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Description
From Chibi Manga:
After being transferred from school to school during her middle school years, Kanoko has entered Takara no Tani High School with Tsubaki. For some reason, she becomes the “Strategist” for Cultural Affairs Department in reference to the Three Kingdoms and ends up joining the Newspaper Club….?!
Koi Dano Ai Dano is the non-episodic sequel to the great episodic series Warau Kanoko. In the previous series, Kanoko finally transferred schools for the 108th time, and decided that was enough; now we follow her attempt at becoming a more refreshing kind of character in high school, together with the main romantic lead of WK, Tsubaki.
Warau Kanoko really hit many of my sweet spots: a clever, strong female protagonist who uses her mind to fix things, and not too much romance. Kanoko is a great lead, and now that the story in Koi Dano is more serial, and concentrated in a single school, let the mind games begin!
Fans of Skip Beat! might like to know that romantically, Kanoko and Tsubaki are quite alike to Kyoko and Ren; Kanoko is very dense when it comes to herself (in things like friendship and romance), while Tsubaki is a cool, hyper-competent romantic lead who is extremely possessive and jealous, bordering and often dipping into outright childishness. It is through the eyes of Tsubaki that we get to see Kanoko's cuter sides, while other times we get to see her at work as a political mastermind fighting in the wars of the Three Kingdoms of Takara no Tani high school.
The writing and direction is clever, and bears well under repeated rereads. Different plotpoints are woven well together, and the past is not an unknown country, but one that is often alluded to. It is also funny, though not in a slapstick or absurdist way. Most of the comedy grows from the interactions of characters, and a panel in a previous chapter might well bloom into a punchline in the next one. The humour isn't laugh-out-loud, but more of that constant, unstoppable maniacal grinning you get when you can't just stop, and have to continue. This series is much recommended to everyone.
FINALLY, a shoujo where the female lead isn't a bimbo and the male lead isn't your average popular guy! The story is fairly original even if the setting isn't, and the characters are beyond amazing.
Tsubaki may seem like your average cool male lead, but he's anything but. He's sane, logical, and places Kanoko above everyone else. There's no stupid ex-gf's or other angst following him. Just him and his love for Kanoko which is wonderful (and often hilarious) to see. Kanoko on the other hand is one of my favorite female characters of all time (right up there with Sul from Cheese in the Trap). She's strong, incredibly intelligent, and I love how she thinks.
I would read this just for the characters. The whole manga is pure fun, and the political edge it has is fascinating. All in all, a fantastic shoujo.
Rating is a bit lower than I wanted to originally give it as it's not completed. Hopefully, the mangaka won't screw things up before then, although the way this story's going right now, I doubt that'll happen.
This manga is not as episodic. The plot is event-driven and not character-driven, but there actually is a (rather complex) plot. It manages to keep the witty commentary on the status quo as well as other mangas through Kanoko's POV. IMHO, I think this manga is weaker than its prequel, simply because there is much less character development, despite the fact that it has an actual plot. It's got a lot of shoujo fanservice (because of Tsubaki) and tons of comedy, but it's not spectacular. The only thing that saves it from sinking below the depths is the exploration of Tsubaki's personality. Even though the development is minimal, it's nice to see what he's thinking all the time, especially in regard to his hopeless crush. The only problem is, by adding this huge smattering of romance to the plot, the author essentially cornered herself because of the heroine's rather cynical personality. I really cannot see this proceeding smoothly or realistically. Maybe some sort of epiphany will occur?
By the way, I should clarify something. The female lead is not stupid. Neither is she dense. She's just not aware of the effect she has on others. At all. Take Momoka for example. It took forever for them to become friends (both ways, mind you) because she did not realize nor accept the girl's sincerity. Ironically, she is wonderful at picking up on the feelings and intentions of everyone else except her own. (And occasionally, Tsubaki, but it's been shown that she mostly gets him, despite the fact that his obvious obsession with her confuses her).
