AoD Review: Hot Gimmick Vol. #12

[Chris Beveridge]

Review!

[tlahr566]

My opinion from the "Manga you used to like but don't anymore " thread:
"Hot Gimmick: A twelve volume series with a linear plot but the most static characters I have ever seen. None of the major characters really change at all. The heroine was a naive doormat at the start of the series and she is the same at the end. The obnoxious jerk is just as obnoxious, the unhealthily obsessed character is just as obsessed, the dangerously twisted "friend" is just as twisted at the start as they are at the end. The only characters that I liked by the end of the series were Akane and Subaru."

That being said, the series did end in a relatively satisfactory manner. We get the main plot resolved (who will Hatsumi end up with?), though IMO whether they actually go all the way is not clear (might they have been too nervous?, were they prepared/ had a condom available?, etc).

The revenge sub-plot is left open, though the focus of the revenge looks like it has shifted from the father to the son.

And <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> Sinogu, melodramatically, decides to become a Monk!!</span>

I thought the ending had a tenuous feeling, as in while everything appeared resolved, nothing actually was. This probably stems from the fact (noted above) that the characters are pretty much the same as when the series started. The 'life-goes-on' feel plus having the characters display no, or only minor, changes does give it a more realistic touch than some manga series with their 'happily-ever-after' endings. If I heard, in the future, that this series was continuing I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Akane &amp; Subaru's story elevates this volume to two stars. And Subaru actually looks cuter<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> in his cat-eared maid outfit (pandering to the shota-moe crowd) than Akane does in her magical girl costume. </span>