Hetakoi

Before anything else, Hetakoi is a superbly executed romance with frustratingly realistic and relatable characters and truly terrific art. If you read nothing else from this review, hopefully this alone will be enough to sell you on a series that finished six years ago.

As with most of my reviews, I don't intend to write explicit spoilers, but in talking about the thematic and character developments which made me both love and hate this series, there's always the chance I'll clue you in to something you wouldn't have anticipated before or otherwise change your reading of the work, so be warned.

Also, yes folks, there's nudity and even quite a bit of sex. That tends to happen in actual relationships. And it's an essential part of the realism the work is going for. So don't let that make you squeamish. (From the other angle, I wouldn't pick up this book if you're looking mainly for smut, you can get that elsewhere without having to read 1500 pages.)

So. The first thing to know about this manga is that the cover and the first couple chapters are not representative. It looks like it's going to be a harem series, but this is emphatically not the point. We don't even have a love triangle per se--instead it's a very earnest and realistic look at the awkwardnesses of young love, especially as negotiated by people who have way too many hangups for their own good. (Which I say as someone who is recognizing in some of the characters an image of my younger self.)

I suppose the first thing that made me become so attached to this manga was the surpassing excellence of Nakano-sensei's art. Her characters' faces, both in their usual and deformed versions, are continuously expressive and engaging--with clear line work that captures so many emotions in just a few strokes. The art does not skimp on backgrounds, either; both in establishing shots and throughout scenes, her characters are always grounded in a strong sense of place that adds to the emotional realism of the work.

The other thing that caught me is the extent to which I could relate to the characters. A few of them are certainly cartoony--the horndog boorish best friend, the excessively-innocent twins--but for the most part these are characters with real interiority, pasts that largely make sense, plausible emotional interactions with the events happening around them--between the art and the way the characters are written, it doesn't take long at all to feel like you're reading a story about people you can come to know and love. This is a romance story: it works only to the extent that you are emotionally invested in the characters, to the extent that you can imagine being in a situation like this, acting like these people do.

And in fact, this was one of the ways the series suffered for me, too. About midway through the series, there's an event that made me profoundly disappointed in the choice one of the characters makes. It made me want to quit the series entirely. This speaks well of the manga's quality--you have to be really invested in characters to feel so completely let down by them, and it's only artistic mastery that can achieve that investment. But it's also hard to see characters you have come to love and respect act in ways that are beneath them and that seem to ruin everything. Hard to watch, but all too obvious and natural and believable--this is largely not drama for drama's sake, but Greek drama, where human mistakes take the story in a new direction that reveals something profound about life.

So there is no love without tragedy, and like life, the story goes on after the tragedies of love. I chose to keep going with this, and to my total shock, the author actually managed to win me back around. And my reward for sticking it out was many more hours with characters I came to love again, and a whole rainbow of emotions. The twist takes us into mature (or at least maturing) emotional territory that's not often explored in romance manga, but deserves to be. Poking holes in naive romantic fantasies and a whole assemblage of stupid garbage along the way. In that sense the story becomes a coming-of-age story--a term I use with some distaste, as it usually means "nothing actually happens, but everybody's sad at the end"--but which is merited here, because this is not just about first love but about real love; it's about learning how to love like an adult, which is to say to love a person and not just a fantasy or a narrative; and it's about how to be in a relationship, not just how to dream about one.

All that said, I did dock some points because a few arcs felt like needless dragging-things-out. This probably could have been 8 volumes instead of 10. And there were times that I joined the side cast in rolling my eyes at the actions of the main characters, and times that I was frustrated to no end at the problems that could've been easily solved, just not being solved. (We aren't entirely free of drama-for-drama's-sake after all.) Still, I think my heart is richer for the experience of having read this, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read thoughtful romance.

It's a tragedy that Nakano-sensei passed away shortly after this was completed, at only 45. I would have loved to see what she would have written as she continued to develop as a storyteller. But what an impressive work to have left behind!

The romance in this manga is seen throughout each chapters. so here's my review sorry for such bad grammar i dont master english that much. The girl you see in the picture (the short brown hair girl i forgot the name) when you are going to read is not the heroine. Lets keep this short so you dont have to read a very long review.

Story : 9 = The story is good i thought this was some romance manga with the same story line as the other romance manga out there. but i was mistakenly wrong. I felt many emotions in this story even Anger XD. There were many ups and downs. There are many twist in the story also. but in the end its all good.

