Nanji, Chikai no Kuchizuke wo...

Story: 6/10 --------------- Short, simple and sweet. I haven't gotten around to reading much manga that involves the main couple already married, so this was a nice change of pace to the slow grind relationships found in other manga. However, it wasn't your typical marriage and we aren't given much opportunities to experience their lovey-dovey relationship. What I disliked, was the pacing of the story. It alternated way too much between present day and the past. I understand and can appreciate panels with flashbacks, but these occurrences went on for pretty much the entire chapter. One chapter would show their marriage and love for each other, nextchapter would look back to their first date, then the next chapter felt like a plot wrap-up but then the following chapter flashes back to before they even met each other. Oh, and technically the main story is wrapped up in 6 chapters. Chapter 7 is a side story on one of the female protagonist's friends and as for Chapter 8, I have no idea who the characters were. Not a huge negative, but a bit strange. Art: 6/10 -------------- Published in 2005, so I don't expect Picasso-esque detail but I have seen a few older manga with matching or slightly better artwork. Though with respect to the author, it did have a proper shoujo-like atmosphere with appropriate details to match. I.e-- the text sound effects, the monologue speech bubbles, the excessive blushing, the cutesy inter/reactions, and the zoom-ins over every little thing that might feel and look romantic. The character designs are so-so. I mean, nothing about them really stood out aesthetically but the female lead was pretty adorable. Characters: 6/10 -------------------------- Nothing memorable for the most part. The male lead is the same guy you'll find in typical shoujo romance stories and likewise for the supporting characters. No, wait- the supporting characters were pretty much trash. I don't believe they contributed anything outside of dialogue and being there as plot devices. The one saving grace of the story is our heroine, our narrator and female lead, Rena. Being a married high school freshman, it takes a lot of effort to pull off and there will oftentimes be mishaps, new experiences, and typical innocent-like situations. Rena went through them all with bravado and was such an adorable character to watch. She really fit the role of a young and inexperienced high school wife. Enjoyment/Overall: 6/10 ---------------------------------- Overall, given the faults of the story's pacing and narration, the "acceptable" artwork and the lack of genuine "characters"-- a 6/10 is what I feel this manga deserves. While the last two chapters were okay to read, one of them should have been written in earlier for a better effect and the other chapter seemingly comes out of nowhere. The manga is short enough to not take up a lot of your precious time but unfortunately not written well enough to satisfy the hunger of most shoujo fans.