ONNANOKO TOKIDOKI OTOKONOKO

NOTES
I may have included spoilers in this review. Spoilers range from literal to out-of/with context.

I will refer the lone LGBT character here as a female since the story implies that she identifies that way.

DISCLAIMER
For all intents and purposes of this review, the word "trap" here is meant to refer to the genre of manga featuring the said character trope.




A single seven-chapter (with an omake) volume about a boy named Yuusuke, who one day met his childhood friend Akira again by transferring into his school. Everyone knows Akira is a girl, except for him and Akira's father, who both knew Akira is a he.

Onnanoko Tokidoki Otokonoko (a wordplay on "tokidoki" which can be meant as either the alternate spelling of the onomatopoeic sound of a heartbeat, and "sometimes") is your usual mediocre-to-badly written romcom manga about a trap (Akira identifies as a girl apparently though). All tropes you would find in this type of manga are in full throttle - from the transfer student opening to the weak romance by the two main characters. I'm not complaining though, since first, it's a usual trope from this genre, and second, it's at least a ten-year-old manga.

Story
Badly written, frankly. It's decent enough for a single volume though. Since it's a single volume, of course, it has pacing issues - quite horrible as a matter of fact. The author opens some form of a story, but it's still really weak even for a single volume.

Art
The typical manga art. It's decent enough to look at, though my complaints would be some weird panels drawn by the author - it feels robotic, stiff, and some just plain weird. Layouts are OK, but barely.

Characters
Akira is cute to a degree. I feel that the author focuses much on the design that he/she forgot his/her other characters. Some are quite good though.

Regarding the characters themselves, it manages to barely cross the bare minimum regarding characters of this genre.

Enjoyment
I would be lying if say that I didn't at least enjoy reading this. It has some nice scenes, though forgettable.

Honestly, I'm annoyed with the fanservice of this genre, and I expect them in this one. There are some panty shots angled extremely low focusing on that usual thing most ecchi trap manga focuses on. A little disclaimer, this one's not exactly an ecchi.

Of all the seven chapters of this manga, I like the sixth one (since it features a double confession which I think was nicely done) and the omake (which is really a good read).

Final verdict: not a good read, though can be read in a single sitting. The ending is really forced. So forced that it singlehandedly dropped my score from a 5 to 4. No developments whatsoever, problems opened but closed either weak or forced. Characters just spawn and despawn. More questions than answers at the end.

I mean, even the most basic questions a trap manga usually has, like "why do X dress like that" or "how do X fell in love with Y," are not properly addressed.

Recommendable? If you're planning to read every single trap manga, then yeah. Else, don't even bother.

Re-readable? Since it's a single volume, yeah of course. After all, there are only seven chapters (plus an omake) in it, each at least 20 pages long (except for the omake, of course).