Hot Gimmick, Volume 2 (VIZBIG Edition) Book

I've become a manga fan only recently. It's definitely a guilty pleasure, and most of the time I don't have too many opinions about the manga I read. This is probably because I haven't finished a series until now. Well, I actually have but I'll be writing a review on that one as well. Anyway, it's hard to have an opinion on something that hasn't resolved yet. Since this one has, I'll give my opinion.

The thing I enjoy about manga is the visual aspect. I love seeing it all laid out on the page for me. I think I've read enough of it at this point to form an opinion about the art. I like the art in this one. Sometimes the art in manga can become too "scratchy." That's the only word I can think of to describe it. This one is a little more defined. There's no rough edges. I like that and I've noticed that in Aihara's drawing in Honey Hunt as well.

As far as the plot and characters go, it's not as strong. I feel like there's this juggling act with all the boys in the series. Hatsumi never knows what or who she wants. She's so indecisive and she lets Ryoki walk all over her. I spent most of the series wishing she would stand up for herself or Ryoki would get a grip. It never occurred to me that their relationship was meant to be funny until the last volume. I never found it funny until the end, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Azusa just wants revenge and toward the end I could honestly picture him standing over a girl tied to a railroad and twirling his mustache as he switched the tracks. Shinogu was the only character I truly liked. I mean, his situation was pretty messed up and weird, but I liked his character. He was caring and sincere and I felt sorry for him most of the time.

As far as the ending goes, it was pretty weak. Hatsumi and Ryoki have a pretty good ending, but I wish I could say that for the other two. I expected more out of the story for Azusa and Shinogu. I was unsatisfied by their lots. All in all, it was entertaining, but nothing special.

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