Tsurezure Children

tl;dr: A series of solid interlinked romantic stories that work well together.

This manga is a series of a lot of interlinked stories that show a variety of different romances. And by a lot I really do mean a lot as by my count there were 20 stories by the end of the series, though not all of them end in proper couples. The stories on their own are a mixed bag. A couple of them are really great, mainly Ryoko/Masafumi and Jun/Yuki. And only a couple of them I would consider especially weak. The vast majority of them I'd say are only decent, which I would say mainly stems from the fact that they're generally pretty simple and try to be pretty realistic over having any forced drama, major twists, or anything like that.

However, the manga ultimately feels like more than just the sum of its parts due to how well the various stories complement each other. Twenty stories going on at the same time may seem extreme, but they're very heavily interlinked. The characters that are being focused on in one story are side characters in others, which prevents there from being an overload of characters. Progress that occurs in one story, pushes progress in others, which allows things to flow much more seamlessly. Though there very much are distinct stories, they often blend together incredibly well, which is especially evident during major events such as the school trip, athletic festival, or cultural festival. Furthermore, handling it this way works really well in terms of pacing, because while normally such simple stories would begin to grow dull and the story would need things to spice it up, by allowing the focus to swap around, it allows for there to be stretches in character's relationships where nothing happens or things move slowly by just focusing on those characters less for those stretches, which results in the stories being allows to be simple and realistic while keeping the overall narrative interesting.

I would also like to note that this is a 4-koma, and as is generally the case it is humor focused, and there is a decent amount of good humor, but it also does have solid storytelling outside that. In my experience, how that's usually handled in 4-koma is that the manga starts off with every 4 panel set being humorous, but as it goes on it'll start hitting large portions where it drops the comedy and gets serious. This manga never really does that. Pretty much every 4 panel set has a punchline. This punchline is often something as simple as the character's internal reaction to the situation being shown, with it thus not being all that funny, but it's still somewhat amusing nevertheless. This greatly enhances the lighthearted tone, wherein even when things are going badly, it still doesn't feel dark at all, rather the feeling of watching these innocent characters slowly stumble their way through these various romances seems kind of adorable.

The art quality was decent overall and was especially great at having character's facial expressions showing emotion. The style was a mixed bag. It worked well in that it wasn't too realistic but not too unrealistic either, which allowed it to be both cute and grounded. However, it felt like character designs were somewhat of an issue, in that far too many characters looked overtly similar, especially with the girls, and with the small panels and constantly changing point of view amongst so many characters it got somewhat confusing at times.

The anime adaptation of Tsurezure Children impressed me. Short and simple romantic gags, couples interacting with each others, and content that was both cute and giggly. Simple things such as these are often the ones that have the most to offer. At least when it comes to getting expressions out of its viewer.

This source material manga impressed me further. Rather lengthy series compared to the anime (3-4 times longer, to be exact), yet it kept its quality rather consistently and managed to offer enough new to keep interest despite its super simple settings.

Our story consist of nothing but several couples (there are over 30 main characters in the series, so there are a lot of them) hanging out. All we see are fractions of their daily life, who they are, what they do and in what way their partner affects them. Some develop their relationship quickly, others more awkwardly and in slower tempo.

Being a rom-com, the events typically center around the characteristics of our characters. These include stuff like boy teasing his tsundere girlfriend because there is no pleasing without teasing, but also because her behavior and embarrassment are comedic gold and heart warming love dovey at the same time.

While the former is just an example of one couple and their typical nichijou, or daily life if you prefer, similar details exist among other couples as well. Some of these are approached in the more "I need your support" type of way where self-conscious character needs to confidence boosts from their partner. One other couple simply tries to have some intimate time, but gets constantly interfered for whatever reasons.

While some of the couples are more interesting than others, I found most of them to add at least something to the overall humor and cuteness. Tsun tsun, osu (karate girl) and teasing master obviously the most. Still, as these romances are practically standalone tales, quality differences are obvious. Especially the teacher x student romance I found to be so terribad that I skipped thru most of it. The good thing is that doing this is possible and doesn't really lessen the reading experience in any way. Skipping those parts that the reader doesn't care about is easy and can only make the reading experience more pleasant as following every single romance line is not a necessity.

The art is light and simple, like in most 4-koma. The anime gave the character design glory there where it is rather mediocre in the manga. The art doesn't really stand out. One could argue that the series doesn't really try to stand out, but it surely would add to the reading experience if the art wasn't so consistently mediocre. The art mainly consists of simplistic characters being on the evenly sized 4 panels every single time, and rarely are there any background art present at all.

