sara_fangirl98's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nitya's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rivals to lovers where one of them secretly pines after the other!!!
Some aspects have not aged well (like Kei's casual sexism) and Hikari is a typical shoujo heroine (naïve/oblivious, kind, and wants to help everyone even when they don't deserve it). I did like her determination and strong work ethic, and the art style is very cute. Also this was more violent than I thought it would be???
Not sure if I will continue the series, but this is a nice start!
Content warning: animal cruelty (a horse is kicked), violence (wrestling related), incest (sort of? it's one sided and involves an engagement)
Some aspects have not aged well (like Kei's casual sexism) and Hikari is a typical shoujo heroine (naïve/oblivious, kind, and wants to help everyone even when they don't deserve it). I did like her determination and strong work ethic, and the art style is very cute. Also this was more violent than I thought it would be???
Not sure if I will continue the series, but this is a nice start!
Content warning: animal cruelty (a horse is kicked), violence (wrestling related), incest (sort of? it's one sided and involves an engagement)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism
marthaives's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed the anime more but this was still a lot of fun. Love the characters.
cyanide_latte's review against another edition
3.0
Special A is a manga and anime series I've heard of before and was always interested in giving a shot. Several days ago it popped up in my Amazon recommendations, prompting a "oh yeah, I remember when news of that first was mentioned", and I decided to pick it up during the Amazon Prime days, because I was able to get it at a lower price due to the deals.
All in all, this is about par for the course with most first volumes of a manga; the pace moves a bit fast, but apart from introducing us to the [two] main characters [who will inevitably end up as a couple, if my intuition remains on-track] and drilling into us what the setting is, it feels like very little worth mentioning or of any great significance actually occurs. It isn't bad, but it suffers from typical First Volume Syndrome that a lot of manga struggle with. There is potential to be a good story, so I'm hoping the volumes after this one help bring that out.
Additionally, this volume also has an unrelated short story at the end, which I currently have not read. Truthfully there are times when I will be reading manga for the first time and if there is an unrelated short story at the end of a volume to beef up the size, I don't always catch that it's an unrelated short straightaway, and will end up confused. I'm sure I'll get around to re-reading this in the future, so when I do, I will try to read and add my thoughts on the short story to this review.
All in all, this is about par for the course with most first volumes of a manga; the pace moves a bit fast, but apart from introducing us to the [two] main characters [who will inevitably end up as a couple, if my intuition remains on-track] and drilling into us what the setting is, it feels like very little worth mentioning or of any great significance actually occurs. It isn't bad, but it suffers from typical First Volume Syndrome that a lot of manga struggle with. There is potential to be a good story, so I'm hoping the volumes after this one help bring that out.
Additionally, this volume also has an unrelated short story at the end, which I currently have not read. Truthfully there are times when I will be reading manga for the first time and if there is an unrelated short story at the end of a volume to beef up the size, I don't always catch that it's an unrelated short straightaway, and will end up confused. I'm sure I'll get around to re-reading this in the future, so when I do, I will try to read and add my thoughts on the short story to this review.
destdest's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, this was pretty dry, but I might have thought differently if I had read this when it first came out. I’m not going to make comparisons, but I have seen other series do this premise more entertaining. I’m not all shoujo-ed out, but I just did not find anything that stood out to me in this volume. I might watch the anime instead because I do not see myself continuing to read this.
merrybelletrist's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good as a beginning volume. I enjoyed it, but what annoyed me about this volumes is that Hikari kept introducing the members of Special A every chapter. I think the first time is enough. But the art for this manga is great and I'm looking forward to reading the next volumes.
More...