I finished all the chapters currently out and enjoyed them, but I rather agree with some of the other commenters about the negative parts. All in all, I felt that Kuragehime was a story that has some serious issues if you actually sit down and think about it, but manages to gloss over them because it's amusing, well-drawn, and has really quirky interesting characters.

For instance, a lot of what's being played for laughs is actually kind of terrible - like Kuranosuke spending huge amounts of his family's money, not going to school, and throwing his family's reputation under the bus on a whim. Tsukimi has a strange amount of men after her considering how much she doesn't care. Mayaya is an awful friend who whines constantly, throws tantrums, does really nothing productive unless forced or bribed, and worst of all, casually throws away her friends for her own comfort. All the older politicians are perverts. Virginity is apparently like a disease, and the reactions of some of the characters toward men are just... what?

Also, for a story about otaku NEET women, Kuragehime is, shall we say, less than empowering. There's a lot of story about rescuing Tsukime, without considering that perhaps Tsukime should be making something of herself. There's also a rather heavy layer of shallowness (mostly regarding looks and particularly at the beginning) that is hard to describe and mostly played for laughs. Perhaps the best female character introduced up to this point has been the Indian sister of the clothing manufacturer, who is unfortunately just a side character.

Basically, Kuragehime is a story that makes you laugh by playing to preexisting prejudices on women who dress well, women who don't, corrupt politicians, etc. It does it very well, and it's memorable and funny and interesting and even occasionally sad and touching, but if you really think about the some of the issues it's using as a premise you can get a little squicked out.

... Last updated on November 2nd, 2014, 10:34pm

i watched the anime for this awhile ago and was SO upset that the ending was so inconclusive (THERE MUST BE A SECOND SEASON OR THERE WILL BE BLOOD). i was craving for more of the story lately, so i finally got around to reading the manga.

GUH, i'm in love with the characters and story all over again. it's funny how at first, the amars' are completely distinguished from other characters due to their otakuness and weirdness, but then you slowly realize that the other characters are just as much of an otaku as they are...lol (even kuranosuke's dad, lmao). in the end it makes you feel like it's okay to have a huge passion for something, even if that passion becomes borderline obsession XD it's inspiring to those who have huge passions like they do and wish to build careers from them.

all of the characters are unique, relatable, funny and endearing. i love all the characters in the weird romance triangle (square?) that i don't know who to root for (kuranosuke is so beautiful and brash...but shuu is so...adorable...!!!). i highly recommend this manga for anyone looking for a funny and heartwarming story with some coming-of-age elements to it. read it!! do it for guanzhong!

In the beginning, I was very skeptical of this manga and had problems continuing. This is because I had no interest in fashion, and I didn't like how the manga seemed to look down on women who were not good looking nor took care of their looks. It felt very superficial.

However, as it went on the manga got better and better. The story became less about "you NEETs are ugly af and need to become beautiful to survive in society", and more about a bunch of women who did nothing productive with their lives, who started to work together towards a dream of creating a fashion line. Of course, many of the amars were very lazy and were difficult to motivate (mainly Mayaya and Banba) but some were more earnest, such as Cheiko.

Tsukimi, who in the beginning could only feel sorry for herself, started to polish her own talent in designing and worked hard under the guidance of Kuranosuke. Someone like me who had zero interest in fashion started to get invested in their journey as a fashion line, and now this is one of my favorite shoujos (well, technically josei) due to its unique plot. The relationship between Kuranosuke and his mother was very touching at times as well.

I want to do a quick run down of the two main characters.

Kuranosuke is a very unique male lead in romance, being both a crossdresser who also sometimes dresses as a fashionable male. He dresses as a female, but his natural personality is rather masculine, although he has a "feminine" interest in fashion. I grew to like him more and more. Being an unwanted love child between his playboy politician father and his foreign mother who was a singer, he acts out by crossdressing and living a free spirited life. He has a fiery personality and instantly DOES something when he wants to accomplish things. His pushy outgoing personality is the driving force that changes the passive lives of the amars, and mostly Tsukimi. He's always there to make them work when they slack off, and go out to advertise their brand when they rather stay inside.