As a conclusion: those who came here to look cute and haato waamingu rom-com, will find the exact thing, and with quite high chance, I'd say end up enjoying what they get. Personally, I found this to be all the things mentioned, and also laughed out loud several times. Most of the time, I also found myself smiling when reading my favorite story lines.

(this was updated/rewritten since my initial review as I finally got around to finishing the series; this is no longer a preliminary review)

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STORY (9.5/10)
Okay, so there's pretty much no story other than a bunch of high schoolers ranging across the three years dealing with their individual love life. So if you want something deeper than silly teen romance then this isn't the place.
However, the series has a large and truly diverse cast. So in the typical 4-koma manner, it doesn't feel quite so limited despite being about so little else. Especially if the cast "clicks" for you.

But in all seriousness, the diverse cast can be daunting to adjust to - even if you just pause and later return, it can be hard to remember who's who outside of your faves or the prominent couples. However, thanks to how the story's written and progresses, it's not that hard to get into yet another eventual couple's tale. Plus if you dislike a certain pair, outside of the more-friendship-than-romance chapters like a class trip, you can easily tell who's going to be the focus of the chapter and promptly skip it.

Now, one probable reason the couples/friendships are written both so healthy and realistic, the author's wife helps review the story; most editors tend to worry only whether it'll sell or is meeting deadlines. Regardless if that's the case, the story itself managed to get a full score from me not only because the relationships are healthy and promote so much healthiness that's so vital for young(-er) folk to know, but that I genuinely don't feel I missed-out on anything that normally becomes lackluster in the average romcom. As a personal bonus, because the teacher/student pairing was actually treated properly, I decided to round-up my score rather than round-down ~


ART (7/10)
The art very much improves over the years. And that's good. Towards the final 2-3 volumes tho, he begins to copy-paste panels. While it's appropriately used rather than as a shortcut, it does lose the additional view/tones that the slight variation of hand drawing all of them allowed. Personal preference of the art style in general also affects my score tho


CHARACTER (10/10)
The cast is a bunch of high schoolers and, as such, they are prone to being super childish and/or socially awkward in regards to love and being in a relationship; only a few pairs out of the many aren't like this.

On that note, were this also continued into the stories of them as they enter college/university/jobs, then I would've expected more to be explored as the adult world throws a lot more at youth to adjust to and their brains are closer to maturation. But as it's not, I'm glad they're written so realistically even if the comedic moments can get over-the-top at times. It's definitely a series that ups the standards for decent entertainment.


ENJOYMENT (10/10)
I can't get over just how realistic and healthy this series is - even if you knock points for the sillier and blatantly unrealistic aspects (ie the Love Master), there's no denying it's actually a good series for young(-er) folk and those inexperienced in love to read. Sure, at times I got annoyed by the more childish aspects, but that's primarily from me viewing with an adult lens rather than any fault in the writing/characters that could detract from the series.


OVERALL (10/10)
These are a bunch of (hetero, cis) highschoolers with a lot less responsibility and an overall lack of any financial concerns. So it's really only written with romcom in mind.

If you don't like simpler stuff like this, then you probably won't enjoy it. But if you're in need of realistic and/or healthy characters and relationships tho, I highly recommend this series.

I can't believe this manga is as highly regarded as it is on here.

This manga was nearly the same for its whole 212.2 chapter run.

The story for each and every single pair is almost always about misunderstanding, being embarrased to reveal their own feelings and doubting themselves. That's it, nothing else. All of these issues could have been solved in around a dozen chapters at the most, but apparenlty people stop talking to each other literally the moment someone else interrupts them (which happens all the goddamn time in this manga).

The art is pretty poor as well, many of the characters look the same, the facial reaction shots look exactly the same on each character which make them look even more similar then they already are.

This is the kind of manga that's as wide as the ocean (chapter-wise) but as shallow as a puddle. None of the characters feel real, none of these relationships feel real. All in all it was a waste of time and I don't really know why I even kept going.

The characters, like I said, most of these characters are pretty similar, but I would be lying if I said they weren't enjoyable.

Some grew to be my favourites and I dreaded reading others chapters. However because all of these characters had more or less the same kind of story that they went through made this a moot point in the end anyway.

The longer I read, the more I started hating all these "characters".

Would definitly not recommend, unless all you want to read is the same stuff just told with different characters for 212 chapters.

Think of your first romance anime. Or your first romance manga—anything of the sort. Then throw it all away.

Cliches are a recurrent element in stories—and the thing is, you will never be able to get rid of them. They are cliches for a reason, and their existence proves to be essential in composing a story. Most writers and enthusiasts of literature believe that there is no thing such as originality; everything exists from being based off of something, with just some modifications to make it stand out from the rest.

