WARNING: This review contains spoilers!
All right, I don't want to pick a fight with the many fans this story obviously has, but to me, just trying to survive the first few volumes was sheer torture. What made the torture worse was that the set-up was so good -- with the first volume, I had high hopes of what would happen in the future. I kept reading because I wanted to see those hopes fulfilled. Instead, the plot went swiftly downhill and just kept getting worse. It got more and more unrealistic as time went on, and I was completely unable to believe a thing that was happening.
Don't get me wrong... I really like the heroine. I think she's awesome -- strong, unique and interesting. Unfortunately, the manga is wasted on her. Some of the situations she has to deal with are just ridiculous.
Take the guy named Tsukasa, for example. I can't believe that he was simply forgiven and even accepted as a friend by the heroine after he paid a group of guys to rape her. I mean, what the hell? That's totally inconsistent with her personality! With anyone's personality!
There are plenty of other situations that are unreal or that don't make any sense -- like the heroine getting dragged behind a car in full view of the entire student body and the teachers. There's also that malicious beyotch Sakurako, who suddenly turns around and repents when it's convenient. I mean, I can suspend my disbelief a few times, but this manga's really stretching it!
I'm not saying that factual realism is what makes a manga good -- because there are plenty of fantasy stories that are great. No, what bothers me most about this manga is that it lacks emotional realism and psychological consistency. Things just don't make sense. They're overly melodramatic. The characters themselves are well-made, but they're placed in such completely unreal situations that they can't develop properly.
I want to hold my head and cry for wasting my time on this manga. Usually, if I don't like a manga, I just stop reading after a few chapters -- but what made this story so hard to give up on was the fact that the heroine rocked. I feel so disappointed that such an excellent character was wasted on a story like this. Augh. If I hadn't had such high hopes, I guess I'd never bother to rant like this!
Please don't read Hana Yori Dango if you want to read intelligent shoujo or a consistent story. If you're looking for good shoujo, read something like Gokusen, Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, Eden no Hana, Baby Pop, Auto Focus or any number of other titles. Just NOT THIS ONE. I fell for the trap offered by the first few chapters, and by the glowing praises of so many fans. But trust me when I say that the story doesn't live up to its best points. It just gets worse!
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