Ichigo 100%

Background

I first watched Ichigo 100% as an anime around 2009, during my early days of binge-watching series. That summer, I marathoned a hundred shows, and Ichigo 100% was among them. Despite that, it remained one of the mediocre ones in my memory. Today, after several score adjustments, it has a 4/10 rating (bad) and a 6.95 on MAL. While I don't usually give scores here, I wanted to highlight how poor the adaptation was and how much I disliked it, even when I would watch anything.

When a friend recommended reading the manga, which concluded the same year the anime aired, I was very skeptical. However, reading through it doubled my positive impression of the series, and I actually enjoyed it over the past three days. I barely remember the anime, but it's clear the manga is quite different. Let's dive into the actual story.

Characters

This is unfortunately a harem manga, but focusing on the characters' feelings, mainly Manaka, it feels more like a triangle. In the early 2000s, harems were all the rage, and it's amusing to see a time before everyone had cell phones—landlines are used here! For its era, Manaka isn't the worst male lead. Sure, he causes misunderstandings and hurts feelings, but he has a dream! This is his biggest redeeming quality. He exhibits kindness, bravery, and strives for his dream, allowing him to mature throughout the story.

Another factor is his understanding of his own feelings towards the girls. Besides having some personality, he never questioned if he liked someone or not—he knew he had feelings for multiple people. This was refreshing and interesting to see how it affected his interactions with the girls. Sometimes it could be frustrating due to harem constraints, but it felt more real than most harem situations.

The girls fall into somewhat typical archetypes, but who doesn't nowadays? There are about five or six girls under the harem umbrella, but only a few receive serious consideration from the main character. Aya has an introverted personality and shares similar dreams with the protagonist. Nishino appears as the popular, extroverted type but develops positively into a hardworking individual with her own dreams. Satsuki is the most unfortunate of the main girls—I can't spoil anything here, but she's honest and upfront. She's probably the worst character in the series, not for her personality but because she's poorly utilized.

Pacing

A graph showing +/- 1 point per chapter through the entire series illustrates the pacing best. (http://helurs.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/ichigo-100-manga-review/) There are confessions as soon as the first chapter, and the story picks up quickly without being ambiguous regarding relationships. However, like any romance piece, pacing is crucial. Romance stories often drag out the plot, and Ichigo 100% follows this pattern.

After chapter 20, the story plateaus until an arc in the late 30s, then slowly declines for the next 60 chapters. This means the ratio of good to bad chapters is about 1:1, declining further afterwards. Many good arcs exist, but overall, the plot should have jumped almost straight to chapter 100. These filler chapters cover the first half of high school, setting up important points for the series. Uncertain how they could execute the ending well without it, the setup still felt drawn out.

That said, after chapter 94, when the series dips to an all-time low, the plot explodes fantastically. They enter cram school and study phases, pursuing dreams. Competition gets fierce in relationships, including other guys, and the story's ending is set up perfectly. There isn't as much drama as expected but rather tension and anticipation.

Story

I'm surprised by how the story progresses. Contrary to expectations, I was fooled despite my experience with romance stories. I was surprised but also happy. They never created arcs where characters do something stupid and create huge misunderstandings. Misunderstandings aren't exactly realistic but don't seem anyone's fault. Only two or three times did misunderstanding devices upset me as a reader. As Jin Kobayashi said, the key to romances is misunderstandings, but making the story not seem ridiculous is challenging.

Adding characters like Amachi, who pursued Aya, or the pastry man, who went after Nishino, improved things. I wish they were active sooner; Amachi takes 60 chapters to make an impact, and the pastry chef affects about 16 chapters. Mostly, he attempts persuasion chapter after chapter in different scenarios, but I'm glad he never officially dates two people simultaneously despite liking multiple girls.

The ecchi elements didn't detract from the story significantly. They ensured plot-driven developments in at least one half of each chapter. Some chapters annoyed me with fan service but delivered nice developments later. Each chapter felt long despite being 19 pages with fan service. Panty shots made up most of the ecchi content back then. The only annoying part was the exaggerated boys' excitement over the hottest girls.

Conclusion

This is definitely one of the better harem manga I've read. It may be due to the characters acting mostly like real people. They develop a lot, especially in the last part where significant events occur. If the middle had been more reliable, I'd rate it higher, but the ending alone drew me in deeply. I'm really into the romance genre, and the filler consisted of insignificant romance scenes. Even these chapters focused on the story, just not effectively.

The best shounen romance ever, for these compelling reasons:

1. The "strawberry quest" serves as an adorable and romantic starting point.

2. The male protagonist is unusually awkward in romance—which many readers of shounen romances can relate to—making him more relatable.

