I am the Marshal of the Empire, the number one Alpha in the galaxy.
After being seriously injured on the battlefield, I ended up on a deserted planet, becoming obsessed with growing vegetables, raising chickens, and picking up tr*sh… Unexpectedly, I found my sharp-tongued and caustic adjutant.
Even more unexpectedly, he turned out to be better at growing vegetables than me.
Story - 6/10
This manga certainly wouldn't win any awards for originality, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Our main character, Kyoko, ends up having to live with and become housekeeper to three handsome brothers. She learns that maybe the brothers are more connected to her own family than originally thought. Kyoko's mother seems to be hiding various secrets about the brothers' family and Kyoko's own father. If you've read Miki Aihara's other work, "Hot Gimmick," this family secret/drama storyline might seem very similar—and it is. Perhaps all of her works are like this, but I wouldn't know since these are the only two I've read. I actually found this part quite interesting, even if it did get silly occasionally. I found myself trying to guess who Kyoko's father is, why her mother is so involved in the family, etc. So it's quite successful in that respect.
As well as this "mystery" aspect, we also have the sibling-love triangle (I don't think I'm really giving any spoilers away here—just look at the front cover). All the brothers are given various romantic moments, but it soon does become fairly obvious who she's going to end up with—or at least it did to me, but maybe I read too much shojo.
Art - 7/10
I actually really liked the art. Her style is original and easily recognizable, and she draws kisses very well, ha ha. There were problems with proportion, however. Sometimes the characters had ridiculously long legs, and sometimes their hands were really big. The character designs weren't anything amazing, but I liked how the brothers were very easily distinguishable from each other and had slightly different faces rather than all the brothers having the same face and just different hairstyles (I've seen this way too often in manga). The backgrounds weren't great. A lot of them were real photos that had been edited to give a comic style, but the ones that had been drawn weren't bad.
Characters - 6/10
None of the characters really stood out for me. The main heroine isn't too bad. At the start, she is really determined, self-dependent, and quite funny. Unfortunately, after all the drama starts, she becomes a bit annoying and ends up running away or having arguments with the other characters for reasons I don't know. It's a bit of a shame that she ends up throwing her aspirations away for the sake of a guy, but this is a shojo manga, not real life, so I can't really complain. Anyway, let's talk about the brothers (hopefully without making this sound like an otome game)....
Tamaki is the oldest brother. He's good-looking, smart, and everyone loves him, even Kyoko's mother. Of course, because he's so popular with pretty much everyone, his brothers don't really like him. Much like the other brothers, though, he has his own secret that could tarnish his "perfect" reputation.
Mito is the middle brother. He's the sporty playboy type who doesn't really care about his studies or taking part in his club. He has that kinda "delinquent" aspect to him (the numerous piercings on his ear are evidence of this).
Shisuka is the youngest. He's the pretty boy who skips school regularly, but there's a unique reason why he doesn't want to go. He's quite rude at first but then becomes quite sweet after he warms up to our heroine.
All the brothers are pretty likable. To be honest, I didn't really have a favorite, which is quite weird for me because I always end up rooting for one of the characters. But then again, it was good in that I honestly didn't mind who she ended up with (even though it was obvious), as they all seemed to be a good match. I don't think there's much point in mentioning the other characters because they were all pretty average. Overall, the characters were alright; they just weren't anything to shout about.
Enjoyment and Overall - 7/10
Shojo mangas can be very hit and miss, and I would definitely say it was more of a hit than a miss. The story could be quite interesting in parts, and the romance was done rather well. If you hate loads of drama, though, I would stay clear of this like the plague. If you like love triangles and a bit of mystery and drama, give this a shot. If you enjoyed Miki Aihara's "Hot Gimmick," you'll probably enjoy it. I would also say this manga is suited to an older teen audience.
Will I read it again? Probably not, but it was a nice quick read while it lasted.
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