2.5 Dimensional Seduction

2.5 jigen no Ririsa is the definition of don’t judge a book by its cover as in my opinion this manga is romance done right! Here is my review of this amazing manga that I recommend with all my heart! The positives: 1)The beautiful artstyle. When I first watched the anime I was like :”Wow just another generic artstyle that is maybe above average” but when I started reading the manga I realized just how wrong I was. The artstyle is phenomenal! Some parts of the manga (usually the climax of the arcs) are filled with some of the most beautiful panels I have everlayed my eyes upon , like what do they feed this mangakas to achieve such drawings. 2)The mix of romance and comedy is just right. I think this is a nice touch and makes this manga much more enjoyable 3)The references to other medias. This manga refers to a lot of other mangas and videogames ( old and new). I was quite surprised by what I can call “niche” references that I would never expect from such manga. 4)The information on cosplay. 2.5 Jigen no Ririsa is my opinion the Oshi no ko of cosplay (except for the ending). The explanation of how cosplay is made , the types of cosplayers,how cosplay is monetized and things like how costumes in general are made (there are a lot of technical words when it comes to Ririsa making the cosplays) is quite good. This also may be a bias on my side due to my lack of knowledge on Cosplay mangas. 5)Character complexity. This is one of the most important reasons if not the reason why I enjoyed this manga so much. Characters are not shallow, they each have a reason for what they do and why they do it. Every character evolves in some way. The author gives to almost all the characters enough “screentime” as to be enjoyed by the reader regardless of favorites. Of course there are favorites like the main cast (and especially Ririsa) but every character gets its fair share of story and development. In the later parts of the manga the focus is moved from Okumura and more to the girls but he still plays a major role in the story. The arcs for each of the characters are meaningful and show their motive for cosplaying. By the end of the story each character has changed in a way or another , some more than others. 6)The theme of love. This is the main theme of the manga and it’s represented everywhere. From love of anime to love of enjoying what you do in your life in general, this manga covers a lot of “loves”. Love is behind most of the reasoning in this manga and you can even say this manga is the result of its creators love :). 7)The fanservice. Chefs kiss. I also want to mention that the fanservice is not the main aspect of this manga and I think this is very important to understand for someone who maybe read just the first chapters. Now on the cons: 1)The fanservice(again). My problem is that this manga is so good but the (very nice) fanservice scenes might be the reason some people will pass on this one. If you are not an ecchi fan I understand where you are coming from but please give it a chance! Ignore the PLOT and focus on the plot ;) 2.5 Jigen no Ririsa is the underdog of romance mangas with some of the most beautiful art I have seen. The story and the characters resonated a lot with me and I feel like this manga really made me realize some stuff and I hope you will feel the same after you will read it. Ending this review I hope that I motivated some of you people to read this masterpiece of a romance and to those who already read the manga I hope you relate to my opinion. This is also my fist ever review of this scale on something and English is not my first language so I hope what I said made sense. Thank you for reading! Signed GG