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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Manga Review: Stupid Love Comedy by Syusyusyu Sakurai


Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: June 2018
Volumes: 1 Omnibus (3 single volumes).
Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Suzu Sakura is a lazy author who can't keep a deadline, is twenty-four hours late to meetings, and falls asleep in the middle of crunch time-you name it! It seems like no one can keep her in line, but then she gets a new editor. Hasegawa's a super-mega HOTTIE, but his temper runs just as hot. Though he scolds her endlessly and they're quickly driving each other up the wall, will something bloom between this odd couple...?!An inside look at the manga industry, full of laughs and a little heartache!

Review:

Any complete collection of shojo series like this are pretty much instant buys for me. I like getting a binge-worthy dose of shojo in one go. And usually they're pretty good.
Sakura is a mangaka, and her editor has just changed to Hasegawa, who's hot but also strict and rather disinterested in her antics. We get to follow Sakura as she struggles to meet deadlines and falls asleep at all hours and runs off to do crazy things when she should be working. She's very dramatic and puts on personalities and odd acts to be purposely overly dramatic. She gets an assistant for the first time, and we all see her experience moments of intense, inspired work. And then we also get to see Hasegawa check in with her fully knowing that she's going to be passed out and behind in work.
I thought this was going to be more of a romance, but instead it's more of a tell-all on being a mangaka. We follow the process of making a manga more than we follow any romance, as a lot of this is taken from Syusyusyu's personal experience, of course with some dramatization and fictionalizing.
Some of her antics were just ridiculous, but I did like seeing Hasegawa grow to support her and believe in her manga. I also liked Shimada, her assistant. He was fun, and was a very good fit for Sakura.
While this was a fun series to read, I wish there had been more romance. This might be different had I gone into the series with different expectations, but I thought there was actually going to be a romance, and there were a couple hints regarding Sakura and Hasegawa, but it never went anywhere. Nothing even happened regarding chemistry or flirting or any kind of romance. It was disappointing to me.
Aside from that, though, this was a fun series to read. I liked Sakura's character for the most part.

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