3. The artwork is consistently excellent, with the girls depicted beautifully without resorting to demeaning forms of ecchi content (though there are occasional cute ecchi moments).

4. The female characters are not only visually stunning but also possess beautiful personalities that add depth to their appeal.

5. Each character is well-developed, each having a distinct personality. I never found myself confused about who was who, unlike in many other manga I've read. Additionally, the ambitious aspirations of the three main teenage characters are truly inspiring.

6. The story evolves as it progresses. What begins as a middle-school boy's whimsical search for the girl whose panties he glimpses gradually transforms into the narrative of the daily growth of three fascinating individuals from their early teens to the brink of adulthood. For those yet to experience this transition, this manga offers a pretty accurate preview of what growing up entails.

There will always be a particular anime or manga that remains close to your heart. Consequently, your judgment might be biased when it comes to such titles. Please forgive my bias in this review of the manga.

The protagonist, Junpei Manaka, is depicted as an average guy, but from my perspective, this portrayal is merely an illusion designed to make him appear like the "underdog" hero. The story begins with Junpei, a senior high school student, experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with what he considers his dream girl, followed by another unexpected meeting with the "school idol/most popular girl stereotype." As the narrative unfolds, we discover that Junpei has his own interests and aspirations, and he puts considerable effort into pursuing them. This progression is where the beauty of the plot lies, starting from a solid foundation and evolving into a memorable storyline.

For a harem manga, (most of) the characters are surprisingly three-dimensional, and their development feels realistic. I believe this manga's popularity stems largely from its characters. Girl #1, Aya Toujou, portrayed as the protagonist's dream girl, shares similar interests, humor, and motivations with Junpei. While her dream seems to revolve around being with him, his focus is on achieving success in his chosen path. Girl #2, Tsukasa Nishino, the previously mentioned school idol, has a fierce personality. Every action she takes defines her character and her ambitions. These actions significantly impact her relationship with the protagonist and shape the story's conclusion. Girl #3, Satsuki Kitaooji, who gives her all to win the protagonist's love, is an intriguing character whom I believe many readers will appreciate. In most love stories with multiple heroines, the protagonist struggles to choose between two, while the remaining women become overly clingy and annoying. Fortunately, this trope doesn't apply here; Satsuki's actions are both believable and engaging, not just for the protagonist but also for us as viewers. Even the supporting characters, though often comic relief, play significant roles in driving the story forward. Their presence is crucial to the manga's completeness. It's rewarding to get to know these characters rather than having me spoil them for you.

The artwork is commendable. I find the character designs admirable, even if some characters have generic facial features at times. The backgrounds are as beautiful as the portraits, and both improve as the manga progresses. What more needs to be said?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this manga. It was fun and entertaining, offering comedy, drama, romance, and a pursuit of dreams. For some readers, there's also ecchi and fan service elements (you know what ecchi entails, so I won't elaborate further). Many situations within the manga evoke memories, making it worth remembering. The manga starts strong and continues to impress as you read on.

Thus concludes my biased review, and I give this manga a score of 10.

Okay... Unless there exists some kind of secret code to never write bad about this show, then I really can't comprehend how everyone is so keen on praising this show, when it does, in fact NOT deserve it that much, lacking in many aspects of good romance standards.

Let me start with the plot. A really basic middle schooler, horny to the last bit and somewhat interested in filming comes across a gorgeous girl with strawberry panties. Mesmerized by said view he wants to confess to this girl, so he confesses to the most beautiful girl in the school (thinking it belongs to her), for some reason succeeds and then it turns out it belongs to his classmate who was hiding her beauty and here our MC begins his struggle to understand his feelings about who he truly likes.

Pretty straightforward right? Of course, it is a harem so they are charmed by MC who, in my sincere opinion, qualifies as one of the most annoying characters out there and is the biggest flaw of this book.

For 90% of the book, we are being fed with the same boring reasoning of this guy, focused solely on him being interested in all girls at once but too indecisive to pick one. Every time there could be a breakthrough in relationship, ALWAYS in the last possible second something strikes him and we go back to an infinite circle of random awkward moments with the girls.

Then there is deep "self-reflection" of MC like "I don't deserve them," "I don't want to hurt them," "I will be a better human" but it almost feels like this guy has dementia because he doesn't do anything about it and then he still yearns for all of them to like him romantically when he does not have to.

