My Manga Reviews

Project X: Cup Noodle

by May | May 24, 2019

Who don't know Cup Noodle, that famous instant noodles made from Nissin? Well, I'm not here to do adv but to talk about this "Hidden Gem" of a manga!

Story: first of all, this manga is a historical one about how Cup Noodle was born. There isn't any magic, contracts or fantasy in this manga, this is the story of a man called Momofuku Andou and about his battle to seek a new type of food for a new era. Andou ordered the development of noodles that can be eat anywhere at anytime. Thanks to his staff he slowly overcome public skepticism.

Everyone knows how it ended... Cup Noodles is today a really famous food but I liked they idea of the behind the scenes (sadly the page on Wikipedia is a little short so I don't know how much in the manga is true... maybe something was added to make the manga a little more interesting).
The story was really interesting, every chapter focused on a step of how to create Cup Noodle. For example there's a achapter where they have to create the cup and its shape, another chapter where they have to make the noodles cook in 3 minutes (and they need to be perfectly cooked) until they finally start to sell. I really liked how Andou stay true to his idea to have noodles that can be eat anywhere at anythime. there isn't a lot of chapters and I think that for this kind of manga it's positive because the author can't do fillers.
The characters are nice and from the beginning you cheer them (well, we already know that they were able to create Cup Noodles but the manga is really interesting and you still wish for them to be able to achieve this project!). A lot of the first chapters are focused on a specific character since they didn't work all together but everyone had its task to accomplish.
The drawings are really simple and try to stay realistic but without losing the manga style. I really love manga style that try to be realistic but without being too much realisitc. The panels are good to look and the noodles seems real (I'm glad that I ate something before starting to read this manga XD).
The pages have some basic screen tones but they are really nice to look at and the few landscapes are really well made.

My rating: 8/10

Origami

by May | May 16, 2019

Categories: (Completed) Manga Review

**Name:** Origami (天真爛漫紀 ORIGAMI)
**Alt name:** Tenshin Ranmanki ORIGAMI
**Author:** Mizuto Aqua (Story & Art)
**Volumes:** 2 | **Chapters:** 9
**Genres:** Drama, Fantasy, Shoujo

I think that it's a nice manga ranked really low (#13369 on MAL with a 6.64 score) and axed really quickly.

Story: Since Yuna was little she had unbeatable luck, is always happy, has a lot of friends but is an orphan. She still has an older brother and together they fight poverty. One day, Yuna meets a boy who demands that she gives the only memento she has of her mother to him. She refuses but a little later she expose the true identity of the boy and about the memento of her mother.

When I think of origami I think about paper folding... but... Wikipedia also says that ori means "folding", and kami means "paper" (kami changes to gami due to rendaku) so that's why in this manga we have a lot of gods (kami) but I still think that maybe another name would fit this manga better.
The story is well made and had potential to become a really good manga (sadly it was rushed/axed): the characters have a good background and a clear goal (return to their normal human life). The few characters are interesting and develop well, maybe because there aren't a lot of them and the side characters are really few. The story is quite simple and enjoyable.
The drawings are well made and cute. Every page is well made, good to look and with a lot of details.

My rating: 7/10

Spoiler

It had potential... a lot of potential but sadly the ending was axed and the ending was left open... it's still enjoyable but an open ending after we discover that "only one will be left" is a little unsatisfying. We can see only one death and the main enemy is still there doing who knows what because we won't see him again. And we won't know who was left in the end because all of the main character left together for a journey to find all the Mitama.

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Sensei Lock On!

by May | May 9, 2019

Categories: (Completed) Manga Review

**Name:** Sensei Lock On! (先生ロックオン！)
**Alt name:** Lock-on the Teacher!
**Author:** Shindou Arashi (Story & Art)
**Volumes:** 2 | **Chapters:** 35
**Genres:** Comedy, Romance, School

"Read a 4-koma manga".. this was one of the entries in the 2019 MRC... I don't know many 4-koma so I searched on reddit for something and I found a really cute one!

Story: Kadokura Kyouko, grade school teacher, 33 years old. Yamato Kazuki, university student, 20 years old with only one goal: marrying his former teacher (and to be an astronaut... or maybe a teacher XD).
Yamato has been in love with Kyouko since she was his teacher in 4th grade and he promised to marry her. Now he is an adult and one of his goals is accomplished: he is dating Kyouko!
Now that the two are dating, their relationship (teacher-student) don't seem to have changed that much... or not?

This 4-koma was really cute! With a simple plot but... cute! The two main characters are really interesting and well developed. It's an interesting 4-koma because is a little slice of life but is always funny to read without getting tiresome (I have read it in 2 days!)
There's a lot of interesting characters (other teachers, students and friends) but all of them are used to help our couple or simply to improve their relationships. It's rare but all the characters are nice and you get attached to them and can't find someone that you dislike.
The releationship of the Kyouko and Yamato slowly develops (or maybe not? XD) but at the climax the manga ends (there's a sequel so one day I'll read it!)
The drawings are really cute. There aren't many landscapes (well, it's a 4-koma so who cares about them? XD) but all the characters are drawn with a lot of details.

My rating: 8/10