IMHO. 'Haikara-san ga tooru' ~ Sasha, malinka and vodka

This is already a symptom and not a coincidence: the in-between animators are modern youngsters, they don't want to to sit in the studio office and slave away until midnight like people did in Ghibli, they want to go home early and have a life.

I'm joking, of course, but here's the result: despite being 'gekijouban', or 'theatrical movie', 'Haikara' is no Ghibli, and the in-between animation is so poor it seems Ranmaru is shaking with convulsions when he's supposed to be performing a traditional Japanese dance, where 'traditional' inevitably means graceful and smooth. Compared to the beautiful, but static backgrounds, moving sprites in less important scenes are just as awful as they were in TV series from 90s with a very limited budget and very limited production time.

I am surely getting repetitive, but how can I pretend I don't see it when I do: Benio is already beyond the first dozen in my list of shoujo Heroines possessing the same traits:

positive and cheerful - check

tomboyish, fights and climbs up trees though she's not supposed to - check

clumsy in everyday life, poor at household chores and bad at studying - check

capable of a profound feeling - check

has at least one or even a whole harem of boys falling in love with her, but choosing her only one - check

finds happiness even after something devastating happens - check

This may be still continued.

There's one more common trait I haven't yet mentioned in the list which is the one that makes me instantly disappointed:

No, you don't have to change your mind and suddenly start doing your best in something you weren't initially interested in every time somebody points out you can't do it.

We must remember that the original manga and TV series were created in 70s when this kind of shoujo was a standard. And while the original TV series may be watched as a specimen of its own kind, the new 'Haikara' is nothing more than a very unskilled attempt to pack a very long manga into a little more than 3 hours, which is the length of 2 movies combined.

Certain moments introducing an element of humour made 'Haikara' watchable, thanks to the level of their absurdity.

However, fun doesn't make up for everything else, and inserting old songs re-recorded as instrumentals does not instantly make the new anime classic.

'Haikara' has probably one of the highest concentration of stereotypes per a unit of time. Not only Benio is that typical shoujo Heroine, but everything that happens to her seems to be taken from some kind of 'how to write a shoujo' manual, and under a condition that anyone who fails to follow the instruction wouldn't be published. Of course, her beloved regains his memory, and of course there's some woman fatally ill or hurt whose side he cannot leave, and of course the Heroine wouldn't want that woman to suffer, so she decides to break up, and of course she pretends she loves another good guy, but of course that's not true, and of course he understands because he's such a good guy, of course another woman conveniently dies and of course a happy ending follows. Wait, I know a story that didn't have that convenient ending. Well, at least something is different in those old shoujos.

Why did you bother at all to hire such nice voice actors, I wonder, Nippon animation? I mean, you didn't give a damn about animation, story, characters even - so why Miyano and Hayami? Kazuya Nakai and Kenta Miyake, voicing the two favourite characters of mine - just because they weren't as predictable and were real fun, were particularly impressive. Others were pretty good too.

My guess is - there was no money left. Maybe you can turn to crowdfunding, dear Nippon animation?

By the way, Vodka again - that hurts. I mean it, stop mentioning it whenever Russia is discussed. It's not funny already. Well, I'm grateful they didn't write ВОЛКА instead.

By the way, there is no such flower as 'malinka', which is an affectionate-diminutive form of 'malina', which stands for 'raspberry' and generally means either berries or the plant itself. I'm actually not sure what kind of raspberry is mentioned here, but there seems to be a smaller kind of raspberry called 'Manchurian' or 'Tibetian'. And even then, it's not the thing that Russians call 'malinka'.

I also doubt a member of aristocracy would be called by his short name Sasha by his aristocrat wife speaking about him to a third party.

And no, they didn't wear thick coats or hats with fur in summer. Even in Irkutsk.

IMHO. Wataru Hibiki ~ how each next work gets worse and worse

It's just probably better to describe my impressions of all works together than one by one, as I usually do, since this is not a case of a single work I like or dislike, but a process of my disillusionment.

