Manga Review - Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou - Boarding School Romance

I personally never have experienced what it's like to move interstate or overseas to live in student accommodations or boarding schools, and perhaps it's an experience that I will never ever experience. Moving out of home is not the same as this because boarding schools and student accommodations is where all the people who are in a similar situations are at, so it can be enlightening since relationships can be easily formed due to your frequent interactions with each other. Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou essentially recounts the life experience of a high school freshman (Usa) in a boarding house where he meets an older female student (Ritsu), and other mischievous and unique individuals that will guarantee to make you life. 

I actually didn't start off from the manga; instead I first discovered this series by watching the anime, and the anime was really entertaining and it wasn't until 2 years later that I found that this manga had actually completed. WOOOO!!! This series is not your normal style of rom-com, slice of life anime and this is attributed to the uniqueness of the characters and the charm they contribute to the manga. I felt that all the characters in the Kawai complex are not just your background characters, but are really involved during the manga and they make the manga even more funny. You got your masochist (Shiro), who we discover is a prolific writer, and he even wrote the books that Ritsu frequently reads. Talk about interesting right? You also got your older lady who has bad luck with men (Mayumi) and a cheeky college student (Sayaka), and I like the constant insult hurling with these two, and what's even better is that they tease Ritsu and Usa, and sometimes get jealous and beats up Usa hahaha.

The manga has good character development, where we see Ritsu becoming more and more open due to Usa-kun coming to Kawai Complex. The Kawai Complex became more lively when Usa-kun came, and we see all the characters mature and develop long-lasting relationships. It's really heartwarming and satisfying to read this manga. I also liked the ending of this manga - there isn't a conclusive ending where Usa-kun kisses Ritsu, because that's a bit cliche in my important. The ending essentially shows the success of Kawai Complex and how it continues to be a place of comfort and family, even whilst having some of the original residents being absent (Ritsu and Shiro, at least). I liked this ending because romantic relationships takes time, and Ritsu and Usa becoming really close only started after 2-ish years in the complex. Furthermore, it's a "long-distance" relationship where Ritsu is in college and Usa is still in high school.

The manga didn't feel like it had any filler - sure it had your usual content in rom-coms like festivals etc., but isn't that part of life? Each chapter was filled with content that make you life or made you feel warm (my kokoro go doki doki), and the characters made the scenes even better because they felt that they were important characters, rather than just support characters. The art is also very beautiful and was what made me pick this manga up after watching the anime. Drawings of Ritsu were really cute and detailed, and it's an artstyle that makes Ritsu so much more innocent and kawaii. The color pages are even better WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Overall, this manga is a relaxing read and it's a decent length for a rom-com. The manga doesn't feel stretched out and even if there were filler content, they were enjoyable to read. The manga's characters are so interesting and impactful, and they didn't feel like support characters at all, since they contributed a lot of the manga's comedy and romance. Some people may dislike that ending since Ritsu and Usa doesn't kiss or display acts that arises from deep romantic relationships like a lot of rom-coms, but that's why I like this manga. We already see that the two are interested in one another, perhaps not to the point of kissing yet, but love is a slow process, and isn't seeing the two liking each other good enough? If you have watched the anime like me, and want to wait for Season 2, don't bother because there is essentially no chance of that happening. But hey, this manga is 90 chapters of simple cute interactions with boarding school residents, and you can't go wrong with that.

Overall Score: (8.5/10)

Story: 8/10

Characters: 8/10

Art: 9/10

Enjoyment: 9/10