rinku's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The fifth volume of A Devil and Her Love Song introduces a new arc to the series, namely the arc around Anna, a former friend of Maria from her old school. While I appreciate the diversity we get with her character, she already started to annoy me here since she always wants to be in the centre of attention. I was just as annoyed about her .
Spoiler
insta crush on Shin and how Maria and her are now rivalsBesides this though, the story still has its funny moments mixed in with more dark moments. My favorite moment probably was when . Talking about Maria, we get a bit more backstory for her this time. I still really like her as a protagonist; it’s especially interesting how she struggles with showing emotions and I always appreciate how she speaks her mind. Like I’ve mentioned before, the friendship between all the characters is so wholesome (besides Anna lmao), and we get more backstory on the side characters as well which was nice.
Spoiler
Maria realized she has feelings for Shin, I grinned the whole time lmao
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism
lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
I don't like how Anna is using Maria, and I'm glad Maria finally stood up to her. I want to see more of Tomoyo and Ayu. I love Maria and Shin! Cute story. I'm loving it! On to volume 6!
Reread November 26th, 2022
I have to admit, some of the stuff with Anna went a bit over my head. Anyway, the art continues to be very pretty. I also love the story - it's dramatic and engaging. Maria and Shin are super cute. 4 stars!
Reread November 26th, 2022
I have to admit, some of the stuff with Anna went a bit over my head.
Spoiler
I guess like Maria said at the end, she saw her alone and wanted to help her, but Maria went overboard by considering her a friend and glomping onto her? And then after Anna got sick, Maria speaking for her made her feel inadequate and ashamed of herself, and she came to hate Maria? And then she reapproached her in this volume because she liked Shin and wanted to use Maria as an excuse to get close to him.smakakakakuk's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
misssusan's review against another edition
4.0
Oh Maria. Amazingly sincere Maria, light of my life, star of my days. Do you know how much I love this series? I went to the bookstore and saw that this and a new volume of Skip Beat was out and I picked this up first.
It's okay if you need a minute to recover. I was shocked at myself too.
But Maria! I don't think I've ever seen a character so unfailingly optimistic about her potential and relationships. Fact: Maria Kawai does not understand how to give up on people. People includes herself, her friends, her former friends, her people-determined-to-hate-her-but-can't-because-they-are-bowled-over-in-the-face-of-such-overwhelming-honesty-and-sincerity. I'm going to have to pair her with Tohru Honda and the cast of Sailor Moon in Excellent Teen Girl Role Models 101. 4.5 stars
P.S. Anna Mouri, I believe in you! Girl I know you're not going to be another backstabbing redux plotline, I look forward to seeing humane depths to you.
It's okay if you need a minute to recover. I was shocked at myself too.
But Maria! I don't think I've ever seen a character so unfailingly optimistic about her potential and relationships. Fact: Maria Kawai does not understand how to give up on people. People includes herself, her friends, her former friends, her people-determined-to-hate-her-but-can't-because-they-are-bowled-over-in-the-face-of-such-overwhelming-honesty-and-sincerity. I'm going to have to pair her with Tohru Honda and the cast of Sailor Moon in Excellent Teen Girl Role Models 101. 4.5 stars
P.S. Anna Mouri, I believe in you! Girl I know you're not going to be another backstabbing redux plotline, I look forward to seeing humane depths to you.
slipperbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good volume, Maria is becoming one of my favourite manga characters right now.
rach's review against another edition
4.0
My feelings about this one were mixed. On the one hand, I LOVE all the stuff with Maria and Shin! Though I desperately want them to actually get together for real, I'm loving this back and forth thing. They clearly love each other, now they just have to both admit it to each other, at the same time, and accept it. I loved the look on Shin's face when she blurted out that she loved him, then ran away. I'm sort of surprised Yuzuke didn't get upset about Maria's feelings for Shin. It seems like he accepted them really easily and doesn't seem to mind. Oh well!
The part I didn't like was all the interactions with Anna Mouri. She seems like such a fake girl, and I just can't really figure out what is wrong with her, both physically and mentally. She pretends to be Maria's friend, but obviously is not. She slaps people randomly. She seems to have developed a crush on Shin. That's kind of what annoys me the most, to be honest. She doesn't even know him! All I know is that if Anna somehow gets between Maria and Shin, I will be super annoyed. I'm glad Maria told her to stop pretending to like her, and to just go see Shin if it's Shin she wants to see. Hopefully Shin will tell her to get lost. I'm crossing my fingers!
And about the what happened between Maria and Anna before they left St. Katria, that Yuzuke was asking the other girls about, I bet it wasn't Maria that beat up that teacher, I bet it was Anna, and Maria took the blame for it. Just a guess!
The part I didn't like was all the interactions with Anna Mouri. She seems like such a fake girl, and I just can't really figure out what is wrong with her, both physically and mentally. She pretends to be Maria's friend, but obviously is not. She slaps people randomly. She seems to have developed a crush on Shin. That's kind of what annoys me the most, to be honest. She doesn't even know him! All I know is that if Anna somehow gets between Maria and Shin, I will be super annoyed. I'm glad Maria told her to stop pretending to like her, and to just go see Shin if it's Shin she wants to see. Hopefully Shin will tell her to get lost. I'm crossing my fingers!
And about the what happened between Maria and Anna before they left St. Katria, that Yuzuke was asking the other girls about, I bet it wasn't Maria that beat up that teacher, I bet it was Anna, and Maria took the blame for it. Just a guess!
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