to be fair it is a relatively old shoujo manga. there are obviously gonna be a shit ton of tropes and cliches bc hiyokoi is kinda a classic 2000s shoujo. lol shoujo mangas always have shy uwu so cute but i cant speak my mind mcs (that or theyre a tsundere). im pretty sure that most of us are aware of how shit some shoujos are lol. the tropes are what make it enjoyable and funny (at least imo ig) not to mention the amount of nostalgia mid/late 2000s shoujo brings
also not to excuse the homophobia but again, the manga could be considered "old" to some. i mean it was 2009. im pretty sure shane dawson was doing blackface back then and noone even gave a shit about that. :/ idk the author couldve very well changed over the course of 10 yrs. hell, over the course of 5/6 yrs i went from a slightly homophobic, anti feminist to realizing that im fucking bi and that anti feminists are a bunch of edgy, cringey tryhards.
Also meant to down vote this lol
cmooon, sailor moon is from the 90s and has a canon lesbian couple
stop excusing it with 'oh its from the 2000s, they didnt know better'
they did know better, theyre just bigots, and japan is even worse at it
MC is annoying. Ok fine, she looks like a preschooler. But then she actually thinks and acts like preschooler. So annoying.
Her love interest is fine. He doesnt really have any personality except be a good boy, which is fine.
But then you get that confession and that disappointing reply. It was so awkward and bad.
And then on the opposite end you have Kou-kuns confession which was exciting and good that you just root for him and hope he can get his happiness.
MC is horrible that she doesnt ask anyone anything. Is her friend ok with hanging out with her crush? What does her boyfriend want for Christmas? When is his birthday?
Did she ever listen to anyones wishes? Did she stop with her lame "comrades" thing when talking with Kou when he specifically told her he doesnt like it?
Shes very selfish (which would be ok if maybe she would stop a bit and actually understand the people around her, but she got no clue, her mindset is that of a child).
Her "caring for other people" is forced and untrue. She never cared. Crying is not caring. It was more like she was making the people feel bad because she is crying and make them be like "yeah, i have no problems anymore, sorry i made you feel bad about me, MC".
Even Kou-kun, the guy that allegedly likes her, doesnt care for her tears. He has a bigger reaction from the tears of Ricchan (and if that is why Kou x Ricchan happened then im massively dissapointed).
Even Tanaka is a more developed character in a "Havent you heard? Im Sakamoto" type of way.
Overall, its just another bad shoujo manga and i hope it teaches the readers that communication is key and maybe dont be a pathetic wallowing-in-selfpity annoyance.
P.S. Pardon my brutality. I understand that people are different and can have anxieties and fears, but the MC does not have that. Shes just a spoiled brat.
If one would argue that she has anxiety then the author could not deliver. Shame really.
P.S.S. The way the author sprinkled in lesbian themes is just...so bad and disrespectful. Why shame Natsuki with her being attracted to Hiyorin and make her the butt of the jokes for that. Why make that black haired stalker emo girl a lesbian and make her say something like "im disgusting for being a lesbian".
I understand that its Japan were talking about, where LGBT people are thought of as being not normal. But if youre trying to write some gay character, better make it respectfully, or not do it at all.
Its like the author wanted to just pull a plot twist on us, but it was in a bad taste and id rather not have that at all.