Assassination Classroom
i dont think i can fully express how much i love and adore this series. it's one of the best in terms of idealism, education, and comedy. even after reading this again as an college student, i find myself laughing and smiling at this incredible and heartwarming story. it is hands down the best shounen manga revolving around a classroom and their teacher
Adekan
ch. 44: the only saving grace of this manga is the art and the beautiful men. storywise, the plot points are fine but the delivery is incoherent and lacks structure and the pacing becomes god awful as it progresses. it's almost egregious. in the beginning, when it was just simple adventures, i definitely felt the author wanted to incorporate as many twists as possible for shock value but doesnt know how to incorporate them into the stories naturally and fluidly. later on, it legitimately feels as though the author is making things up on the fly. for example, shiro is in love with the leader but there was only one appearance of her double, and then later the real one is introduced and the story tries to convince us shiro is in love with her via explaining the letter correspondence and all but it's so forced bc despite her importance to him, any hint of their relationship was never mentioned at all prior to this plot point. like shiro only likes her bc he relates to her, and finds her insecurity and lack of confidence lovable? The other character introductions is pretty dogshit as well. also, this isn't even shounen-ai; why is people even tagging it as such. there is a lot of scenes with romantic tension between shiro and the officer, but it's strictly platonic. the way the author sexualize the male characters is exactly the same as how male authors sexualize female characters.
Dance with the Devil
relatively speaking, its series's rating is rather low compared to the quality of the story. other stories have high ratings but have rather bland plots and barely evoke an emotional response from me, but this story is phenomenal-- it's succinct and simple yet profound and bittersweet enough to make me teary-eyed. i suppose it mainly due to the writer's choice to not have a main overarching plot but focuses on each couple's distinct relationship, which is great. typically i do not care for side couples, bc the stories usually invest a lot of plot and writing in the 1st (main) couple, and mix their stories together which makes me uninterested with the side couple, but this story barely intertwines each story and in a nonlinear fashion to focus on each couple. each couple's characterization and dynamic are great and refreshing and each story expands the world building and lore of demons. each story didnt drag and wrapped up beautifully and in a satisfying manner. even tho te author didnt add some details of the demons' background in story, it def wasnt necessary and wouldve just added pointless drama. 8.5/10
Youkai Gakkou no Seito Hajimemashita!