Peach Girl

To be honest, I was ready to give up after volume 15. I diligently read from the very first volume, but honestly, I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY it continued like that. Just why. Ugh.

Anyway, initially, it's your typical shoujo manga and all, but it became so dragging, and I grew so frustrated with the character development that my fondness for it faded away. I was hoping things would improve, but instead, I just ended up disappointed near the end—I even sacrificed sleep for this!

But on the bright side, one good aspect of this manga is the little lessons about love it offers. However, it still went overboard, and the characters became so irrational that I can't even... Whatever.

I determine my rating purely based on enjoyment, not through any critical lens. I don't typically read manga, but Peach Girl captivated me entirely (I accidentally started with Peach Girl Next First, which surprisingly made me appreciate the foreshadowing in the original series even more!! I finished both in a single day).

The series' greatest strength lies in its ability to make you truly care about the characters and their fates. You feel their agony, love, and understand each character's thought process—even if you don't agree with it. By the end of the story, you'll undoubtedly be left with some kind of emotional impact...

Convenient City of Peach Girl's manga
A place with an extremely small population, where every action is always noticed.
Phones frequently lose power and reception is consistently poor.
People struggle to communicate and find it hard to explain anything.
The police are more like a modern myth than a reality.
Love is unpredictable and changes as quickly as the wind.
Rape, pregnancy, and alcohol are commonplace topics among high schoolers in Peach Girl's city.

The most significant issue lies with the characters; they never clarify what’s happening. All the problems within the manga could be resolved with just a few words.

Despite being intended as a Shoujo manga, there's nothing that evokes a sense of warmth or happiness.

This is less of a review for others and more of a reflection on Peach Girl.
So it DOES include spoilers!!!!! (But if you’re familiar with the TokyoPop version, you know about the titles. And if you know about the titles, I’m sure you can at least guess where I’m going at).

~INTRODUCTION~

Listen, Peach Girl means a lot to me. It was the first shoujo I ever read, the first manga I ever collected, and the first manga that I bought completely "blind": all of the other mangas I bought I had already watched the anime adaptation first and knew at least a little bit about the story.

All I did was look at the cover and the art style, which are VERY PRETTY and appealing to me, so I bought it.

Today, I’m 25 years old and have finished rereading this story. And while I still hold it dear to my heart, I gotta admit this is a very problematic story.

~SEX~

First, I think that while it is considered a shoujo, it is definitely more suitable for late teens (like… 18+). Sex is an important feature in this story, even though there are NO sex scenes. There’s a bit of nudity, there’s /almost/ sex scenes, there’s RAPE ATTEMPTS (!!!!!!) (though this concerns more violence) and more. I first began reading it when I was about 8 years old, so I definitely shouldn’t have.

There were no warnings concerning this in the cover and while I am in no way a prude, I think that the reader needs to have at least a little bit of maturity to understand what is really going on.

~RAPE~

As I mentioned previously, there are rape ATTEMPTS. More than ONCE, even. This could potentially trigger a percentage of readers who have been through something similar. And, to a younger audience, it could potentially "teach" them wrong notions about it.

By the time I reached this part in the story, I was around 15 years old. Much older than when I first started reading, but still not that mature enough. I understood that those were rape attempts but I didn’t understand what rape really was about.

~LOVE TRIANGLES~

As a kid, I liked the idea of two handsome men fighting for the love of… well, me. As a teen, I thought that it was an unrealistic idea, but I just shrugged it off. As an adult… I HATE love triangles.

This trope is more used to bring drama into the story, and in this case, it brought ALL the (unnecessary) drama. To the point that you start to wonder: did Momo ever really love ANY of those guys?

As alluded in the subtitle of vols 8-18 ("change of heart"), Momo starts to love Kairi instead of Toji. As a "Team Kairi" person since a kid, I was ecstatic to read that. But when I found out HOW that turned out… oof. Big oof.

I’ll comment more about the couple’s lack of conversation in the next topic, but in this one I’ll focus on all the shifts the story had with Toji and Kairi:

Momo starts with Toji > Toji breaks up with her, she dates Kairi > bullshit happens (lol) and she goes back to Toji > even more bullshit happens and she gets confused as to "who to pick" (???) > She ends up with Kairi.

