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.

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!

It's a so good manga! The art is... Yazawa-like. The story is funny, sad, romantic, serious, realistic etc. I'm a fan of MIKAKO and TSUTOMU! (And Noriji, of course!) I like all characters! Really, ALL!

I thought this would be worse then Paradise kiss, cause ParaKiss was very good not to and its also newer, but when I read this I found out that this is way better. This is deffinitly a good read.

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

Any shoujo manga connoisseur would give this two thumbs up! The mangaka put a lot of effort into costume design for every character. Styles run the gamut, from loli to punk, and each of them is well executed. You'd probably take a second glance at some of the clothes in here. Story-wise... it's engaging, and it's sure to draw you in.

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

This is probably one of the best shoujos out there. Since I already read ParaKiss, it was interesting seeing Mikako start her career as a designer. The art is beautiful, fashionable and unique. But then again this is Yawaza's work.

The characters and their relationships were developed in a realistic way. They are flawed and have imperfect personalities. The manga goes on to show how love may affect your decisions. But, I just loved Parakiss so much more... Maybe because it was a josei and showed more of the painful reality.

The ending of Gokinjo Monogatari was good, it was happy. Maybe overly joyful with no angst.. but this is a shoujo. It was good for a shoujo.

... Last updated on April 10th, 2008, 3:20pm

it's one of the rare, best of the best reads you can ever find out there..for a manga series almost 11 years old, the art is supreme and I got blown away. The plot may come off draggy at first, but it gets better as it gets on. Packed with the right amount of everything; humour, romance and drama, what more could you ask for?
The characters are lovable and unforgettable too..I yearn for more! The cover art is really disastrous though, please don't judge from it. I guess the story fits perfectly with Mikako's little sister following her roots of design; growing up to become part of the fashion design team in Parakiss..with a fraction of her love life in there..!