'Hanatsuki hime'
The first work by Hibiki I have read and the one that made me think Hibiki might become one of my favourite authors of all times. Hibiki uses her favourite fanasy-middle-East setting with fancy costumes with a lot of necklaces and hair decorations, turbans and veils covering the lower half of the girls' faces, curved sables and flowing fabrics, dancing, jinn and flowers in the desert. It seems Hibiki is very fond of such designs since she ruthlessly exploited the same in her other one-shot stories, haha.
The storyline is smooth, the characters are given enough depth and there are several really impressive heart-rending scenes that convey the characters' feelings straight from the screen of my computer (since I'm reading only digital manga) to my heart. The female lead is your typical overly-positive-and-never-giving-up kind of girl you will find in most shoujo manga. Now, I've met some likeable overly-positive-and-never-giving-up girls in manga and anime and it has been proved in practice that such girls can sometimes even become my favorites. Lys is one of the likeable ones, even though she doesn't really change much throughout the story. As for the male lead, he is calm and composed, usually gloomy, but his caring, tender side does not contrast with his usual composure to the extent that would make the reader feel cheated. His outbursts of anger look natural, too. The side characters are also credible, full of life and blend seamlessly into the story. While the plot is very simple and the big scary problem in the end is solved in a snap of a finger by introducing an absolutely author-led contrivance, I didn't mind, because the mangaka managed to make me sympathise with the characters.

'Shounen dolls'
The second longer work of Hibiki I partially enjoyed. Sometimes side panels in manga with the author's comments can be very, very informative. Hibiki admits herself that she had plans to expand the story and she wasn't sure what to do with 'Shounen dolls' next. As a result - the pace is jumping from slower to faster, the story flow feels disrupted, and even though every story requires several everyday episodes as well as building menace that will strike in the end, 'Shounen dolls' was hardly an example of how these two factors should be intertwined. Hibiki also shared that out of all the male characters, Yuki, the composed and tender guy, was the most popular. It's no wonder since Leo, the male lead, was a perfect tsundere, and even though you possibly won't take him as a textbook example of a tsundere, he is certainly a graphic example of such, and the problem is - there was hardly anything else in him except for being tsundere. Compared to him, Yuki was a character who could be more widely accepted, and he was given more detail, at least some 'tragic past' one had to consider. Since Ageha is nothing more than a generic shoujo heroine, there is nothing special to say about her.

Most of the problems were solved with a wave of a magic wand, and that was surprising - Ageha was shown to work harder backstage that she did in times of trouble when the manga closed-up on her. Her reaction to the imminent threat to her beloved was supposed to feel fresh, if only it were my first shoujo manga ever. The female lead saying something down-to-earth to the mighty enemy instead of trembling with fear or bursting into tears, is no longer original or impressive.

The last 'big scary problem' was again solved with a simple change of mind of a side character who, after threatening the good guys team, suddenly decided not only to spare them but even to help them live happily ever after. In fact, I might have enjoyed the 'slice-of-life' segment of this work more than I enjoyed the general storyline.

'Oiran girl'
The last of the three long works by Hibiki and the one that made me understand how vain my expectations were. It seems Hibiki prefers that the mystery encompassing the first chapter stays in the first chapter, and this is hardly a spoiler. Just like in 'Shounen dolls', where the missing character Yuki was found quickly, thus making the story so-not-about-searching-for-him, in 'Oiran girl' one has to be very dumb or very poorly acquainted with Japanese manga to fail to understand that the celebrity courtesan Takao is no other than the male lead. Now this attempt by Hibiki to make her characters original failed in an even more epic way than in 'Shounen dolls', to my taste. So, in the very first chapter the female lead learns that: 1) the guy she likes spent 8 years trying to avenge her family; 2) the guy she likes had not only to cross-dress but even to become a top courtesan; 3) the guy she likes does not hate her, but cares about her deeply and protects her constantly; 4) the guy she likes gathered money to buy her freedom. And what does she have to say about all that? 'I haven't beaten you as a top courtesan yet'. The most important thing to say at such a moment. But despair not, she and the male lead are two peas in a pod, and he has something to say: 'Go on and beat me, if you can'. You know. A girl he likes. Staying in a brothel.
Well, Tsubaki is just another 'strong-willed' girl who 'hates to lose'.

