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bookishrealm's review against another edition
4.0
Ya'll....it's the damn tension for me and the twists and turns. Who the hell was the woman who popped up!? And now I'm so indecisive about who really killed that man's father. At this point, I feel as though it could be anyone. This series is going to keep me on the edge of my seat. I see that now. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. There is so much tension between Nao and Tsubaki. It's clear that their feelings are teetering from being fake for the grandfather to being real. And don't get me started on the food included in each volume. I'm loving that readers get to learn so much about Japanese culture while reading this manga. That isn't something that always happens and I'm glad that it shows up here.
fauxvais's review against another edition
This will be a collective review of the first through third volumes.
As a fan of Natsumi Ando's attention to detail with the variety of desserts she's illustrated across the course of her career, when translated scans of this series were finally available, I couldn't resist! Something's Wrong With Us follows Nao, the daughter of a traditional Japanese pastry chef accused of murdering her employer fifteen years prior by none other than his son, Tsubaki, a boy whom Nao befriended in at the time. In the present day, Nao coincidentally crosses paths with Tsubaki when they compete to provide pastries for the same client, and Tsubaki, incredibly intrigued by her, offers Nao a wedding proposal. Despite all of her apprehensions, Nao takes the offer and goes undercover, determined to uncover the truth behind her mother's framing while keeping her real identity a secret, and desperate not to fall for Tsubaki all over again.
TW's: physical and verbal parental abuse & parental death.
PROS:
- The set-up. Obviously, there's plenty of media out there about women marrying into families due to ulterior motives related to revenge, but I like how Ando cleverly weaves this premise with the very real hierarchy of the world of wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets. There are specific rules regarding etiquette, seniority, and succession that further ground this story in its setting and distinguish it from others with a similar emotional premise, and I appreciate that!
- The sweets! As a tangent to the first point, I also love that Ando never fails to leave sweets as a secondary side piece to the plot. The intricacies of wagashi are always prevalent throughout the course of the narrative, and we learn about how these pastries are made, what they signify in terms of cultural motifs, and how they're properly served so as to honor guests. It's even better that the use of wagashi parallels directly to plot progressions and motifs.
CONS:
- Pacing. This is a problem I see in a lot of shoujo series that I think can be attributed to the fact that it's not as well-marketed a genre as shounen, so mangaka have less of a guarantee that their series will be allowed to survive for long, hence their plots are often straight and to the point. I personally like to see characters marinate in plot progressions, though, so the quick pacing and escalation of events here was somewhat jarring and made me feel unable to connect strongly to the characters, despite their circumstances and motives being fairly compelling.
FINAL RATING: 3
As a fan of Natsumi Ando's attention to detail with the variety of desserts she's illustrated across the course of her career, when translated scans of this series were finally available, I couldn't resist! Something's Wrong With Us follows Nao, the daughter of a traditional Japanese pastry chef accused of murdering her employer fifteen years prior by none other than his son, Tsubaki, a boy whom Nao befriended in at the time. In the present day, Nao coincidentally crosses paths with Tsubaki when they compete to provide pastries for the same client, and Tsubaki, incredibly intrigued by her, offers Nao a wedding proposal. Despite all of her apprehensions, Nao takes the offer and goes undercover, determined to uncover the truth behind her mother's framing while keeping her real identity a secret, and desperate not to fall for Tsubaki all over again.
TW's: physical and verbal parental abuse & parental death.
PROS:
- The set-up. Obviously, there's plenty of media out there about women marrying into families due to ulterior motives related to revenge, but I like how Ando cleverly weaves this premise with the very real hierarchy of the world of wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets. There are specific rules regarding etiquette, seniority, and succession that further ground this story in its setting and distinguish it from others with a similar emotional premise, and I appreciate that!
- The sweets! As a tangent to the first point, I also love that Ando never fails to leave sweets as a secondary side piece to the plot. The intricacies of wagashi are always prevalent throughout the course of the narrative, and we learn about how these pastries are made, what they signify in terms of cultural motifs, and how they're properly served so as to honor guests. It's even better that the use of wagashi parallels directly to plot progressions and motifs.
CONS:
- Pacing. This is a problem I see in a lot of shoujo series that I think can be attributed to the fact that it's not as well-marketed a genre as shounen, so mangaka have less of a guarantee that their series will be allowed to survive for long, hence their plots are often straight and to the point. I personally like to see characters marinate in plot progressions, though, so the quick pacing and escalation of events here was somewhat jarring and made me feel unable to connect strongly to the characters, despite their circumstances and motives being fairly compelling.
FINAL RATING: 3
eternallullabye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alexao's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
malu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
othersian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0