Ultra Maniac

Ultra Maniac was the first manga I've ever read, but it pales in comparison to others I've experienced since. Despite this, I also watched some episodes of its anime adaptation and found it quite enjoyable. Although I wasn't new to the world of anime, I still appreciated the character development, especially with my favorite character, Nina. The artwork is stunning and adds a lot to the enjoyment factor. For these reasons, I rated this manga a 6 out of 10.

Ultra Maniac was the second manga I ever read. What I appreciate about this manga is its character development and the charming storyline and characters. I particularly enjoy how even the secondary characters receive attention in terms of their growth and background stories. Although this is an adorable manga, it primarily targets a younger audience (which I belonged to when I first started reading it). However, having now explored various types of manga, I realize that Ultra Maniac isn't among the best out there.

When I first watched the anime years ago, it was my introduction to the romantic comedy genre. The series made me laugh and cry, showcasing its ability to evoke emotions—a quality that, in my view, defines a great story. Four years later, I finally decided to read the manga.

Once again, Ultra Maniac left a strong impression on me. While the manga shared many similarities with the anime, there were also notable differences. One of the most apparent changes for those who watched the anime first is that Nina no longer uses her magical girl outfit, which I consider an improvement. Additionally, some characters present in the anime are absent from the manga, and vice versa. However, like the anime, the manga features intriguing plot twists, light-hearted drama, wonderful romantic moments, and plenty of scenes that will make you laugh.

At first glance, the summary might lead you to think this is just another typical shoujo series—and in many ways, it is. Like most shoujos, it's a romance aimed at women and contains relatively few action sequences. If your taste leans towards shows like Bleach, you might not enjoy this. But if you appreciate shoujo, these aspects won't be an issue.

To sum it up, if you enjoy romantic comedies with a touch of light-hearted drama, you'll likely love this series. In my opinion, it was good from the beginning, but it really hit its stride around chapter 5.

I have to admit, after rereading this series following a long hiatus, I found 'Ultra Maniac' somewhat underwhelming.

The last page of the final volume includes a biography of the manga artist, Wataru Yoshizumi, along with her comments. She mentioned that once the series began, her interest in magic waned, making it challenging to devise new ideas for the manga. This seems to explain why the plot is so straightforward. Everything about this series was pretty basic and to the point.

Don't get me wrong; it's a very cute series overall, but there wasn't anything groundbreaking regarding its magical elements. Each chapter presented different magical scenarios that eventually grew tedious. The repetition became apparent. Later, some characters were introduced, offering a slightly different perspective on the magic world. The final volume was genuinely the most engaging because it finally showcased the broader magic realm. However, this felt like a last-minute plot addition. Introducing this concept earlier could have shortened the series. It dragged on with unnecessary love triangles that didn't add much value. Perhaps three volumes would have been more appropriate.

Throughout the manga, Yoshizumi occasionally referenced Harry Potter, expressing her desire to present magic differently. 'Ultra Maniac' debuted in 2002 when the Harry Potter films were gaining popularity. I understand Yoshizumi's intention to portray magic uniquely, but she clearly struggled with execution. At the time, she hadn't read the books or seen the movies, ensuring her ideas were original. While magic isn't an original concept, her approach was unique. Her attempt at writing a magical manga could have been worse.

Also, why is this series called 'Ultra Maniac'? Characters made passing references to it, but the title doesn't quite fit the story.

Overall, I rated this series 6/10. It's a simple, cute story enjoyable for younger readers, but it lacks the re-read value of 'Marmalade Boy,' which is undoubtedly Wataru Yoshizumi's masterpiece.

Okay, this is my first time writing a review, but I won't sit here and talk about the art (although it is good). I'm halfway through this series, and I have to say, I love it.

First, I've seen the anime and chose to read the manga, and I have to say, the manga is way better! I highly recommend you read this series if you like magic shoujo and a not-your-everyday story. :)

Okay, so the basic story follows our main character Ayu Tateishi, a popular and cool student known for her "mature" laid-back attitude. Our story really starts with the introduction of Nina, who turns out to be able to use magic and is from a magical kingdom in some other dimension (or something like that)! Ayu ends up discovering this when she stumbles upon Nina while searching for her "magic computer"... (although ironically, Ayu didn't believe in magic at the beginning).

Ayu and Nina become friends and go through some wacky adventures together. Nina basically becomes Ayu's "fairy godmother," although Nina's spells don't always go as planned.

Story:

The story is creative and interesting in my opinion. It's the only story I know that actually has a backstory for the whole magical society, along with explaining why some magical people are in the "ordinary human world." It knows what it wants to be as a story and does those elements well—although this story has a habit of dropping storylines on a dime without any warning or reason (which is one of the things holding it back and the reason it gets a 7 in book). For instance, one storyline that bugged me was the whole "Yuta Kirishima (Nina's former classmate from magical school) liking Nina." When he comes into the story, he basically followed Nina from the magical dimension because he missed her—even though he would never admit it. They had known each other for years, and when he is called out by Ayu for liking Nina, he admits he does like her... then that storyline is dropped. Like nothing else is really said about it. Yuta never confessed his feelings to Nina, and Ayu never tells anyone (which I think could have been an interesting side story for character development). He even just goes out with this other magical girl who's a model, Sayaka Nakamura (even though they had basically been using each other and showed no attraction to each other). Also, Yuta had followed Nina from a different dimension! You can't expect me to believe he would just give up on Nina! That whole thing just bugged me.

