I'll say this out straight : This manga is an underrated masterpiece within its own genre.
Do you like well written characters? And do you dislike clishés? If you answered yes, you are definitely missing out on this story.

What really makes this manga so great are the characters, character interactions and how different storylines intertwine. And the most awesome of it all - the main protagonist Yugami Yuuji. Heck, I really like this guy. It's so nice to have a reassurance that it's okay to do things your own way, whatever everyone else says. Therefore, I am so glad I found this manga in my life.

"It's fine since I have myself with me. I am my own ally." - Yugami Yuuji

STORY (10) – While the manga at first leaves an impression of being a high school comedy story about a loner guy and one confused girl who ends up sitting next to him, underneath it has a lot of aspects to it that can be contemplated about.

The main idea is about being accepted by other people. Having "friends" so to speak. Perhaps that is most of our goal in life as well? At least this is the main goal of the heroine Chihiro when she goes to the new school. I think she relates to us as readers the most (at least in my case) because when you enter a new environment creating good connections with people should be obvious. But this can come with a cost.
One could think that to be accepted (and liked) by someone means following someone else's orders or tastes. But is this all really necessary?

Here we have the main protagonist Yugami, who refuses all of this "bootlicking". Be your own self. Do things your way. If you do things the same way as everyone else just to be liked by them... aren't you forgetting yourself in the process? Viewing Yugami as a character and the way he acts makes you ask the question "WHY?" Why is somebody sucking up to someone else?
If I am my own ally, I don't need any of this stuff. Therefore, I don't need friends. Right? Right?

Hmm.. No. Because life is more complicated than that! But he makes decisions himself and that's what's important. Yugami is a character that stays true to himself. And that can be inspirational.
However, as readers we can see that even Yugami's approach is not always the best approach. Sometimes he makes things better, sometimes he makes things worse. I think that's natural. That is life!
And this is why I really like the mangaka who has written this. They have written very relatable life like characters.

CHARACTERS(10) – As readers we see very different sides and thoughts of different characters. Yugami, who refuses to have friends and therefore depends only on himself. Chihiro, who understands others and wants to be liked by others. Kadota, who wants everyone to get along, and often sees the world in a self-centered way. XX, who was a lone wolf but realised she needs friends. Manager (and some other classmates), who show us that people like Yugami can be bothersome, etc.

We don't get a clear answer of how to approach people: I think that's up to the reader to decide how to communicate with others in their lives. Instead, we get many different interactions, the story progresses, we get to know characters better.
There is a lot of character growth as well, especially for Chihiro, who at first doesn't understand Yugami at all, and later on basically becomes main translator for the people who want to understand Yugami. And at one point she starts to inspire Yugami as well. And that is really nice development. This will happen in the later chapters (so have some patience!) but once you arrive there the feeling of "wholesomeness" just follows you because it's such a satisfying read.

Many things happen during this story. And after all, it's a comedy manga as well. We fall in love with the story and characters. We get this daily dose of happiness and amazing plot/interactions. I am not going to retell the story - read that up yourself! As you read this manga, there are a lot of life lessons to be acquired. From small to some bigger lessons. That's why my ENJOYMENT for this series is a 10.

The ART(7-9) improves over the chapters greatly. Fun fact: This manga was intended to only have 5 chapters at first, which turned into 81. So the first chapters look simpler and by the middle of the series you can notice a lot more detail to the characters. The art basically grows with the story.

So of course, OVERALL (10). It's an amazing series that definitely should have a bigger following. A masterpiece SoL manga with loads of fun moments, great cast and life lessons. Perfect for me. And perhaps you will really like it, too.


--Update after reading chapters 66+
Beyond that chapter this manga reaches another level. That’s why I kept myself from writing any further until I finish this series. This was such an amazing manga to read and I am really glad I did.

Yugami is one of the best anime/manga characters I have come across just because how he sees his own value. And he deals with it. It’s just how he is. He can stand on his own pretty well. However, as it was described by one of the characters – if he had someone like Chihiro with him he could grow many times stronger. Chihiro had great character development: from someone who doesn’t understand any logic behind Yugami’s actions into someone who can be by his side and stand up for him.

I would gladly read Yugami’s and Chihiro’s interactions if there were more. This series really was a SLICE of life – these characters keep on living. And this is one of the rarest times in my life that I WISH I knew these characters in real life. One can keep on dreaming, eh? :)

Reading this manga was an amazing experience!