I feel like I need to review this manga just to get a weight off my chest: this female protagonist is the most personality-less and unluckiest girl in the world! Σ(°ロ°)
Ok, now we can continue.
I'll be blunt: who doesn't love a guy who's completely obsessed with you? It's one of the most toxic yet appealing traits in the fictional world of manga and books! (not in real life; that's a big red flag girls—let’s be clear). Unfortunately, in the case of this particular manga, there is zero connection with the character’s stalker. Even after his reveal, there's no sauce.
Regarding the story, the manga attempts to create a mystery narrative and delivers various plot twists along the way. Some are quite obvious (despite the mangaka’s efforts to keep them from being so) and others are a (litte) bit surprising. As the story unfolds, you end up more frustrated than sympathetic or rooting for the female protagonist, Toruka, a bland character with the deductive skills of a five-year-old kid. Her innocence becomes irritating over time, making it difficult to care about her. Essentially, you end up indifferent to her fate and just hope the story moves quickly enough to reveal the main plot (regardless of what happens to Toruka, her charisma is negative). The story turns into a battle royale and that's the coolest part. I won’t give any more details to avoid spoiling what is one of the most enjoyable plots in the manga.
Calling this manga a romance feels like a crime against the genre itself. I’ve read plenty of manga with yanderes, but this one fails at making the characters interesting enough for you to feel any attachment to them (yes, we do get attached to the psychopaths, crazy right?). Iori, the male protagonist, has personality shifts that don't match his character and by the end, you find yourself rooting for the least "bad" bad guy among all the men in the story. Even the last pages of the manga lack the final emotional impact we crave throughout the story. The final climax lasts only a few panels and the final resolution is as brief as it. We are back to square one in the manga.
To sum it up: the central idea of the manga is bold and intriguing, but unfortunately, its execution is shallow (likely due to being a shorter title). The pacing feels rushed, with all the situations being resolved very quickly, and the character development is almost non-existent. Also, the quality of the illustrations varies a lot throughout the story. It could have been a great dark romance, but it just leaves you wishing for more depth, and of course, more romance.
Please, we need more captivating yandere boys in this world and we need more sauce!
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