It's actually a type I like and respect. It's usually very funny when such girls take on a silly bet or take part in a silly game simply because they hate to lose. However, it's only nice when this bet or game is dictated by certain circumstances and leads to a favourable result. It's also very, very touching when a strong-willed heroine discovers something she can't cope with alone and changes from a strong confident woman to a fragile girl who needs help. It's just that it's not cool when this change is not written out properly, leaving a taste of artificiality.
Just a month or two ago I discovered a hot discussion of a certain Japanese TV drama. Poor viewers from developed western countries, they mistook it for a serious artwork and were expecting credibility and realism from it. They were complaining that the main characters were solving their psychological problems by the expense of each other rather than applying for qualified help of a medical specialist. I wanted to burst into the discussion and tell those people they probably don't know about the Japanese pleasure-oriented entertainment industry. You don't go to a maid café to eat something especially delicious. You don't compare eroge to classic literature. From shoujo to smut and to teens love, manga encompasses all genres of female-oriented fanservice. There's no escaping it. The trick is how to use that fanservice. If fanservice is sugar, it's good to use some flour and eggs as well, when you're baking a cake.
The first volumes show more or less absurd developments, while the characters behave as if it's OK. The heroine thinks her beloved is homo, and her beloved denies nothing 'cause he doth-not-dare. That does not, however, mean there are no doki-doki moments. My heart was supposed to flutter upon seeing the male lead hugging, carrying the girl (that's still okay), sleeping in one futon (that's still okay too), and then some really-really unnecessary licking. And an awkward yuka-don (floor), instead of a kabe-don (wall). 'cause he doth not dare anything else, you remember. By the way mangaka teaches the readers some basics of the Japanese superb service industry - treating all customers equally, serving them with sincerity and striving for excellence.

Somewhere around volume 2 or 3 I realised 'Oiran girl' made me one of those angry commenters. I could say the same thing to myself - why be so mad with these characters if they simply follow the necessary tropes? But that would mean I admit that this manga is fanservice only, that I allocate it to the section of 'loveburgers' you don't take seriously.
It's been a while since a shoujo manga made me feel nauseous like this. It's not a bad work I can read and dismiss, it's nauseous because it had potential and didn't live up to it. Again, most problems in 'Oiran girl' are solved with a single kick of a 15-year girl wearing a kimono. Those that are not, because the bad guy is too strong physically, are solved with a single word from the same girl. The enemies mostly freeze and let her pass because she said something unexpected. Troubles are far-fetched and fall apart if you simply start thinking. It looked as if mangaka herself was forgetting what she had been writing previously.

Just to remind you that Shin actually was able to buy Tsubaki's freedom in the first chapter.

Just to remind you that they could have plenty of opportunities to leave before Tsubaki offers her body to someone. Just to remind you that Tsubaki was the one who decided to stay in the brothel. AND to remind you that Shin was the one who let her stay there.

In volume 4 mangaka starts to shove in every story twist possible, as if it could make the manga more credible. Instead, this made it a soap opera on paper, with all those secret police, forbidden love, hidden past, betrayal by best friends which is so completely ill-disguised... and all of these twirling within the boundaries of 10 chapters or so. The characters go on making decisions that can only be explained by the will of the author to create moar drama and tradjedie. Again, those developments devaluated absolutely what has been built in the previous chapters but no one seems to care.
By the end of the manga I didn't give a damn about what happens to any of the characters. When the main characters finally kissed not a single heart-string of mine was touched. The rest of the events were like blank pages, not sweet, not bitter-sweet, not intoxicating. And I was not happy, not delighted, not relieved.
If I paid money for this manga I would probably demand it back, and I'm not sure if I wouldn't ask for a compensation for my non-pecuniary damage.

'Kinkyori ren'ai' ~ please, try to keep up with me

'Wowow, slow down!!!'
my friend said to me when I showed her this frame from 'Kinkyori ren'ai'

story and characters

So, after I watched the movie, I expected to see something similar but more elaborate. And because of that I was disappointed with the 1st volume, because its ending was already making a decent happy end. However, my opinion was changing for the better with every new volume. By the 2nd volume I understood that even if the kissing scene seemed less romantic to me than in the movie, there were plenty of other things to make up for that. In the beginning I was seriously thinking it was nothing more than a light comedy, but then I noticed that I was more and more often holding my breath, and it was not because of my Autumn catarrh. Then I made myself read slowly so that I wouldn't let it end too fast. It was dangerous to read fast because I would simply explode. You could cook pancakes on me because I was probably hot enough.