And now the cherry on top, the hypocrisy and moodiness of this guy, at one point he is head over heels over one girl, but next day he meets the other girl and he is now head over heels over her, back and forth every few chapters FOR. 140. CHAPTERS. COME ON.

At one point, this show gets so repetitive and ridiculous because we still don't know who he truly likes but then WAIT, the author will fix that by adding more girls to the harem so that this guy can have more cliché situations with them and have more variety in choice truly peak writing!

With that being said, let's not mark it as relatable or as a real portrayal of young man in love because both the MC that can't focus on one girl for 4 years and girls that can't move on from him for 4 years along with the amount of anomalies forbidding one ship to finally sail is abnormal and stupid.

Now to some minor aspects, comedy part leaves you stone-faced, the main joke is mostly sex, side characters are just ok, the art is good and end girl is the best one though, but it isn't enough of a good reason to torment yourself with this manga.

TL;DR

MC's struggle to sort out his feelings is ultra mundane and annoying, it isn't satisfying fiction nor is it relatable. The show is overflowing with cliché awkward situations, leading to nothing but showing horniness of MC. The show is long af where plot and behavior of characters get predictable and repeatable, slowly filling a reader with not entertainment but boredom creating an urge to finally dip this show and move on.

Story (10): The story is a harem, comedy, romance, school-based type of manga. At first, I thought the story would be predictable and dragging because of the length of the manga, but I was totally wrong. The author wrote the story in unexpected ways. I thought the story would revolve around the main character (Manaka) searching for the girl wearing strawberry panties to be revealed in the end. This was not the case; they introduced the girl in strawberry panties early in the chapter. The story also made my heart waver whenever Manaka hangs out with one of the four girls and is seen by the other, causing hurt feelings. The four protagonists all have different effects on the main character, giving him different emotions. Toujou is someone Manaka can share his dreams and goals with. Nishino makes Manaka's heart at ease at all times. Satsuki is the buddy he can talk to about anything and who makes him feel like himself. Yui is the younger sister-like character who watches over and scolds him when he is heading down the wrong path. The story made me laugh, gave me teary eyes, and stirred up many mixed emotions.

Art (9): The art is pretty old-school since it was made in the early 2000s. The art doesn't affect the overall experience of the manga because what is most important is the story itself. As long as readers can see and understand what is going on, it's alright. The art still thoroughly expressed the characters' feelings and emotions.

Characters (10): The characters are unique and interesting. The gang consists of different characters, all with intriguing personalities. Manaka portrays a kind-hearted boy who is slightly perverted and tends to be indecisive when it comes to girls and love. The gorgeous female protagonists vary from a shy, timid girl (Toujou), an athletic, aggressive, hot chick, buddy (Satsuki), a popular, heartthrob, ladylike, caring, talented-in-cooking girl (Nishino), and a young sister-like childhood friend (Yui). The supporting characters also make the gang complete - a funny-looking, joker friend (Komiyama), the high school friend who gives love advice yet is perverted (Hiroshi), the co-director who gets pissed at Manaka's indecisiveness, the loli, gold-digger friend (Chinami), and Manaka's rival (Amachi).

Overall (10): I truly enjoyed this manga. This is exactly the type of genre I enjoy watching, in this case, reading. I finished this manga in less than a week. Additionally, this is my second manga I have completed.

Anime vs Manga: I actually started reading the manga where the anime stopped (chapter 66), and I could see a huge difference. I preferred the manga way more than the anime because it provided the audience with complete details. When I started the manga, I noticed that the anime didn't tackle a lot of important stuff and didn't introduce other characters (like Amachi).

I recommend this if you are interested in harem, comedy, romance, and school-based stories.

"If someone says he/she loves you - do not believe it. Time is better adviser, trust it."

STORY - 10/10

I've read numerous romance/harem manga and finally found what I've been seeking for years—an interesting, intriguing, beautiful, and pure story where almost everything is perfect. After reading this, I couldn't think straight for nearly a day due to the impact of the story. This is the truth. However, I don't expect you to take my word for it immediately; that's why I'm writing this review.

The story isn't entirely new, I must admit. What truly amused me wasn't the plot itself but how everything and everyone progressed with their feelings, their actions driven by love and the desire to be loved. The most crucial part of this story is undoubtedly its ending. It shocked me so much that I even shed a few tears. I cried because this beautiful story concluded exactly as I wished, on a positive note where everyone got what they wanted. Almost everyone and everything.

Although the series contains a lot of humor, I appreciated that Mizuki Kawashita (the manga's author) didn't overdo it, allowing the series to remain mature yet romantic and funny. If she had added more humor, it might have turned into another Love Hina or something similar. I'm not trying to be rude; I'm just saying that if the series had more humor, it might have leaned more towards comedy/romance rather than drama/romance.

