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Why is this so popular again?


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15 replies to this topic

#1
greeneaster

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I get that it's supposed to be a sweet love story between an innocent young couple but honestly I'm a bit confused why this series is so popular... I've put reading this on-hold as of chapter 17 because there's basically 0 character development in the main character, I can't even remember her name... she doesn't speak, we don't know her thoughts except for vague "I like him" statements followed by sweeping dramatic-looking panels and longing looks on her face and her love interest's which holds no depth beyond the astoundingly cliche "oh he doesn't like me but now he does" sentiment.

 

The art is gorgeous eye-candy and all but if the story/character development doesn't get any better after this then I'm dropping it... if anyone could convince me not to do that I might give it a shot because honestly I still have hope for this even though I'm extremely disappointed so far...



#2
Purple Library Guy

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Well, no, this sort of thing is always a matter of taste.  I can see your point.  For me though, in a subtle way there is a fair amount of character development here. Part is from people's actions and reactions.  What a person decides to do has always been a good tool for showing character, but it doesn't work if there is no character to reveal and so they react just like every other.  Here I do feel that there are gradations of Suiren's decisions that give dimension to her quietness.  Aside from that, for me the art itself is so good that it reveals a lot more about the characters' feelings and thoughts than a typical mangaka could; I feel like I'm absorbing an understanding of Suiren, for instance, just from subtle shifts in expression.

In real life there are quiet people who do have personalities and it's hard to point to just how you figure out what they're like, but you do.  Portraying something like that is I think very hard to pull off in manga; at any rate it's very rarely attempted.  So I like that, find it interesting.

Plus, I'm a sucker for very pure vanilla romance.  I actually like that this kind of goes back to the roots of shoujo romance and tells the simplest story--no cynicism, no triangles, no weird plot complications, no bizarre character backgrounds, just two people and romantic feelings.  Again, this simplicity is hard to pull off because it leaves just the bare characters and their simple interactions carrying the story; if you don't do it very well indeed that won't be enough.  In this case, for you it wasn't enough.

One could argue that I'm handwaving furiously here and the basic reason I'm still reading this is I just can't get enough gorgeous art of Suiren looking ludicrously sweet and cute.  There would probably be some truth to such a charge, but I do think there's something to what I've been saying.



#3
Vueiy

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I largely agree w/ Purple Library Guy (I find I often do, lol).  It's a sweet, innocent love story.  The main characters are unapproachable in their own ways, and both also have problems interacting w/ the opposite sex, which keeps their relationship moving at a slow pace, but the fact that they both want to continue this relationship gives us a chance to watch them grow and learn.  Also, it's just pure cuteness.

  :batoto_022:



#4
MelisaArtemis

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Not sure about the others but to me it is down to the fact that I'm tired of reading those "Romance" mangas which are rife with love triangles, cheating, and all that jazz. This manga actually gives me a fresh and sweet feeling while reading the subtle but straight-forward love story between Kawasumi and Suiren, the fact that the art and characterization are cute as hell just makes it better.



#5
firedragon099

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I think the fact that it is so much more subtle than all the other romance mangas out there is the #1 thing. And since it's so subtle it is so much more complex because you can more or less add in your own personal commentary into it. if that makes any sense. lmao



#6
omnipwnage

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I guess it may also be because it's so sickeningly sweet. And because of the characters personalities and age (naivety) I can't see this ending in anything less than tragedy... eventually.



#7
Purple Library Guy

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Well . . . people falling in love and living happily ever after is not really that uncommon in real life.  I mean, around 50% of marriages end in divorce--but that would mean the other 50% don't.  Factor in some single people and you've still got like one in five people or so happy enough with each other to stick together their whole lives.  And plenty of others have a pretty good run.

Being simple and pure of heart probably actually helps rather than hurts.  Less likely to cheat or mess each other up.



#8
IzaWen

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Well, you may think there's no character development, but I think it does... Little by little she starts to talk more to people, it may seem stupid, but I myself always had problems to talk with other people, I didn't intend to, but when I did talk with people that are not my friends or family, they never understood me because of the volume of my voice, and it just makes people like us more nervous... So I say, you may not know it, but it is a psicological issue that may be really hard to overcome, and in her case, she was pestered her whole life for just being there, and it got worse when she talked. I think it's impressive and that it took a lot for her to be where she is now, asking him to be with her and talking in front of everyone. I had to go live in another city to college to be able to talk to other people without being nervous, and I still have problems when there is a group of people. She may be a bit exagerated, as she doesn't even talk with her friends, but manga always have exagerations, so this shouldn't really be an issue...



