Considering how hit-or-miss (heavy on the "miss") reverse harems can be, I went into this one with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised at how charming the story and characters turned out to be.

>Story-------------------8

I think what makes Barajou no Kiss work so well is that it never really takes itself too seriously. In that sense, it kind of reminded me of Ouran High School Host Club. Not because the plots are in any way similar--they're definitely worlds apart despite being reverse harems--but because it starts out as a pretty solid comedy and gradually works in the drama and romance as the story progresses without ever losing the funny moments. That way you never really get overloaded with a bunch of heavy feelings from characters you're not even attached to yet.

Unfortunately, the ending did feel a little rushed and anticlimactic to me, and left a lot of questions unanswered. I think it could have benefited from an extra chapter or two explaining exactly who "The Society" was and how the power structure within it came to be. And how exactly all the "bonding" stuff worked because that got pretty confusing near the end.

>Art---------------------10

Very shoujo, very pretty. Details where necessary, but not so many that your eyes get confused. Character designs were all distinct, so I never questioned who I was looking at. The color pages were absolutely stunning. I actually enjoyed looking at the extra pages and cover art, which is very rare for me.

>Character-------------8

I thought the character development was pretty interesting. Normally you get Introduction>Backstory>Growth, but here it's all kind of mixed in together. You learn new things about the characters' pasts right up until the last chapter, but you get to see them grow and change before you even really get to know who they are. It was neat, and ended up being a lot less shallow than I initially thought. As another reviewer pointed out, the characters aren't cliche-free, but the cliches are done well in my opinion.

However, as is often the case with harems, some characters are prioritized over others. I think the mangaka did a very good job playing that balancing act between the main cast members, but inevitably some will just get more development and page time. If you happen to really like one of the less fortunate characters, you might be a little disappointed.

I have mixed feelings about the heroine. On the one hand, she spends a majority of the story as just a damsel and pointing out how stupid she is. On the other hand, she doesn't ACT helpless, and actually has a pretty fiery personality. She doesn't really get tied down by the romance, either, which is a superhuman feat when you're surrounded by superhuman beauties. Overall, she's not a BAD heroine, but I wouldn't call her GREAT, either. She's acceptable. Good, maybe. And funny.

>Enjoyment------9

Once I got through a few chapters, I couldn't put it down again until I was finished. The last few chapters were a little bit of a chore, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride up to that point. Since I don't normally get that into reverse harems, I think anyone who enjoys them would absolutely LOVE it. Also highly recommend to fans of puns and popculture references.