When there were still 3 volumes left I already felt the end was close and it made me very empty. It's a kind of feeling that only arises when I feel extreme attachment to the characters and their story. There is a good Japanese word for this feeling - 'munashisa'. It's when you see something different and then realise you don't want anything different, even if it is by the same author.
Now this is where I must stop pretending that I'm writing an unbiased review considering all pros and cons. I just loved the way the characters' relationship developed - and by the way, not only the main couple. Just to maintain justice I must note that all characters were lovable and, running a few steps forward, I was very happy to see that all of them were doing fine in the end.
But speaking of those two, I just love it when the guy is passionate, if not too impatient, and expresses his feelings in a straightforward way. And I just love it when he makes such painful expressions when there happens something unpleasant about their romance.

Citing myself, I love it when guys "dry up" (in other words, slobber over, dote on and suffer from their love). And I love it when they suddenly get all serious. I mean, really, what girl wouldn't want to hear 'I told you I'm doing it so just stand still here' having his head just 10 cm away?

You might have guessed, but I consider the Hero hot. If you haven't seen lots of shoujo manga heroes I shall tell you they are not always, 100% hot, but this one is. But I just wanted to present you a quiz: what keeps his pants from falling considering that nothing actually protrudes in the pants below the shirr?

Um... And if I created an image in your head that this manga is your pure romantic story, then I'm sorry. It's not entirely. And it has another side... How should I put it... Well, just imagine that in order to scare her daddy the Heroine makes a crab position and drives him to the edge of the roof until he almost falls down but then rushes to save him. 'Is it only me or this kind of situation is strange? And how am I supposed to react?' Exactly the Hero's thoughts.

And if you agree with him, the author asks you to keep up with her. You see, the vertical line under ※ mark in the left.

As you can see, Ms. Mikimoto is very well aware of what she's doing and has enough self-criticism, which she never fails to express - I think by her ? she meant something like 'I drew a saliva drop on her mouth to show that she herself is eager to see the Heroine wear the clothes, but you would probably say 'what's that?' so I'm putting this ? mark here'.

Oh, this is my favourite moment: the Heroine accidentally sees the Hero topless while he is changing his clothes, and her reaction is not your simple blush or KYAAA or running away. Her reaction is natural. Just what I would do if I were her.

By the way, if you wonder what it means, it says 'A dog was biting Ivan'. In Russian. I wonder why in Russian, but no matter what the reason I was happy to see some accidental Russian in a Japanese shoujo.
'Wha? Is it ok just to do it simply like this? It's strange, isn't it? It must be strange!' - says the Hero when simple cosplay of a doctor made it possible to enter the hospital. Again ※ mark answers us: 'just interpret it like it was ok'.

Now that I talk about it, I can finally articulate the second reason I enjoyed this manga, the first being the passionate romance: the mangaka's sense of humour was close to how I usually fool about with my friends, the same kind of imagination running wild and brain recalling absolutely irrelevant things.

language
I would recommend this manga to all young students who learn Japanese and want to read something in Japanese. School romance has never been a difficult genre, but I guess 'Kinkyori' is even easier than average. The only hardship you'll face is that the manga contains a lot of author's associations that require thorough knowledge of Japanese pop-culture, from the 'Great Teacher Onizuka' live-action (by the way, the first one, not the new ones you might know) to T. M. Revolution's songs, from Battle Royale II to to Momoe Yamaguchi's last concert.
Like I said, Mikimoto's imagination flies up to the sky every time she notices she herself created a situation that induces associations with something well-known, like a phrase that matches a quotation from some popular song, or resembles its title, or the performer's name, or a character gets into situation that reminds something well known. I can totally imagine how this was created: the mangaka makes her heroine say 'I cannot even tell him what I want to say so much', and then suddenly the song 'Poison' from GTO starts playing in her head, which she immediately puts down to paper.

graphics
It certainly takes some time to get used to it, and it certainly grows better with every new chapter, though it does not change drastically like it does in works of other authors I've read. What I appreciated most in this manga is that the mangaka was able to convey very strong feelings with just one or two frames, and make me, the reader, feel the whole situation, not just one simple emotion.
She looks aside. He looks at her. Suddenly the wind brings sakura petals through the window and inside that pick whirlwind she seems to be very different and specially attractive, just for a second. What would be his unconscious reaction?

