Still cute, stupid, and funny. Kuroe's boyfriend is an insta-celebrity due to a viral image of him kissing the giant Godzilla-type monster that Kuroe secretly becomes when she is flustered. With his celebrity come droves of fans who Kuroe fears will tempt him away from her. Of course, getting jealous gets her flustered which means . . . oops, more chances for her secret to come out!
Some tidbits to Kuroe's origin are also brought to light.
Are kaiju fantasy or science fiction? Doesn't really matter either way, but the question is distracting me from how much I loathe the TV producer who takes advantage of Minami (a child, I remind you) and how incredibly unhinged that girl in love with Harugon is. Though the real question raised by this volume is whether Kuroe will start to think that she should be with the guy who knows she's a kaiju instead the one who loves her for her (human) self.
Kaiju Girl Caramelise is the worst manga ever! I want there to be more of it but there never is! All joking aside....
So we've come to volume 4 of this manga about a teen kaiju's search for love. To recap; our story follows Kuroe Akaishi, an ordinary girl who turns into a Godzilla-esque beast whenever she experiences affection. In addition to giving her a body complex, this has also complicated her budding relationship with school heart throb Arata Minami. The biggest complaint I can level at this volume-aside from how frustratingly quickly it flew by- is that it largely ignores the issues of body positivity and self-image that have been so prevalent in the series. This isn't the first volume to take that detour, but having this oddball universe anchored by a real issue always made it that much more believable. In its stead, volume 4 focuses on story progression, and despite lacking that sense of grounding, things proceed very well. After barely having a role in volume 3, Best Girl Manatsu is not only back in full force, but she even gets two entire chapters dedicated to her. I was never truly bothered by how one-note Manatsu was in the past, because of how hilarious she is. Even so, this little duology gave her character the depth that I didn't realize she was missing, and attaches some meaning to her infatuation with Kuroe's Harugon form. The rest of our cast have their own hurdles to jump through. Minami is busy dealing with the fallout from something spoilery that happened in the last volume. The guy's still just so darn likeable. He goes about everything with such an earnest demeanor, even though you get the sense that he's bitten off more than he can chew. Kuroe, meanwhile, deals with the strain this newfound status quo has put on their relationship, in addition to her ongoing struggles with kaiju puberty-such as her newfound tendency to vomit heat rays whenever she feels jealousy. Underneath all the hilarious kaiju antics, though, she's still the same vulnerable girl we know and love. Of particular note in this volume are a few moments where she listens to others feelings about her monstrous alter-ego. It's important, I think, for her to hear, and it suggests that love isn't too much for her to hope for after all. The final chapter also introduces a new wrinkle in Kuroe's tumultuous life that may have serious repercussions for volume 5. The other characters don't do much. Kuroe's mother disappears on a quest that will likely pay off down the road. (This volume finally gives us some clues about Kuroe's origins.) Rairi's role, meanwhile, amounts to little more than a brief (but very funny) King Kong shout-out. Do I even need to mention the art? I've been singing praises for Spica Aoki's talent in every one of these reviews. Every panel perfectly encapsulates the energy of the moment. I also appreciate how they get to flex-their monster-drawing muscles a bit more this time around. Volume 4 continues this series' hot-streak. I cannot get volume 5 in my hands soon enough, though it looks like I have quite a wait ahead of me. Though this outing focuses less on relevant issues, this bizarre world of kaiju and love struck teenagers continues to be thoroughly engaging. I only wish that it could manage its' world-building and grounded themes at the same time, rather than giving us one or the other.
Cute as always. I really liked the Midsummer Trip to Kaiju Island part and how the friendships are getting some time in the spotlight. I’m very concerned about where this Kaiju Prince thing will go!
I don't know how I feel about this actress character that was introduced. She looks like she's somewhere in her 20's, and is showing early signs of creeping on the teenaged male love interest. Not a fan of unnecessary romance drama to begin with (this story has plenty of potential conflict without adding a rival) but now we're talking about an adult making romantic/sexual overtures on a teenager. Yuck. The rest of the volume was pretty much on point, though, so that's good. And maybe that new character will stay in the background and not cause too much drama (a girl can dream).
The story continues to get more interesting. It’s weird that the one girl is in love with Kaiju form. Interesting turn of events near the end of the volume.
After a very public display of affection between man and monster, Kuroe’s relationship with Minami seems to be doing well, except he’s become the celebrity du jour and he doesn’t realize that Kuroe gave him that kiss. With a LOT to swallow this volume, are Kuroe’s chances Harugoing, Harugoing, Harugon?
Ahem.
I often want to like this book more than I do, although there’s some really good stuff in this volume, and, as often happens when I take the time to give it a good think, I finally figured out why - Minami is too boring.
You could reasonably argue that the rather crazy permutations of Kuroe’s affliction warrant a grounded love interest, but there’s a far cry between grounded and a stick in the mud. He becomes very popular and she gets jealous and I can’t figure why because he’s just so, so dull.
Kuroe herself is on fire, sometimes literally, this time out. She’s almost better than the book deserves at points. When she swallows her insecurities and they manifest as a physical change, it might be a little on the nose, but it’s still hilarious.