Of course, it is fairly common to see overused tropes in the like in a subculture as wealthy as the anime culture—which is the embodiment of Japanese animation and the counterpart to Western graphic novels we encounter today. Content creators are always expected to bring something fresh to the field, so as to not drown in the deep ocean riddled with gimmicks and twists to the usual elements of a story. It has become so that gimmicks are the only things that the norm, and people aren't expecting as much as a good story anymore.

But what if you go back to the basics?—keeping that heartwarming feeling and simplistic vibe of a typical romantic comedy?

Tsurezure Children originated as a web manga in Pixiv by an artist known as Wakabayashi Toshiya, and it consists of several short stories consisting of a boy and a girl—and the gradual buildup to their romances. It is filled with all your usual character archetypes; you have the couple that are too shy to admit their feelings to each other, you have the clingy childhood friend who is also part yandere, you have the senpai and the kouhai, the couple who feels that their love is unrequited—any of the sort, within several 4-koma strips that result in a form of plot progression or character development between them.

To be honest, Tsurezure Children is nothing new—but isn't trying to be one, either. The series works itself as a big tribute to the celebrated and most successful tropes in terms of characters, settings, and plot progression, placing them in true-to-life scenarios mixed with a prolonging and subtle twist mirroring that of misunderstandings—the defining trait of a romance manga.

From my perspective, Tsurezure Children is a reflection of the ideal high school life—moreso the high school that you always see as the typical setting in an anime or a manga. It stands as a reflection of my nostalgia from my early days of watching the rom-com slice-of-life stories you see on TV, gently pulling my heartstrings with moments that invoke positive and warm emotions.

Ah, the innocence of youth! This series would be an escapist work in its prime—celebrating on the joys of scenarios to dream of and characters to love with.

Think of your first romance anime. Or your first romance manga—anything of the sort. Then throw it all away.

And relive the experience all over again.

Short version:
Unrelentingly charming, Tsurezure Children focuses on the sweet yet awkward first steps of falling in love.


Long(er) version:
When I think of romance in manga and anime, I imagine all of the horrible tropes plaguing the medium: from the pretty boy vs. bad boy dilemma of shojo to the oblivious male leads of shonen, manga and anime are filled with unrealistic and uninteresting approaches to depicting romance. While these archetypes might inspire waifus and husbandos among fans, there isn't much emphasis on the relationship itself.

Tsurezure Children takes a different path - by focusing on the act of confessing love, and the subsequent first steps of the relationship, for a large variety of couples with radically different approaches to their relationships. There's the manzai duo of Chiaki and Kana who have trouble transitioning from a comedy act to a romantic couple, the two otakus who can't help but see themselves as unattractive despite their growing relationships, the lovey-dovey Kamine and the cooler Kouda trying to understand each others' feelings, and the ultra-cold pair of Toda and Sunagawa who never show emotion at all. All of these individual stories are interesting by themselves, but it is the combination of all of the different ways that the couples approach their relationships that paints a complete impression of "first love."

Reading Tsurezure Children makes me feel giddy with excitement, like I want to slap my legs on my bed like a schoolgirl texting her crush. It is a gentle approach to a genre (romance) that usually gets its fuel from tragedy, action, or something else. At the same time, it is unrelenting in its charm: confession after confession, then a brief tease before coming back harder with something like a beach trip.

This is my favorite manga series, and I think it has something that everybody can enjoy.

Overall- 9/10
Story- 7/10
Art- 6/10
Character- 9/10
Enjoyment- 10/10

This manga rubs me in all the good places.

As a big fan of romantic comedies, Tsurezure Children has easily become my favorite of the genre. The biggest reason for this is the dynamic of having multiple pairs of protagonists (probably over 15 I haven't counted). This leads to a manga which would appeal to almost everyone. These couples cover an insane range of personalities. Some get together at the start while some take their time, some are shy while some are bold, et cetera.

But having multiple protagonists does however have its caveats- not all couples are made equal. While I did enjoy a good amount of the characters but there were some which I didn't care for at all. Also if you're someone who absolutely hates cliches this manga does have quite a few.

Art-
The art isn't anything special but doesn't bother me at all either. Backgrounds are plain and characters don't have a lot of details. Probably worth mentioning, I had some trouble distinguishing between a few of the characters even when I was halfway through the manga.

Enjoyment-
The comedy hits well and doesn't get old. It doesn't compete with some pure comedies such as Grand Blue or Hinamatsuri in terms of comedy but holds it own.

While I love my depressing manga, this is an immensely wholesome read. Its not rare for me to cry while reading a manga or watching an anime but I can't remember the last time I cried because of such overwhelming happiness.