Overall, it's a nice piece. Not great, but funny and cute and sincere. Far better than the average shoujo, but falling short of any sort of masterpiece. While its prequel was a witty commentary on shoujo cliches, this one attempts a plot drenched in romantic comedy, something that both helps it and hurts it.
If you like shoujo, read it. If you hate shoujo with a burning passion, I'd suggest just reading the prequel and then judge based on that. This sequel has made a return to shoujo roots.
A really unique series with a whole new plot method for shoujo. No heavy drama or frustrating triangles- and you're /still/ hooked for more. Chapters are slightly episodic with Kanoko talking about the various social conundrums in high school, but there is a main plot line.
It's funny without making lame puns and genuinely entertaining. The relationships are really sweet too, and the characters humanity is showed here and there, which is really nice, because we all like looking into a character's psyche, but not soo much that we feel like we're reading some heavy psychology genre.
The relationship between Kanoko and Tsubaki is also really entertaining- you can't help but root for him, and it's lovely to see the female lead (very, very) slowly start caring about the lovesick male lead for once, instead of the other way around. And Tsubaki makes lovesickness look cool, which is just plain cool itself.
Edit: As for someone commenting that a good looking guy would never like a woman who isn't on the same level of good-looks as he is, I say psssh because frankly: 1) I could name so many couples. 2) No matter how good or bad looking someone is, if you spend a lot of time with them, you get pretty much immune *speaking with experience* so looks are really not as important as personality. 3) Tsubaki is in love with Kanoko's personality anyway and that's what makes her attractive to him and THAT'S what makes him such a likable character to me.
Though I believe this series is better than the prequel (prequel was a bit too episodic) I do recommend reading it if only for the sake of watching the start of Tsubaki's infatuation with Kanoko. XD
A manga I definitely recommend for its refreshing layout. You'll never look at people the same way again- not without a tiny Kanoko talking in your brain!
It's one of those rare ones amongst the barrage of new shoujo manga coming out. I absolutely love it, but it's not 100% fresh because she's just too dense in THAT WAY. Though it definitely makes the plot more enjoyable with this flaw of hers
Koi dano Ai dano is certainly different than most shoujo manga. It has a fresh plot and unique characters (but not annoying though). Reading this manga and the main character's observation of her surrounding always leaves me with a "that is so true!!!" feeling. This manga is definitely a MUST READ, especially for those who are sick of stupid, weak, and only-ever-thinks-of-love kind of female characters. Moreover, i find it interesting to see the male character who is head over heels for the female character instead. Their relationship is just too adorable to miss.
It is SO GREAT that you should STOP READING THESE REVIEWS and GO START READING this manga!!! HURRY! NOW! DON'T WASTE ANY MORE TIME!!! hahahaha
First reading the warau kanako sama, and I have fallen to the characters, especially Naedoko Kanako. She is indeed very rational and she is not so dependent to her surrounding. But this what makes her character unique. The stories plot are not so boring because it shows little by little how her friendship grows with her surrounding esp. with Tsubaki. Then KDAD is the continuation of warau kanako sama and it's really fun reading how kanako always trying to do something like a strategist when we watched those war drama.
If you want to find a manga with no whinning character but strong character I guess this is much do for you. To tell in advance kanako is SOooo Damnn Dense but this is the fun part of the manga.
Ok, so I am just reading it all in one go right now, but Kanoko is just too awesome for words. A lot of manga get comments saying "she's not your typical shoujo heroine", but few move as far away from the stereotype as this. I know it's not the same, but the relationship between the male and female leads reminds me more of the excellent and twisted Sundome than it does most shoujo, it's really so funny to see the boy so powerless.
It's hilarious, clever and excitingly intersting. The main protagonists are cool, especially Kanoko. She's one of the best heroine you can have for this type of manga. The prequel was good, but the sequel is simply addicting. Normally one would sometimes skip a few lines or a few pages if the plot's getting draggy, but for this one I have enjoyed reading every single word.
I am totally loving this series! It's incredibly funny, and very unique. I especially loved the literature jokes in chapter 2 (Suikoden, LOL). It's so fun to read about a headstrong dense girl and a guy who's head over heels but just can't say it.
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