Sakuranbo Syndrome - Cupid no Itazura II

Before, you guys start reading my review. I need to say 2 things! 1. My review contains minor spoilers, I tried my best to keep it low as possible to not to ruin the experience for you. 2. I have added my own personal views and opinions too. -This manga is so hilarious, yet serious and intense at the same type. It has a prequel, but it isn't necessary at all to read that. Both have no relation, I read this first because I didn't find the description of the prequel that interesting. As for Cupid no Itazura II, I loved it. I finished it in onego without holding my horses. Although, it might give you some NTR vibes, but trust me it doesn't have anything related to NTR or any other annoying elements. Since, I am a guy who hates NTR to the core and it is going haywire these days. The best thing about the series is the climax. A perfect ending I was hoping for from the begin. Genres:- Comedy, Drama, Romance, Psychological, Seinen, Mature Story: 9.5/10 (I don't think, I am ever gonna find a story like this. Author has a habit of making new stories with unique settings like this. This is what makes this manga so good.) Characters: 9/10 (The characters and their nature is what steals your interest. You gonna love their expressions in different situations. The only thing, I find disappointing is that. I didn't get to see the adult version of Rena again.) Art: 10/10 (It is by the same author of "Kono S wo, Mi yo!". So, I don't think I need to say anything more, but if you didn't read"Kono S wo, Mi yo!". I recommend that too. Both have similar artwork despite being old. Both have clear and fluent art that makes you want to read more and more.) Enjoyment: 9.5/10 (The Synopsis might seems idiotic at first, but after you have read first few chapters, it will grow up on you. All I have to say about this is that it is a masterpiece. This is my 2nd time reading it. )

Sakuranbo Syndrome certainly has an odd premise (not surprising, considering how it belongs to Cupid no Itazura series, in which each part is independent from each other, but all revolve around rather "naughty" concepts) that for many can be immediately off-putting. A 19 year old student named Amami Rena is hit with a rare and mysterious disease which causes her body to get physically younger over time and the only way to stop it is to take in equally rare suppressing enzymes. Much to her chagrin, after the affliction already regresses her body into adolescence, Rena learns that there is only one man whose bodyproduces the required enzymes and the most effective means of administering the cure is through exchanging saliva. Rena miraculously manages to find her savior, 24 year old Munenori Agawa, who unfortunately for her, due to his stressful office work for a cosmetics company, has grown to hate women and is unkeen to believe tall tale of a teenager who suddenly appeared in front of him. Despite his initial reservations to bless the girl with a life saving kiss, he eventually gives in, but as logic of story telling dictates, this is not nearly enough to beat the disease. Things get further complicated once dynamic businesswoman, 26 year old Sayako Asou, Agawa's superior and love interest, enters the picture. The story's set up is fantastical and gives impression of something made up for the sake of erotic fiction (well, this is a story about and for adults, so sex scenes are not exactly uncommon), which definitely is enough to make it stand out among other works in the genre, but it's the characters who are the true stars that make Sakuranbo Syndrome such an interesting (and free of frustration typical for love stories) read. First of all, they're reasonable - not just archetypes cruising from one misunderstanding to another in order to stretch out the story. While the story is no stranger to awkward situations, they're mostly resolved in a realistic manner, just like real people would handle them (most of the time, at least). The drama that does ensue results from natural human emotions like jealousy, naivete, desperation and grief - they're not overused and usually the first step towards resolving the issue at hand comes from a character understanding their own feelings. For a little while the author continues to set up classic misunderstanding scenarios (often used as cliff hangers), which then proceed to be maturely handled and moved on from within a page or two. Once the readers are used to them the story gets on the track of fleshing out the characters, which makes Sakuranbo Syndrome a slow burner: by the time we finally get to fully understand dramatis personae and their motivations, more than two thirds of almost one hundred chapters is already gone. It's really fascinating how a manga with such a ridiculous premise ends up having so complex and believable characters. Only Agawa's personality seems to be a bit underdeveloped, but I'm willing to accept that he was mostly molded by the events of the story, rather than his past experiences. The art style is very expressive without being exaggerated and remains consistent throughout the manga's run. It fits the story told and manages to convey dynamism in scenes where different emotions and points of view clash with each other. Just as the plot touches upon the human tendency to have multiple facets, we get to see a wide array of expressions from our cast - it's not particularly spectacular, but works very well. If I had any complaint, it would be odd at times choice for cover illustrations. Due to the nature of the magazine in which the manga was published, a certain "quota" of smuttiness had to be filled, which would sometimes result in dissonance between very erotic first page and actually modest contents of the chapter. At some point we even get a series of "closer looks" at all the female characters with no other purpose than being fanservice. It's a minor nitpick, especially considering how the story does not shy away from portraying acts of physical love, but I suppose that some may feel annoyed with the inconsistent tone. Sakuranbo Syndrome was already finished for ten years once I've found it and I'm pleased to say that the story still holds very well (it's not often that I complete an eleven volume series in less than a week) and it should be an interesting read for anyone looking for a unique love story. Once you get past the initial chapters, which are basically a prologue and may not make a good first impression, it's very easy to get hooked, even though the author doesn't employ any cheap tricks to keep the readers invested. The last arc seems a little bit rushed, but I think a few chapters more wouldn't change the story's conclusion and everything was neatly resolved, with no loose ends or unnecessary ambiguity. The final chapter took me a little bit by surprise, but the touching finale made me confident that there isn't much that could be improved in Sakuranbo Syndrome and I'm hoping to come across more unconventional love stories like this manga in the future.

