Re: [NEWCOMER] Medaka Box by NISHIO Ishin and AKATSUKI Akira
This first chapter is hard for me to comment.
I have really stupid comments like they changed the design of her underwears, that seem less elegant, sexy and expensive. In the one-shot she knows he loves her and says clearly she manipulates him and makes him follow her (and about this particular scene it seems more like a trap in the one-shot, in the first chapter she is just oblivious to any pudicity). Personally, I would have a liking for a female character that uses her assets to manipulate men (Woof, Woof!
), but most of readers will hate her and have disdain.
In terms of storystelling the authors like to repeat many times the same thing for the reader. It is not necessarily a bad thing. In the one-shot it was that the guy is his childhood friend and in the first chapter that she wants to help people. When I read the one-shot the fact she wants to help people did not strike me and I liked better her odd personality, because I did not know what the meaning of her actions was. I prefer characters that keep some mystery, I find them more attractive.
This change of tone clearly makes the manga compete with Sket Dance (that I know just a little).
With Beelzebub having started recently, reforming hooligan in the high school as the first arc of the manga was not a good idea. The story in the oneshot was more subtle as well.
Art and humor are OK (though there were better jokes in the one-shot).
In the end I really do not know whether it will survive in WSJ or not. My rule "I prefer the first chapter of this WSJ series to Dogashi Kaden's means this series will survive" makes me think it will.