Art:

It's okay; the art style is kind of dated and cutesy. There aren't a lot of action scenes, and personally, I think the art style is cute. To be honest, some of the characters look the same (like the boys seem to have the same look to them with nothing to tell them apart besides a slightly different hairstyle). There's nothing really dramatic or revolutionary about the drawing style.

Characters:

Okay, the two main characters are Nina and Ayu (so I'll just be doing these two), although there are more characters.

Nina - is the magical girl from another dimension. She is kind, sweet, innocent, and a little clumsy. She can also be a bit dense sometimes. She was sent to Earth after failing out of magical school since Earth is where all the "flunkies and drop-outs" go. Personally, I loved her character as she has some particular quirks that made her an overall fun character.

Ayu - is the "cool and mature" (not really) popular sports girl in school. She and Nina become friends. She plays off Nina's quirks brilliantly in my opinion. Although when it comes to her crush, Tetsushi Kaji, she can be just as airheaded as Nina. Although she is always trying to play it cool, she often loses it when it comes to Nina's high-jinks.

Of course, there are more characters like Nina's friend Yuta, Ayu's crush Kaji—just to name a few.

It's basically a very light and fluffy novel—although there is nothing wrong with that. Not as intense as "Harry Potter" wizards and magic, but I personally think it's a good read for anyone just wanting some light reading for fun. It didn't do anything revolutionary, but it wasn't bad either—I personally enjoyed it.

So, this is my first review, so sorry if I seem a bit um...
n-noobish...
Well, I'm not sure if I look quite as noobish as Nina with her magic...
(...you do realize that was my bad pick-up line attempt there? |'D)

Ahem... let's start.

Story:
(7/10)

Girl fails magic school, transfers to regular human school, meets friend, helps friend, mishaps happen, romances blossom, other characters appear,
...that's basically the outline of it.
It's quite entertaining to read, actually. It's got quite bit of humor, and later on some drama, not too heavy though, but just a good amount.
I have to say the whole "Magic Kingdom" gimmick was pretty nice too.
There were some characters who had small roles, but overall they made the story enjoyable, even though the minor characters might likely be forgotten.


Characters: 8/10
(types we've all seen before now and again, but put together in a way that works great.)

Ayu personally appealed to me. Even though she did seem typical in some places, there was something about her (and the rest of the characters) that seemed lovable.
Probably the mangaka's efforts to make them a cast to get attached to shone through.
I know many people would describe Ayu as "plain", and she even admits herself that that's her style she goes for. But I give her props on being a shojo heroine who is actually "sane" for once xD;;

Now for the other one, Nina. She's the slightly more... "insane" one.
But the way she is is in more of a unique way; she's a witch failing magic classes and will do anything to help a friend (even if that means screwing up in total embarrassment.)
She has this "naive, young wonder" kind of air going on, and like I said, is very sweet and loves to help out her friends, even though it backfires.
She isn't really all that "goofy" or "looney", at least intentionally, as does seem to have some seriousness somewhere, but that's mostly covered by her innocence/immaturity.

Basically, the friendship between Ayu and Nina was one of my favorite things in this manga.

As for the boys, Tetsushi would be that one character people would forget after they skim through this manga. Even though he was nowhere near as bad as some other generic guys that seem to be abundant in shojo. His personality was cheerful, which I liked.
I'll just end this by saying Hiroki is the serious guy because I'm writing a bit too much.


Art- (9/10)

The art is pretty much a very good definition of "shojo style"
In my opinion, the entire manga seems good for someone who's just starting to delve into the shojo genre.
The lines are smooth, flawless for the most part, the graphics have less of the "random sparkles everywhere" thing going on than your average Nakayoshi/Ribon/Ciao-type comic. (which can be good or bad)
The expressions are very well-drawn for the most part. Although the way they look when they turn into exaggerated chibis may look a bit odd, it's easy to get used to.


Enjoyment/re-read value:
(9/10)
I find myself picking up one of the books and re-reading it a good amount of times, it's a quick 5 volumes and doesn't have many parts that drag. Even though sometimes you might have to go back and "scan" the book again before you can realize what's going on with all the characters at the moment, because a lot of happenings and conflict unfolds with volume 3-4.

So in the end, it's a quick and easy read, a great shojo for those who like romantic comedies sprinkled with a bit of magic.

These were some of the first manga I ever read, so I found them interesting and enjoyable. The story revolves around a girl named Ayu Tateishi, who befriends and assists another girl named Nina Sakura. Nina places so much trust in Ayu that she reveals her secret: she is actually a witch from another realm. From there, the narrative unfolds with Nina using her magical abilities to aid Ayu at times, but occasionally these powers end up causing even more complications for her.