i liked the story and the relationship that agawa, asou, and rena developed..it's very interesting... having a girlfriend while being stuck having to kiss another girl err i mean woman for medical reasons and how the girlfriend manages to cope with it and still stay. honestly though they could've done away with the sex scenes but especially the ménage à trois . sex should only be in the confines of marriage. and it should be 1 man and 1 woman ... now i will say i'm grateful the sex scenes were moderate andonly at an R rated level rather than a NC-17/hentai level they only go as far as showing pubic hair which brings me to another thing......I am so glad that the artist decided to give the female characters pubic hair. the artist also did a great job in shading the characters. it's very rare to see pubes on a naked anime/manga character..it's so rare that it's beautiful..and it's realistic to put the happy little bush on them because in reality many Japanese women don't shave down there.. it would've been just as beautiful without the sex scenes.... i believe it would've been a beautiful love story had Asou been out of the picture... had it been just Agawa and Rena or on the alternative if Rena wasn't in the picture and it was just Agawa and Asou...but of course i would've preferred Agawa x Rena ... the ending is fair i mean at least the 3 of them are happy agawa and asou are happy, rena's happy at the end so it is enough of a fair ending. if the characters are feelin happy or at least ok. it's enough of a fair ending. (i guess to those who disagree, go ahead call me simple minded)

First time review here so forgive me if its bad. I shall try not spoil here but good luck. First the praise: the first all the chapters up to 87 were amazing and fun to read. I couldnt put it down and wanted to read every word. The conflict and the romance felt relatable and within the reals of realist. That been said chapter 87 kinda rushed a threesome and followed it by a random kidnapping plot that should have been better used working towards the harem ending where the threesome would have actually fitten in even better. Scrap the cure, the leaving for 10 years and allthat crap and end it with the 3 of them been happy to share their lifes together with the people they love. There could have been a little less nudity, dont get me wrong I love nudity as muchas the next guy but suggested sex is also good sometimes i dont need tits in my face for 70 chapters then oh shit theres now theres a rushed drama. Still would recomend this manga to anyone looking for a good romance that handles multiple lovers well and shows how the scars of the past can linger for years. Just read up until chapter 87 and then they live together happily ever after.