Look. I’m happy that she ended the story with my preferred character, but it seemed so far-fetched. She had at least 3 CHANCES to pick Kairi (in the last few chapters) and in all 3 she chose Toji. At the very last moment, as if she was an actress in a movie and had just remembered that the script told her she had to choose Kairi, she sprints towards that ending.

I already said that love triangles are unrealistic, but this manages to top that. There were several times in my reread that I was furious with Momo’s indecision and that, had I not known the ending, I’d have dropped the manga.

I understand that she was fragile when the whole switcharoo started to happen, but wow. A side character tells Momo that to her it didn’t matter who she ended up with, as long as someone "showed up". I kinda think she’s right.

(Not to mention: the whole love triangles trope is inconsiderate towards the "unchosen one". One of these people will always have to give up the person they love and in Toji’s case, I think the way Momo handled the situation was VERY inconsiderate.)

~LACK OF CONVERSATION~

Toji breaks up with Momo to protect her from Sae. Did he really need to do that? Answer: NO.

He could’ve just talked to her and told her that Sae was blackmailing him. He could’ve tried a better way to protect Momo, instead of having to do what Sae wanted. But nope. "I’d rather take decisions by myself about my relationship without even talking to my girlfriend".

Many chapters later, Momo was now with Kairi and they had an agreement. "I’ll wait for you for 5 minutes and if you don’t come by then, I’ll know your answer". Something comes up, Kairi CALLS HER and DOESN’T SAY WHAT HAPPENED and expects her to still wait for him.

Like??? He already called her, he SHOULD have said what happened and why he’d be late. He could’ve told her everything by the phone and she’d have waited for him, but instead, he did exactly what Toji did in the beginning: didn’t. Talk. to. Her. about. Important. Stuff.

At least 80% of the drama in this story could’ve been prevented by having a conversation. That drove me mad.

~THE GOOD POINTS (AND CONCLUSION)~

There are many many other little points that I’d like to share but I think I’ve already said the most important ones and I already gave too many spoilers, so I’ll wrap it up:

With these many flaws, how can I still LIKE this story and give it a somewhat high rating?

Peach Girl, while flawed and problematic, is entertaining. Even though I already knew how it ended, it had me avidly reading page after page, on the edge of my seat, hoping that it would all end okay for my favorite characters.

Momo is kind and good-hearted, even though she should hate Sae’s guts and wish her harm, she keeps worrying about her and even considers her a friend. Sae starts off as a bitch but through character development she gets better and even helps Momo and Kairi towards the end. Toji is a good boy despite everything. Kairi starts off as a funny guy, perfect even, but through character development and his backstory we can see a whole new side of him.

Many points of the story are absurd to the point of being unreal, but at least the characters are very real to me.

Plus: it was fun! True, I did have waaay more fun reading it as a kid/teen than I did as an adult, but it was still nice.

Would I still love it if I read it for the first time as an adult?
Probably not. I probably would’ve dropped this a long time ago lol

Should you read this, after this monstrous review?
I don’t know. You tell me. If you don’t, I won’t blame you. If you do, I hope you can grow to love these characters as much as I did :)

I know it's an old manga, but I recently read it and found it enjoyable.

Story (7/10)

This is a lengthy manga with plenty of drama. Despite that, I still think the story is decent because I enjoyed reading it without getting bored. The main issue preventing me from giving it a higher score is how the author sometimes takes the drama too far. (SPOILER) For example, Momo, the protagonist, keeps switching between Toji and Kairi whenever she faces significant problems with one of them. What's frustrating is that she doesn't try to understand what's really happening and just focuses on her own happiness. The worst part is when Toji has to break up with Momo because Sae, the villain, threatens him. Even though I knew Kairi was the primary male lead, I didn't expect the author to use such a contrived plot device to bring Kairi and Momo together. It’s unfair to Toji, who deserves a happy ending too. (SPOILER END) Regardless of the excessive drama, I still enjoyed every chapter, which is what matters most.

Art (6/10)

If the artist had maintained the quality of the first 20 or so chapters, I would have given it a higher score. Unfortunately, the art quality kept deteriorating. As I read, I noticed the characters becoming more childlike, especially Kairi. By the end, he looked totally different from how he appeared initially, transforming from a cool guy into a cute one. This was quite disappointing for me.

