Review 9: Saa, Koi ni Ochitamae

Plot: 7
Characters: 8
Sex: 8

All right, here's our plot: Noboru, who comes from a poverty-stricken family, gets into a private high school by getting amazing test scores. He is intent on marrying a wealthy girl from the school in order to save his family (can you say 'gold-digger'?). His plans, however, are shattered by the arrival of Yuuki, the resident 'prince' who is admired by nearly everyone else at the school, girls included.
Yuuki ends up falling in love with Noboru, who pushes him away initially but eventually develops feelings for. Along the way are countless disasters, miscommunications, and dramatic lovers' quarrels.

The plot is a basic shoujo cliche. I wish I could say it had a twist, but it really doesn't. It is all the usual shoujo drama: the hard-working poor uke who somehow manages to be the ONLY person in the special high school who isn't made of money, the school 'prince' who is fantastically rich and popular but somehow isn't actually a snob, the fact that said prince has eyes for no one but the poorest student, etc. The only reason this wasn't rated lower is due to the dialogue, which can be quite good at times, and even funny ("Big brother is a gold-digger...").

The characters save this manga from the worst of an overdone plot. Noboru, despite being the typical shoujo heroine, isn't labeled as a genius, and instead has to study all the time to keep up with the schoolwork. He also seems genuinely determined to help his family, which is sweet. Yuuki is also more than one-sided when his facade comes off; in fact, he's a complete jerk for a good part of the manga. This makes him a lot more interesting than a cardboard prince, whose interactions with the uke seem more in the realm of Disney than in a yaoi manga.

The sex isn't particularly great, but the characters stay true to themselves for the most part, which is more than I can say for some yaoi. One of the scenes - regarding the Winter uniform - is very intriguing. But you won't find amazing sex scenes here, unfortunately.

Overall, this gets a 23/30. Not bad, but not great.

Recommendation: If you're a fan of shoujo manga AND yaoi, you'll probably find a comfortable read in this. If, however, you're looking for something beyond the usual realms of manga, I'd suggest going elsewhere.