Shoujo Junrei - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - The Neighboring God

[MangaDex]

 

[dasu-kun]

XDDDDD that credit page XDDDDD

Maria-sama we were tricked

 

[breizh]

Kinda weird character

 

[NichiYouji_]

Excuse me what the frick!?

 

[Pachka84]

Did she just break down her door Talk about persistent.
"Although excuse me if I just did something lacking in common sense!"

 

[MonsieurQuack]

Ooof, time to live up to expectations!

 

[fuzzy]

amen

 

[Pachka84]

"Welcome to my shrine, Mao. This will be your new home. Forever."

 

[Lilliwyt]

Bless you 0mniessence.

 

[Pachka84]

This could have been one of the few manga that doesn't try to be an exact copy of all the others.
It seems to be a reversal of 99 percent of all yuri stories, in that the spunky MC is dark-haired and the melancholy love-interest is light-haired. This alone would be simply amazing, because most of the times dark-haired girls in manga are only portrayed as uptight, melancholy, insecure, and helpless. It has the potential to be an amazing story about a dark-haired girl who has to save a girl with light hair from breaking and take her out of her isolation.
But it will probably be about a light-haired girl saving a dark-haired girl as usual, because the mangaka quickly starts to portray Aiko as someone who has been melancholy herself and that is something mangaka never do to blonde or light-haired MC's. They always portray them as one-dimensionally happy and energetic and refuse to grant dark-haired girls the same portrayal.
Mangaka's are obviously allergic to creativity. Further examplified by the good old uninspired and in some Japanese fiction ubiquitous (ah, Hibike Euphonium season two) but for a country where personal space is so valued strange custom to have a character just peek into rooms or eavesdrop on conversations without anybody so much as frowning on them, because the mangaka has no clue how to introduce that information otherwise.
Hopefully Aiko's strength will prevail and make her the heroine of the story rather than the victim.

 

[Babydel]

Seems a fun enough idea, the story felt very jumpy though.

 

[ma_ko]

Followed

 

[AngryFerret]

Liked the idea, art is good, just something is wrong with the story. It feels rushed and maybe this is only my preference but I would like more character establishment for the first chapter than it was given.

 

[encrypted12345]

Now that's what I call unhealthy idol worship.

 

[Ghede]

@AngryFerret I think something is wrong with the story intentionally. It's got an unsettling undertone, like it's going to get a lot darker and stranger as it goes on. Uneven pacing could enhance that atmosphere.

I'm thinking the worship is going to get more and more literal, the disasters get worse and worse.

 

[Xaelath]

You thought it was Spiritual Yuri?
But it was me GAY OTAKU HERO WORSHIP

 

[enigmator]

i remember i was like flabbergasted when i first read the raws for this. there's a real apocalyptic vibe to it that's kinda unsettling

esp. with those publisher guys at the end there looking like they're plotting to take over the world or something

 

[AngryFerret]

@Ghede Yeah you are probably right. Well it's only one chapter so it is hard to judge if it was intended or just sloppy writing. It will definitely go darker with all of these catastrophic events and unhealthy mindset of the MC.

 

[JKTV]

Unhealthy af but let’s turn it into healthy gayness

 

[Pachka84]

"I thought that you might be in trouble here. Altough excuse me if I just did something that's lacking in basic common sense!"
Those two lines summarize what I want this character to be.
I want her sad backstory and Mao's lies to be something she easily works out for herself in one chapter so that she can be a ridiculous heroine to Mao during the rest of the story.
That would be a great story.