Nousatsu Rock Shounen

Story: Nousatsu Rock Shounen is very predictable and cliche at times but manages to stay sweet throughout. The one plot twist is that the standard love rival isn't who you would expect. The original one shot is cute. Mirai can't find it in her to shun the dorky 'Nobitani" and later finds out his big secret when he formally declares his love for her. If the manga ended then I would have been pleased, because I didn't care for their other adventures. The light atmosphere is fun and the hijinks that happen are over the top. Towards the second volume, the story got cluttered withtoo much going on. Nousatsu has an episodic slice-of-life feel, and any chapter can be read as a stand-alone, which means to take your time reading it. Character: In the translation, I read the names were slightly changed not that it matters. Mirai/Maki is an alright character until you get annoyed with her sinus issues. She constantly nosebleeds for any gesture of love or mention of Neji's coolness. Nobitani/Neji/Renji the self-perceived loser of the school is really a rockstar, which every reader with sense figured out immediately. He was an average character. I don't dislike him unless he gets in a brooding, emo mood. Romance: For some reason, all of the kiss scenes are censored by big white blotches. It looks as if someone literally erased them with the pink end of a pencil. I was disappointed by this, being a big shoujo fan. A big draw of shoujo is the elaborate kiss scenes with a bunch of screen tones and sparkles in the background. Art: The art is nice and unique because it has a square-wide look. If not for hairstyles a lot of males look the same in this manga. Backgrounds are good and frequent too. Overall: It was honestly an okay story. I became extremely bored after chapter two though that may just be me. The reread value is low. Still, I'll check out its spinoff later.