Review 70: Gakuen Heaven

Art: 9
Plot: 7
Characters: 7
Sex: 7

Yes, another of the more well-known titles! This one, unfortunately, does not measure up to the other big names, such as Gravitation and Junjou Romantica for instance. Both of these popular mangas sport well-rounded characters who are likable and complex, as well as plots that excite and engage the reader despite the length of the series.

Fortunately, You Higuri is one of my favorite artists, so this gets a pretty nice art score. Added points for the cat. I love that cat.

The plot is pretty standard - boy gets into super-special private-school. It's all boys. There are stereotypes galore, so many that if you don't like some of them there are many more to distract you. It's basically a gay dating sim, except the plot doesn't let the main character be a complete skank and interact romantically with all of the side characters. The plot's ultimate downfall is its simplicity - there's not much going on besides the main character trying to stay in the school.

The characters are varied, but none of them are more than their archetypes would have you guess. For instance, the strong, silent archer guy is strong and silent. The manipulative, creepy glasses-wearing statistics guy is manipulative and creepy. The flirtatious jock is flirtatious. It's very easy to predict, and the main character wins overall by being a complete Gary Stu. He's got it all - a sad scenario that showcases just how little talent he actually has... for anything. Supposedly he's "lucky", but that just ends up being silly. And, of course, he's clumsy, rounding out his Gary Stu-ness.

The sex scene(s) is/are weird. There's the encounter in the first book with manipulative, creepy glasses-wearing statistics guy, which reeks of alcohol but in which no alcohol is actually consumed. Very much like bad fanfiction. And then there's the 'zomgtruelove!' sex scene, which is... rather TOO much to handle. So much emotion... so much sappy romance! I could barely handle it. The lines in that section are dehabilitating in the extreme.

All in all, 30/40. Good thing about that art score, huh?

Recommendation: If you like gay dating sims. Or Princess Debut.