Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie

I’m on a kind of streak of reading romance manga this year. THIS REVIEW IS PART 1 OF IT. This manga falls flat where it could shine the most. The story is boring, the characters one dimensioned and the art, although technically good, doesn't stand out much (I like the clothes choices and designs though). If you want a "story/characters/art" type of review, there you have it. Now, I want to quickly dive deeper in some bad points where I think could have made this manga a great one:1 - The events Actually, the lack thereoff. "What do you mean, dude? This sh*t is almost 200 chapters long!. That's exactly the point. You see, it's not that nothing happens, but it's presented in a way that makes everything sooooo uninteresting. Well, we could argue that, from the first chapters, the author just wanted to make a short and funny manga about a peculiar couple: The shy and unlucky guy, incompetent at almost anything he does and his girlfriend, a beautiful girl skilled in almost everything, that saves the said guy from unlucky events. Not particularly original, but some situations can make you at least chuckle a bit. Both in high-school, because of course. But then, more characters get introduced, then we have a full group a friends. Then more and more secundary characters get introduced. But every story arc in the whole story can be sumarized by: a) A major event is about to happen (sports festival, cultural festival, going to the beach or the mountains, preparing for exams, etc). b) The event takes place. Everything goes right, everyone smiles, says "good work", "I know you worked hard", "I won't lose to you", I'll work hard as well". c) Ocasionally, we have a random flashback. d) Repeat the process. To me, there lies one of the greatest problems in this manga. We don't have the opportunity to see the characters struggling through really dificult situations, we don't see them making dificult choices, we don't see them conflicting each other on any given time. This makes them very flat and stale very fast. 2 - The melodrama That being said, another problem I have is taking the story with the seriousness that the author apparently want me to: The formula I presented earlier is presented with TREMENDOUS amout of drama. We even have a word for that in my native language (portuguese) wich is "piegas", meaning something extremelly melodramatic. I know that things like social anxiety exists, but have an entiry arc focused on one secundary character no one cares about learning to comunicate with his group by saying "I WANT TO BECOME STRONGER!" like a shounen protagonist is... oof. Really, my eyes are rolling back just by typing this sh*t hahaha In the end, it just feels like a fantasy and idealized world to the point of bizareness (no jojo reference intended). 3 - The main relationship Ok, so, in a manga whose main characters are the couple I mentioned before, surely there are good romance moments here and there, right? My man... you sure about keeping your hopes up? At this point? It's almost a rigid law that a romance manga must begin with the main characters first knowing each other and ending when they start dating. I hate that trope so, so much. And nothing takes the idea out of my head that it only happens because the author never had a romantic relationship, you can see the lack of experience in the matter. And there's is nothing wrong with that by itself, but it reflects on the dificulty they have when writing the daily lives of a couple. This is the case for Shikimori-san. And mind you, we have here a RARE CASE of a manga that starts with the couple already dating. And they take long to even hold hands. Oh man, so much wasted potential... But why does this bother me the most? Well, I had a relationship that lasted through the end of high-school to the middle of my college years. I like seeing stories where the couple learn more about each other, show their affection in particular ways, get more used to touching and physical contact and knowing each other more intimally. Of course, this process is not a rule and it differs a lot from person to person. The thing is, Izumi's and Shikimori's relationship had so few major advances that by the end you feel almost like they are in the exact same spot as the beggining. Also, the story concludes when they go to college together. WHY STOP THERE, AUTHOR? YOU HAD SO MANY OPORTUNITIES ON YOUR HAND, YOU BASTARD! It's this era of someone's life that very few manga talk about and it fascinates me the most, because it's a time of growth and discovery in many ways. Oh, well... Conclusion - Do I recommend it? Look, maybe it's my fault expecting something more from a "feel-good" vibes slice-of-life romance manga, but... I stil had some minor enjoyment out of it, even if it burned me out by chapter 100 or so. If you like cute character designs, a very soft and extremelly sweet to the point of diabetes type of story, you can give this a go. If you're just a hopeless idiot like me who expects deep romantic narratives from a web manga, them I would advice you to stay out of this one.

