For the longest time the romcom/harem genre is something that I have always enjoyed watching and reading. Every season there seemed to be a new “waifu war” airing, and based on watching those particular shows I would always check out the source material if I found it interesting enough. Bokuben was one of those seasonal waifu wars that I actually did decide to pick up reading after watching the first episode. I caught up on the manga within a couple of days of watching the first episode, and let me say that I am so glad that I was able to read this manga.

1. Story (9/10)
If you are looking for some groundbreaking or genre-breaking story, then I’m sorry Bokuben is not the story for you. Bokuben uses a lot of common tropes and cliches to tell its story, however if you don’t mind that or appreciate those types of stories then you may actually enjoy Bokuben. For me personally, I don’t always 100% enjoy when animes/mangas just dump cliches for plot, but for Bokuben it really was one of the most enjoyable parts about it. For example, one particular chapter that I loved was the chapter in which Nariyuki’s mother couldn’t make it to work, in which he proceeds to take her spot for the day. Little does he know that his mother was working at a lingerie shop, and that he would get stuck alone in that shop while also stuck in a costume that hides his identity. And of course every single one of the main female characters would proceed to walk in and ask for help one by one. Despite it being cliche and having these crazy one in a million types of encounters, I couldn’t help but smile and enjoy these small and simple interactions that happen throughout the course of this series. And although I have only talked about these small moments and plot elements, the moments in which the series actually turns serious and wants to establish things is done really well too.

2. Art (8/10)
The art in Bokuben is really good. The character designs, both main and side characters, are drawn really unique and all have their own charm. All of the female characters are drawn in a way that really makes them stand out from each other and the rest of the characters. The reason that the art is not rated higher is that the art for Bokuben cannot compare to the other shonen powerhouses that also publish in Weekly Shonen Jump, but at the same time, it really doesn’t need super crazy double panels to portray its story adequately. All of the artwork from the beginning to the end is solid and doesn’t waver in quality.

3. Character (10/10)
The one aspect of Bokuben that impresses me the most is the characters. Personally, in most romcom/harem series, I typically always only really like one of the girls and at most two. But in Bokuben, there was a certain point in which I really liked each of the five girls as the best girl. Something that Tsutsui-sensei did really well with this series that stands out above most other series in this genre is really give a platform for all of the characters to grow and shine. Nisekoi, for example, has a similar amount of girls as Bokuben, however as a reader you know at a pretty early point which girls that the main character was going to end up with, meaning that any development between the mc and those side characters were really just useless side plots. However, in Bokuben, all the girls are well-defined and all go through their own personal development throughout the course of the story. All of the girls work well both together as well as individually and all of their development is towards both the characters personally as well as their feelings towards the mc. I don’t want to spoil anything, but no matter which girl you pick you will be satisfied that the author does that character justice in the end.

4. Enjoyment (10/10)
When it comes to just about every romcom/harem series, I always enjoy the ride, but always the ending is the thing that overrides everything because I either get really happy or really salty based on how the author ends the series. I’m not gonna lie, in most cases I am on the salty side because the girl that I think is the best girl almost never wins, so when those particular mangas end, I always end up not liking it in the end because of the recency bias. Without saying too much, I can say that with the ending of Bokuben, I was very happy and satisfied in the way that Tsutsui-sensei decided to end this series. It was a pretty unique ending that I have never read or watched from another series in this genre and I promise no matter which character that you like, you won’t be disappointed with the ending. Everything that happens throughout Bokuben, whether it be the small cliche in-between moments, or the deeper moments of development that occur throughout the story, they all compile into a great story with tons of enjoyable moments.

5. Overall (10/10)
Honestly, Bokuben is a fantastic series that really stands out among other romcom/harems for its development and use of ALL characters rather than just a select few. The ending sequence that Tsutsui-sensei chose to do was really great and I hope that future series consider doing the same, because it would make the series a lot more enjoyable in the end for everyone. Thank you Tsutsui-sensei for the great ride and I look forward to your future works.