... Last updated on February 15th, 2019, 2:54pm

Gokinjo is good but has some major things going against it. Number one, is certainly the author's constant insistence on trying to SELL stuff to the readers. From her own artbooks to best friends' bars - there is advertisement galore on Gokinjo. It feels cheap and leads you to feel some sort of internal embarrassment or pity...... Next up, the persistent breaking of the fourth wall just as you're getting into the story again. It is really hard to sympathise with the characters' plights when in the next panel they are saying "Oh, will I be the next lead character of this manga?!". Finally, the fact that the assembly of characters are all artists or designers but the author does not know the difference between "telling" us they are good and "showing" us they are good. It is impossible to tell why people get success, why they don't, how come they suddenly got a big break, why is so and so a genius.. We are expected to accept what the author decides to tell us at that moment.

An okay story, but in the tenshi nanka ja nai, gokinjo monogatari and paradise kiss combo, this was the least enjoyable.

The story
Seems like a love triangle at first, but later it's a couple romance manga with a lot of side characters. Two neighbors Mikako and Tsutomu are slowly falling for each others, but I think had such feelings even before the manga. Both of them. The first volumes when it centers around theirs getting together is better than the latter volumes, where a lot of time is given to fashion, what do you want to do when you grow up and emotional drama.

Art
The art is good, but Jesus, why did she gave them such outfits, no one in reality will dress like that. It was really bothersome. I like art in tenshi… more.

Characters
Mikako cries a lot too. Not so much as Midori, but it is more annoying. She was really selfish to the point of hating girls that got close to Tsutomu even when she didn’t have a right to. She should have told him sooner that she likes him if it bothered her so much. Tsutomu was much more mature, but the same goes for him. Maybe the mangaka shouldn’t make them in love with each other already but make it through the story. The gag about Tsutomu looking like Ken was present only in the first volume with occasional appearances later, but no girls were after him after body-ko. Strange, considering it was made a huge point of the story at first.
The most hated character - P-chan. That long haired guy is my favorite. He got most character development too. And Ayumi is OK. But no character really got to me, too bad.

Enjoyment
Yes, it's still a good shoujo, I'm just a very critical person. The jokes breaking the forth wall were quite bad and a lot of them. One on the side would be enough but there were so much of them, sometimes even on a whole page. I can't help comparing it to the other two mangas so I think I'm being too hateful, but it was a good read.

I liked this one more than Paradise Kiss, but reading this one made me glad I read the other one too, as near the end a plot is started that ties up with the sequel. The art is not as good as Parakiss, but is very unique nonetheless. I loved the characters! It is a great, fun read. I highly suggest for Shoujo readers who like quality served with their romance.

I read Tenshi Nanka ja Nai before this manga and it took me about 1 vol to get used to the art. This manga is very different from Tenshi Nanka ja Nai. Tenshi Nanka ja Nai's art is so much more simple than this one (especially the way the characters dress). The first vol is kinda boring for me. But the story keeps getting better and better. The ending made me so satisfied.
I still can't understand why this manga's rate is lower than Tenshi Nanka ja Nai's. Midori is so good, so innocent and so boring. Mikako is way better

Art (10%): 9
The art is cute an original and the clothes are so cute. I also like how the characters are not amazingly gorgeous because that makes the manga feel more realistic. The downside is that some characters are similar to other characters in the mangaka's other works.

Story (40%): 10
I love stories where someone has a goal/aspiration that they want to accomplish and that he/she works toward that goal. Mikako wants to become a fashion designer and this is incorporated nicely with the romance between her and her childhood friend. The story is sweet and has no plot holes (or no plot holes that I can see). I also like how the mangaka connects this story to Paradise Kiss without making it a huge part where you would have to read both to understand it.

Character (40%): 9
The heroine is a very unique character like most artist are and I love her and her habits (like doing something extreme like dieing her hair pink when something is bothering her). It wasn't just the heroine that I liked; all the characters were likable. The downside to the characters is that I did not feel like there was a lot (or any) development.

Enjoyment (10%): 10
This part doesn't really need a comment, I just enjoyed reading the story. This story is one of the only stories where I really liked the ending.

Total Score: 9.5

... Last updated on July 16th, 2010, 2:25pm

Amazing amazing amazing!
I read Paradise Kiss first so I actually had no idea who Mikako was so when I found out there had been a series about her I had to search for it! And I ended up liking it a lot more then Paradise Kiss because it had more to do with Mikako's struggles to become a fashion designer and they seemed way more in depth then Caroline who didnt really have much to sacrifice in Para Kiss.
I also loved it because of her and Tsutomu's sweet and deep love. I loved who they had their little troubles but they didnt have anything that would ever shake them from loving one another.
It's a definite favorite!

Love this manga. I love Yazawa sensei and all her works. This one is really good and I love how it connects with you, and the characters and everything.

@dreamit: There already is a sequel (sorta), paradise kiss.

Set at an art & design high school and telling the coming-of-age tale of 17 year-old fashion design student Mikako and her childhood friend Tsutomu, "Gokinjo Monogatari" is one of the most fresh and original shoujo series that I have ever read. The cast is diverse and colorful, the setting is unique, the art is stylish, and the story is all at once poignant, humorous, and inspiring. Every girl should read this series. It really will make you want to drop all of the mundane things you're doing, go out, and live life to the fullest.

... Last updated on December 1st, 2008, 7:33pm

i feel like i'm one of the few people who read this before paradise kiss.
i started reading this manga a couple months ago, but i dropped it inbetween volume 3 b/c i felt it was kinda draggy.. i picked it up again today, and finished it right away
the story's cute, and the characters are realistic. the art is simply gorgeous; it's so intricate. i especially love risa and takeshi's characters and designs. i guess you could say i liked the later part of the story more than the beginning...

next up is parakiss

... Last updated on January 3rd, 2013, 6:05pm