Suki Desu Suzuki-kun!!

Status: Ongoing

Chibi love. It’s like everything else that is sweet and sugary presented to you in real life: either you ate it or hate it.

Suki Desu Suzuki-kun!! is that kind of a story. We’re introduced to Hoshino Sayaka, the shy megane girl with supreme acting skills, and Itou Chihiro, the popular and beautiful girl-next-door. And oh, of course, our protagonists—Suzuki Hikaru (to the right) and Suzuki Shinobu (to the left). Members of the school basketball team and as different as day and night.

...Quadruple drama, here we come!

Art – 7.2 / 10.0
Okay, I’ll be honest. I like cute things, but not chibi art. It’s fine in comedy shoujo moments. It’s adorable in shounen ones. But an entire story based on it... I don’t know. There’s the reason I put down Shugo Chara four chapters in.

The one thing that keeps me reading is how it’s obvious the story will not only revolve around their middle school days. Right from the get-go, we’re told that this is a blast to the past, rather than the story itself. In a style reminiscent of Cat Street, we’re promised some major character development (guess who was squealing about that?) and there in itself an art style change due to their aging (as you can see on the cover depicted above).

Plot/Concept – 9.6 / 10.0
What I think is really unique about this series is how we’re actually shown continuous progress over the years and how time changes people rather than it being an element necessary to move the plot forward. Without the use of time skips or hints of the past, we’re being actively told about their realistic development all the while we’re promised a plot twist. I think the storytelling in itself is pretty amazing in the way that we don’t get bored of reading, despite the fact that we know it’s just part of building the foundation for the actual plot. It’s a lot of fluff, true, but even despite its chibi art, the characters’ emotions become palpable and surprisingly real.

What I do find annoying, though, is how they tell us the ending pairing right from the get-go, there-in reassuring us of a happy ending. While most stories remain obvious with their endings, the promise of an alternate or open ending is always fuel for the fans. The tiny, last detail out of that chapter that blew open that veil of mystery entirely was completely unnecessary, in my opinion. Regardless, my interest is piqued.

Characters – 8.8 / 10.0
The two Suzuki-kuns and their respective crush are all special in their own way. Their personalities are refreshing but stereotypical, so it’ll be interesting to see how they develop; so far, they’re just cute, the whole bunch of them. This leaves us hanging in whether they will become more annoying further one post-plot twist, or if they’ll mature. With such focus on the coming-of-age aspect of this story, I’m hoping it’s the latter rather than the former.

Romance – 7.5 / 10.0
If ‘aww’-ing your brains out is your kind of thing, this romance is made for you. This early into the manga, it’s still too cute for me to be able to relate to it, albeit that in itself doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But you can tell things are going to grow more intense further on as the romance develops, and that is why I keep such a high score despite its clichéness—this type of romance is quite rare in the shoujo world. Rather than throwing in a bunch of random plot twists to progress the plot forward simply to give space to doki-doki moments, we’re shown how a relationship grows throughout the process of puberty. With the pending plot twist looming over our heads, it seems to be the perfect recipe for delicious drama.

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I have high expectations of this manga, and so far, it has yet to disappoint me. There’s definitely potential, and I’m more than willing to explore that potential. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for more development.

Overall Rating – 9.0 / 10.0

Credits for the scans: Shoujo World and Starlight Scans

24 Colors - Hatsukoi no Palette

Art-lover Kinoshita Nanaka enrolls into high school with childhood best friend Meiko, and promptly start off with becoming members in the art club. However, the club only consists of two guys—the upbeat and outgoing Kento, and the mysterious and introverted Chihaya. Both bishies, naturally! Just what exactly does high school have in store for these four art club members, one may wonder...? (Besides a lot of art-fapping, of course)

Art – 7.7 / 10.0
With such an art-centric story, I was probably expecting a bit more than what was delivered. Not to say that 24 Colors wasn’t pretty, because it was—but it’s a very stereotypical shoujo kind of pretty, with boys thin as sticks and eyes too large for their faces. Going more along the lines of moe rather than anything else, à countless of its predecessors and followers.

But what gives it a higher score though, is its subtlety. The story manages to convey its general atmosphere—the mystical and intriguing world of art—without going into the realm of abundant sparkles and flowers.

Plot/Concept – 4.9 / 10.0
This is where the story falls flat. I wouldn’t give it a low rating since it isn’t bad per se; just very, very predictable. There is little to no development, and the entire plot is just a set-up in order to host its moments of moe. No particular message is conveyed, and there is no overall meaning behind its concept. And you know every crook and turn of its plot advancements right from the get-go; it’s like a textbook shoujo.

Characters – 6.5 / 10.0
Low points for generic characters, plus points for not giving me any reason to hate them. Given more time and space (and actual essence), maybe I would have found myself liking them better, but with the frames we’re given in which they can develop, there’s little room to find anything particular remarkable about them. The characters simply don’t stick, and you forget about them as easily as you get to know them.

Romance – 2.1 / 10.0
This was the one thing I didn’t like at all about the story. I’m not much for love-at-first-sight scenarios, and this was just absurd. The emotional turmoil hardly fit the context. Everything progressed far too quickly. Unless you’re the kind that can understand this whole love-at-first-sight thing, it’s impossible to relate to the story.

It is pretty cute, however, how the expression of feelings through art is centric for the romance. It makes for a refreshing break from how manga characters usually sidestep around each other’s actions and try to guess at the intent behind it, leading to a bunch of misunderstandings: but we see that the characters themselves are pretty perceptive and can understand each other through their art.

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If you’re in for a light read, this isn’t half-bad. It’s not the kind of story that will grate on your nerves and it’s pretty sweet, but in terms of being memorable, this gets a pretty low score. Not something I’d pick up for a second read, but if you’re bored and wouldn’t mind indulging in a little break from all those intense, heart-racing manga you’re reading, this could be what you’re looking for.

Overall rating: 6.4 / 10.0

Credits for the scans: Nagareboshi Manga