Art : 8 = Im non expert in looking at the art but characters are well drawn. even some events those effects... Even the environment they're in is well drawn. Beware there are uncensored parts also.

Character : 9 = You may feel angry at times because of the MC i was like "Damn whats wrong with you'!!!!" There are times that i wanted to punch the MC so hard that he would change his mind. But great development! Realistic development i would say there are many things like the MC turning mature and also he cares for other people not for himself. Which is a good trait in him.

Enjoyment : 9 = I enjoyed the manga i feel awesome after reading the manga with all the emotions ive been through there were other parts that were focused on other people instead of the heroine. but overall great development! Im sure you too will like this.

Overall : 9 = its good i would definitely recommend the people to read it is Adult romance a great seinen story there were also parts were sex is done... just saying. A story which make you want to know whats going to happen next. If you are a fan of romance and all that lovely-dovey stuff (like me!) i would definitely recommend this to you!

Amazing. Loved the style of drawing, even though I had never seen it before. Main character was original and entertaining. However, plot was kind of cliched, typical manga rom plot. Luckily, the story as a whole does not rely massively on the plot being a good one, so (Y)

Not sure if I want it to be made into an anime in case it fails lol.

READ IT! IT'S BRILLIANT!

xD

First of all, the ecchiness of this manga doesn't come from panty shots or huge boobs almost spilling out of clothes but it's straight up nudity so it's definitely nsfw. Nudity starts at the 2nd page when main character comes across a passed out, naked girl and continues throughout the manga, but it's never felt forced. The story is about relationships between adults, so naturally nudity comes up but to me it's much better than a some kind of forced cencorship to make the manga more approachable by wider viewers or obvious fan service to lure viewers. This manga excels at integrating nudity into the story and it's really hard to find mangas like that.

Art, story and main characters are outstanding. Unfortunately, supporting character's are a bit weak. Main characters' best friends start strong but they wane with everybody else as the story progresses. There are some attempts to widen the story with added characters on new school year or shining a light on one of the side character's love life but they all fall short. I overlooked this because of the allure of the main characters and the story. Both mains are really lovable and the author does a really great job at conveying their feelings to readers through the art. Story doesn't keep you at the edge of your seat but its it's exciting enough to make you wanna read the next chapter after you finish the last. Although story development feels a little bit slow here and there, it's never dull. It's that way only because of the main character's personality and I think more appropriate as the nickname "grandpa" suggests he is an old-fashioned guy. Time progresses more quickly during these periods so they don't prolong too much. The length of the manga is just right, no rushed ending or forced story development to squeeze out couple more volumes.

Overall, it's a really enjoyable manga but nudity makes it hard to recommend it to everyone. If you're fine with nudity, you should definitely check this out.

P.S.: I'm not really good with words and writing reviews but I do it because I love mangas and animes so any negative or positive feedback that help me improve myself is much appreciated.

So Hetakoi is pretty much a shoujo manga, let's make that clear. It is a shoujo manga, but the thing is, I normally don't read nor love shoujo mangas as much as I did this one. It starts out very funny with an unfortunate event between the main character (Komai/"grandpa") and the potential love interest...Most likely the most awkward first meeting between 2 characters i've seen in quite some time(trying not to spoil it). But that's just the first scene...and it gets oh so much better. I understand that it is a little cliched with all the romance and all that, but it certainly pushed itself away from drowning in cliches...in fact, I didn't even notice as I was reading. What comes after the "first meeting" is what really sets the story. From there the main characters will have their ups, will have their downs, and will have their good times and bad. If you're a guy (and maybe some girls) you can sympathize with Komai. I kind of match his personality so I could sympathize with him much more. You'll get to see how each character struggles through their emotions, sometimes to create a more peaceful atmosphere. Some try to hide their feelings for the good of the group, and others afraid that it could tear them apart. Komai is the farthest thing from a perfect hero and the perfect guy, he's just the average nice guy trying to compete with her past and her(the female main character) past crush (not physically, but emotionally). Komai is a very low-self-esteem guy who assumes the worst so that is his tragic flaw. You sometimes want to root for different characters because they are all likeable and mature.

Hetakoi wasn't particularly revolutionary in any aspect, but once I started reading, I literally could not stop. Before I knew it I was already 20 chapters in. So if you're looking for something that'll entertain you ( not wow you) then give Hetakoi a shot. If a shoujo manga can keep me interested, I'm sure it can keep many people interested too.

