing stood out for me, but it wasn't too boring that I just had to stop. On a quick side-note, there is hardly any smut. So please don't be disappointed if you wanted a lot of that.

~ART: 8~
The art was this manga's strongest point. It was really beautiful. I love how this mangaka drew the characters' hair. Such detail sets high-standards for many other shoujo mangakas. The scenery was too simple and plain, though.

~CHARACTER: 6~
Unfortunately, the characters weren't creative. For typical shoujo mangas, the girls are usually whiny and cry a lot. I expected that, and that's exactly what I got. The girls were the stereotypical "shy, weak, and fragile" type, and the guys were the "cool, popular, and hot" type. I was fairly disappointed.

~ENJOYMENT: 8~
Nonetheless, somehow this manga was really enoyable. Actually, for you single maidens (like me *laughs*), Kanojo no Honnou will make your heart throb and melt.

~OVERALL: 7~
Okay story, amazing artwork, and great enjoyment, Kanojo no Honnou is a great manga. It really is a cliché plot, but is a good read. Really, it's a love-or-hate manga. You could love the way the characters are percieved, or you could hate the over-used, cliché plot. Some of us like that *laughs.*

Great start, great characters, awful finish. I assume it got axed, but even then, this is an awful way to end a manga.

The premise isn't too horribly original: struggling mangaka gets a new editor who is quirky but dedicated, and falls for them. The genders are reversed from some of the other struggling mangaka stories I've read before (Comic Studio, Koimoku), but the basic ideas are the same: to make it as a mangaka you need to pull all-nighters, you need to pay attention to detail, you need to be creative, you need to balance your artistic impulse with the readers' preferences, etc.

Pen to Chocolate starts out a pretty good version of this story. The mangaka and the editor are both likable characters, with their own little personality quirks that make them funny and interesting. The mangaka's attraction to the editor is explained well, despite the fact that he is pretty much a geek and a slob. They do a good job of introducing and discarding other romantic interests.

And all the while, the editor is slowly helping the mangaka become better at her job. Supposedly.

Except that then the last few chapters hit. And everything we thought we knew about the mangaka's career trajectory turns out to be wrong. And then there are time skips. And more time skips. And suddenly they try to pull out a "happily ever after" ending, except the author never explained how it happened and also left the romance completely ambiguous.

Just awful.

I understand that sometimes manga--even otherwise pretty good manga like this one--get axed and need a rush-job ending. This is a case study in how NOT to do it.

6/10

I'd like to preface this review by saying this manga is best read by readers who aren't looking for anything serious, who can laugh at silly situations, who enjoy misunderstandings, and anything else familiar a high school "romance" comedy.

Story - 6 - Fair
It's a comedy manga with cliche events as a baseline, so of course it won't be very thrilling. However, very fun anticipating what Tsujiura will do in the situations she's put in. Events unfold in an order you'd expect, and they like to introduce characters every few chapters so it doesn't get stale. The whole reason why this story is happening in the first place is quite enjoyable as well (She has to pretend to be a waifu when she's really a super strong fighter/bully? Yes please!)

Art - 8 - Very Good
The art is great, in the way that it conveys the over-exaggerated situations the characters are put in excellently. The facial expressions the characters use are perfect for this type of manga. The illustrations used when characters are explaining something to another character are quite enjoyable as well (especially when a sister joins the crew).

Character - 6 - Fine
Characters are fine for a manga like this. They each have their specialties and weaknesses and they interact with each other in a very fun way. Even the un-detailed student body that usually watches on from the sidelines are fun to have around.

Enjoyment - 10 - Outstanding
I LOVE silly, over-the-top comedy manga. Even if I have a general idea of what will happen next, it doesn't beat the artist's visual representation and dialogue of each and every situation. Can't wait for the rest to be translated!

At first the story and art may be kind of plain, but the true treasure in this story comes near the end. There might not be romance, but there definitely is a sense of a deep love that isn't realized until you truly look and consider things. The beauty of the story is in the girl and her relationship with her father. Since it's a one-shot, the story can't possibly convey the characters' personalities, however the author wonderfully expresses one human emotion in the main character, and that and her situation spoke to me deeper than a simple shojo love series. Lastly, this couldn't be called a good one-shot without making the reader reflect on life and reexamine appearances. (P.S. Loved the metaphors)