#9
The Queen ♛

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its because this manga suits people's tastes. Maybe not all,
but it does. It's cute and has a slow development, that's why people
(especially girls) just lunge over this manga.

I understand what you're saying though. I like this manga,
but I agree it is kind of overrated. There are more mangas/manhwas
that are way better than this, but this manga deserves it's popularity.

At least, that's what I think.


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xx

I'm originally from Mangafox
 

 xx
 


#10
Azure Mirage

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I personally see it like this, think of all the celebrity news that isn't news. Then think about all the coverage of it, and how much traffic it receives. Celebrity news is like junk food for the mind, always in moderation.

 

If taken unadvised you inevitably end up with over saturation. Personally speaking I'm only reading this because it requires minimal effort on my mind to comprehend, and minimal effort on my eyes because the art is clean like a shave with a six blade razor and a sharp tailored suit.

 

Also because all Shoujo manga is infinitely improved by rap music, been listening to Rick Ross 'Sanctified' and Big Sean 'Guap' on repeat because it makes the situations even funnier.



#11
sm31

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I truly (deeply) appreciate the lack of "tacky" drama, harems, & triangles... but wow... this must set some sort of record for most frames drawn with the least amount of content.

#12
KaazaLite

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I usually find pure romance series (especially shojo) to either be really boring with nothing really going on or really annoying with all its unnecessary complicated drama. You would think this would fall with the former but for some reason, I still enjoy it to a certain degree.

 

Some things I don't get though: 1) If she is so damn drop dead gorgeous, you would think she would had developed confidence, leading to the development of social skills. 2) I don't understand why she's interested in the guy. I'm not saying he has little to no redeeming quality like your typical harem protagonist, what I'm saying is that the manga doesn't hint at the reasons why he stands out to her compare to all the other guys who are all over her. Is it cuz he's damn gorgeous? Cuz he isn't all over her like the other boys (which would be a really lame and cliche reason tbh)? Or is it cuz he's such a strong tough karate boy? She fell for him pretty damn fast without much development between the two, I can only assume it has to do with his physical features but with that many guys after her, you would think she had seen plenty of pretty boys already.



#13
MelisaArtemis

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I usually find pure romance series (especially shojo) to either be really boring with nothing really going on or really annoying with all its unnecessary complicated drama. You would think this would fall with the former but for some reason, I still enjoy it to a certain degree.

 

Some things I don't get though: 1) If she is so damn drop dead gorgeous, you would think she would had developed confidence, leading to the development of social skills. 2) I don't understand why she's interested in the guy. I'm not saying he has little to no redeeming quality like your typical harem protagonist, what I'm saying is that the manga doesn't hint at the reasons why he stands out to her compare to all the other guys who are all over her. Is it cuz he's damn gorgeous? Cuz he isn't all over her like the other boys (which would be a really lame and cliche reason tbh)? Or is it cuz he's such a strong tough karate boy? She fell for him pretty damn fast without much development between the two, I can only assume it has to do with his physical features but with that many guys after her, you would think she had seen plenty of pretty boys already.

 

Answer no 1 you can find in the manga itself. Just because someone is pretty doesn't mean they are good socialite, Suiren happen to be one of those whose beauty feels more like a curse than a blessing to her due to her nature of being an introvert. She can't even go out without attracting attention, attention that she neither want nor wish for. Answer no 2 is more vague but I think Suiren falls in love with Kawasumi because he's different than the others. Not about he's being the only guy who isn't all over her but more like he's the guy who looks at her and TRULY sees her, not just an idol with pretty face but someone who is in dire need of help and companionship without underlying desire.

 

I think Suiren is a good representation of girls' desire to be known as herself, not what people labeled them as.



#14
vietstreets

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no, i'd have to agree with op. It's just not my cup of tea... I tried giving it a chance, reading the chapters that are out as of now, but it's just boring. I mean I thought it was going to be okay in the first few chapters since you rarely see such soft-spoken, shy characters and i was a bit excited to see how it would play out, but i'm just very disappointed. 

I'm a really quiet, shy person so i do understand a bit of why she acts like she does, but she has the personality of oatmeal. there's no redeeming qualities about her other than she's very pretty and likes the guy.

sure the romance is innocent and its very subtle and it could be sweet, but the story is just very flat and unappealing to me. I understand why people would like this but i don't understand why it's so popular either.  



#15
sm31

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Seems like it would be very popular among translators... with 3 lines of dialogue per page. ;)

#16
himesaminako

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I thought it was a decent read. I'll continue to follow it but damn. I know the story is told from one perspective and both of them are lacking communication but the guy really is a bit infuriating.