Utakata no Minato

[13377357]

probably the best romance shounen on mangadex rn

 

[araquetty81]

dropping this on principle since i don't follow haremshit but it's not bad for what it is (maybe like a 6.5/10). it's a shame that whatever potential it has is definitionally/necessarily going to be wasted, but that's what you sign up for with this genre

 

[How_To_Fail_Correctly]

Aside from the harem shit, this is my dream series!

 

[ExarchOfAfrica]

I read for the monster (undersea monster?) girls and art. The art was some of the best I've seen in a story, each character being a different sea creature allowed them to be immediately recognizable. The sceneries around, the bubbles as classroooms, the curved bookshelves of the school library as books stretched into the sky was magic. This is a series that can be read just for the art alone while disregarding the story. Because damn was the story disappointment.

This is a harem series, but its clear who will win from the start. In the first place most of the sea creatures didn't see Minato as a love interest but rather as a tool to get up to the surface. Its made more saddening when Minato cooks surface foods for his classmates and speaks so grand about the surface world when I know they won't actually be able to visit it.

In that regard I may be wrong, as the school instructor's plan seems to be a eugenics project to allow all mermaids, not just the primo, to go up to the surface. This interpretation is optimistic but at least gives most of the loing girls a chance to enjoy the surface. And the chance for other humans to date cute mermaids.

I personally wanted Mana to win, she had a more fleshed out character than Akari, but either one winning is fine enough. Its irritating then that the ending is open, without any one mermaid having kissed Minato. Even so, its tolerable since its obvious who is going to win. In that regard making so much of the story around kissing him while most characters didn't really like him makes the entire story weak, that they're only trying to get him for what he has rather than for who he is.

These weak points in the story are saved by the artwork, this being some of the best in any harem or romcom manga as a whole. Its your choice whether you want to read this, but I'd lean towards yes.

And a final note, I listened to (Serbian Folk Song - Oj, Ružice Rumena) while reading this, as I felt the song complimented the undersea theme of this manga. This certainly made my reading experience more enjoyable as a result.

7/10.