HOOZUKI-SAN CHI NO ANEKI

I will be the antagonist reviewer here (since everyone seems to love it)
Before reviewing i read some reviews if not all at this moment and well people see progression both story wise and character wise but SAW NONE if you see a progression it's only for one chapter for a specific gag, i don't expect much from 4-koma progression wise but step forward step back policy is backwards for considering that this 4-koma is long.
Be advised do not binge read it it's better to take a moderate approach chapter per day or few chapters per week that may improve your experience.

Story 4/10

What i saw from chapter 1 to the last chapter nothing changed (relationship wise, not talking about romance simply what you see in chapter 1 you get the same at chapter 32).
As the story progresses we are introduced with some new characters and history behind Male Lead and Female Lead (ML;FL). I couldn't not rate story element any better because i saw a glimpse of next installment + Imouto(will not review this since i dropped it chapter 9 and then simply selectively took chapter 50,100 and 134 NOTHING CHANGED besides new character), it may be a nice 4-koma for a weekly issue for a tired high schooler or young adult after school or work but it's more like complimenting dish before the main dish you get what you see from chapter 1.
A quick summary: This is a story about a siscon and his older non-blood related sister living together. FL likes to torture and tease ML, ML doesn't hate it and to a degree absolutely loves it. FL has reasons why she does this story will unravel it.
So most comedic elements stem from one sided torture,tease and humiliation for ML from FL. While it may seem like a one sided love it definitely is not.
If you are a fan of comedic,sado-maso stories then this story is for you.

Art 7/10

Considering that this is 4-koma animation standards are lower of course. While characters and story elements forget about progression, art element doesn't it grows from chapter 1 and becomes more appealing and looks less quirky. Characters are good looking and have a vast array of faces, background wise it's lacking (a lot of blank and animation fx), panel placement and speech bubbles up to standard.

Characters 6/10

Why 6? Well characters do not change, no deep thoughts, no depth whatsoever. We get what we see, one dimensional characters.
ML - siscon, dumb, naive,weak,clumsy,perverted <- That's sums up our ML after a few chapters of binge reading it i got simply frustrated from seeing ML being teased,humiliated and tortured (I unconsciously empathize with male leads), if at first few chapters it was funny it quickly got annoying, if your watching Tom and Jerry there are only few series with one sided fault of Tom (getting what he deserved) but here we see a perverted and sick person getting smashed every chapter every panel without standing up or trying to resolve anything meaning he likes it so masochist i guess? (Not my cup of tea)
FL - cute looking,smart,sadistic,strong,scheming,perverted,brocon
She has a lot of free time on her hand because she is smart so when she doesn't occupy herself with reading or doing other stuff she abuses(teases) her brother, she comes up with elaborate ways to tease her brother from creating perverted situations to making him go to a lions cage (i think it was in +Imouto) but you get the gist. Unlike her brother she has friends and sometimes hangs out with them.
Supports - Mostly friends of FL and one acquaintance(hard to call it a friend though) of ML. Supports bring their own element of comedy each one of them has their own one dimensional personality so each one of them brings only one comedic element to the story but nevertheless they are true supporting pillars, some of them support gag element to 4-koma throughout the series and beyond.

Enjoyment 2/10

It's hard to enjoy while empathising with ML, the feeling of being inside of a moron with sister complex was painful, whenever new abuse came around i could think of many situations of how to stop this. Author wanted to create something akin to Tom and Jerry where Tom usually got the short stick but author forgot that Jerry also got some boomerang when he was acting naughty so there was a moral + it was more like a competition between friends or rivals as for this 4-koma it touches intimacy and exposes weaknesses one sidedly, whenever i think what happens to ML i think mental institution or social isolation.......

Overall 5/10

Would i advice it? Sure but do not overthink about this 4-koma and read it in moderation.
For 4-koma it is not that bad it repeats everything but if you read 3-4 chapters a week it would seem normal and ok and the main part of this 4-koma is that chapter order mostly doesn't matter there are probably 3 chapters important plot wise (Big sister,Reason for ML and FL relationship and graduation) but in reality even those chapters don't do much.
My reasoning and rating is only because author mixed intimacy elements with humiliation,abuse and teasing that mixture is a nuclear bomb in reality after watching this one sided abuse any living creature would eventually end up broken . Because of that S&M theme is all about conversation, trust and mutual agreement otherwise S would have to change M's like gloves about this 4-koma there's no conversation,trust is broken everytime and there is 0 consent.