Even though Mikimoto only used the usual tricks widespread in all shoujo manga, she used them so wisely that every time she did, the time seemed to slow down giving me more time to fell the moment through.

Ms. Mikimoto developed a style that made it possible to feel a second like it lasted for much longer when it's necessary, and enabled the readers feel the situation the way the characters felt it. Just look how wonderful she drew the scene of falling down the stairs.

Or this awkward moment when no matter how you try all your creations look the same, while this pro made only one picture and managed to show how the heroine changed very slightly, subtly, when she had natural makeup applied, which made her look certainly cuter even though there were nothing special done about her.

Ms. Mikimoto is obviously very fashion-conscious, because she didn't simply create something simple and easily forgotten, but rather developed a full set of clothes for every new situation that allowed it (read: except for school uniform), and I do cherish such efforts, it's always pleasant to see that the author puts a lot of thought into her work including even chapter covers and backgrounds.

And basically, the same wonderful mangaka is actually capable of creating something like this. A-ha.

I don't know, maybe she had her unlucky days, too. But I won't get angry at her. Who cares about such things if the next page gives you this:

I know I showed it. I can show it many times you know? And never get tired of it.

conclusion
I must add at least one fly into this ointment. When I read to the end, I was not very happy with the kind of story when the Hero deliberately pushes the Heroine away so that she wouldn't end up sacrificing herself. At first I was angry. For about half an hour. Then I thought of something that made even this flaw disappear. While as a girl I usually put myself into the shoes of the Heroine, I imagined just for once what I would do if I were in the same kind of situation as the Hero, having someone I think dear and seeing I'm not the best variant for him right now, even though hoping that he wouldn't change his mind after some time passes by. This is what we, people not having the natural aptitude to understand our own and others' feelings and emotions, do: we cancel our relationship altogether and then wait, and when we get sure we do love the partner and the partner returns the feeling, we come back. And then I stopped being angry. All the more he became honest with himself very quickly.
To sum it up, you should read this manga because... you know, I'll just repeat the words from the very work in focus: cause it's funny, why else?

p. s.
Don't make the same mistake as me and don't buy 'Genshoku Tsundere Danshi. Ikenai Sensei' that contains a special chapter of 'Kinkyori'. This chapter is included in the end of volume 4. Instead, read 'Sensei to kinkyori', which contains another special chapter. It was really cute and filled the gap between the graduation ceremony and Uni's departure to America.

'Special A' manga ~ that awkward moment when you realise you're actually sad that it came to an end, though you're happy you've finally finished reading

If you look at the back of the volume, you'll see this manga described as 'rabukome', or love comedy, it's how this genre is called in Japan. However, in case of 'Special A', there is much more comedy than there is love, and that's why it's surely not my favourite.

story and characters

Well, I can't help comparing 'Special A' with 'Maid-sama'. There are too many similar situations and aspects. However, 'Special A' lost to 'Maid-sama' in all possible ways.

