WARNING: This review contains spoilers!

I think I'm one of the few people who actually read this manga before reading Nana. Admittedly, the art is less mature here, but this story still has the poignancy and truthfulness that Yazawa fans love. Midori is much more deeply layered and authentic a character than many shoujo heroines are, and both her happiness and her pain feel so real to me. I can really relate to her, even though she's such a different person!

Don't go by the official blurb -- this is much more than just a light-hearted school comedy. Sure, there are moments of pure laughter, but there are also dashes of heartbreak and tragedy. Despite the sheer variety of emotions this manga evokes, everything stays in balance -- nothing is overdone, and everything makes sense.

I especially love the fact that romantic relationships aren't idealized, here -- it isn't assumed that just because the guy and the girl get together, everything will go well. Instead, this manga deals with some of the very real problems a young couple can go through. The main couple even break up after getting together -- which is an amazing fact, and something rarely seen it in a shoujo manga. Despite this, the painful break-up and the slow recovery from it are beautiful to watch, precisely because both aspects are so universal. Even if they do make up with each other, the fact that they've experienced such a separation makes their relationship so much more realistic.

This is truly an amazing manga. Don't miss it!

... Last updated on July 12th, 2007, 6:24pm

This manga perfectly captures the joy and energy of youth. And sometimes I can't believe something this... happy was written by Yazawa-sensei.
It's just a simple and cute story about those carefree school days, about first loves, about having fun with friends and classmates, about just enjoying life and simple everyday things. I loved both Midori and Akira and practically everyone else.
I read this a looooong time ago, but one thing that I will always remember about it are the smiles. Obviously characters in other manga also smile, but these smiles just seemed so genuine. When Midori smiled it reminded me of those days when I wasn't a clueless child anymore, but I also didn't have the worries and burdens of adults on my shoulders. And when Akira smiled back at her it reminded me of the fun days with my friends in the classroom, of waiting for the bus together while telling jokes and laughing are asses of.
It captured my heart!

This made me cry a bunch of time and I love midori for being strong! A lot says that she's weak and I don't see how. She pursued her love and smiled when her heart was breaking. That's real strength right there! Akira might've been somewhat a jerk but the author explained why he was and that's understandable. I still fell in love with a manga character. The other characters were also really well made written and although i wanted more from the end, it was already well ended. OVERALL OF 10/10

I never really planned on reading this manga because the art isn't my style but you get used to it after 1 volume. The story captivated me and just brought out so many different emotions and i really loved the character development. I went from smiling to serious to laughing to crying to being angry, it's really a roller coaster of emotions! I specifically loved the main character Midori because i've never seen any character that positive and energetic in all my reads. Despite the fact that she cries a lot and she's really outgoing, she's really strong and serious when it comes to the most important things. She has the ability to give others warmth and transfer her strength. I absolutely loved this manga and If you're hesitating because the art is a bit different, then you're going to miss out on something worth while. Some of the best manga's have the most average art. The ending was also very well done, i loved it!

At first I thought this one was going to be a normal shojo-manga with some nice and funny comedy-elements. Well, in fact that's it but Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai is special because it's kind of predictable but heart-warming. I cried a few times while reading it and that didn't happen to me for a long, long time. The story draggs you into it and the characters are lovable (even if the female protagonist is a cry-baby, but you can understand her pain). I recommend to those who like shojo with a bit comedy. It's a very special manga. I really I cried...I can't believe it, but it was so moving and touching.

Aagh...I kept putting this off because the art just isn't to my taste but I finally got over it saying to myself I've read great manga with worse art anyways. I'm so happy happy HAPPY I finally read this!

Just love. While I was reading this, I started enjoying it and appreciating how rare it is to find shoujo mangas like this. There aren't any typical stereotypes that are strictly adhered to even though it seems that way in the beginning.

I kept assuming superficial reasons for the drama which I usually expect nowadays from shoujo manga but the plots actually have depth. There is reason for pain and although , you get to really feel for the characters.

As one reviewer said, I too wanted more from the ending. Although many are satisfied with it, I wanted to see Akira one more time or at least a scene with them being lovey-dovey (which I usually don't go for but I so wanted to see it here).

Those that would usually be labeled antagonists aren't made evil for the heck of it, just to add drama which is done soooo many countless times in other manga (ex. evil dad for the sake of having drama or slutty mom just to give a reason for the protagonist's reactions/psych). The threads are tied up really well despite my want for more from the ending.

It's so hard to find shoujo like this nowadays. You do find some but most of the time, the shoujo genre is chuck full of painful cliches, putting off so many readers from really finding the gems.

I assumed so much on this and was proven wrong from the very start.

The drama about the main couple getting together that is usually dragged painfully on in some mangas doesn't happen here. Here, it's more believable. The guy isn't some brooding bastard hesitant to try a relationship and how they develop together is believable, not the hit-over-the-head kind of falling in love.

The depth of the drama was unexpected because I automatically assumed they were going to be shallow misunderstandings. I cheered with the characters, I cried, I laughed, then sobbed a bit more.

... Last updated on February 27th, 2012, 2:35am

Sensei is the master of portraying realistic relationships in the shoujo genre! If you have read about the heroines in this genre, to the point of being sick of them, then you'll find this one quite refreshing. Not because there are no cliches, but because her personality is not only likable but you are able to understand her actions.

It took me forever to finish this, usually i read something like this within a week at most, but with this manga it stretched for over a month.
Why?
Because i just didn't feel it. The start was great and i love older stories but it dwindled to mediocrity. Midori is such a huge cry baby, omg i couldn't stand it, i mean it was almost every single chapter with her tears. Main characters make or break a manga, and for me Midori broke it. I found the view of dreams to be utterly irrealistic and made the female characters weak. The romance factor was so overly dramatic that ended up making the manga a little bit worse. The friendship was the reedeming factor, throughout the story it was well developed and i loved the student council theme. But for me it just wasn't enough because the tears and the romance kept getting in the way.
Note that this rating shouln't be viewed as bad, it isn't. For me this just isn't top stuff.

Yes, the main character did get annoying here and there with her constant crying, & don't get me wrong usually I HATE the weak main character types as much as majority of people do, but this manga was an exception. it turned out to be such a beautiful story & the ending had the capability of leaving me with this indescribably wonderful feeling.

... Last updated on March 19th, 2011, 1:34pm

There are very few mangas I would rate as outstanding. There are even fewer that when I finish reading them I think back over how much I loved everything about the story. This however is one of them. It has to be one of the best, brightest, most enjoyable stories I've ever read in manga. There are others that similarly tug at the heart strings. But I can't remember a single one, that made me laugh, made me cry, and make me ache for the characters, and all they were going through.

Theres nothing bad in this manga. Which is unusual, as theres normally excessive stuff like bullying, or stupidity, or pointless misunderstandings. This one though just flows, from beginning to end. With tears and laughter throughout. Its a classic, drown in an older style, especially at first. But it really makes me wish someone would license it and publish it. Either that or that there would be an anime of it.

A definite Must Read!

... Last updated on March 15th, 2009, 11:42pm