Story

At first I found Tsubomi, the main character, frustrating, but I quickly related to her when she began to think about positively changing herself. I loved that this story felt real, and that it was relatable on many different levels (that I didn’t expect). All this being said, I found the plot at times was slow moving, spending too much time on little points that weren’t interesting. Certain points that were the cause of conflict were not very compelling, making them unimportant and not interesting to developing the plot. Although these are problems, they’re not major issues to the overall effect of the story.

Characters

The cast of characters are all very different in the story. There are many foils that play off of Tsubomi’s character which work with varying effect. The main highlight is on Tsubomi and Shiro’s relationship as friends. Shiro’s character is very likeable, as he easily becomes someone you can imagine being a real guy friend of your own. His character is natural and his characteristics follow naturally from the simple clues you are given about him. The mangaka does a good job of not over-complicating conversation and interactions between characters; we get subtle clues about their personalities and come to judgments about what type of person they are based on those moments. We don’t need in-depth analyses, but rather we can use real-world examples to understand each character’s role in a young woman’s life such as Tsubomi’s. A lot is left to the imagination which makes particular characters strong in that regard. Being left with a few questions behind intentions is compelling, and it leaves us thinking critically about the roles people have in our own lives.

Presentation

Unfortunately Cousin isn’t the most gorgeous manga out there. At times it looks a bit sloppy, there’s a lot of white space and overused backgrounds. The art style however is unique as it doesn’t over embellish physical features and displays things in a more realistic tone. Tsubomi’s character is convincingly plain, contrasting her well against the made-up female counterparts she’s often comparing herself to. Each character has a unique design that compliments their personality. It offers a refreshing simplistic art style, but it falls prey to messy drawings with generic backgrounds, both leading to an overall lack luster presentation.

Conclusion

here are many great aspects to this manga series that made it a stand out pick. Its relatable protagonist and well thought-out storytelling kept me interested while offering an interesting art-style that rejects over-romanticized art (one that often plagues many romantic manga series). It has few flaws, and from my overall experience of reading the manga I was willing to overlook them and go along with Tsubomi’s journey.

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