Shuriken to Pleats

I'm literally only writing this review because I saw this manga has none and I kind of felt bad for it, but I also feel responsible to prepare you for what this manga is if you ended up here for whatever reason, like wanting more Matsuri Hino manga, expecting this to be similar to Vampire knight, etc.

Story - 3

I'm one of the people that dived into it only because it was Matsuri Hino's new project after Vampire knight ended and I seriously expected it to at least reach the same level of expectations, mostly because it sounded like something nice and something that I could enjoy. Well, yes, for the first 4 chapters the manga was nice, but then the disaster befell it. Maybe it was my fault for having expectations, but it literally felt like trying to fit a tree branch into a matchbox. Beneath everything, I can see potential, but the execution was all over the place and the story of the seeds is questionable.

There were a lot of moments when the characters had weird stuff to prioritize when they should be concentrating on something else entirely and more urgent businesses at hand. Was it for comedy purposes? I am unsure and that confusion led me to not take the story seriously not even when I was supposed to. I'm not a fan of random mood switches and I will never be able to conceive them. You laugh when you have to laugh, you are serious when you have to be serious and this manga did badly to cope up with that.
(Just how can I laugh over highschool issues when I know that a character is dying? And i put this question to you, readers of this review. ) I can laugh to distract myself from an issue that I don't want to face, but here? it was just blatantly ignored for half manga just because... reasons?

It doesn't end there, there are also certain conveniences to speak about, but what is a rushed story without conveniences? I don't know what happened, but I strongly feel like Shuriken to Pleats did badly during the first chapters' feedbacks and Matsuri Hino was asked to give it a closure in no more than 6 chapters. And if that's the case then i really feel bad for her.

I feel like giving the manga props, however, for trying to portray the love between a young girl and an older guy, even if lacking in substance. That's not something that I see often in manga, so I was impressed just because this love was never forgotten. I'm aware this opinion might not be something that the mass would share with me; maybe an older guy x younger girl pairing makes some of you feel uncomfortable, but not agreeing with it and ignoring it exists are two different matters.

Characters - 4

There's really not much to them, despite all of them having potential to become more. There was just not enough time.

As a side note, I felt like Mikage and Mahiro were Matsuri Hino's attempt at YukixAidou (a pairing that I shipped in Vampire Knight for them being adorable together, but of course, that never had any chances) and, without getting too much into it, I thought that was just really cute. Though it might have been just my impression. Mahiro is not an Aidou-wannabe if not only for certain aspects of him, so don't go in expecting a flirt.

For the rest, the characters were often foreseeable, being there at convenient times, managing to find out stuff at convenient times, getting attached to other people way too fast to even count (Mako's affection for Mikage, for example or even Mahiro's affection for Mikage). But they're all fairly likable characters.


Art - 7

Even if very similar to Vampire knight and Mikage is just a copy-paste of Yuki's design, I never am able to look down on Matsuri Hino's drawings. They will always look gorgeous to me. Am I biased because sometimes all the characters tend to have the same face just a different haircut? I guess, but this is why I just think it's "good" and not anything beyond.

Enjoyment - 5

I wasn't outraged by it, but not very entertained either. I was just partly disappointed for the waste of potential and I partly didn't get involved in it enough to care, but it was able to make me smile once in a while. And, again, I really wanted to know how Mikage and Rodd were going for.

Overall - 4.5

Let me be clear, it was "meh". Not horrible, but "meh". I don't think I'll ever go back to this manga and i'll probably even forget the name and the characters soon. The good part is that it's just 11 chapters long, so you can probably read it in like 2 hours if you're a fast reader and move on with your life. Is it worth it? Not really. Maybe partly. But that's subjective.
If you're in for a short manga, it can entertain you, but don't get into it with high expectations.

The 2 is for the fact that this is from a library so I can sleep knowing i didn't pay for this, it's length (not that I think being only 11 chapters excuses anything) and the art which is pretty enough. That doesn't take away from the fact that this is the most bland thing I've ever read. I would recommend reading your local phonebook if you were interested in emulating the experience. Anyone who gives this more than a 3/10 is a liar and is lying to you. So
Then again the main demographic of this is probably vampire knight fans so maybe the taste of cardboard with big anime eyes attached is appealing to you.

Allright, here goes a first review in my life ever

Story- overall I could've seen potential. The story starts off in a way that it takes you off your feet, the story overall was fair, being plot idea and everything. Completely different from Vampire Knight. The more you read into the chapters, the more you'll somewhat understand the plot, because it's kind of centred around the main character more then it needs to be. She kind of ruined it for an ending; felt more of a one shot then a series.


Art- With no doubt, the art style was very good! the scenery may not be Your Lie In April Worthy, but it was good. Nothing more to say here.

Character- Alright, this had me very confused: The story starts off with a bunch of characters you'll most likely not give a crap about later in the story, which kind of sucks a whole lot because there's one character that was very important in the very beginning, who aren't even listed as characters. It definitively needed more detail and backstory to the characters besides the main one. Gives very little backstory or anything to other characters ever.

Enjoyment- I enjoyed reading this, with the plot holes and descriptions that needed to be filled, it was alright.

OVERALL-
This story is somewhat still of a cliched. But then again not as cliched as Vampire Knight, which is always good. The reason why I had given it a four is because the ending of the first volume ruined it's potential. Felt like a one shot more then anything, and I would understand if it was one in that case. The characters needed to not be all thrown in your face, but the story needed it to go on. Somewhat.

REASON WHY I LIKED THIS MANGA:
The story simply combines the modern age with the cliche shoujo every girl loves. Although from my perspective, I feel dirty shipping with such high age differences. Once you read the manga you'll understand what I'm going on about.

You should definitively give it a try and see how it improves.

Shuriken to Pleats was definitely not an amazing manga.

Firstly, the art albeit it decent, reminds me too much of the Vampire Knight style; especially the eyes and sharp faces. i personally did not enjoy Vampire Knight so it definitely impacted my opinion on the matter negatively.

Also, I adore the concept or rather what the plot could have been. However, it was very superficial. The story did not delve into the various relationships between the main and supporting characters. Also, the "seed" aspect of it left me confused and I found it did not add much to the story. The story did not really flow, and it lacked either a great in-depth plot or an easy reading cliched manga feel.

It was a mediocre read, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really are interested in the topic, or have nothing more interesting on your list.

Honestly it's a very simple story however it's original and i really enjoyed reading it. I read both in about 4 hours and that's because i had to do some things in between so don't expect a long read out of these (i do tend to read fast tho so it might be a bit longer than that).

As the main character Mikage has quite a small but nice character development which makes you feel really happy for her as you slowly start seeing her smile here and there. Very wholesome! Also the adults in the story (both her master and her "second master") are really only looking out for her wellbeing almost like two father figures. I really liked how they just stayed nice throughout as Mikage has had enough trouble already in her youth, she doesn't need any more from people she trusts...

Also her character makes sense? like since she was young she has been trained to become a ninja, now i can't imagine that it's good for a child to be trained to kill without going to school and seeing friends (the trained to kill part can't be good in general but well...). However her underlying innocence which can be seen throughout the story really makes sense, she's still young, how could she not have feelings. So i think that her character really has been properly thought out!

I really liked how the story was mostly focussed on the characters rather than following a complicated storyline, the manga only has 2 volumes so that would've been too short to do that justice anyway. But with the space that has been given to the story it was really laid out nicely.

Lastly the art of the manga was really good, it wasn't confusing and i really like the style in which the characters are drawn.

All in all, it's not a masterpiece but something that i will read again as i very much enjoyed it!