Koharu no Hibi
a review by fockythefrog
a review by fockythefrog
Warning Massive Spoilers Ahead
Brief Synopsis
Koharu No Hibi is a romance manga centered around Akira Torii and Koharu Mutsuki. On one fateful day, when Akira Torii was taking the train to school, he ran into Koharu Mutsuki who tripped over. Catching her before she fell, Koharu felt the embrace of his warmth and kindness, and thus was the start of an obsessive love – for better or worse.
__
My Personal Thoughts__
Without a doubt, Koharu no Hibi is a short and sweet romance manga that touches heavily on the Yandere theme to add an exhilarating element to the romance genre. For those who would otherwise run away upon hearing the word Yandere, let me explain. Yes, the manga focuses very heavily on obsessive love, which is the theme of Yandere. And while I do agree that there are elements of disbelief, it certainly doesn’t take away from the sincerity of the relationship between the main cast that otherwise has no business being in love. In the end you have something very wholesome and a joy to read. Since this is a yandere-centric manga, its only fair that it should be judged on how well it employs the theme in its short 20 chapter run.
The Yandere archetype used in this manga is not of a violent nature, but rather the innocent charming archetype that is done quite tastefully. Essentially, everything Koharu does is what a normal girl would do but turned up to over 9000. I mean for Christ sakes, she worked multiple part-time jobs to move next door to Akira, only to buy a pair of binoculars with a tripod to watch him every waking hour of the day and noting his schedule to match with hers. Now that’s some dedication. And it is this same dedication that she shows throughout the manga that makes her rather cute and admirable, albeit slightly chilling and creepy at times (nothing wrong with spicing things up a little).
I would have to say that Koharu’s biggest flaw is not being able to think for herself, but rather making decisions to mirror what Akira would want to do. In fact, there has been multiple occasions where Akira would get into an argument with her about it, and over the course of the manga, she does learn to think for herself rather than being blindsided by love. I have a newfound respect for Akira because rather than trying to forcefully change Koharu, he learns quickly that you simply cannot Un-yandere a yandere. His ability to tactfully use Koharu’s obsession to flip the situation to allow her to see it from his perspective is the primary reason that Koharu was able to grow intellectually and as a girlfriend, where she did not have to resort to self-harm because of how self-less she was (to put it into perspective, she jumped off a short-bridge to catch homework notes Akira made for her, thankfully the bridge was short and had a relatively safe landing but she still hurt herself).
Akira could have pulled the plug many times, turn tail and run, but his persistence to make a seemingly odd relationship come out through the other end as something beautiful is an achievement in and of itself. As for side characters, there are no notable supporting characters, especially Kouno Masayuki who is essentially a cardboard cut-out with nothing to offer. Thankfully, the manga is not centered around him. As for the remaining cast, Natsuki is there for comedic relief, and Mika as the antagonist to challenge Koharu’s fidelity. There is simply not enough time to fully develop side characters with 20ish chapters to be anything meaningful. Lastly, the art is serviceable and isn’t the greatest or worst thing ever but done well enough to deliver the emotions of the scenes.
Conclusion
Overall, I would say give this manga a shot, don’t brush it off just because Yandere gets a bad rep. Yandere can be done right, and this is one of the few exceptions where it transforms an otherwise ordinary romance manga into something quite unique. It is a great short read and won’t really take up too much of your time. Koharu is smol, but her heart is bottomless and this manga portrays that very well. The ending was a satisfying happy ending, where the efforts of the main cast was duly awarded and left a good impression for me. It is above average but stops it from becoming excellent due to the lackluster supporting cast and requiring several more chapters to add more depth to the world and characters. With that being said, I wish there was a true yandere anime that used this archetype of yandere to make a wholesome rom-com show. One can wish.
Thanks for reading.
7.5 out of 8 users liked this review