Tsukimi is... basically an extremely shy and withdrawn "otaku" who is obsessed with jellyfish. I feel her personality has developed as the story has went on. From when she was basically resistant to doing almost anything in the beginning, to being caught up in the shenanigans of all the rich and "stylish" people she had to constantly be around after a while. Over time I think she has been willing to do more, whether it be helping with the brand or spending all night making designs. While she still has a meek personality, I grew to like her more than I did in the beginning. She still has a long way to go regarding development, but overall she's still pretty entertaining.

This manga is certainly unique, and I recommend people sticking with it until the fashion line part begins, and the real story starts. I can't say everyone will like it, but it has a lot of humor that also amplified my enjoyment.

You know a mark of a good series? You start reading it then wish it had as many volumes as Skip Beat. Why? Because at this point, there are only 7 volumes out and I want there to be more. The story is well done enough that I and other readers will become Amars junkies.
P.S. If having the hunky boyfriend is important to you ... this isn't your series. Wait a few years and then you'll appreciate it.

... Last updated on April 22nd, 2011, 9:02pm

Kuragehime's really adorable. The characters are interesting and pretty original, though they don't really change or develop over the course of the manga. On the one hand, this is realistic because many of the characters are otaku women who've lived a very shut-in lifestyle for a long time (hence, it'd be unrealistic for them to suddenly be super sociable), but on the other hand, it's kind of unsatisfying to see Tsukimi and Kuranosuke stay basically emotionally stagnant. Unfortunately, Kuragehime also suffers from being so long. The plot's okay but the mangaka never commits to it and instead spends a lot of time talking about the ins and outs of the fashion industry. Because this manga is largely character-driven, all of the industry stuff is just really boring and detracts from what makes this manga special (the characters).
Kuragehime's nice, but I don't see myself finishing the series.

... Last updated on January 18th, 2013, 4:23pm

I just ask how possible can be this manga not be lisenced in english The manga/anime is so damn cool and yet the series isn't licensed =x=
Also I love so much this manga I want more...8 volumes aren't enough!

This is my favourite josei. It's funny, it's original, it's cute, and the art is different. I absolutely adored the anime.
However, there are a few kinks. One is that despite how little effort Tsukimi makes, she so far has like 3 hot wealthy guys after her? I'm sorry but that is just absurd. Some of the characters are so lazy and self-centered it's a wonder how they have friends (looking at Mayaya and Banba). Kuranosuke needs to stop being a d*ck and go to school, and stop wasting so much money. The way the manga portrays pretty people as airheaded and shallow is just re-enforcing stereotypes.

If you get past all of those problems though, this is a cute josei manga with great creative art and entertaining characters. To its core it's really about a group of aimless shut-ins that learn how to live their lives and work for something. I enjoyed it immensely.

... Last updated on April 9th, 2015, 1:26pm

I watched the anime of this first and was already hooked by the opening. I just love how this mangaka creates such unique characters. Indeed, it is funny, but not too comedic. After I watched the two episodes, I read the manga and thought the anime had better quality of illustration even though their basically the same. I'm not saying I don't like the manga; I totally looove it! It doesn't say much about romance, but I am 99% sure there will be. If you love shoujo manga, I would recommend this.

I first watched the anime, who left me completely in love with the story. I waited patiently till the entire thing was translated and then dove in with a sense of bliss, that I could finally dig into one of my favorites. Boy did I not expect what was coming. Nothing, and I mean *nothing* gets resolved in this manga. How can you have 17 volumes of something and STILL not manage to resolve a single storyline? How can you have 17 volumes and still manage to give off the feeling that this work was axed in the end? The mind boggles.

both the theme and the characters. Of course, you can't change someone's personality that easy. So it is understandable when those eccentric characters depicted being uneasy toward the changes they had to face. A change is about a process. So if there are people who yearn for change, people who are afraid of change do exist, too....and those are the amars