I was a little skeptical on reading this manga because some of the genres it was in but after finishing the first vol. I was completely drawn into the story that I finished this in two days.

The story was really good in my opinion it started off a little predictable because of the synopsis, and I thought hmm this seems like it will be another cliche story but boy was I wrong, the relationship with the main characters progressed realistically and I was enjoying every second of it. Although it did end abruptly but not like other stuff I've seen(Everything important that you would want to know is answered it just seems like they stopped it at a weird time.)
A 9/10

The art was good in capturing a lot of different perspectives that I myself haven't seen in other books or tv shows, it was well drawn and I give the artists credit for that. It did show more explicit scenes than I thought there would be but it was done alright in my opinion even if I don't like reading stuff that shows scenes like that.
A 8/10

Characters lets see my favourite had to be the male, lead there was times when I sympathized with him where I actually felt his relationship grow but then there was times like "WTF are you doing!" but not just him the female lead pissed me off a little but the main guy did mostly. As to why I felt like I got to know the male character a lot more is because it was narrated by his thoughts from i'm guessing a recollection of his memories and this reminds me of Kimagure Orange Road. I was a little disappointed how some characters just completely disappear out of the world untill the ending like Mike-san, Nachi, and Yuu, but it wasn't really about them so I didn't really mind
A Full 10 out of 10 for outstanding character development and for seeing everyone mentally grow into better people.
A 10/10

My Enjoyment out of this was really good it had me wanting more untill I finished the thing but some parts got tiresome like when the story focused on his neighbor Kotono, but when it got near the end I was clapping to myself saying this is how most manga and anime should be.(not the adult content mind you, the romance,relationships,and answers I was hoping for)
A 9/10

Overall incredible for such splendid work on this whole story, now I just need to find out if there are any other manga by the person who made this or something directed towards older audience romance like this. The only downside to this whole thing is that there is no Anime(It would definitely be a hentai if they don't change scenes though.)
A 9/10

Read this if my review seems to intrigue you because you won't regret when you finish reading it, unless you sometimes feel like your wasting your life reading manga and watching anime, believe me your not anime is the equivalent to tv dramas in a lot of ways and manga is a book with a more vivid picture, no seriously read it you won't regret it :)

Check out the manga Kimagure Orange Road if you liked this, it covers the main characters physical and mental growth from 15 to college read the manga first though because they don't cover a lot of things in the anime and the story and ending is completely different(but in a good way it has a really good twist ending! plus it has two movies that show what happens after the tv show)

This is a prime example of one of those manga with forced misunderstandings and pathethic characters. These type of writings can be forgiven by having a strong start, or better yet a strong finish, but this story was disappointing throughout, amazing.

I am writing this as I am on the second last chapter, and without spoiling anything, the maincharacter shows he hasnt learned, nor grown anything at all throughout the story.
I find it astounding how a character thats been making mistakes for almost 60 chapters still hasnt grown anything at all. Not only does he never keep his word for longer than one chapter, but in the end he doesnt even want to touch Ruka until he is financially stable. Is he retarded?

Do not read this manga if you are after a romantic manga that makes sense.
The characters and inconsistent, and the plotdevelopments are forced through dumb misunderstandings. The longest misunderstanding lasted for about 30 chapters, which is like half the manga, and thats because the MC boy and the MC girl didnt talk with each other. Even though they often were in the same room or at least in the near presence of each other, plus everyone else pushed them on, and they still couldnt get their thumb out of their ass.

This story got the best confession line ever in manga.

I must admit, the author got really good job putting everything to work out in this Hetakoi. I easily enjoy every page, and every second of this. It's easy for me to get the feel of falling in love, jealousy, excitement, happiness, and anxiety, or even anger while reading this. And after all that roller coaster of emotion, we got one heck of a confession line. I love it.

That in itself is good enough to make a good manga, but this manga is not limited to just that.
The characters are really well done. they got drawn really well. With point-to-point traits that is easily for readers to empathize. I especially like the male MC. He is caring, not only to those he like, but also to the one he doesn't like (He cares even to his love rival at some point). And it's just one of many likable trait he had. As the story progress, we get to see him maturing both in mind and in emotion.

The art is also excellent. Besides the characters, the world itself is a great work. Because this revolve around a hot spring lover club, of course there must be beautiful hot springs involved.

