Manga Review: Kenka Bancho Otome: Love's Battle Royale, Volume 2, by Chie Shimada

Rating (Out of 5): ~1.5-2

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2018

Volumes: 2.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beautiful boy rebels using their fists to fall in love!

Hinako thought she didn't have any family, but on the day she starts high school, her twin brother Hikaru suddenly appears and tricks her into taking his place. But the new school Hinako attends in his stead is beyond unusual. Now she must fight her way to the top of Shishiku Academy, an all-boys school of delinquents!

Hinako takes her twin brother Hikaru’s place at Shishiku Academy for boys. Fights break out every day, but there are also lots of heart-palpitating events with the boys that she never expected! And as the battle to be the boss of the school rages on, will Hikaru make it to the top?

Review:

Going into this volume, I had no idea that it was the final volume. And I only found that out by looking it up online—that ending leaves me unsatisfied.

Hinako meets her older brother in this volume, and she's surprised and very excited to find out that she has a brother who seems to dote on her. She's discovering family she never knew she had, and it's exciting for her, even if he doesn't realize she's Hinako and not Hikaru.

There's some light fighting and fooling around, leading up to Totomaru getting hurt and his father pulling him from school. This leads to a typical angst where Hinako wants to do something, but Totomaru won't tell them what's really happening, up until he's about to fly away.

It's a sweet reunion, but the whole plot didn't worry me, because they always end the same. And then the series just ends—on an uplifting note, I suppose, but still just an end to the volume. It feels more like an end to an arc, or one plot point, not the whole series. There's no conclusion to the romance, or the guys finding out she's a girl, or even what's going on with her real family since they don't seem to know or care that she exists.

It didn't feel at all like an ending, and it left me feeling lackluster. Not to mention that none of the characters had felt fleshed-out yet, and so the characters and plot felt weak. It just leaves me disappointed and underwhelmed.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Kenka Bancho Otome: Love's Battle Royale, Volume 1, by Chie Shimada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2018

Volumes: 2.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beautiful boy rebels using their fists to fall in love!

Hinako thought she didn't have any family, but on the day she starts high school, her twin brother Hikaru suddenly appears and tricks her into taking his place. But the new school Hinako attends in his stead is beyond unusual. Now she must fight her way to the top of Shishiku Academy, an all-boys school of delinquents!

Review:

On Hinako's first day of school, where she's looking forward to starting over, she runs into a boy who looks exactly like her. She's manipulated into going to school in his place, only to find out it's an all-boys' school--for delinquents.

I'm intrigued and a little confused by Hinako and Hikaru's relationship, why Hikaru was raised in luxury while Hinako was put in an orphanage. I do think it's interesting, though, that Hikaru is supposed to be the tough man, high up at this school, and yet he hates fighting and fits in much better as a girl at Hinako's school. Hinako, on the other hand, has always been embarrassingly strong, and she hates it.

Hinako finds a mishmash couple of friends at the boys' school, though of course they don't know she's a girl. She also runs into one of her childhood friends, who she lost touch with but has always wanted to see again. This adds some complication, particularly given the feelings starting.

This was an okay first volume. Some things still need explained, and I think that some of the characters need to be expanded on a little; it's a little weak. I'm not feeling too much for any of them yet, but I have hope it'll grow on me more.