Customer Reviews

Strawberry 100%, Volume 1

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Strawberry 100% (or Ichigo 100%, the Japanese word for Strawberry) is a Shonen Jump comic that falls into the 'harem manga' category. Junpei Manaka is a middle school student with ambitions of becoming a filmmaker. While exploring the school rooftop one day, a girl falls from the sky and lands on Manaka. He is stricken by her beauty and vows to confess his love to her (he also gets a perverted thrill from seeing her strawberry print panties, which is where the manga title comes from). Unfortunately Manaka confesses to the wrong girl, Tsukasa Nishino who is quite cute but has a bossy streak. Surprisingly, she agrees to date him. Manaka also meets Aya Toujou, a homely girl who shares his creative passion. And the fun begins...

Anyone familar with the 'harem manga' genre will already know its conventions: multiple pretty girls who end up attracted to the same incompetent guy; characters too shy to express their feelings; awkward misunderstandings; and panty shots fanservice. Strawberry 100% doesn't tread any new ground, but it's still a surprisingly enjoyable romp. The characters have a spark that make them relatable and interesting, and the art is solid with the girls looking very adorable and attractive. This being only the first of 19(!) volumes, it's basically about introducing the characters and getting group dynamics in motion. It ends on just the right note to leave you excited for volume 2.

Parents: There's no nudity or offensive material here, just panty shots and later in the series some sexy posing. In Japan its geared to the same age group that reads action comics like Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, etc. Strawberry 100% is a soap opera for middle schoolers who are beginning to develop feelings for the opposite sex. Things like holding hands, sitting together, and the first kiss. It's adorable.

Recommended. A nice guilty pleasure.

There are three main things that I care about in a graphic novel: the story, the art, and the ending, with the last one being the most important of all. Here is my review without giving up any spoiler...

STORY
As the title suggests, this is a more serious story which revolves around boy-girl romance in high school and beyond. Although it has comedy situations placed in many spots in the story, the main topic itself is intense. It deals with how the main characters deal with the complicated 4-way love relationship while trying to balance their lives and achieve their different dreams that may very well break them apart.

ART
Although, I can't say that the art is the greatest out of what I have seen among my favorites, I still think that it is pretty good. The girls are mostly gorgeous, with the majority are quite busty (more than I care). There are a lot of panty shots, but there is no nudity and absolute nothing eechi or hentai. In my opinion, it is PG-13.

ENDING
Just like any other multiple-way love relationships, some characters are bound to end up broken hearted. There is no way one man can return the feelings of four different girls at the same time. He can only maintain a balance for some time, but eventually he'll have to choose one or none. If your favorite girl is the one chosen in the end, then it's a happy ending. If not, then it's a bitter sweet ending.

Overall, I really like this series.

Score:
Art: 7
Story: 9
Ending: 10
Overall: 8.5

At one level, this is a harem manga: multiple girls chasing after one boy. What an enjoyable fantasy - if you're a guy! Plus, there's fan service. But watch out, these characters may grow on you. As the plot of a simple harem manga unfolds, the eventual "winner" becomes clear, long before the end of the story. Not so in this manga. The girls are not one-dimensional characters; they have complicated emotions. They are a lot like the girls in our world. It's no surprise that the author is a woman.

One of the reviewers notes "if your favorite girl is chosen in the end, then it's a happy ending. If not, then it's a bitter sweet ending." I had trouble picking a favorite; they are all wonderful girls in their individual ways. If you're like me, the ending will be bittersweet regardless of which one Junpei Manaka (the male lead) chooses because at least one of those very likable girls is going to get her heart broken.

The author, of course, could sidestep broken hearts by having each of the other girls fall in love with a new boy when Junpei finally falls in love. But that would be untrue to the characters in Strawberry 100%. The girls each have their own compelling reasons for liking Junpei. Part of the fun is trying to figure out what is drawing all these girls to this awkward guy, so often unsure of himself, and then to realize that maybe they understand his strong points better than we do.

While humorous, exaggerated, and sometimes unreal situations crowd the surface of the story, underneath that surface are striking character motivations that give the story remarkable power. At the end of volume 2, for example, one of the girls makes a surprising announcement. She gives different reasons for her decision, depending on who she is talking to, but she never mentions the most important reason. She knows Junpei has a dream, and she wants to help him achieve it - even if that means she will lose contact with him.

Much later in the story one of the girls, briefly overcome by the challenges she faces, wishes she could go back in a time machine to middle school. It's a poignant moment. As Junpei realizes that she wants to go back to the time before she met him, we realize that meeting Junpei has changed her life. And suddenly we understand why she has been trying so hard to capture his heart.

This is much more than a harem manga!

Strawberry 100% is one of those series that doesn't explain itself through the name or the cover, but which is still extremely straightforward once you start opening the pages, mostly due to the fact that it follows the formula for harem manga very closely.

As always you have a hero. Here he's a young man about to enter high school and looking to establish a career as a film maker one day. He sneaks up to the roof of the middle school and has a girl land on him after jumping down from a higher section of the roof, the only thing he remembers is that her panties had strawberrys on them. (The panties with strawberrys quickly becomes a bit of a running gag with multiple girls owning a pair and having the hero see them.)

The hero doesn't even talk to the girl, but later decides is much have been Tsukasa, the best looking and most popular girl in the class, and with the help of a bookish girl (Aya Tojo - who was the one he really saw on the roof.) asks Tsukasa out, and thanks to the crazy way he does it, she agrees.

However, like msot harem leads, he's got less spine than a jellyfish, unless it can be used to make him do something completely silly.

And that is where the story suffers a bit. The hero is just so passive most of the time that its painful to read at times. I find I can take a chapter or two before I have to set it aside before I throw the book because the main character frustrates me. But at the same time, this is a very well written story, with great artwork and just enough fan service to make it fun without feeling sleasy.

This series thorugh book 1 is great for lovers of harem anime, decent for those who like cute girls and fan service and acceptable to anyone who doesn't mind suffering with a main character who can't commit to anything except for having a lack of commitment.

The book overall is good and it is a good manga and you will enjoy it a lot. I would buy from this seller again.

started reading this not expecting but but turned out to be awesome. the characters like likable and funny would recommend to future readers.

The english translation is excellent despite the lack of honorifics which would throw some people for a loop at first.

Some of the Jokes are Adapted into what would be understandable as a reference point for those who are American and are not familiar with japanese culture.

The dialogue between the male characters for instance follows a typical high school slang minus the swears of course.