Mint na Bokura by Wataru Yoshizumi

                        Konnichiwa~

Noel and his precious twin Maria

I am Nadeshiko-chan. Me and my partner Ms. Lee Min Ho came from otakulalaland, a blog we used to do with the Manga Club at our school. Realizing we were the only ones really posting, we decided to start our own blog together! I’ll be reviewing animes, mangas, graphic novels, and sometimes some Vocaloid music videos. Before I start my new review, I’ll tell you little about myself. I mainly watch and read romance shoujo anime/manga, but I also really love shonen animes like Fullmetal Alchemist(I’ve watched both the original and the Brotherhood), Dragon Ball Z, Pandora Hearts, and Soul Eater. I’m someone who’s realistic, but loves to lost in long surreal and fantasy stories. Alright, let’s start! Today I’m going to start with an old 90s manga called Mint na Bokura by Wataru Yoshizumi , a light-heared romance manga about a pair of 14 year old twins, Noel and Maria Minamino. These siblings are very close to each other and have always been together. But then one day Maria transfers to Morinomiya Boarding School because she has fallen in love with the basketball coach there and wants to be closer to him. Noel becomes extremely jealous of this and even betrayed since he can no longer hang out with her. So an outraged Noel decides to enroll into Maria’s new school so that he can persuade her to leave. There’s just one major problem, the only open admission left is in the girl’s dorm. But stubborn Noel refuses to let this ruin his plans! So with a wig, a headband, and a padded bra, he disguises himself as a girl and begins his new life at Morinomiya Boarding School.

While most boys would be too proud to cross-dress,
Noel is willing to do anything for his precious sister!

 But things don’t go according to plan as Noel rapidly falls in love with his roommate Miyu. There’s also Ryuuji Sasa, who develops a crush on Noel before discovering he’s a girl; though he is completely mortified, after a few days he decides to remain friends with Noel, even helping keep his secret by allowing the rest of the student body to think they’re a couple. The story is cute, sweet, and really funny, it can always make me laugh, all of the character’s having their moment; the art also contributes to the humor, especially the drawings of an angry or blissful Noel.

Noel; Sasa; Maria; Miyu

Now for the characters: Noel is the rare male lead in this shoujo manga and he has a huge sister complex; he is overly protective and possessive of his sister, glaring at anyone who tries to “take” her “away” from him. Because of this he can often be aggressive and short-tempered, but he’s usually very friendly, happy-go-lucky, and simple-minded. And when he falls in love with Miyu, he becomes super adorable, easily becoming happy at whatever she does. He becomes jealous and often wants to protect her from “dangers”, but also makes a great effort not to annoy or hurt her. I really love him as a character because he’s both cute and comedic; he doesn’t even try to act girly or anything in his disguise, he’s still himself. Then there’s his sister Maria; she’s loves her brother Noel, but often feels suffocated by his over-protective nature. She is quite feminine, cheerful, and sweet; but she has a bad habit of developing shallow crushes on different boys, she idiotically tries to make almost every boy her prince and every relationship the perfect love story. Usually girls like this annoy me, but I sort of understand her hopeless romantic nature and she does learn from her mistakes and comes to understand real love. Then there’s Ryuuji Sasa, one of my favorite manga characters ever. He’s cool, manly, and easygoing; he loves sports, especially fishing. He’s a good friend to Noel, even helping Maria since she’s his best friend’s precious sister. He finds girls rather annoying, thinking their all shallow, weak gossips, but overcomes this prejudice. The last main character would be Miyu Makimura, Noel’s crush. She’s quiet, serious, and rather secretive. She’s comes off as a bit of a loner, scaring off some of her classmates, but she’s a kind girl. There’s just one thing she really can’t stand: liars. Read and find out how Noel deals with that.

The art is cute, classic 90s shoujo: big eyes, simplicity, and rather thick black lines.

Noel with his crush Miyu

The only thing that bothers me is that I felt the author could've done more, just another chapter or 2 to wrap things up a little more complete since I did feel a little unsatisified. But overall it’s a cute manga and I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading my first review, I hope you enjoyed it and will consider reading this adorable, light-hearted story. Bye-Bye

~Nadeshiko-chan