Sometimes you need to dabble in a little stupid. I did. And now I have no intention to indulge in any smart.
I will make this short. I cannot contain much smart to better elaborate thoughts. Aizawa-san has the same mangaka as Fujimura-kun Mates, which I both liked and disliked. For some reason I expected some sort of miracle where I could enjoy this somewhat more, when I didn’t by the end. It was more of the same, almost as though I read the same manga twice. Except I didn’t. I don’t think.
There’s a certain level of self-indulgence here that’s hard to defend with a story like this. A girl likes a boy—can you guess why? Is it because he’s nice? You’re so smart. This girl, for some reason, multiplies into different beings of the same form based on her personalities. Does this mean anything? Not really. Some are used as plot devices, but usually they just fuck around with the male lead in a way the original Aizawa wouldn’t have the presence to. It’s the kind of shit a pestering little sister who fantasizes about playing matchmaker would partake in in that trope-y way. I hated it in Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and I don’t care for it here.
To its credit, this manga does not take itself very seriously. It’s almost to the level of parody, except the atmosphere does turn somewhat dark in moments, only to be upended by a really stupid comment or resolution. Also to its credit, the comedy can be rather amusing, notably when the characters are mean-spirited. People are too scared to be mean anymore. Some of the best comedy is mean-spirited. That’s why Tosh.0 is so popular. Probably. The best moments of Aizawa-san come when the comedy is over the top and the characters break their personas to exert it. Even so, the weight of this story can be appropriately measured with a spoon.
I didn’t expect much. What I got was yet another silly story under my belt that kind of felt like nothing by the end but a blissful distraction during. Memories of reading the other work by this mangaka back when I was more naive about Japanese media made this a somewhat tender pick-up. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t advise reading this unless one knows exactly what they’re getting into: dumb fun. And the “fun” in that is debatable.
Final Score: 5/10
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