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A review by sgp05
Futaribeya: A Room for Two, Volume 1 by Yukiko
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
The only thing really wrong with this volume is that it is incredibly boring. I usually finish a manga in a day but this was so boring that I kept putting it off until I knew that I had to finish it, so I powered through it. It's pretty much just mundane, boring fluff, mostly because I just could not get behind the relationship between the two MCs. There is no real romance in this first volume (which isn't a problem for me, except that this is a romance series so literally nothing happens), so I'm mostly talking about their platonic relationship. You could probably just skip right to the second volume and be able to figure things out just fine.
The Pacing
It starts off with two roomies meeting one another. Jump cut, and they're suddenly BFFs, so the rest of the volume is just watching them do the absolute most mundane things together. Like, huh? I want to see them get to know each other, learn about each other, have misunderstandings because that's what happens at first when you move in with a complete stranger. It would have at least been more interesting, even if misunderstandings were contrived.
The Layout
The layout of the panels was just downright confusing. It felt like a web-manga just slapped onto the pages, with absolutely no effort to integrate it together in a cohesive manner. I kept wanting to read from right to left like traditional mangas, but no--you start on the right column, read downwards, then go up to the left column and read downwards.
Kasumi
I didn't really like Kasumi. I cannot believe that someone can have 6 meals a day and somehow have such a good metabolism that she gains no weight. Her appetite exists just to be a character trait, and so Sakurako can cook stuff for her. At least a character like Shaggy, whose whole personality is always being hungry (and scared), has the excuse of being in an episodic show where overarching character development is not really an option. Kasumi's other trait is that she's lazy and sleeps all the time. Sakurako calls her clumsy but she's really just incompetent. halfway through the volume she also kept fondling Sakurako. Sakurako didn't complain, but still. It just felt weird. Not a compelling character at all.
(Props to the author though for not drawing any lewd scenes with her, even if she does have a DD-cup (as stated in the manga). She is still a high school student after all. Maybe my standards have been lowered by mangas like The Quintessential Quintuplets.)
Useless Side Characters
The only characters that really get screen time are the MCs. I was right with Kasumi when she didn't know any of her classmates because the readers never get a chance to know them as well. I didn't even know the MCs' names for most of the manga, having to look it up in the description for this review.
The Pacing
It starts off with two roomies meeting one another. Jump cut, and they're suddenly BFFs, so the rest of the volume is just watching them do the absolute most mundane things together. Like, huh? I want to see them get to know each other, learn about each other, have misunderstandings because that's what happens at first when you move in with a complete stranger. It would have at least been more interesting, even if misunderstandings were contrived.
The Layout
The layout of the panels was just downright confusing. It felt like a web-manga just slapped onto the pages, with absolutely no effort to integrate it together in a cohesive manner. I kept wanting to read from right to left like traditional mangas, but no--you start on the right column, read downwards, then go up to the left column and read downwards.
Kasumi
I didn't really like Kasumi. I cannot believe that someone can have 6 meals a day and somehow have such a good metabolism that she gains no weight. Her appetite exists just to be a character trait, and so Sakurako can cook stuff for her. At least a character like Shaggy, whose whole personality is always being hungry (and scared), has the excuse of being in an episodic show where overarching character development is not really an option. Kasumi's other trait is that she's lazy and sleeps all the time. Sakurako calls her clumsy but she's really just incompetent. halfway through the volume she also kept fondling Sakurako. Sakurako didn't complain, but still. It just felt weird. Not a compelling character at all.
(Props to the author though for not drawing any lewd scenes with her, even if she does have a DD-cup (as stated in the manga). She is still a high school student after all. Maybe my standards have been lowered by mangas like The Quintessential Quintuplets.)
Useless Side Characters
The only characters that really get screen time are the MCs. I was right with Kasumi when she didn't know any of her classmates because the readers never get a chance to know them as well. I didn't even know the MCs' names for most of the manga, having to look it up in the description for this review.