If in 'Maid-sama' all 'transformations' and all silly situations could be somehow explained, even though they were created entirely for fun, in 'Special A' the level of absurdity was reaching to the sky.
I do admit those situations were hilarious and the way the mangaka dealt with them was worthy of praise, but you cannot live on humour when you're reading shoujo. It's not just a comedy, it's a love comedy.
So here it comes - the main point. If in 'Maid-sama' the romance bloomed soon after the beginning, in 'Special A' the Heroine was even more dumb and the Hero was much more scared of scaring her (pun intended) with his feelings and much less self-confident. Let's take the confession by the Hero. When did Usui make it? Volume 1, chapter 4. When did Kei properly make a confession? Volume 8. Even when mangaka happened to show mercy and draw something that was supposed to be romantic, it was not. At least not in the way that makes a girl feel that dokidoki thing, sigh with envy or hold her breath.
Okay, maybe the author was busy with something else? Of course she was, instead of one major couple she divided her attention to a number of couples. All Hikari's friends had their eyes set on someone. To be even more precise, as soon as a character happened to be single for some reason, miss Minami felt her divine duty to make him or her find a partner. Even minor character like Alise were not left aside. On one hand, it's much better than a manga centering on two people and leaving no space for others. Of course, I liked the fact that there was more interaction between characters who were not involved in a relationship than it usually is in a shoujo (even in 'Maid-sama'). Like the fact that SA members were all good friends, or how Aoi, Finn, Sakura and Yahiro and others were welcomed into their group.
And though this seems just right and kind of the mangaka, it's not an entirely good thing. Not only this fact, but also the fact that there were a lot of not-so-necessary fillers was making the manga just boring. I mean, when the reader wants something to stir his mind and to penetrate his skin down ho his nerves, it's not a chapter about one more school festival where Hikari one more time helps some random girl (believing that she must have her own reason) that the reader wants to see. Moreover, even if other couples are introduced, there must be at least some progress in their relationship, too, because otherwise there's no meaning. However, romantic moments were scarce - if those count as romantic at all, most relationships were only hinted at, and that's surely not enough to feel any compassion.
I must praise miss Minami's sense of humour, not to let you think it's completely unworthy of reading. I liked a lot Hikari's attitude like '- Hey, Hikari, do you have any business in this class? - Why should I? I was just passing by'

However, all that image was spoilt by occasional 'she's just a girl' scenes. While my favourite Misaki was never shown to be a loser, even in moments when it was apparently impossible for her to win, Hikari was constantly getting into such situations, and moreover - giving up, such as when she was pathetically crying for help at Aoi's house.

And though I was not disappointed very much with such image, finally Hikari was just a cheerful positive cute girl.
One,

 two,

 three,

 four,

 and many more times.

In fact, exactly like Usui in 'Maid-sama', Kei also admitted it's impossible to win to Hikari because she's so stubborn and never-giving-up. However, while Misaki was an undoubtedly standing-out heroine, in 'Special A' Hikari was dangerously close to those good-for-nothing girls whose role is limited to lighting the Hero's way with their broad smiles.

graphics
And graphics in 'Special A' is a thing that's the most mysterious in Minami Maki.
First of all, her style looks like she made no progress even after creating 17 volumes. Even if you look at the last pages of this manga, there will be the same lame faces like in the first one. However, it's not that she is a completely bad artist. From the very beginning she proved she is able to create extremely detailed beautiful pictures that look as if there is real movement in them.

 And just a few pages away there are frames that make me thing I opened the wrong manga.

 But then she demonstrates her ability again.

And you see this wonderful frame...

and then you slide down the page and see a lame picture again.

And then I think, maybe she was drunk? Or at least tired? Or maybe she is a kind person who sometimes lets her assistance draw some frames instead of her?
What I do acknowledge is that she, like other mangakas whom I respect, is able to convey the characters' feelings with the way they look.

Miss Minami surely did a great job capturing moments that were important for the story, together with the characters' feelings inside and making those moments last just a bit longer for the reader than they did in reality.

There were also attempts to create unusual visual images, like on this chapter cover.

But what I want to mention here is that she is obviously a fan of different kinds of inscriptions, and I'm grateful for that.
'WHY? - it's in American. Nice!'

 'here's a helicopter'

Sometimes she was even expressing thorough sarcasm towards the genre she's working in
'shoujo-manga eyes with not a single cloud in them' (and it's a boy)

and sometimes she used grotesque-styled images that really fit the comical situations she created.

conclusion
I'm never giving any points out of ten or stars out of five. So it's not about the mark I give. If I were asked whether this manga goes by plus or by minus, I'd give it a plus. I laughed a lot and I began to think the characters dear to me so that I was even sad when I saw the last page. That, however, does not erase the fact I have been reading 17 volumes for 5 weeks, which is extremely long.