I can't put this title down, and reading it sticks me with this permanent goofy grin, which makes me feel really stupid. Giggling like a little girl and grinning like an idiot simply cannot be healthy for a guy my age.

Uncomfortable reading experiences aside, UnM is so much fun. It makes me feel a little stupid, ranting so glowingly over a harem manga. But for what it lacks in uniqueness of genre, it certainly makes up for in every other aspect.

It may feature four of the major female character archetypes, but it doesn't take long to realize that while they may be somewhat cliché, they're all actually quite interesting and lovable. Though it's quite obviously a harem-style story, that's not immediately obvious to the uninformed, and the back story is quite elaborately set up. The experience never feels like a cheap excuse to get girls flocking to a guy, like most harem stories do. Even the pantsu, oppai, kissing, blushing, and general non-stop fan service somehow don't seem like cheap ratings-oriented inserts. The artwork in every single chapter is absolutely gorgeous. The story is actually pretty deep and explores themes like, fate and destiny, purpose, responsibility, indoctrination, self-discovery, culture, love and friendship.

I can't find any way to say anything negative about this title - even it's generic/clichéd aspects go far above and beyond the expected. If you're not already reading this title, here's a piece of advice for you: stop whatever you're doing, right now, and go read this.

... Last updated on August 3rd, 2009, 12:32am

I've always wondered if Fumizuki Kou writes for eroges. Ai Yori Aoshi always struck me as an hgame or visual novel series turned into a manga. (Lots of random nakedness, a few parts that could have become sex scenes, etc.) Umi no Misaki feels like a single less dramatic slower paced hgame.

The guy pops into an isolated island and learns to live with the local customs. He gets wrapped up in it and starts having relations with three local girls all looking to hook up with him. The main draw is that the story largely deals with him adapting to life on the island. The main turn off is that the character isn't likely to decisively pick a girl any time soon (i.e. standard harem problem). Since the focus of the story has more to do with the former than the latter, it has been a rather easy going and enjoyable read. When it does go into the choosing period, I imagine the story will become one hell of a lot more dramatic/agitating.

... Last updated on September 15th, 2009, 7:11pm

I really like Ai Yori by this author, and Umi no Misaki delivers as well. The relationships develop at a fast pace and it feels like he could end up with any one of the girls, although if it follows the rules of most harem manga, it'll probably be the first chick he met when he came to the island. Expect laughs, bitter tears (from yourself), and drama that isn't over the top by any means while reading this. Even though the premise seems a bit odd, the way it's executed is brilliant.

You probably won't find anything extraordinary about Umi No Misaki (except for the incredibly drawn paradisiac scenarios), but it's execution is still very good, even if the cast is not the most original in the world. It's an entertaining and enjoyable read, the progression is good, and it's simply put: fun. It gives you that feeling of happiness. I'd certainly recommend it.

If you can't stand characters spending forever in awkward misunderstanings and trying to figure out thier feelings for each other, this is for you. The author spends little time with the buildup to the romance (almost too little) and just dives in. It goes at swift pace that very little felt episodic or filler, which is a common probelm in harem. Plot is pretty straightforward, doesn't offer many surprises, but the few taht are there fit well. Each heroine gets her own subplot. One heroine does get more spotlight than the others, but it's definitly not as bad as most other harems I've read. Light hearted read for the most part. Ending was pretty satisfiying and did not feel rushed.

The heroines are pretty cliche and you can pretty much guess who fits into what archtype the first time you meet them. Authour did a good job in not making them boring however. MC does nothing new and is mostly the harem lead you'd expect. I will say that he is not completley spinless which makes him likable to a small degree. There is character devlopment, which does a little to spice up the very "by the book" charcter tropes. There are a few side cast memebers, mostly forgettable due to them having very little spotlight. There was a goofy loli looking teacher that was mostly around for jokes and to give advice to the main cast that I felt didn't do much at all excpet tell reader what was already known and be annoying. Satus quo for a gag charsacter.

Art is very inconsistent. Usally the close up shots of the characters have very good shape, but most of the time chracters are just round looking. Hands are often drawn a little too big, small gripe as it was only noticable in a few full body shots. tons of detail in objects and backgrounds, in some instances it screams at you that it was traced. Though I will say that it was not often where the charcters looked completley out of place.