Characters (8/10)

The characters are pretty good, though not outstanding. First, let's talk about Momo, the main character. She isn’t very impressive; she worries excessively over minor issues and doesn’t develop much by the end. Then there’s Kairi, who is likable and funny. I appreciate his transformation into a more serious and better person. As for Toji, I didn’t see any significant development in him, although he wasn’t a bad person to begin with. Lastly, there’s Sae. Despite doing many terrible things, I never hated her. She adds humor and keeps the story interesting. For a villain, she’s not annoying, unlike some modern shoujo manga protagonists who cry all the time.

Enjoyment (9/10)

I never got bored while reading this manga, and I believe enjoyment is the most crucial aspect of any story. So, I greatly appreciate the author for making it so fun to read.

Overall (8/10)

In summary, I consider this a great manga because I enjoyed it immensely. I also loved the ending. You should read this instead of some of the newer shoujo manga filled with overly dramatic, crying, goody-two-shoes protagonists.

I recall the first time I read this manga, I was around ten years old. Back then, I found it brilliant and hilarious, cherishing every panel. However, revisiting it now, I can spot numerous flaws in both the storyline and the characters.

The concept of the story is unique, but its execution leaves much to be desired. Most chapters revolve around Momo's complaints about being labeled a slut and ostracized due to her tanned skin. This premise is not only unrealistic but exaggerated to an extreme degree. Let me elaborate.

While some people might judge Momo at first sight, they wouldn't isolate her as harshly as depicted in the manga. It seemed like every character was utterly foolish. Moreover, all characters consistently fell for Sae’s manipulations. Who is Sae? She is the cunning antagonist whose primary goal is to make Momo's life miserable. The plot revolves around Sae's relentless efforts to torment Momo, even resorting to having someone rape her.

This brings me back to the plot's lack of realism, riddled with countless plot holes. Not only are Sae's actions unrealistic, but so are the characters' reactions. Throughout the story, Momo behaves like a complete fool. Despite Sae blackmailing her, Momo does nothing to report Sae. While reporting her might not be as "exciting," it would have been the smarter choice. Instead, Momo continues to lament about her miserable life.

The manga never explains why Sae goes to such lengths to ruin Momo's life. What grudge does she hold against Momo? Rather than addressing these questions, the writer introduces more implausible scenarios to keep the story going.

Then there's Kairi, the only intriguing character who undergoes significant development. He also provides some comic relief, which is perhaps the manga's best feature. Many scenes are genuinely funny, making you laugh out loud.

While most characters seem devoid of common sense, Kazuya stands out as the most boring and painful to watch. He has no personality, making his dialogue tedious. He adds unnecessary drama instead of taking the sensible route.

To be fair, it is an interesting read. I admit enjoying parts of it. However, the repetitive cycle of Momo switching between Kazuya and Kairi, coupled with Sae's over-the-top schemes, lacks both common sense and meaningful development.

As for the artwork, it wasn’t particularly special. Neither bad nor excellent, it simply didn't stand out.

Story: 5/10
Art: 5/10
Character: 6/10
Enjoyment: 5/10
Overall: 5/10

I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors in my review.

Man, this series was an emotional roller coaster.

The story was tolerable. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Occasionally, certain parts were a bit underwhelming. The artwork was nice, though there's definitely room for improvement. The layout of the panels felt somewhat scattered.

I rated the characters lower because they didn't seem very realistic. Some characters remained static while others evolved. (To be honest, Kairi struck me as the most delusional character.)

I gave Enjoyment a higher score since I genuinely liked it. I read this during a period when I felt quite lonely, and I found some events relatable.

Overall, I actually liked it, but it certainly isn't the best manga I've ever read.

My reviews are often harsh, so don't take my critique personally. I aim to share my concluding thoughts on a manga when I review it.

This story was good, with commendable art and decent characters. Despite giving it a high rating, I didn't particularly enjoy it much. The reason is that the entire narrative is quite dramatic, and when things get depressing, I feel down too. The melancholic parts of the story overshadow the light-hearted moments.

Overall, based on the ending, you could consider this manga a happy story. At least in the same vein as "The Little Mermaid" being a happy story, lol. It concludes somewhat depressingly, but still leaves you feeling contentedly satisfied because not everything ends badly.

So, have fun reading this. I completed it in two days, but since I devoted considerable time to it, it felt like it would never end, lol. I'm glad it's over now, so I can move on to other manga.

I give this a great overall rating. And I would recommend it to those who enjoy well-crafted drama.