axelmania's manga / #shoujo(275)

i dont recommend this for anyone but big utena fans whove already watched the anime, or maybe big shoujo fans wanting to see into another era. saito is playing with ideas went into deeply in the anime much more shallowly, and that is partially because this is a sincere (heterosexual) shoujo manga, with the yuri really only implied for more dramatic illustrations. attraction and its perusal are abrupt and everyones motivations are painfully clear. juri is straight and wants tougas attention! im serious! but the attraction to me is how everyone seems to be living in a timeless daze, trapped under the paper in a way very sincere to ohtori. aesthetically this is flawless and i wish i could buy an edition printed in pink or blue.

was the romance forced and cringey? yeah, absolutely. but thats not the selling point of this manga, its the cute and goofy isekai shenanigans, which more than deliver.

why do i keep tormenting myself by reading ongoing stories... thats most of the ones on this site though... gah.... another story where it feels like the author cares about portraying women properly, giving them agency and a variety of presentations. its a bisexual harem and i actually almost prefer the male lead! this is a revenge story that is cute and satisfying, more lead by pointed humiliations than gorey scenes. it also a comedy with frequent meme references that make for a unique experience in the villainess genre. its very comparable to all routes lead to doom, but i prefer this for being a bit darker and more explicit with its romance. i like seeing the protagonist protect the love interests and give them the hope needed to stand up for themselves, and even influence the awful male capture targets, even if its kind of cliche.