Hiding Behind My Mask

Story: 8  

I was genuinely getting worried for a moment. I thought this manga might turn into something like Sailor Moon, where there's trouble and the heroine just defeats it. If that had been the case, my perfect manga would have been over. However, the story actually delves deeper. You just need to endure the fight, kill, victory sequence. I know it's tough, but I found it worthwhile. The story was pleasant, but I can't say it was anything extraordinary. There's something about it that makes me feel like "something was missing..." As I've heard before, maybe it was because too many ideas were crammed into one story. I really do have a strong dislike for that.  

Art: 8  

O.M.G. Everyone is soooo cute!!! Kyaa~  
I absolutely adored Suzune. He's one of my favorite characters. He is just too adorable!! Everyone looks cool and cute in their own way, but I didn't find Kazune very original. My first thought was "Is this the blond boy from Pita-Ten??" Eventually, I did see the differences.  

Character: 7  

I must say, the way Kazune tried to protect Karin was incredibly cute. However, I didn't notice much character development throughout the story. Everyone pretty much stayed the same. Another one of my pet peeves.  

Enjoyment: 9  

Despite all those lower scores, I truly enjoyed Kamichama Karin Chu. It was quite close to my idea of a perfect manga. A sequel that shows the continuation of a relationship—that's what I love! And with little Suzune, I loved the manga even more!!  

Overall: 8

If you've ever read the original Kamichama Karin series, you know what made it special and when it was at its best. The ending always tugs at my heartstrings, and I cherished it as my first multi-volume manga. However, this sequel, meant to tie up loose plot threads, unfortunately lowers the overall quality.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Story

Although the story took a darker turn, which I appreciated, the plot raised several questions.

Okay, so Karin and her three godly suitors are tasked with destroying seeds of chaos to save the future. But how does this actually help the future when fighting is precisely what led to Michi and Kazune's demise in the first place? All these seeds/flowers seem to do is cause minor mischief—nothing catastrophic. So why the urgency?

Additionally, the sequel was supposed to address plot holes but failed to do so. Why does Yuuki have god-like powers? Does he even possess them? Can he use them? Why does Kazune have a sister if he's a clone? Instead of resolving these issues, the story opens up new questions and ignores the gaps that could have been filled.

Art

As usual, the art retains the cute, big-eyed shojo style, which I have no complaints about.

Characters

Oh dear.

Karin: Karin remains the typical perky shojo heroine with a harem, like most in the genre, though she can certainly hold her own. Still, her character never delves deep or undergoes significant development.

Kazune: Oh no. We remember Kazune as the sexist yet charming bishounen with a bad temper and mysterious past, but now he's also one of the perverted bad guys? Where did that come from, Koge-Donbo*?

Jin: A perverted idol with a crush on the main character—nothing particularly interesting here.

Michii: Michii, how I adore you! The quirky guy with a tragic backstory and undeniable awesomeness. No complaints here.

Suzune: Being young, he doesn't have much personality, but he's undeniably cute.

Rika Karasuma: Likely the most developed character in this manga. Hooray for lovable villains!

Enjoyment

I didn't enjoy this manga as much as the original Kamichama Karin. The unexplained plot holes and new characters ranging from boring to good didn't leave a strong impression on me. However, I appreciated the darker storyline, although the ending still puzzles me to this day. And why is Shi-chan at Karin and Kazune's wedding? She's a cat!

Overall

Read this sequel if you're a fan of Kamichama Karin and want to complete the series, but don't expect anything extraordinary.

As much as I enjoyed the first manga of Kamichama Karin, I have to say that this one felt a bit underwhelming to me. While I did appreciate most of the romance and action in this manga, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Without giving away any spoilers, I'm specifically referring to the ending of this manga. The characters are largely the same as they were in the first manga, with the addition of a couple of new ones. Overall, while this manga kept my attention, it also left me wondering, "Was that it? Isn't there something more?" I would still recommend giving it a read to see what I mean.  

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(Spoilers may follow)

Story: This part of the manga had me in tears when I reached the ending. I refer to the conclusion as the "Koge-Donbo Middle Finger." That's precisely what it was—Suzune, a boy from the future, arrives to prevent its horrors, only for Karin and her friends to have to travel back in time so they never meet Suzune, which somehow resolves the future and makes everyone happy. I think it could have been a compelling story, given the scarcity of manga about gods, and the art was undeniably pretty and cute. However, it was an erratic shojo manga that felt more suited for an anime (each chapter seemed like filler episodes). What bothers me even more is how some actual god battles, such as the one in volume 3, lasted only about five pages. Anti-climactic, I call it. Another issue with the story was Rika's supposed need for the "Seeds of Chaos," yet Koge-Donbo never explained why. I couldn't grasp their necessity, and why Karin, Kazune, Jin, and Micchi were fighting against those seeds when all Rika needed was to use the ring of Zeus to awaken her father inside Jin. The worst part is that this series was supposedly created to answer questions left from Kamichama Karin, the prequel. The only question I had answered was "Why was Kirihiko so obsessed with power?" Aside from that, I had even more questions by the end of this series. In the end, I was baffled, confused, and somewhat insulted.

Art: It's common knowledge that Koge-Donbo overuses chibi style, but when she wasn't drawing chibis, her art came alive on every page. There were times when I wondered why she used chibis, as the scenes didn't call for them most of the time. I believe they should be reserved for a select few scenes per chapter, around 7-10, not 20+. But with all the tone and ink Koge-Donbo utilized, it made the pages some of the most beautiful I've ever seen her create.

Character: Kazune and Jin excelled in this aspect. They both loved Karin deeply, but by the end of the book, instead of just wanting her for themselves, they realized it would be better for Karin if she ended up with the other, ensuring her safety. It was perfectly timed when they came to this realization; Koge couldn't have chosen a better moment. Suzune also showed good development, transitioning from a helpless toddler into the god Cupid to protect his father. Karin's supposed development puzzled me. When Suzuka takes control of her body, Karin is furious, but then suddenly decides to be kind to Suzuka and have them both "go together to her body." That kindness seemed to come out of nowhere, so I don't know where Karin learned to be nice like that (she's very loud throughout the entire series and doesn't change much).

Enjoyment: Due to the chapters feeling like episodes, each chapter was enjoyable. Unfortunately, it's almost always the same: Rika plants a seed, Karin and company destroy it, the end. It nearly became monotonous, until a plot twist emerged in volume 4, and now, despite still fighting seeds, they are also battling their adversaries. All the wild romantic plots within each chapter grew tiresome, and it got to the point where even Karin needing to kiss Kazune in a play didn't seem significant. Even the bonus at the end of volume 7 felt like filler, and nothing was really resolved, except knowing Karin and Kazune face yet another obstacle in their love.

Overall: This series is more suited for blind shojo fans. If you think similarly to me, you wouldn't enjoy this series. I've already read all the chapters online, so I'm definitely putting off buying the books. I must say, after reading Pita-Ten and then Karin, I was quite disappointed in Koge-Donbo.

I absolutely loved this manga! And the anime as well! This is truly a manga masterpiece due to its fantastic art and captivating storyline. I'm still in awe of both the manga and anime. If you're new to this series, I recommend starting with the anime first, otherwise, things might get confusing. Alternatively, you could begin with the Kamichama Karin manga.  

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I f*ck*ng screamed. I thought at least this one won't be harem. Dude's got a f*ck*ng wife