Samurai High School

I'm just going to start this review by admitting one thing: this manga is not for everyone. This manga is little more than a goofy and comedic gender bender with a slight political twist. If you're looking for anything serious, this isn't it. If you can't or don't want to suspend your disbelief enough to believe things like the easily distinguishable twins being able to swap places whenever they want and no one noticing, then this isn't for you. And even with all that said, I don't think there has ever been a manga I enjoyed more than this one. I enjoyed it so much when itwas being released that I desperately searched for the raws to read because the translations took too long. Then when it finally translated, I went back and read it in English. I gave it a 10 and put it in my faves list. That was over 3 years ago. Recently, I started wondering if it was as good as I remembered it being in high school, so I went back and read it again. It's now number one in my favorites list. But why exactly? STORY: 8 I will be the first to admit that the story is not incredibly original. A set of male and female twins switch places in order to do what they really enjoy and excel at in their new school. Seems like a relatively typical gender bender, right? Well, technically yes, it would be, if the world this takes place in weren't so interesting and unique. The intriguing characters, the great humor, and the well-crafted situations bring out all the charm the series has to offer story-wise. If your looking for crazy, unforeseen plot developments, you won't find them here, but that's just because this manga is more character-centric than it is plot-centric. It's all about the journey rather than the destination. ART: 9 The art style is attractive, nothing outstanding or breathtaking, but well-done and well-suited to the manga. Also, the art is consistent. You're probably just rolling your eyes at me right now saying that that should be a given for any decent manga, but this is honestly a plus to me. Too many times have I read a manga with a decent plot but struggled to get through parts of it because the art suddenly became too congested to follow or downright sloppy and lazy. There are plenty of reasons this happens, but I was happy to never have that issue here. CHARACTER: 10 This is 100% the highlight, and the backbone, of Samurai High School. The characters are relatable, lovable, and INCREDIBLY diverse. You have the weak and girly but overprotective little brother, the super-strong yet still feminine older sister, the obnoxiously rich but somehow still lovable roommate, a mummy man, a mini man, a bunny girl, giant dog girls, walking alien vegetables, and even an alien version of Obama. What's not to love? And best of all, the characters are ALWAYS consistent. This means no weird OOC moments that just rip you right out of the story and leave a bad taste in your mouth. No main character feels useless or pointless either, so that's always a plus. I feel like I've already explained enough about my enjoyment and overall impression, so it shouldn't surprise you that I gave both a 10. I'll just wrap this up by reiterating that while this manga is nothing particularly new, it does an amazing job of putting an exciting spin on an outdated genre and bringing a goofy grin to the reader's face. It's a short easy read, and totally worth it. So just give it a try, and if you like the first chapter, you'll probably enjoy the rest as well.