Hitman

If you like this author's (Seo Kouji) previous works, you'll probably like this as well. Keep in mind though, there's far less drama and romance than before. If you are like me, in the dislike/hate domain, then skip. Simple as that. Even if the first half seems interesting, it will go downhill like it always had. When I first began reading it, it felt like some sort of satire, in a good way. There are major references to his previous books (including spoilers), and since the theme is about manga authors and editors, it sometimes felt like he was venting a bit through his characters, which wasfun. The new characters are interesting, and the potential love triangle was promising to be entertaining, so everything was going pretty well... ...but then it nosedived. The final good moment was when the MC got a girlfriend, about halfway through. Here's what I didn't like: 1. The MC is just lucky. Everyone's going on about how he's got some special talent of an editor, but in reality he simply gets assigned to work with very talented authors, while all he does is shout "That's interesting!" or "No, it should be that way!" during their overview sessions. Sure, all his 5 authors experience different problems, while he's helping his partners overcome them. But his "talent" is never shown, so he ultimately maintains the image of an unskilled but lucky cliché-spewing good guy. 2. The characters are come-and-go. Some look like they've been forgotten by the author himself, as if he wasn't sure in which direction to take the story, so he introduced new characters and then abandoned them. In the first chapters there's a female acquaintance of MC's, and she shows up maybe 2-3 times during the whole 13 volumes. She has affection for the MC, but it's never expanded upon. The other guy is a talented new editor, with whom the MC is competing in the beginning. He later disappears for like 10 volumes. There are other "forgotten" characters, but their roles demanded so, e.g. MC's childhood friend, who helped his romance progress. What I can't forgive though, is that the main characters are treated the same. The moment their distress ends, they are shoved away so that a new one could take their place. This leads to shallow characters, which mars the romantic aspect especially, since they are thrown out before their feelings can be properly shown. There was a certain manga called "Blue Hearts" from the ReLife's author. That's how the episodic struggles should be done. None of the characters felt abandoned neither by the author nor the MC, even after their problems got resolved. Everyone was connected on a deeper level, and not through a get-together dinner every couple of volumes. 3. The romance is bad, particularly after MC gets a girlfriend. There's no proper rivalry, and he is either oblivious or indifferent towards the girls' feelings. There's also a rule that says the editor shouldn't be in a romantic relationship with their author, since it will create bias, which will destroy them or their work in the end. And how does the main couple get out of this predicament? Quite easily - they just keep it a secret and he continues to be an "excellent" editor. Great writing. There's also almost no romance after he gets a partner, only a couple of out of touch "comedic" transitions to them having sex, so that the reader still remembers they're a couple. There's no drama about this manga's romance, and it's not interesting in the slightest. Some characters' feelings towards the MC never get fleshed out and are forgotten by the author and the characters themselves (how convenient). 4. The ending is abrupt and doesn't contribute to anything. It's like "Our work isn't done! We will strive for further heights!" and such. It's all MC's fault by the way. His ambitions got to his head. Oh, and, do you also hate how heroines with unreciprocated love get random boyfriends so that "everyone's happy"? Well, you're not in luck, since it's here as well! And the best thing? One of the heroines talks about how she doesn't want to get a random boyfriend in the last chapter and still gets one! Thanks as always, Mr. Seo! Peak romance! Peak writing! Acta est fabula, plaudite! A waste of time. Every time I read the author's works, I hope that they are better than the previous ones, and I always get disappointed. Will I read "Megami no Cafe Terrace"? Yep, I'll probably burn myself for the umpteenth time, but I still continue to hope that one day Seo Kouji will produce something truly great.