Cross Account

I have mixed feelings about this work, but I generally found it to be suspenseful and enjoyable. I've heard a lot of people call it generic or say that it was only a matter of time before it devolved into a harem, but I think they were completely missing the point of the story. It's more than just another silly love triangle where the protagonist has to choose between two appealing girls. There is some interesting depth at play here. There is actually some character growth in this story - they don't just stagnate and repeat the same antics throughout the whole story during sillycircumstances and misunderstandings. The protagonist starts out as a bitter incel, blaming everyone else for his own problems, but eventually grows into a man who can be honest with himself and others, making hard decisions in a way that is fair to all parties. For many readers, it's easy to ship the characters and say "Just get with the childhood friend, that way there won't be any complications"; they get frustrated and question his manhood. This is actually a story of romance, however, so the characters' feelings are important. The protagonist steadies his heart so that he only has one girl on his mind before making a decision, and I can respect that. He doesn't lead them on and toy with their hearts, and he absolutely does not show any signs of trying to lowkey seduce other girls. The two girls in the story also have some interesting traits, as well. One is the picture of femininity on the surface, but secretly acts in a way that's considered boyish and unrefined; she strives to end the charade and just be accepted for who she is. The other is the complete opposite - more aggressive, athletic, and rude while secretly wishing to be seen more as a girl, so she tries to become more ladylike. So, the main character has to choose between a girl that he can relate to 100% vs. a girl who is trying to change herself to win his affection. To make matters more complicated, he's forbidden from dating the girl he relates to. Also, he doesn't even know that he's so compatible with that girl, he's just drawn to her and somehow feels there's more to her than meets the eye. It gives the reader some interesting points to ponder. Should you put everything on the line and go for the longshot of a relationship if it will be more fulfilling, or should you be content with just having a girl that likes you? Is it admirable for him to try and be with the girl he really likes when he's capable of detecting the slightest bit of unhappiness in her life as it is, even if he doesn't know how much they have in common? Or does he have no basis to try and get close to her? THE GOOD: -Main character isn't as dense as people think. He is aware of the childhood's friends feelings and does his best to make a mature decision. -Interesting premise. I like that he's a loser in real life, but he chats and makes friends online. The internet is a place where you can express yourself more freely without being physically harassed or psychologically abused (depending on how anonymous you are). I think they expressed this decently. -Good character development, interesting how the girls each strive to be more like the other. THE BAD: -Gratuitous panty shots occasionally. Confuses the readers about the intent of the story - is it romance or is it just some silly fanservice story where female characters exist as sex objects? -Probably got axed because it was in Jump. This manga's appeal seems to be more on the shoujo side of things. The shoujo aspect is good, it's just too bad the story couldn't run its course. The ending is weak. -The entire basis of the childhood friend falling in love with him seems kinda flimsy. Lazy writing to use a near rape scene as a character's foundation (because how could she feel anything besides extreme gratitude to be saved from that?). If you can look past the flaws a bit, the story is pretty interesting and suspenseful.

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Gachipin. (99387) and has subsequently been merged into Cross Account (107480). Going into this, I didn't expect much. What I got was an absolute pleasure of a short read. While the premise is not necessarily unique, this one-shot has an unbridled energy that I've rarely see in such a short story. One-shots often suffer from too big a concept for the format, resulting in either weak storytelling or it being plot point after plot point, with little break in between. This is one of the pleasant cases where the balance. has been struck. With a quirky sense of humour andfun yet distinct characters, I absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick but fun time.

Cross Account isn’t a harem (I say this because some people that have read one or two episodes think so and they decided to not recommend this), and it may be pretty average, but I think that it doesn’t deserve a not recommended. That being said, this doesn’t deserve a recommended either because I really think that some parts of the story (and some actions/decisions of the characters) make zero sense. If you want a romance with a typical childhood friend + another girl this is for you. (Complaints about the story will be in the spoiler section, below all the review, you will seea sign) A) WRITING: [28/50] 1. Story (10/15) Pretty average but not bad story, it’s short but it does a great job. That being said, the ending left me with mixed feelings. (I will elaborate in the spoiler section) 2. Plot (8/15) Again, average plot. I really think that the ending doesn’t make sense, but at least the mangaka backed down (with an extra chapter, the 28.5) a little. If the extra chapter that I mentioned did not exist my calcification would have been a lot harsher. 3. Characters (10/20) All the main characters do their job decently, but they are VERY generic, We have the typical loner (btw, the fact that the mc has a lot of followers isn’t relevant in the story in any way) as the male main character, then the typical actress that uses a mask in public cuz she is famous and lastly the childhood friend (with a big chest, It seems that that’s a must). None of them are original, and the support case is very forgettable. Also a lot of the decisions of both loner mc and actress mc don’t make sense. (I mean at the ending) B) ART: [20/30] 4. Characters (8/15) The characters look decent, but it’s nothing special. 5. Backgrounds (12/15) The backgrounds look good and clean. C) PERSONAL: [15/20] 6. Quality Consistency (4/5) It’s good, but I really don’t understand the ending, it seems like the mangaka fu**ed up and then released an extra episode to try and fix it. 8. Chapters readed (5/5) Read the whole thing. 9. Enjoyment (6/10) I enjoyed this, but it wasn’t anything special, this manga is pretty average. FINAL SCORE: 63/100 SPOILER ZONE LIES BELOW, CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK I I V Complaints about the ending: My number one complain is the attitude of the actress mc at the ending, she clearly didn’t liked acting at all and she only wanted a normal life, his mother literally said: “You were born for acting” and forced her to be an actress since her childhood and when her mother says that she can finally be free and that she can do whatever she wants with her life she says that she is “thankful” for the “wonderful dream” that his mother gave her. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make any sense. Why did she forgave her mother, who had a cold attitude since she was a little kid? Come on, she literally said that the only reason she wanted her daughter to be an actress is because herself wasn’t able to become one! The actress mc had a perfect excuse to have a normal life with the person she loves. So as any normal and mentally sane person would do, she quitted acting, went to highschool and had a normal life! Right? NO! For some reason she decided to abandon japan and just like that she went to hollywood! WHAT A COOL ENDING! Now the childhood friend has been dumped ((that was my other complaint, like seriously!? You can’t turn down a girl because you love an idol, that makes zero sense, It’s just like turning down a girl because you love an anime girl. It’s stupid, you will never see neither of them irl. And from the mc perspective the idol he admired only saw him twice so they didn’t have ANY sort of relationship. It’s just DUMB.)) and the person that the mc really loves is going to freaking hollywood and he will never see her again. Luckily for us the mangaka backed down and released chapter 28.5 (an extra chapter) where the actress mc goes back to tokyo, meets with the no longer loner mc and confesses to him. This felt rushed and it didn’t make sense (because it took her 3 years to come back. And also, why would a famous actress go to university!?). But even if it didn’t make sense at all, I’m glad that the mangaka changed the ending, because if we had the old ending my calcification would had been a lot harsher. That’s all thanks for reading, and sorry in advance for all the typos <3