ART - 10/10

This was probably why I started reading this manga. I loved how characters were depicted and how they expressed their emotions, sometimes making me feel as if they were real. There's nothing more to add. The art is simply amazing!

CHARACTERS - 9/10

This is what makes the series unique and engaging. In my opinion, the author focused more on developing Aya, Kitaoji, and Nishino—the three main girls—rather than Junpei, the protagonist. But the way she illustrated the relationships between these characters is remarkable.

Since this is a harem manga, adding extra girls who fall in love with Junpei is somewhat standard for the genre. However, in my opinion, there are too many girls, and some chapters seem like mere spin-offs. That's not bad, but when you're reading, you want to know what's happening with the main characters, not the extras, knowing they don't stand a chance.

ENJOYMENT - 9/10

Every chapter I read gave me something to ponder, so I read quite slowly. This series makes you wonder what you'd do if you were in one of the main characters' shoes. Quite interesting and challenging, I would say. Romantic, humorous, and sad—a great mix to read, isn't it?

OVERALL - 10/10

Despite some shortcomings, I rated it 10 out of 10. I asked myself, "Why? What is SO unique about this manga that you gave it a perfect score?" The answer is simple—I love comedy/romance/drama manga and anime, and this series has it all! You definitely won't regret reading it.

If you decide to read it, consider following some of my recommendations. These aren't mandatory, but they enhanced my experience positively:

- Read alone; this will help you concentrate more on the characters and the story. You'll start questioning yourself, "What would I do in a situation like this?"

- Read with music playing in the background. Something romantic or acoustic. I used to read it with Jamisonparker playing in the background, but your choice might differ.

That's it, guys. I hope my review was helpful. If not... well, I just wanted to share my "number one romantic manga of all time" :)

Thank you for reading,

Regards,

fullmetal-boy

Ichigo 100% serves as a prime example of a romantic (ecchi) comedy filled with many predictable moments. Despite this, it remains an excellent manga, particularly for fans of the genre.

The story's beginning closely mirrors other harem mangas where an average guy ends up attracting the most attractive girls in school. As the narrative progresses, more girls become enamored with him. Although it shares common elements with similar works, Ichigo 100% has unique moments that set it apart, earning it a passing grade from me. There are instances where I genuinely felt the characters' emotions.

The artwork isn't the best I've seen but still looks impressive. The female characters are especially well-drawn, particularly in their faces and other features intended to capture the readers' attention.

Character development is strong, effectively showcasing the emotions between characters. Each girl has her own distinct reason for liking the protagonist, making it difficult to choose a favorite since all have rich, detailed backgrounds.

The aspect I disliked the most was the last few chapters, which felt rushed and somewhat confusing. While I appreciate surprises, I was disappointed with the finale. This is just my opinion, as the girl I favored most wasn't chosen.

In summary, Ichigo 100% is a highly enjoyable manga, especially for male readers. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre. It boasts numerous funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and ecchi moments—though perhaps just a tad too many ecchi scenes for some tastes.

A lengthy but enjoyable manga. There's not much to elaborate on.

Story: 7/10

The story starts at a reasonable pace and keeps it up throughout. It hooks you with the strawberry panties, which is quite memorable. What stands out most is the high amount of fanservice and ecchi scenes scattered throughout. I'm pretty sure there was a panty shot in almost every chapter. Overall, it's a decent high school harem manga.

Art: 9/10

The art quality remains consistently high throughout the story. Strawberries are referenced everywhere as they're key to the plot and theme. The art doesn't have much that's particularly special except for its quality (and the countless nosebleed scenes).

Character: 7/10

This manga features the typical harem cast: the indecisive main lead, his perverted friends who can't get girls, the shy yet smart girl, the tomboyish or overbearing girl, the childhood friend, and so on. The only real exception is Kozue, who has androphobia. The main lead and a few central characters are well-explained, but others remain somewhat vague.

Enjoyment: 9/10

Despite the issues with character development and the somewhat bland plot, this turned out to be a surprisingly good manga. I enjoyed it most towards the end when it became really emotional. It even brought me to tears, something no other manga has managed to do.

Overall: 8/10

I believe any fan of the shoujo or romance genre should give this manga a read. It was surprisingly good and entertaining. As a side note, there's an anime adaptation of this manga... DO NOT WATCH IT unless you've read the manga first. The anime will leave you shortchanged story-wise as entire scenes and characters from the manga are completely absent in the anime.