Cherry Juice, Vol. 04

チェリージュース [Cherry Juice] #4

by Haruka Fukushima

Step-siblings Minami and Otome finally start to get along after five awkward years, but when Minami's best friend confesses his love for Otome, the peaceful relationship between the siblings takes an unpredictable turn.

Genres: Manga, Shojo, Romance, Graphic Novels, Comics, Manga Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2006

About the author

Name in Japanese: フクシマハルカ
She is a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She made her manga debut in 1999 in Nakayoshi Magazine with her award-winning manga Sakuranbo Kiss. She considers Otona ni Nuts (Instant Teen: Just Add Nuts) to be her masterpiece.

Reviews

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 2 out of 5]

2020 Read #576

This was an okay series — really blasé story-wise with some cute art panels scattered here and there — but I wouldn’t recommend it since there’s very little depth given to the idea of “step-sibling” relationships. I would recommend Marmalade Boy if you want that kind of story; this one just ain’t it.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! Even though the ending was kind of obvious, I still loved it anyway. It's super cliched and I kind of like that. I either like a super surprise or a super cliche. I'm such an extremist.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



Otome and Minami didn't start off as the best of step-siblings but they are finally getting along. New arguments are in store though once both of them start showing romantic interest in others. Neither of them seems to want to give on the other and they have to start asking themselves if their feelings are those of siblings or more.

Cherry Juice is remarkably average. There's nothing glaringly wrong with it, although sometimes scenes jump in a weird and abrupt way and a few elements are left under-explained and therefore random (e.G. the sudden inclusion of Minami's father and other siblings). Even though there isn't much to criticize it for, there are also no particular strong points that would make this work stand out.

The art is cute and good enough but there are plenty of manga out there with a nicer style. The characters are ok but nothing remarkable. The side cast is forgettable and just kind of there. The sibling dynamics aren't as engaging as other step-sibling constellations in similarly themed stories. It was also rather odd how the majority of the cast was encouraging and almost throwing the two main characters at each other. Part of the appeal of step-sibling romances is that it's seen as a bit of a taboo - of course, they aren't blood-related, but it does come with complications and they're pretty much ignored in this story.

There's no harm in giving this manga a try, but for every single aspect of it, you can find a work that's done a better job of it. I feel like I'm giving this a reasonably high rating but that's more due to the lack of bad things rather than the presence of good.

[Marie R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to begin. Reading this manga made me feel a lot of things. From laughing, or being on the edge of my seat (literally), and smiling stupidly, but mostly feeling more single than ever. As 2000s manga are my favorite, this one did not disappoint. The fashion/outfits were pretty (I want to wear them), the art style was very cute and the characters were more than a job well done. If I could go back and read this manga for the first time again I sooo would. I love the whole sibling complex it was unique and executed great.


I still feel very single though. I maybe wish that I had a cool nonbiological sibling like Otome or Minami to fall in love with. But this is reality. So I will go back to reading some silly, sappy romance manga to forget about my pain.

[Solace Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this series more, but honestly, it just didn't have enough depth for me. I still gave it 4 stars because it was consistent in tone and story throughout the entire story. It's cute, but that's the best I thought about it. There is so much they could have delved into it, and instead it felt like they were afraid to go too deep. It wanted to be slightly pervy in situations, but it often pulled itself back, hard. Then it was like, "Let's just make it a light take on the story," and it went super-not-caring-light. So be it. I'm all right with light stories, especially for teenagers, but I would like to have seen depth somewhere, even if it was the characters.

[Lulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this comic series was very cute. The side characters were very cute. I especially felt like Naru and Amane had the cliche trope of the side characters seeing/trying to get the main characters to admit their feelings to one another. And in other ways it was pretty cliche and I feel like it was kind of repetitive in the background story (SPOILER: like repetitive from his perspective, that he had felt something for her the day that they met.... But on the contrary: it was pretty refreshing to see the deeper feelings and emotions from a male POV)
There is nothing wrong with a cliche romance story, so overall cute book.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a series this was super cute and upbeat, although the plot was a bit disjointed and the characters almost indistinguishable from each other. The ending was kind of sweet and I am glad the age gap was only a few days instead of a few decades, but the step-sibling dynamic was really only present when they were bickering. To be honest I enjoyed Fukushima's asides in each volume more than the story itself, but it was still a fun one to read.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minami wants to be a baker -- his specialty is cakes. The best cakes combine the proper mix of cake and icing; too much icing spoils the cake.

Thinking of this manga as a cake, I believe the author spread too much icing on top. The finish was overly sweet. I enjoyed most of the story, bet would have preferred less sweetness at the end.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t care this series. Story felt rushed. I also didn’t understand how the whole time the step siblings were fighting their feelings for each other, their parents always joked about it like they didn’t give a f**k if the kids got together ....
also, I don’t like the art style.

[Amy Gideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending was as week as the rest of the series. Very little depth or character growth. I don't mind an obvious plot in a romance if there is strong character development and chemistry between the would be lovers. This just fell flat and felt rushed.

Lastly, this volume would have been served better if instead of writing tedious side stories taking up room, the author had instead used this space to better develop the plot. One side story was basically just a recap of everything that had happened in the first two volumes. Kinda pointless.

For my full review visit: http://perksofbeinganotakuwallflower....

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it much more near the begginig of the series. It is a good series though.

[bridg · Rating 4 out of 5]

i knew what the ending would be but this book was my fave of the series =)

[Reetta Saine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the original idea, but not the series. Too many characters, too much repetition and no logic whatsoever. Disappointment.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read/rated in grade school.

[Samantha Ewasiuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a bad manga at all. It's got a nice good sweet lovely pretty story/plot/characters/art going on in the manga. It's the only good/best manga she ever made really. But i flet the step brother/sister daying/in love is way too much. They should have end up with the people they where dating. Eveyone was pushing/forcing them to get together and be a couple it did not seem right/good at all