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彼女はろくろ首
23
4
Finished
Mar 9, 2015 to Dec 9, 2016
4.9/10
Average Review Score
14%
Recommend It
7
Reviews Worldwide
It's a great series with a unique premise but I feel there's a lot of untapped potential by the end of it. Asides from being a unique point for drama, the dichotomy between humans and youkai could be explored in a more fulfilling way. Characters are introduced and forgotten quickly in this series and the whole thing comes off as a unique pretense for a typical romance story. The story falls somewhere between modern fantasy and romance, without fully committing to either. I feel like it was made simply because monster girl series have been popular lately and while it tries to add something new to the growinggenre it doesn't go far enough.
A story about a long-necked girl's love life: Kanoi Natsuki and her childhood friend Itsuki visit the same school and there seems to be more between them besides friendship. (Source: Batoto)
In the past, I've encountered stories that attempt to be a slice-of-life setting about otherworldly beings or bizarre phenomenon. One way to assert the story's quality is to check if it establishes a setting to which it caters the outside element well enough to be normalized. If it does inject something you don't expect to be found in an everyday scenario, it must justify its existence by presenting a predicament that becomes the central focus of the story. Kanojo wa Rokurokubi falls short of exploring its eccentricities, and it has to do with how it unfolds its story. The manga begins with an impression ofbeing a sweet slice-of-life story about a long-necked girl Natsuki and her blossoming romance with her childhood friend Itsuki. The supernatural element’s presence is there, though it’s usually restricted to Natsuki stretching her neck for various comedic efforts. The first few chapters are laid-back and comfy, with the occasional tense moments, which I enjoy. However, it developed some issues when it shifts to a direction of being a story about the dichotomy of humans and youkai. This could’ve been incorporated in the early stages of the story by being a heartwarming story about a youkai’s progressive acceptance of the human world. Think about stories like Demi-chan wa Kataritai or Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon where they manage to address the dichotomy issue while simultaneously be a relaxing and fun slice-of-life. For the case of Kanojo wa Rokurokubi, it fails to succeed in doing this which is why it feels so unfulfilled. On a more positive note, I enjoy Natsuki's interaction with Itsuki. Their chemistry is something, despite that they fight from time to time. The slice-of-life element is there, albeit it gets drowned out by the forced drama that came out of nowhere in the second half. I also enjoy the character designs, as I find them quite charming and pleasant to look at. All in all, it's a manga that is not entirely without merit. Just because the manga fails to do something, doesn't mean it has no redeeming qualities. It indeed showcased a lot of potential, only for it to come to waste by ending prematurely. I'd still recommend this, but I've seen other slice-of-life works that have done better than this.
It is, for the most part, your typical high school rom-com spliced with a gimmick to make it stand out a bit. And it works really well for the majority of the series. The monster/youkai girls are all like-able and even funny at times. They don't fall squarely into the stereotypes that are currently being abused by manga authors, ex: tsundere, yandere, delinquent, gyaru, though I have seen people describe them as having tom-boyish qualities, which I can kind of see. Personally, that's a bonus for me. Their tom-boyishness means that they're not quite as oblivious and sensitive as some other manga characters and calleach other out on some bullshit, like when Ichijou calls both Kanoi and Itsuki out on their blatant feelings for each other. However, this doesn't mean that they are completely un-oblivious. Kanoi is probably the most oblivious and hesistant about pursuing her relationship with Itsuki. On the other hand, Itsuki, though also oblivious, can be surprisingly forward with his affection for Kanoi, which is incredibly refreshing for a manga of this type. Kanoi and Itsuki have a good dynamic when they're in scenes together. Unlike other romance manga where two characters are supposed to be "childhood friends" but feel and act like incompatible strangers, the MCs in this story joke around with each other easily and can have comfortable conversations. The mangaka also doesn't shove the "childhood friend dynamic" in your face every five seconds. I've read so many manga where the only reason you even know that two characters are childhood friends is because one or both of them constantly remind the reader, "Oh yeah this is exactly like what happened ten years ago! You know because we're totally CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!!!" every chapter. In this manga, backstory shit like that is limited to flashbacks, which is a good thing in my book. There will be SPOILERS from here on out, so skip to the conclusion if you don't want to see them. So everything sounds good right, even if it's a bit boilerplate? It was good, and could've been really good, if the ending didn't fuck things up. Maybe the manga was unexpectedly cancelled, or maybe the mangaka wanted to move onto another project; I don't know, and I don't really care enough to look into it. All I know is that things were progressing at a great pace, until the last few chapters brought in the unnecessary drama of Itsuki's mom coming to drag him off to another city. In the midst of this drama, the mangaka teases a confession, only to have the manga end on a cliffhanger that resolves nothing and doesn't tell the reader shit about what will happen to any of the characters in the future. I'm inclined to believe that the manga was cancelled as that's the only reason I could think of an ending being this rushed and sloppy. It really fucks up what could have been an incredibly satisfying moment of reconciliation between Itsuki and Kanoi. CONCLUSION: Entertaining characters, a few funny moments, good relationship between female and male MC, doesn't get too hung up on its gimmick. Unfortunately, all of this good stuff is damaged by an ending that is completely unsatisfying. Still, the first 75 percent of this manga stands far above most of the rom-com manga that I've read recently, which have been such absolute shit that I won't even bothered logging them in my MAL account. Give it a try if you don't mind a story that ends in the middle of an arc and leaves you with no closure.
When I saw that manga, I thought that it could be a normal romcom manga with a sobrenatural tag, but... NO! The art is incredible, Story 7/10 - The story is good but gets lost in the middle of the manga, it went through prejudices with the "monster people", "segregation", a good romance with prejudiced parents, a good friendship and acceptance about your "super power". Art 9/10 - A really good art, I get surprised when I started to read, my expectations was to be a normal art, but it is a detailed art, still in a simple way, a great entrance to the arts thatappear in seinen, I loved how the heroine/main character was drawned, she could be really detailed and she could be funny and ugly (hahaha) Characters 8/10 - I loved the Kanoi! She is funny, she has the drama part, she can stretch her neck! Very beautiful! Itsuki is a good guy, but he made some mistakes, still a good guy in the end, it was beautiful atitude, cute couple! Nonoka is a funny, i really get happy when she made something to tease Kanoi. Yocchii is shy, but she very cute. I want to pinch her cheeks because she's so cute, but I don't think she's going to take off her mask. Enjoyment 9/10 - That manga is really enjoyable, it isn't 10, because get bored sometimes in the middle of the story, but if you like a romcom with a good drama and talks about a lot of matters, read it!
I had this in my "plan to read". Why? I have no idea. But it was a mistake. The art is sht. Clunky, no "breathing" room. Even though it is very simplistic. The designs are no better. Its like a classic manga, but made by a highschooler, bored attending class. Now about the story itself. The bad parts: the story, world-building, plot, character development, pacing etc. Aka everything. I can't even detect the genre. It tried too hard to be too many things at once and failed at everything. Supernatural, but the humans and the youkai are mostly same characters. Romance, but not really (I mean itsa sht romance). Comedy.... I'm not even gonna go there. Slice-of-life... yeah, no. It creates drama for no real reason. It has some kind of racism, but its not really one, because its the kind of "normal" prejudice you see in any other manga. "she's youkai, don't play with her" = "she's poor, don't play with her". Without even any bullying/violence, something to make you feel for her. Anyway, sht from start to finish. I've read it all because it was short, but I knew from the start it is sht. Its a first but I'm giving it a 1, no doubt about it. Anyone that recommends this is trolling you. Have a lovely day.