This was an overall great manga: I'd rate it an 8.75 outta 10

The girls were cute, the characters funny. You can't help but want to cheer on Gorou(the little brother), who is in love with Haru (his elder sister who isn't related to him).

There are some serious moments in this manga, but comedy is prevalent.

The only complain I have about this manga is that it leaves you wanting more and makes you want to see how the little brother and older sister's relationship grows and how the fact that they aren't actually siblings and could have a relationship isn't addressed.

This was a great manga that was too short and doesn't feel like it should have ended.

If you want to read a manga that's funny and has just a bit of drama, then this is for you. But, you must be warned that this has a bit of an open end to how Gorou and Haru's relationship develop. Will it be platonic or romantic, we will never know.

Man oh man... this manga will take you for a serious spin.

When it first starts off, you expect this to be a giddy little laugh, an older step sister messing around with her little step brother. At first you just expect that sort of fun atmosphere, that laugh and enjoyment of how the older sister messes around with the younger brother. The style of how the manga is portrayed is even pretty interesting, giving it a different feeling to it.

But later on throughout the story you start to feel an actual change and steady progression. That the two siblings actually start to have a strong and sincere bonds. Now... I don't want to spoil too much, and would love for you personally to read and experience this manga for yourself. But it does consist of the younger brother liking his older sister, *ps they are step siblings in case that helps.*

Anyways, I'll just say this last part before submitting this "review." While you read this manga, at first you will be expecting a fun and giddy read. But before you know it, through steady progression, you can see the manga slowly turning serious. Usually, this is a bad set off when stories do this. They either rush it or there is no steady progression, it just sort of happens out of the blue. It doesn't lead you into that sort of mood in setting, it sorta grabs you by the neck and just shoves you in there. It has a dramatic change and majorly disrupts the flow of the show. But this manga really pulls it off fantastically... For example, a character in this story is portrayed as variable S, but then scenes show you that maybe that character is more of a variable C. As you can tell I am trying to give away as little as possible because seriously, I want you to experience this story... it's so heart warming and sweet...

Anyways, my reviews are never meant for being good, but I hope this or maybe somebody else's review will compel you to read this manga. Either way, you will be able to experience the story, and that'll be good enough.

/! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS /!


STORY : 6
The story isn't supposed to be that relevant considering Hoozuki-san Chi no Aneki is a comedy manga, there isn't a leading thread to the plot (ok, maybe a little at the end of the manga with Haru's relocation but it was written in order to provide more comedy elements, as everything in this manga).

ART : 7
Nothing to say about art, it was good.

CHARACTERS : 9
The relation between the two protagonists is what really hooked me up into the manga; Haru is sadistic yet lovable and Gorou's suffering really made me empathize.
The side characters were pretty well inserted into the story, except for Misaki (her behavior is always the same, she's seriously a pain in the ass)

ENJOYMENT : 10
I found this manga really addictive because I wanted Gorou to end up with Haru so hard (I mean, there are so cute together).

Considering this, the ending kinda disappointed me as there isn't a romantic conclusion to Gorou's obsession for Haru. Instead it looks like their relation haven't changed that much from the beginning. You can't imagine how much I wanted Gorou to (seriously) confess and Haru to accept it in the final chapter.

Still a really enjoyable manga in my opinion.
OVERALL : 9

Hozuki-san Chi no Aneki was really surprising for me. I picked it up pretty randomly, and it was the first 4-koma that I've read.

The plot is pretty simple. Hozuki-san Chi no Aneki goes through the daily antics of step-brother and step-sister Gorou and Haru. At the beginning, Gorou loves Haru romantically, and the sadistic Haru uses this to her advantage. But as the story progresses, Gorou and Haru truly become family. Although it's not really incest, Haru and Gorou don't really come to terms about their romantic feelings. However, the plot isn't anything dramatic or serious. There's no confessions, no melodrama, and no love triangles. The manga just shows their hilarious daily lives and nothing more than that. There are some pretty heartwarming moments though.

Art progressively gets better. Characters have attractive designs. Some scenes are drawn very well while others look like fast sketches. It's a crack comedy, so there's not much to expect out of the art.

The characters are surprisingly well-developed for such a short, light-hearted comedy. Gorou starts out as a perverted weirdo, but we soon see him change into a kind and loving person. Haru starts out as a seductive tsuntsun, but we see a very protective and empathetic side to her later on. (She's not really a tsundere though.) I can't help but love both of them at the end. And supporting characters provide much comedy.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. It's not as perverted as it seems in the beginning, and I appreciated this, as their was more emphasis on comedy than anything else. Actually, I'd argue that it wasn't ever supposed to be seductive at all--just another comedic element. Gorou's and Haru's interactions are very entertaining, and their comedic nature makes every heart-warming scene extra warm.