The best moment in the book definitely comes when a misunderstood offer for cuddling has Kuroe ready to throw caution to the wind as she offers up a heartfelt apology to all of Tokyo because it’s about to be completely destroyed so she can snuggle a boy.
Teenagers.
Manatsu, Kuroe’s friend who has a crush on Kuroe’s more monstrous form, gets more page time this volume and I wasn’t altogether upset by it, which is funny because she’s not really my favourite character. She’s also bringing a lot of references to old kaiju movies that I don’t necessarily get, so I allow that I may be missing her best bits.
I think they figured out a great way of using her, however, as she keeps appearing in increasingly more ridiculous costumes throughout the book. Her odd definition of affection aside, she’s very excited that Harugon might “pop her like a grape” (which bodes poorly for their prospects as an ongoing couple), she’s also helpfully moving the background plot along by her actions.
This also gets into some very good-natured fan service (plus a rather funny heel turn when Kuroe doesn’t play ball with a reason that makes perfect sense). It’s all leagues better than Minami being an idiot and falling for super obvious traps, although the misunderstanding over the size of a hat is pretty fun, but tethered to a character I am very poised to dislike and one I regretfully feel may show up again.
3 stars; not without its high points, but not without its flaws either. There’s a sudden potential rival arrival that probably won’t go anywhere, if it even IS that, but I am hoping it will because Kuroe can do better, even if her self-esteem would believe otherwise.
I’m still giving this a volume a full four out of five stars because I enjoy this series and I like the development of the characters and the story, however, I don’t really feel fond of these jealousy and insecurity tropes. It’s good and it makes sense that it’s happening with the characters it involves, but I simply don’t enjoy these kinds of things. That being said, goodness, Minami-kun is handsome. But beyond that, have both him and Kuroe snagged love rivals? A pretty actress has her sights set on Minami, and a possible scary yet handsome kaiju otaku has found out about Kuroe and seems to be highly invested in her already. I’m very curious to see where this goes. Lastly, I really enjoyed Kuroe having time with her friends just as much as time with Minami, in terms of what the reader was able to see anyway. It’s actually a shame that these two are getting less and less time together. I hope to see the both of them work it all out together.
I've been Kaiju obsessed since I was a kid growing up with Godzilla movies with my dad. So this series was a must for me.
I was so excited to see a manga with a girl who transforms into a Kaiju it's such a unique idea and I had to start it. I loved every moment of Kuroe's story she's just adorable even when she's trying to hide her Kaiju side and be a normal teenager. I think her love interest is perfect for her, and she has some great friends that she's making.
The Artwork is beautifully done to match a captivating story. I've devoured the first 6 and have the 7th on pre-order as I can't wait to continue this series.
Highly recommend this series if your into monsters and romance.
More of a 3.5 star rating; I’m really enjoying seeing Kuroe’s friendship with Manatsu and especially with how Kuroe helped her friend in this volume. Poor dumb Minami is going to be taken advantage of by the media when all he wants is to be a normal person again, and spend time with Kuroe. Also, I really like that we got a hint at Kuroe and her mother’s past in connection to how Kuroe got her genetic disorder. I’m very curious and excited to see more of those details in the next volume.
3.5* but objectively a lot better than the other volumes from the series Ive rated 3 stars so Im rounding up since Goodrads still hasn't given us half stars.
Minami's ligic is so broken 😭 They're not gonna forget you if they see you on tv all the time 💀 On the contrary you should've just let people forget about you and move on by not giving them anything. Meanwhile this is going to make things so much worse.
This series continues to be a delight with every volume released. After the incident at the music festival, Kuroe finds her boyfriend is the center of unwanted attention and it puts a strain on their relationship but in a way that is entertaining to watch. The pair are adorable together and hopefully, they will be able to overcome whatever life throws at them.
I don't like the producer. She is pushy and manipulative. And Minami is still in high school, wouldn't harassing him be illegal because he is a minor? Where are his parents?!
I'm glad Kuroe kinda threw Minatsu a bone lol. And I was wondering what that island had to do with Kuroe?!! Her mom found her egg there!! But.....how did she gain a human form?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
We're getting lore!! This has the comedy of the prior books with a whole lot of implications for the next ones. There doesn't feel like there's quite as much plot here, but the surprise lore kind of makes up for it. Worried for my favorite kaiju-human couple (not you, Minatsu) but excited to see where this goes!
L'ho letto al lavoro, quindi non con la concentrazione che meritasse.
Ho preferito la prima parte del volumetto, perché il fatto che Arata cominci ad andare in TV non mi ha convinta del tutto. Ma alla fine si comincia a scoprire qualcosa sull'origine della stessa Kuroe.
this series just continues to be unnervingly perfect for me. i was gifted the first two volumes by my partner because the premise was adjacent to one of my special interests (kaiju movies) but at this point i'm mostly hooked because the story is just so sweet and i care about the characters so much and i just want good things for them.
Minami ha dimostrato di avere veramente poco cervello stavolta... Kuroe potrebbe dirgli la verità una buona volta...daiiiiii....ormai quasi tutti lo sanno!
Bhe ora però voglio scoprire chi è il nuovo personaggio però!!!! Super carino!!!
I laughed so hard and so many times throughout this volume. I absolutely adore it. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say: this volume was the perfect balance of comedy, heart, and plot.