Sometimes, simplicity is the best. Take Demon Slayer for example. Does it have one of the most deep and complex stories with intricate and relatable characters? No, it does not. But what it has, is a simple good vs. evil story that most people would enjoy. It might not have the most well developed characters, but it had characters that people can have fun with and go along for the ride. If anything, it is that simplicity that has allowed it to surpass, in terms of popularity and cultural impact, other manga/anime that have more complicated stories like Attack on Titan, Berserk, or Vinland Saga.The same can be said of Shikimori isn't just a cutie. As much as I love the manga, I will admit that it doesn't do anything original. Then again, most, if not all manga don't do anything original. And that's ok. It has characters that aren't just cute (heh), but also sweet and lovable. Whether that be our main couple, the titular cutie Shikimori and her clumsy but lovable boyfriend Izumi, or their group of friends, the reliable Bakubro, I mean Inuzuka, the sporty Nekozaki, or the hilariously deadpan Hachimitsu. All of them are charming in their simple ways. Watching them all interact is a treat for anyone out there looking for lots of fluff in their manga. The story itself is relatively straightforward. At first, it focuses on Shikimori making sure that Izumi doesn't die due to his bad luck, but it later moves on to exploring the main couple's relationship, their relationship with their friends and family, their school life, as well their plans for later on in life. Despite being tagged as a comedy and a romance, this series is better off seen as a slice of life with elements of romance and comedy, that later explores the growth of these characters as they move through their high school lives. The art itself is also simple yet there is beauty in the manga's simple art. I'm no art expert but the simple designs of the manga makes the manga look more wholesome and soothing while reading it. It also makes the comedic elements stand out when the manga does try to be a bit funny. TLDR: Looking for complex storytelling? Go somewhere else. Looking to overdose on simple wholesome fluff? You've come to the right place.

This review is about to tell how's reading experience before even watching the anime adaption The story is quite well-written, story slice-of-life like this is really enjoy to read by meantime. I'd rather to read this by time, not try to do 'fast reading' but try to enjoy the story such as how each character developments going. Also, the story is easy to understand. There's no difficult term or confusing plot, it was like reading a diary but in manga's version. Recommended when reader need a wholesome story, no complicated conflict, and also male-reader can imagining about "what if you have a girlfriend like Shikimori.".

I'll be honest, I actually picked this up because I thought the title was "just not" and not "not just", y'know? The former implied a tried-and-true formula of an MC rejecting the cuteness of the girl character. However, upon reading it and realizing that the title sported the latter, I noticed that it implied the traits of the character beyond her cuteness. However, this made me question the title itself since it never really goes beyond a specific trait. The manga settles heavily on this formula of showcasing Shikimori's "cool" side and I expected them to show more traits other than that particular one. Regardless,I pressed forward and I was met with a relatively okay series. The characters are alright. Nobody really sticks out and the chapters that use this wide cast of characters are a-plenty. Characters like Inuzuka, Nekozaki, and Hachimitsu have little to no impact despite having focus arcs here and there. With Inu, it's usually just a couple of throwaway lines and you never really feel the emotion of his goals when he gets out of highschool and whatnot. As for Hachimitsu, her best trait is that she has the same unchanging, silly, stupid face all throughout the manga. Nekozaki is the most unfortunate since her focus arc happens near the end of the series and, as a result, it never really hits as hard because the focus remains on the main couple- not to mention how she had to share with another, more interesting character. Speaking of the main couple, they're the same. Despite having the spotlight most of the time, they're motivations are presented in the most moe, lighthearted way possible that any form of seriousness is just watered down. Also, a new character called Saruogi was introduced and I find it funny how he was a latecomer pushed to be with the main cast but somehow did literally nothing in the little time he had. What a snoozer of a character. The only character who I'd say has the most impact was Kamiya, who provided some spice to the manga by having the struggle of letting go of her crush towards Izumi, the other half of the main couple. Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with my stories having little-to-no confrontational storylines but that only works if those storylines are entertaining. The cast of Shikimori are not charismatic enough for that. The best I would describe the manga is that it's just all-so very serviceable. I've mentioned its flaws but those are not big enough to get itself a negative rating.