Hozuki-san Chi no Aneki averages out to an 8. A fun, light-hearted read with many hilarious moments and some touching moments. A good way to spend a lazy afternoon.

REVIEW: Hoozuki-san Chi no Aneki

Story (7/10): The story revolves two siblings, The Hoozuki Siblings, Haru and Gorou. In fact, they are not siblings "related by blood" but are indeed step-siblings. With Haru being the elder sister, Gorou lives his 'ordinary life' dealing with his sister's Haru tomfoolery. Dealing with her constant sly innuendoes and josh. (But, there's a reason behind Haru's actions however, which you will later read on throughout the story.) But most importantly, Gorou also has to deal with his 'romantic feelings for this 'stepsister'. As time passes on however, these feelings of love will be 'resolved' at the end of the story. As these ordinary (step) siblings living their ordinary high-school live together...in a fun way.

-Note: The word 'josh' means "tease (someone) in a playful way" for those who don't know.

Art (7/10): The art is fun to look at considering this is 4-koma manga. Short and playful.

Characters (7/10): The character lineup is quite limited considering there are ten characters. But there were two characters that stood out the most were obviously... the Hoozuki Siblings.

Hoozuku Haru: If there are two words to describe her, mischievous and sexy. She's the type of woman any man would fawn over, simply contagious. In my opinion. But anyways, she'll keep you indulged, as she has an outgoing and fun personality. She has a great personality, as she will do any means to keep his brother smiling.

Hoozuki Gorou: One of the most bizarre characters I've ever read in a manga but in a humorous way. Even though he is 'younger' than his sister, he acts sort of a "fatherly-type role" as he is quite overprotective of his sister. He is willing to go at all cost to protect his sister even if he get's beats up in the process. But at the same time, perverted when it comes to his mindset however.

For the supporting characters however, there were none to keep in mind. Except for over-exaggerated sex-crazed Misaki. The supporting characters didn't leave a remarkable presence and without the role of the Hoozuku Siblings, this manga would've died. Literally.

Enjoyment (8/10): My enjoyment throughout the manga was a blast. Read in a one go.

Overall (7/10): This is going to be a long one. Considering this was my first 4-koma manga which I considered to pick up today and deciding to write a review on, this manga is worth a read. There are 32 chapters including two extra omake(s). In a short period of time, I read it all in one go which took me around 2-3 hours, since it was very entertaining to read. But overall, the story was newfangled as well as new characters. What I find 'disappointing' however, that there isn't a actual storyline. Simply, set-up scenarios for (you) the readers to enjoy, which were indeed fun to read. Yet, there were some chapters especially in Chapter 10 that were building up a plot which were exciting to read. But unfortunately, the author failed to build on these plots, leaving out a solid plot in the process. Also, to keep in check there were some chapters especially the melodramatic Chapter 25 which weren't needed which disrupted the flow of the manga. Most importantly, I found the ending to be 'bittersweet', and not fully 'gratifying'. Even though it was an acceptable way to end the series, but I, the reader simply viewed the ending as a 'bit displeasing' in a sense. As there was never a solid plot for these characters to build their relationship together 'properly', just simply scenarios to build on. If there was one positive note on how this series ended, is why Haru teased his younger brother Gorou all this time, which was a story device I've never seen before. In the end, this manga had the potential to be rated higher, if it had a solid plot in the beginning, not 'just' random scenarios. But in the end, if you want to read a light-hearted, school-life, comedy, I suggest you reading this one.

P.S. This is not considered a 'romance' manga and you'll see why when you read this manga. I'm not the one to spoil!

RAW SCORE:

7.43/10.00

ROUNDED UP SCORE:

7.00/10.00

"On to the next one!"

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Story started of fairly decent and that's why I kept reading... I know there is no romance tag but honestly was kind of expecting there to be some kind of ending to it romantically wise considering they were NOT related by blood! All throughout the series every single page and I kid you not was constant teasing, every single page. I was expected teasing and was expecting quite abit of it... but after a while that turned into a big annoyance and boredom for me. We find out bout half way through the only reason she's acting like this is because he used to be a loner and her 'sexually harrassing' him changed him and by the end he turns into a complete stalker who would not leave her alone. I mean if stalking was put into characters he would be the definition of it. The art was quite nice and it was a good read apart from how it was set out with each page having half of it set to just one moment.