Sweet Magic Syndrome

Sweet enough to give you a toothache, Sweet Magic Syndrome truly melted my heart. This adorable manga is about a girl named Amako, and her adventures with other girls from the Kingdom of Sweets. Definitely a slice of life manga, so people searching for a legitimate plot probably would not be interested. However, everything stays very cheerful and humorous so it’s a great read for someone needing a little sweetness in their life~ The main character, Amako, is a genuinely kind person with an upbeat attitude. She consistently recognizes the positives in every situation, but not to the point where she becomes a ignorant nuisance.After moving many times at a young age, she found herself having social problems and realized that she kept losing her friends. After coming across Pudding, a girl who magically appeared from a pudding cup, she began to make new friends and move beyond her past. Amako loves to bake sweets for her friends; the manga even includes recipes that I definitely plan on trying. Another main character, Pudding, appeared in the very beginning out of a pudding cup. Extremely gluttonous, Pudding constantly snacks on all kinds of sweets. She stays extremely attached to Amako and they have a beautiful friendship as time goes on. The manga mostly consists of quick gags, as it’s a 4-koma, and the text can be a little overwhelming at times because of this. The plot, which originally seemed to be about Amako helping Pudding, changed into a slice of life. The manga’s plot shifted to the adventures of the girls as they try to recruit new members for their club. The characters all interacted wonderfully, the manga presented plenty of humorous scenes, but their personalities stayed pretty static. Nevertheless, they all acted very sweet and the entire manga felt extremely soothing. The art, created by CuteG, is overwhelmingly gorgeous even without using complex designs. Many artists attempt to make their art appear better by adding extra details, but true talent shines through when an artist can create simple characters that still appear beautiful. Sweet Magic Syndrome has all of the characteristics of my favorite art style: squishy faces, shimmery eyes, and cozy designs. The art certainly fit the relaxing theme, and their personalities fit their designs extremely well. Overall, the author should have made the plot a little more clear and stuck to it. The art, characters, and slice of life humor all appealed to me due to the manga’s relaxing nature. I thoroughly enjoyed the personalities of each character, as they all appeared pretty complex and realistic. Thankfully, the manga did not rely on overused personality tropes and kept them relatively unique. I enjoyed the comedic humor, and the manga inspired me to try baking my own sweets; I realized that I should start to pamper myself, just as each of these girls do.