Eensy-Weensy Monster by Masami Tsuda

Since Mother's Day is fast approaching, I went out looking for a manga with an excellent mother character in it, especially since its a pretty common trope in manga and anime to have horrible moms. The search was frustrating, most of the ones I found were not suitable, and when I finally found one I wanted to review, I found out that, though its completed, the translations were not, but only after reading twenty-nine chapters of it.... So, sadly, I had to just read something else and forget the theme. All the same, happy Mother's Day!


Eensy-Weensy Monster by Masami Tsuda

Art and story (c) Masami Tsuda

Genre: School Shojo
Length: 2 Volumes - 12 Chapters




             I sort of assumed this manga was one of the mangaka's firsts due to the art, but I guess that isn't really the case, so I guess I just don't really like the art much. I found the faces particularly off putting, their eyes were blank and devoid of emotion, though that would disappear when the characters were drawn in a sillier style. Full on, or at a three-quarters perspective, though, the faces looked out of proportion. In fact, the faces looked rather... chubby, I think is the closest I can come to describing it, in most angles and they just looked unappealing. Now, the hair looked good, except in the male lead's case where it just frames his face oddly, with a good flow and texture. The body proportions and movements are good as well, and even the clothing fits the frames. The backgrounds surprised me how well they were done sometimes, since the author notes that the theme is a love story over the course of a year there is a nice feeling of the different seasons thanks to the backgrounds. If only the faces didn't bother me so much... I suppose it's just personal preference, but its so strange that I like the funny or silly faces, but dislike the casual faces so much. I wish I had a good reason for it, but its completely off-putting to me.            Nanoha is average at everything, and is very easy going. Despite the fact that her two best friends are both smart and popular, she never gets jealous of them or angry about her invisible place between them; not even her teachers can remember her name. Still there is something that bothers Nanoha, all the other girls call him 'Prince' because of his looks and how he dotes on them, but for Nanoha just the thought of him makes a little demon inside of her show up. In fact, when he talks to her, there is nothing she can do to stop the tiny monster from taking over her usually gentle manner.

            Eensy-Weensy Monster sounded like a really interesting concept, and I thought it was cute and funny but, as a person who has read lots of manga, I found this pretty much unremarkable in any way. So when I added art I didn't much like to a story that I found lukewarm at best, it came to an over all 'meh' feeling. True, I sort of picked this with some frustrations because I couldn't find a story with a theme I wanted, I was actually very interested in seeing how a manga with this type of hook would go. Wacky? Supernatural? Sappy? No, none of those, instead, its just a bland shojo. I found myself nitpicking before I even got to the end of the first volume, when usually I just read a manga and then think about it when I'm done to review it, taking in my whole impression. So, as you can imagine, that means I have a lot to complain about. Firstly, Nanoha's 'gentle' personality is actually more like 'no' personality, though she, too, develops as the story progresses, she's still so very bland. Her monster is just a plot tool used and forgotten otherwise, and not in any interesting way like the description makes it seem. Hazuki, the male lead, is the worst looking, but the most engaging of the couple, the way he intentionally goes out to change himself gives most of the meat of the story. Seeing him change is engaging and adds to the way this manga is written. There is too much reliance on explaining things through thoughts, though, instead of showing how the characters are developing through their actions. There were a few things I actually liked, as shocking as that may seem, I don't hate this manga, after all. I found it intriguing the way the male character had his own dialog instead of it being entirely from the female's perspective. That's not something you usually see in shojo manga, and it was amusing the way the mangaka would show the same conversation from each characters point of view, too. That did cause some disorientation though because it wasn't always done in an even matter. Speaking of, the story, too, would have some skipping from time to time, transitions are not really used, and you'll suddenly find yourself in a different place or on a different day with no warning. I don't think this manga wasted my time, nor do I regret reading it, but I don't think it's interesting or memorable, either, except for the name of it. Just like Nanoha, its average and brings out the little critic monster in me. Even the ending is lukewarm. It sort of drags you a long for a few chapters and then ends in the same place. I always think that someone's work should interest you in looking for the rest of what they have created, and this manga did the opposite for me, and the other manga I coincidentally found by this author has been moved to the bottom of my list now, and it is a massive list.



2.5/5 Middle of the road, all of it.