This is the first review I actually tried to write seriously, so please give me some tips on what I should do to make it better, as I know this review is far from perfect. Arigatou. ~
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Kurohime was the first manga I ever read. (By the way, Rosario + Vampire was the first anime i've ever seen.) However, despite all the mangas I've read afterwards in my four years of . . . otakuness, for lack of a better word, Kurohime is still one of my favorites and I am just infuriated that it is not more popular.

So why should you bother to read it? It is, afterall, 80 chapters long. Well, the answers simple- Kurohime has one of the best storylines ever, extremely good art considering it was released in 2002, the best characters in the history of character developments, and was easily enjoyable. Despite all the new animes and mangas that I believe are my job to read and watch, I'm about to begin rereading Kurohime for the 7th time. And just in case you forgot, Kurohime is EiGHTY CHAPTERS LONG. That's like finishing Bleach or one of the other "Big Shonen Three" and then deciding to read it again. You'd have to seriously like it, and Kurohime is easily likable.

The story is basically one of those typical plots with several chapters for one arc where a problem arises while the main character is travelling and they solve it. This itself is nothing worthy of praise. However, when you add in the fact that the aforementioned characters are a cursed witch and a male that is amazing at using guns, then it gets a little more interesting. Then toss in the fact that the witch is cursed because she tried to take on the gods and now she is sort of stuck in a preteen's body and can only go back to her original, kick ass body when she feels true love. . . which is exactly what the male, Zero, is for. Although this does sound a little intriguing, Kurohime doesn't sound worthy of a rating of 10/10 yet, right? Well, I'm not finished.
The characters are extremely unique. They're like a rare, naturally blue rose among a bunch of weeds. The witch I spoke of before (named Kurohime. Duh.) doesn't really fit into just one category. She's not really a tsundere- although she does appear mean, rude, and even cold at times, but can be nice (although hardly ever) too. Everything she does, you can see why she does it- and she also has one of the best character developements I've ever seen. You know why she challenged the gods and how, why she got cursed, how she is the way she is, why her enemies hate her, all of that stuff. The best part is that the author manages to find the perfect time to squeeze these flashbacks in so they aren't just random things popping up out of no where leaving you wondering what the hell did you just read. In addition, Zero, the guy accompanying her, has an equally amazing past. You'll find out how come he's so good with guns, why he bothered following someone as seemingly annoying as Kurohime and especially why he fell in love with her, where he got his sense of justice, and a bunch of stuff. However, the author knows exactly what things to leave out to keep the tension and make it mysterious but not like something done on a whim or to fit the standards. Speaking of mysterious, I love Kurohime's art. I loved the ways everything was drawn when it was a funny scene, because then whatever the hell the characters are doing just got hilarious'd ten times. That also goes for the more serious and dark moments. Again considering the fact that Kurohime was released in 2002, the art is seriously amazing. What's even better is that despite the art being perfectly fine at the beginning, it got even better as time went on. In addition, later on in the series, the manga starts to hit the more intense parts, and then the way Kurohime is told and drawn makes me feel like I've been dropped into a manga utopia, and this was like what every romance-related manga aimed to be. The one bad thing was this manga wasn't long enough for me. . . I wanted more. I mean, the manga was ended just fine, nothing wrong with it, but when you love something, you obviously want more, right? I was rereading this series a bunch of times for a reason, afterall. However, I don't think I could stand this manga being continued and me having to wait god-knows-how-long before the next chapter/volume was released either. . .

Anyway. Mahou Tsukai Kurohime is like a classic to me, sort of the way Cinderella, Nemo, and The Lion King are to most children and Call of Duty, Halo, Assassins Creed, and Black Ops are to most teenagers. This manga covers some popular genres, as far as i can tell- comedy,romance, fantasy, action/adventure, bits of horror and even josei. (Although to be honest, I don't really have a firm grip on the idea of josei manga/anime though. . . I just think of it as realistic stuff, and in a way, Kurohime is.)