Tuxedo Gin

Tuxedo Gin is a slice of life, comedy, romance series. It fallows the traditional Japanese slice of life/comedy set up found in many classical manga titles such as Doraemon, Ranma 1/2, Sgt. Frog... Unlike these more popular series; however, Tuxedo Gin is one that never got much spotlight and it sadly remains out of most people's radar. With that said I am still a bit surprise to have the privilege of being the first to review this simple, enjoyable series for MAL. Simple is probably the best word to describe this series. It starts off with one simple unique concept, then developes and extends as faras the author's imagination goes. Adding this to the typical romance story where two very different characters somehow developes feelings with each other and you get Tuxedo Gin: Where a badass high school delinquent, Ginji Kusanagi, dies but then reincarnates to watch over and pursues his cute and kind-hearted girlfriend, Minako Sasebo, as a small, cute, not so helpless, flightless avian, a penguin. The story is set up with the main story arc placed only in the beginning and the end of this series. With both added you get about 1 volume (maybe less). The other 14 volumes are filled with one chapter stories and small arcs. Some to introduces new characters, some serve to discover existing characters and some are simply just for fun putting the characters in fun or awkward and bizarre situations then see them play it out. In these quick individual stories it is easy for the author to insert almost anything he can imagine. The artwork in this series is one that changes slightly to suit the story and the artist. In the beginning the artist wanted to captivate the audience, as a result a lot more time is spent in the artwork and designs. After a bit his design became more refined and simpler to draw. The character designs became more cute as opposed to a realistic style. For characters, well you have Gingi who is the typical delinquent, badass that we all know and love. Also Minako who is the typical man’s image of the perfect girlfriend type character also found in many shounen romance series. All in all, very simple but solid main characters. The supporting cast is huge as new characters are introduced constantly to allow more ideas to be executed and more chemistry to develope between them. Overall Tuxedo Gin is not a series that will take you out of this world but a fun series to lay back to and enjoy after a stressful day. It is a difficult one to give a high rating to because of the simplicity; however, the enjoyment, the humor, the chemistry between the characters, the situations... Of this manga is seriously one to be treasured.