My expections are usually low for harem, but it givien it's high rating I decided to give this a shot. Defintley worth it in my opinion. Doesn't reinvent the genre, but definitley does things I would like to see more of. Romance that is actually part of the story and not just at the very end. Alos not having a single heroine that takes center stage and the rest be side cast.

There's quite a few points that the author set out to do and executed it quite well.

1. The island and countryside lifestyle atmosphere are conveyed very well.
2. The relationships between the male mc and his various harem females are executed superbly. The bonds are slowly developed for each female and it explores their various happiness, dilemmas, insecurities and duties as the island maidens.
3. The male MC is actually quite capable to notice the feelings of the various girls around him. He's not dense but also not forceful.
3. Nice touch of soft comedic dialogues that are actually quite funny in its own subtle ways.
4. NO DRAMA. Even without drama, the series built up a good climax with the issues mentioned above.

However, one big drawback is the art. The art for the first volume is amazing. In contrast to the rest of the series, the character designs went from realistic to chibi face with dbz style haircuts....If this series had kept the same mature artistic style, shown in the first chapter, for the rest of the series, it would have been a perfect 10/10.

... Last updated on August 28th, 2015, 1:04am

Ignore the naysayers below; this is quite possibly the best harem manga out there. The setting is beautiful and magical. The story uses tropes in a delightful way. There's true emotion to the struggle in the story. Best of all, there's a reason for love-polygon and the relationships built are truly touching. The ending is satisfying.

My only complaint is that I'd love a longer denouement; I wish we could see more of the relationship continuing.

You're going to look at the tags, ecchi, harem, and romance and immediately think it's a pile of unremarkable crap done a thousand times and I wouldn't blame you. We've had how many thousand generic harems now? Well Umi no Misaki is different. There are other girls obviously, but the KYAAA ECCHI crap is completely out, the misunderstandings don't happen, the 15 volumes to realize you actually like MC are deleted, and the characters that would have been twin-tail tsunderes are buttered up to actually full personalities.

The characters in this are what really set it apart with the MC leading the charge. He's 17 but he's no shounen MC, he has a full personality and actively tries to understand the girls, even reciprocating feelings, actually a LOT of reciprocation. Like others have said, this is basically an eroge without the sex. . Pretty much every volume is the same formula, which typically is essentially a bunch of dates where the girls are competing with each other for the MC's favor. This sounds absolutely awful on paper, but it's executed very well. Every girl has the opportunity to show their feelings towards the MC and it doesn't turn into any sort of "Bawww he doesn't like me" crap either. In general it's just a very fulfilling harem romance that you don't see often.

It's the kind of manga you download and then bang out 10 volumes without looking up, and it's generally really heart-warming and cute, so give it a shot.

I kinda hate the whole harem thing which I try to avoid nowadays, but put it aside and you have a great manga with, and i mean it, AMAZING art. Not fot the characters, who are plain, but the sceneries... The only manga I read where I actually stopped in front of a picture for a whole 10 minutes. The main guy does get everything a little easily, but it didn't really bother me. I only hope that it won't have a coward harem ending, and I root for karin who is way better than the others ( but i fear Shizuku will win, being the first girl he meets and everything)

I won't say "read it !" but if you have a little time to spare just give it a try, you might like it.

... Last updated on June 24th, 2011, 5:04pm

at first, it goes through same old same old path other harem manga takes. introduce the girls, some conflicts, some misunderstandings, etc, etc. everything is fine and dandy and they are all so cute, with the main character the usual kind hearted, follow along with anything kind of guy that populated the harem world.

then it goes overdrive to sex mode. all the orgasmic expression, the foreplay, the boobs...well, the mangaka draw hentai, so it's not that bad. however, one cannot really get into it because the mangaka love to super impose cute on sexy, and you just end up laughing seeing the cherubic, round and cute face of Nagi sucking on a girl's boob. i was quite perplex with the choice of character design at such point in story, but i chalk it up to the mangaka trying to keep the tone as low as possible and dont become full on hentai, though it feels a bit shotacon and lolicon ish.

then towards the end everything goes dark, the characters become dark and theres some unbelievable sex scene (the last one). with so much flashback and supernatural happenings, you know things finally getting serious.

but then it goes happy ending at the end so everything is fine, and you are fine. you just have this niggling question - wheres the sequel because you really want to see how are their kids holding on.