[Spoiling content free but will set some flags]

There isn't another story I've read so far that has made me rub my head as hard as I've had than Nozoki Ana. I am sorry for not seeing this through to the end but I really can't and don't want to read another page any time soon, and I'm going to explain why with this review.



Nozoki Ana isn't an average ecchi or rather, hentai manga. The author seems to have the plot thought out well and it was fairly engaging, originally. For the first 40 or so chapters (about half of all I've read), I was able to occasionally predict how the major events would turn out and I think this is mostly due to the main character - Kido being somewhat easy to relate. I felt for him, our emotions were in tune and we both saw exactly where he had made bad decisions. That's all good because I find this synchronisation enjoyable, as if I'm in his mind.


Up to this point, the Story is fair. As I've mentioned before, it was sad to watch his mistakes unfold into disasters but there's always some comforting at the end. The characters are fine, I could relate to Kido's thoughts. His friends are lacking in presence but can easily be overlooked anyway. The center is always Kido, his peeping neighbour (unpredictably troublesome) and his love/sex interest (always lovable). So far it's enjoyable and I've spent whatever free time I have to continue reading.


From somewhere in chapter 40-50 to beyond, the story brighten up well and it really dragged me into it further. Tears of joy were shedded, for an ecchi manga. I was so glad to be reading this. I was loving it, so very much. Whether it's the story where problems were satisfyingly resolved or the relationship between the characters being strengthen.



However, however, I really really regret reading past around chapter 75-80. Maybe I should've read some reviews before I read the manga but I didn't. If you haven't read past those chapters yet, I beg you to please stop around here. Sorry, I might just be reflecting too much of my own dread into this review but if you are not too well versed with dread, please do not read past chapter 80. I'm going to start explaining without revealing too much now.


To me, it felt like the author, changed. Kido's thought process became different. I couldn't grasp the reason of his decisions. I was, desynchronised from him and from that, I started to lose the story. And then, it headed further down south. As I've hinted before, I was very connected to the story just before and at this point, it's as if the author yanked all of it away from me and flung me out of the story like an extreme rollercoaster suddenly decided to derail from its sharpest turn, with me on it. Maybe I can also liken this to a heartbreak but it happened so quickly my heart was disintegrated without a speck of trace. Not to veer to far off, the author suddenly added a lot of plot devices in a span of too few chapters. And this broke me and my engagement to the story. Chapter 75-80.


My rating for the STORY dropped to 3, surely they still follow a logical order, AFTER an illogical turn.
ART remained somewhat consistent throughout all I've read, about an 8. It's a different style to other mangas. I think it made facial expressions more easily exaggerated but still acceptable and more importantly still enjoyable. They do sometimes look odd. As for the art of body-drawing, I have no complaints.
CHARACTERS at this point was disappointing, a 3 or 4. As said before, Kido started making too much illogical choices, his peeping neighbour remained consistent and his current love interest remained very lovable. The center is at Kido and the point of view has always been him. Therefore, his relationship with others is the main determinating factor of my score here, and at this point, his relationship with other major characters was overly problematic and could've been avoided.
ENJOYMENT dropped of course, 1 is fitting. I HATE the turn the author had made for the story. I might never continue where I left off. I am sad and I want to cry when I think about it. I once had a month long of nightmares from watching 2 horror movies and I'd rather have that than to ever be reminded of how this manga took a wrong turn.


OVERALL, for the whole manga that I've read, 5. I've always been indecisive and I'm soft on giving low scores but I also didn't finish this story. I don't like unfinished stories but to have me not want to finish one, this is a first. I'm sorry, Kido and I'm sorry Emiru but I can't. Nozoki Ana started off with decent speed, rarely slowing down, then took off and reached a paradise that I enjoyed every moment of. But illogically, it then decided to teleport into the nothingness of space. The sudden change suffocated me, to death.



Chapter 75-80.