Mar 15, 2024
This is a spin-off story to Youkoso focusing on Suzune with lots of fan-service (both of the horny and moe variety). While it was enjoyable, at least to me, it isn't a complete product and leaves much to be desired.
This spin-off manga changes the personalities of our main characters, which seems to have offended some of the die-hard fans of this series. I would argue that the changes are not as drastic as some make it out to be, especially with Suzune's character. She is still a socially awkward but intelligent girl with an attitude that desperately wants her brother to notice her (exactly like
...
in the main story). The chief difference here is that Suzune is much more expressive and willing to show emotion; she does not have that constant "resting bitch face" nor is she particularly uptight about the smallest things (unless she is speaking to Kushida, which I mean is canonical so...). To me the change makes her more endearing, but to fans who don't care for the cutesy fanservicey stuff, I can see why this change may not be appealing.
The biggest change in character is actually Ayanokouji, who acts as a supporting character in this. He is not the edgy and cool mastermind that we are used to but instead acts like a carefree high schooler with a sense of humor that I particularly enjoyed. It gives us as fans the opportunity to see what he might've been like had he had a "normal" childhood and not been a living experiment in the White Room. That stuff might've still happened to him in this timeline, but its less apparent and thus up to our own imaginations. Of course, it is awesome to watch him one-up the other characters in the main story with his big-brained plays, but I also found it humorous that in this he was obsessed with bathhouses and Suzune making him bento boxes.
The primary issue with this manga is that it is way too short (and thus arguably pointless). Many fans (of any series) don't like it when a spin-off changes too much of the plot and setting, but I'm okay with it as long we are given ample time to explore this new world and "get used to it". We only get one real "arc" in this manga, which is Suzune trying to make friends while dealing with some random rumors later in volume 2. This plot-line isn't particularly interesting or well-written, and it more importantly it ends way too abruptly, giving a sour final impression that nothing really happened in the first place. For fans hoping that there would be some romance between Suzune and Ayanokouji, you will greatly disappointed since the manga cuts off just as there is a hint of progress between them.
My final thoughts are that I think many fans would actually enjoy a more "slice of life" version of the story that this manga sorta provides but only scratches the surface with. Maybe add more characters with their own hijinxs and goofy arcs, instead of focusing on just Suzune, and there you have a solid spin-off story that more people would care about. It would give us an opportunity to learn more about each character in the downtime between the main exams, in a way not unlike what the .5 light novels do.
Thanks for reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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