Nozo x Kimi

This will be my 3rd manga review. After just having finished the final chapter of Nozo x Kimi, I honestly wonder why this has been so highly regarded as it is. I've read manga with stronger emphasis on fanservice, but I honestly read this expecting more from the author of Nozoki Ana who brilliantly took the idea to voyeurism and combined it the psychology of peeping into the true selves we hide from society. Story 4: The story starts out similarly to that of Nozoki Ana. Our heroine Nozomi encounters the male protagonist Kimio in the girls locker room by accident. Threatening to expose him to the teachers,she makes him form a pack of "showing ourselves" out of each other's windows of the apartment building they both share. In Nozoki Ana, this worked well since both parties were expected to take part in the act which revealed more of the personalities and complexities of both characters. But here, only Nozoki does the actual showing and it gets old very quickly. The story becomes very predictable from the first volume onward. Art 9: Thankfully the quality of the artwork has not diminished since Honna Wakou's last work. The angles and proportions of the characters are all very well done as well as unique. Unfortunately this is most likely the main reason why readers rate this so highly. I can't say the same for the content. Character 3: Kimio shows little resistance to this "showing ourselves" arrangement and makes almost no effort to change it, showing the same shocked reaction for nearly 2 years. During that time, the duo end up extending that routine to assisting other members of their school with various problems like an unofficial club. Yet, outside of a few exceptions, those characters never play any meaningful parts in future chapters (provided they even show up again at all). Nozomi comes off as being unrealistically insightful of other people's feelings despite claiming to not properly understand her own. Kimio similarly shows a frustrating level of ignorance that challenges most high school romances I've seen (and I've seen many). I expected more insight into the individual characters' backstories as that characterization tied into the theme of 'showing your true self' in the mangaka's last work, Nozoki Ana. No such luck here. Main characters are made oblivious to their own feeling for the sake of extending the story until it just ends. I can't help thinking that stifling the subject matter for the sake of serialization in Shonen Jump ended up limiting the creator's options too much. Instead, the manga favors the literal side of exhibitionism more so than the psychological side, appealing more to young horney teenagers. Enjoyment 4: There were many times I wished to drop this manga. I only continued to the end expecting there to be deeper backstory to Nozomi, or perhaps a time skip to college life with less excuses for their high school-level ignorance. If not for Nozoki Ana and the stellar artwork, I might never have picked this up at all. I only consider it decent for those who want to look at high school tits or else a good example of a mediocre romance carried by great art. Overall 5: This manga has in no way ruined my expectations for the mangaka's future works. However, it has reminded me that I am too old to be reading Shonen Jump romances that primarily focus on exploiting young men suffering from puberty. If it was more comedy focused, I might make an exception. But this was not funny and certainly not the best romance I've ever read. For those looking for similar manga with more mature elements and dramatic tension, please give Nozoki Ana a try first. Or better still, Nana to Kaoru, which also takes place in a high school setting, but explores the world of BDSM. If fetishes aren't your thing, try Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.