This is a great seinen love story. If adult romance with a good happy ending suits you. I definitely recommend you read Hetakoi.

Hetakoi is a seinen romance between college students with a dash of ecchi and slice of life. It has a solid story with great art that features memorable characters.

I greatly enjoyed the college setting. The characters aren't idiots; they make rational decisions based on good logic.

The male lead in particular is amazing. He is not some child who tries to be coy while copping a feel or getting a glimpse of an upskirt. He loves, not lusts after the female lead. He is sincere, kind, and gentle. He is the kind of man I'd imagine women want to raise children with. It does my heart good to see a character like him. A realistic, down-to-earth guy who respects women. Refreshing.

The nicknames that the characters have are funny. The male lead is referred to as 'grandpa' because he's so old-fashioned. The idiot perverted male is called 'obscene dick'. The comedy is well-timed in this manga.

Seinen romances that don't feature sex as the main theme are sadly a rare thing. Even more uncommon are those with characters so believable in so realistic a setting that I'd believe it if the manga was based off a true story. Solid art with beautifully drawn girls. Well-timed comedic scenes to balance the drama. A nice overall story that makes you want to know what's going to happen next. If you enjoy romances, this manga is about as good as it gets.

Junko Nakano’s Hetakoi is about a young man who, upon turning 20 years old, decides to head over to a hot spring. He’s by himself, trying to relax, while still kind of feeling miserable about the fact that he’s all alone. But while he’s there, he sees a young woman completely naked for the first time. Which, you know, is a momentous event in any young man’s life. After heading back to Tokyo, his outgoing friend ends up convincing him to join the Hot Springs club, since there are a lot of cute girls in it; it goes without saying that the “naked girl” is also a part of this club.

It’s at this point where you may decide to check out on Hetakoi and think to yourself: “oh, it’s just generic shounen romance, who cares.” This would be a mistake. Hetakoi largely concerns itself with the growing attraction and romantic feelings between said young man and naked girl, but within that template it manages to touch on many other emotions and ideas.

One of the main reasons that I chose to start reading Hetakoi was because I’ve grown tired of weak-willed, nothing high school protagonists and their love troubles and their school rituals which are all the same, and never change from series to series. I’ve consciously tried to find anime/manga that has college and/or adult settings because, not only do they speak more to me at this point, but they’re also rare enough that the ways in which they’re different are distinctive enough for it make a difference. Sure, Hetakoi may have a school festival chapter, but it’s surrounded by chapters where adults make decisions that have ramifications and are treated seriously.

Sex is something that’s constantly on the minds of the characters in Hetakoi. There are many humorous passages where sex and/or nudity are treated like a punchline. Think of the many scenes where our main character pictures someone naked and can’t even look at their face because of the embarrassment. Or how the main character’s best friend, nicknamed Obscene Dick, propositions every female member in the Hot Springs club. But sex is also something that’s completely serious. In Hetakoi, sex changes everything about a relationship. Two friends who had previously relied on each other solely for advice embark on a sexual relationship that’s unhealthy and based on consoling each other and trying to deal with each other’s pain. One young man wonders if the girl he likes has done it before, and wonders if that will make him think differently of her. Instead of dealing with problems, characters often try to lose themselves in sexual abandon, immerse themselves in their passion and forget everything. But this is something that’s new for the characters; this new way of dealing with their problems. Often they will think that what they’re doing is wrong, but be unable to stop. One of my favorite moments is when, with an absolutely brutal honesty, a character thinks to himself that it isn’t so much a partner he desires, but someone’s warmth.

There are moments in Hetakoi which speak to me for reasons I can barely process or comprehend. I think of how it handles those moments in your life where everyone around you is having fun and laughing, and in the middle of that you’re feeling completely miserable. There’s a great chapter near the end where such a thing happens. Our main character, although inside he’s completely alone and suffering, resolves to make the occasion a lively one. It reminded me of times where I’ve tried to block everything I may be thinking by simply doing stuff.

Nakano’s series is special because it understands how serious and how utterly silly we can be while in the pursuit of love; how much meaning we can assign the smallest things, and how utterly humbling getting to know other people can be. And it does this while being utterly hilarious. Hetakoi is a work that understands and embodies the passion of youth; and it made me completely miserable.

copied/pasted from my blog: thenextthingblog.wordpress.com