Overall-
I would recommend this to everyone. There are 212 chapters but most of them are actually under 10 pages if you're hesitating because of its length.

Overall: 9; Tzuredure Children showcases fluff can indeed carry a manga all the way to the end of its life.

When I think back to my high school years, I remember a lot of the hit and miss moments. I remember the good and bad times. I remember the love gained and love lost. I can still remember that fateful day behind the auditorium when I first confessed to my 10th grade crush. Tzuredure Children is a whirlwind of emotions and stories intertwined together, but still separated enough to be individualized. This manga is not perfect. However, Troubled Children is still a manga that deserves its time in the spotlight.

Story: 7

Tsurezure Children takes place in a pretty normal high-school centered around an ever growing cast of characters. The stories from each pairing (with 1 trio) tend to be very isolated from each other, depending on the relationship statuses between various group-members. Each story basically is dependent on what dynamic is needed to be crossed: Old vs Young, Timid vs Extraverted, Cautious vs Normal, etc. There are a ton of small fluffy stories in here, and each story plays out like this: Meeting => Love => Happy/Mildly Happy Ending. That progression shouldn't be a surprise to anyone reading this series, but if it is I'm sorry that you had to figure it out from me.

Art: 8

The artwork on this manga is highly dependent on taste. I think the colors (when there are colored panels) make for a very fluffy, moe look that is appealing to the eyes. I have shown this manga to other people, and some of them have agreed while others have not. I think this something that people can look over eventually because I think the character stories are worth overlooking the art-style if you dislike it. Also, I do think the art does get far better as the manga progresses.

Characters: 7

With a cast of characters this wide and diverse, and Tzuredure Children being a 4-koma styled manga, I think it's safe to assume there are going to be hits and misses. I don't like all of the pairings. But, there are some pairings I couldn't wait to read when their week came around. I don't see any real flaws with most of the character groups. There are some snags in some character motivations and awkward lacks-of-progression within romantic plotlines that should have been address. It's not a huge problem when it comes to characters. I think it would have been addition by subtraction if Tzuredure Children would have culled a few couples out of the mix.

Enjoyment 10; Overall: 9

Tzuredure Children has been a manga that I have followed for quite a while now. I knew about 2 weeks before the anime was announced to hear it getting its adaptation. I am very happy to have followed this manga to end of its life, and still feel teary-eyed looking at Wakabayashi's page with all the couples on it. I do believe that Tzuredure Children could have developed its characters more, and could have done so for about 20-30 more chapters without feeling bloated. That doesn't mean it ended in a bad spot. I look forward to seeing what is upcoming for Wakabayashi, and if anyone is need of a fluffy manga to read that is quick with a good anime adaptation Tzuredure Children is one that I would highly recommend.

The whole content of the plot depicts the different situation that couples encounters during highschool days. The romantic comedy gets interest to the attention of the readers and nothing can stop reading it without any single laugh.

There are different couples who always ended up funny and never mention that some of them are unique and cannot be find in any romantic comedy characters created by other authors. There are lovemaster who will give advice despite the fact he is always ended up beaten. A tsundere and yandere are here all along to make the story more amazing and interesting.

There is an event where you never knew that the ugliest people gets the best girlfriend in their lives. This manga seems burst to let the other Otaku people that life has full of happiness and if you ever tried to do your best no matter what the risk, you'll ended happy and with a smile on your face.

I ended up giving this an overall 10 due to its uniqueness and amazing plot twist.

I binged this series both in Anime and Manga. The Anime served as a good reason to read the Manga and so I did. The manga initially struck me as a collection of of Romcom short stories. Then as I tried to explain it to a friend I realized something. The character development was next level.

You can not just talk about your favorite couple. Mainly because everyone they interact with almost always has their own story going on. This isn't a romcom about a couple trying to get together. It is a story of people going through high school together. Trying to hook up, trying to learn what dating is, trying to excel in life. You can't talk about just Akagi and Ryoko, because Ryoko befreinds Erika. Erika is struggling with herself and is friends with Ayaka. Ayaka is dating Takeru, and they are learning about relationships together. Takeru is a friend of Noro, who has a thing for Alice. Alice is considered weird and loves Takase. However, Takase is struggling to confess to Kanda and all kinds of misunderstanding befall them. Kanda is also good friends with Yuki. Yuki is a kind hearted, jokester and is in love with Jun. They experience a relationship trying to break each other out of their shell. The. List. Goes. On.

These character grow and experience their own stories and interact with the stories of others. Making this whole thing not about just two people. It's a very interesting read with happy endings all around. Give it a read and you won't be disappointed.