Grim Reaper and Four Girlfriends

my first ever review and since this is a short manga ill just keep the review short too this is basically a romcom harem manga with all the main heroine character tropes you'd expect it to have, the build-up/development of the relationships between the mc and the heroines are pretty good (especially for chapter 17 regarding the mc and one of the heroines) the characters themselves are pretty basic and the main thing that keeps them going are the scenarios/circumstances that they're put through now keeping in mind that this is a short harem manga about the mc struggling to keep his relationships with each of the heroinesintact, the build-up is nowhere near as good/reactive as some other short romance mangas like [Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de./I sold my life for ten thousand yen per year.] or [Onanie Master Kurosawa] so don't expect that you're gonna get as strong of an emotional reaction on some of the scenes and developments considering that they can be pretty cliche. as for the art it is good enough to portray each of the character's emotions and 'assets' and bring out some sort of emotional reaction (from me atleast) on moments/scenes that do need them just be aware that it is a much more simplified version of the manga's cover art just like most other mangas the moments that make you laugh are more-often caused by an 'oh the mc's screwed now' rather than a skit or an insert joke inbetween the dialogues. man i just wish this manga was much longer considering that this is a harem manga where the scenarios shine pretty well and relies on interesting complications, i feel like the kind of abrupt built-up conclusion could be fixed if the manga was longer in general

The series is about a No-lifer boy who meets 1 of the grim reapers. A middle schooler looking girl (because Japan), who intends to take his soul since he's a no lifer there will be no one missing him. Even though he has parents and since no depraved backstory was shown I'm gonna presume they are decent parents. So to convince the grim reaper to not take his life he tells her that he is going to be a lifer as he intended to confess to a girl. The Grim Reaper backs off but says she'll give him 1 day to change his life around. Sothe male lead confesses to the girl of his supposed dreams and to his surprise she says yes. All Four of them. In his hasty attempt to save his own skin he left a love letter to 4 girls but all of them have said yes. Now he needs to keep there relationship a secret and he can't break up with one of them as undoubtedly rumors would spread reaching the girls he is currently dating. Now he needs to keep this up for 3 months (The time limit the Grim Reaper has set) but what is 1 guy who hasn't had a single friend much less a girlfriend supposed to do. The series is surprisingly fine despite the relative serious tone and demeanor. The idea is that he could die at any time but there is a lot of great meme material to be had here. Mostly because anytime more than 1 girl shows up he pisses his pants and needs to deal with this situation. Which was very funny to see. The comedy was actually one of the stronger points in the series. It wasn't excessive but there was still quite a lot of it without it feeling the author had no way of dealing with serious issues so he just threw a bunch of jokes (which usually works for some reason). The manga felt well paced in that regard. All the characters were incredibly wacky in there own fun regard. One's Horny, one's sadistic, one's a tsundere, the other is a yandere. They all have these ridiculous stereotypes while also being funny. The yandere especially was both terrifying and adorable. Which i guess fulfills the category Yandere. The male lead was also quite enjoyable to watch. Mostly to see how to get out of these insane situations. Part of the fun was the fact that he was a big shoujo lover yet become a harem character. He became the thing he swore to destroy. His self depreciation jokes and personality were spot-on and I liked that part about it. Another thing the series did well was the actual romance part about. It did step forward in the romantic element. Don't get me wrong he is a scumbag (though with understandable reasons) but at least the author actually took that step. Its quite sad this series was axed. The ending is really bad. Overly rushed as it were. It took a lot of the right steps and it looked it was gonna become something special. Yet it just kinda ends and feels bland. I didn't like how they resolved everything. Mostly because they don't explain jack-shit. Though the first twist was good. TLDR: Steps in the right direction but the quick axe leaves a lot to be desired. 6/10

This was such a fun series, but damn the axe irreparably damaged the series with the ending. It was like a super fun roller coaster ride that slams straight into a brick wall. Each of the girls are just a trope, but I actually like Kaoru as the MC a lot. The series was so short that not all of the girls got enough time to develop as characters. While Yui and Risa had a lot of time and development, Aoi and Emeri were underdeveloped because of the axe. On the other hand, the MC that didn't want the harem and wanted to do the besthe could for the girls was refreshing. I guess a man obsessed with shojo manga makes for a good boyfriend. The story of the manga is the premise and the hijinks that it causes. The ending goes beyond that a bit, but as I said before the ending is rushed and ruins a lot of what I enjoyed reading. The conflict of trying to juggle each girl and make them happy without getting caught is really fun, and seeing how the characters interact was enjoyable. This is just a series that really could have used double or triple the chapters to develop and get the story to where it needed to be. 6/10 If you can enjoy a journey knowing the ending is rushed and weak at best, then have fun with this series! It is wacky and fun! Just know that this ending makes me a lot less likely to recommend it, and that comes from someone that sees axed endings all the time. It would have been an 8/10 if the ending wasn't so tough to enjoy.

The Grim Reaper & Four Girlfriends was a solid romantic harem with a fun premise but sadly due to cancellation it got cut short. It has a competent but rushed ending that sadly retcons portions of prior chapters to succeed but it's still worth the read for fans of the genre. It's a forced harem due to extenuating circumstances. The main lead is a kid that only believes in love for a single person & reads Shoujo manga but finds himself on death's door with something of a bargain. I would say it's similar to ‘A world god only knows’ in regards to the main character &the Grim Reaper's pairing in that she's something of a NEET and instigator for the entertainment. The girls are your usual harem stereotypes but I found they had some uniqueness to them that differentiates them from the rest, emphasized by the situation they find themselves in. Despite the forced Harem the protagonist wants the best for those involved and treats them with the utmost respect to the best of his abilities while maintaining the story limits. The relationships between the Main Character and the individual girls felt natural given the circumstances, however two girls received less focus as they weren't the focus of the arc before cancellation although they had enough meat on the bone to be entertaining during their appearances. It's a shame that the Manga was axed because some major plot points led nowhere or were twisted & used with other characters in order to create a decent ending. I think it's worth a read if you enjoy the genre but the ending affects the whole. PS. My rating would have been higher had the Manga continued and remained on the path it was on prior to cancellation while retaining the same quality but alas here are.