Momo

I thought this was going to be a cute little story about friendship or something judging from the artwork and cover, especially since the plot seemed a little magical and far-fetched, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. What isn't special is a girl thrown into a new situation involving other worldly powers, but the actual situation was very unique. Throw into that mixture some romance, puzzling histories, a few mysterious characters, and somewhat dark back stories, and you have a plot worth getting into. What really surprised me was the romantic development. At first it seemed very weak and superficial, but then it took a turnfor the better. It definitely broke a shoujo cliche. I like the explanations in character origins and divine powers; those were very informative and were there right when the reader needed clarification or had questions. The ending seemed a little too neat for me. I wish the manga had gone on for a little bit more, as it seemed the final problem was solved a little too quickly, especially seeing how long it took to explain it. Nevertheless, it left nothing loose. The artwork was pretty good. I especially noticed the dressed up characters; the mangaka took great detail in drawing ringlets of hair, ribbons of clothes, and expressions in eyes. Only a few times were there discrepancies in the art. For example, in shots were the characters were far away, their eyes would be too big. In other images, I found the faces to be a little too long and have chins that were a bit too pointy. The variety of characters in this manga seemed a little commonplace to me in the beginning, but they turned out to have interesting pasts and histories revealed throughout the course of the story. The two most important characters are Yume and Momo, however. Yume is a 16-year-old school girl with long black hair and a determination to do her best. When her expectations and hopes are dashed, however, she loses confidence quite easily and gives up if no one's there to tell her to chin up. That makes her more of a relatable character, though. When she does have her drive back, she seems all the more courageous and will do whatever it takes to be the best for herself and for her friends. Momo is a little girl who calls herself the devil. She is supposedly thousands or millions of years old and searches the universe for planets to roam and destroy. While she sports a childish appearance, she is capable of speaking with the vocabulary of an adult with a vacant expression on her face. At the same time, she can also act as a child does, enjoying cakes and hugging a stuffed bear. Her origins and personality are further explained in the manga. I was pleasantly pleased by this manga when I finished reading it, though it was not entirely intriguing to me at the beginning. When I began, I didn't think it was so special, but when the plot became more serious, so did my interest. The last few chapters were especially exciting. While it wasn't something that I was continuously binge reading, I would certainly recommend it for its originality and life lessons.