I try to compare manga on an overall impression. Did I have fun reading it? Yes, a lot. Is it the best manga I have ever read? Sure not.
Ofc. there are mangaka that have a better drawing style, but I wonder what standards people have that call the art "horribly ugly", it sounds more like they dislike the mangaka itself. It's true that Nakamura-sans earlier drawings still have lots of flaws especially when it comes to body proportions (hands are her biggest problem), but you have to start somewhere, and you get better over time. That's what happens here. Her style is simple and unique and works with screen tones more than playful details. I really like her variety of facial expressions she uses in her art, it makes the characters feel alive. The only flaw there is that she uses the same strokes for shocked faces and aroused faces, which results in making the characters look like they suffer during love and sex scenes (lmao).
I really like the setting of the story. Ofc. it's not a 100% realistic try on the life of a publishing company, but it gives you a certain impression on what is happening behind the scenes, something I never really thought about a lot. Those parts of the story actually are the ones that made me interested into the manga the most, sadly they become less and less present the more the story proceeds, since the relationship between Onodera and Takano has a bigger focus (well, what did you expect, idiot). That would be okay, if their relationship actually would progress, but it indeed is just a big filler part like others mentioned, they go back and forth, and while there was interesting stuff at the beginning, in the later chapters you just get bombed by random side characters you aren't really interested in. As soon as one competitor is gone, the next is already waiting, and this gets annoying pretty fast. Some sidestories are okay, but she really should start focusing more on the main plot line: Onoderas career path, overcoming the problems in their relationship and not just f*** the problems away and escape again the next morning, and also talking out the problems of their past relationship(that got a little ruined by giving away too much too early, so it's hard to make it work now). Dragging a story because of popularity will only ruin it in the long run, and it's not like she has no ideas for new series once this one ends. It also could still continue once they get together, that doesn't mean it has to end at that point. Like, make Onodera choose between staying at Emerald or leaving to take over his fathers company and therefor get separated from his new friends and Takano.
Characters, hfff...I like them and I hate them. It's hard to give away a wholesome opinion because they got changed a lot over time, in a pretty obvious way. When you go back to the very first chapters, you will recognise that Onodera Ritsu basically was a completely different person compared to what he became in the later story, and that's not due to a change in character influenced by Takano, he simply got a complete rework.
When he first entered the company, he was introduced as "I once was a lovely boy, but now I don't give a damn f*** for love and such stuff, only my career is what matters!" - and I really liked that attitude. He was manly, he was sexy, he was aggressive, and he knew what he wants. I mean, just go back to the scene when he got told he has to work in the shoujo section - he got f u r i o u s. But just some chapters later, he got completely changed into a shy and insecure guy, not much different from what he was as a teenager. Him saying sorry all the time even became a recognisable character treat, which def. wasn't the case from the start. His body language, his way to dress (cool shirts->cute cardigans), everything abruptly changed. I don't know if that was a decision by the author or by the company ("make him cuter and more loveable so girls go crazy!"😉, but it kinda killed the fun out of their relationship, with Takano becoming the only one dictating the pace.
Takano...I like his character design a lot. I like tall characters with black hair, and his glasses, even tho they felt a little weird at the start, really compliment his character and highlight his change in personality work vs private (I really like that serious work attitude).
He really is an odd one, which makes it hard to predict his actions and intentions. But the more you learn about him, the easier it gets to understand him. He is not flawless, dating Onodera in the past just because he needed someone to let out his frustration on. But because he was such an oddball, he got sucked in by his kindness and got imprinted on him in a kinda obsessive way.
I really like their relationship, I just wish it was more story-driven than "showing the characters in several fanservice scenes interacting with each other". The chapter when they visited the grave of Takanos grandmother had such a completely different atmosphere than the fillers before, and it'd be great if that could happen more often.
So much to the main story. The side stories...I like most pairings, and because at least one of them has the same working place, you get used to them faster than in Junjou Romantica (it seriously took me ~5 chapters in JJR till I got that there was a second pairing and it's not just a time jump with the same main character lmao).
I really like Hatori&Chiaki and would have liked to read more of them since I think a story with interactions of mangaka and editor would have benefitted the overall setting, but sadly they got dropped pretty fast. I have absolutely no clue about what raping scene people are talking here tho, I don't remember any of that in the manga, but it sounds like it wasn't part of the actual plot and more like a "kink spinoff" since the manga story already has a completely different confession approach.
Kisa&Yukina is also a nice pairing, tho I think they got too much screentime with too less plot, most of it is insecurities about love and age, and it goes back and forth. I also have to say: I absolutely hate it when there are artist characters and their art is never shown. This is nothing you need to "make me imagine myself", just use it as opportunity to go all in and try new stuff!
What positively surprised me was that Nakamura-san smh. managed to make Kisa look cute and adult at same, which can be very hard, but it works perfectly. If only he had more serious plot, he could easily become a real mc. Just imagine a full spinoff that focuses on Yukinas book store as setting, I'd really like that.
Yokozawa&Kirishima....I. Don't. Get it. At all.
I don't know if I missed something, but suddenly there's a chapter with Yokozawa who desperately was chasing Takano and now lives with a guy who has a daughter. No explanation, nothing. Sometimes it sounds like they date, sometimes it doesn't. Just wth is this and where do I get the context from?
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, and I am looking forward to more. I just hope the story won't get dragged on with more useless fillers and focuses more on the main storyline.
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