Holy shit they actually did it. The best girl won. The manga took a shitty conceit wherein a pussy of a main character, by virtue of having zero backbone, strung along no less than three characters for his own selfish gain...what was my point? Oh yes, the premise is dumb and the characters forgave the subterfuge far too easily but who can argue with the results? The story actually made good on its central theme - that being achieving a true smile. Meaning, it set up a scenario wherein the MC crossdresses yo help his initial love interest and during those exploits he begins to come into his own and can smile. However, simultaneously, as his actual non-crossdressed self, he interacts with a different girl and by way of those interactions he achieves the aforementioned "true smile." So rather than undermining the main premise of the story, by way of MC persisting about a false love( his initial flame), he actually re-evaluates the situation and ends up with the proper girl...who herself is just lovely.
So while it wasn't great it did manage to break the "first girl" trope while being short and sweet.
Any similar recommendations for similar tales of Best Girl or even Not Main Girl winning?
Ayden Edwards
k... keep me posted
Christian Torres
...
Oliver Rivera
In his other manga he's introduced a brother and sister that look like they could be Botan and Keitarous kids. The girl has his eyes and the boy has her eyes.
John Gutierrez
Is this a pasta?
Carson Wood
...
Easton Perez
The way she nervously plays with her hair 10/10
Grayson Green
Subscribed
Jordan Rodriguez
too lewd
the ending is kinda anticlimactic, is this confirmed to be the last chapter?
Nathaniel Hall
Intriguing
Colton Evans
Yeah it's over now. Don't know if he's doing anything else besides Madoromi-chan ga Iku. Doesn't have Botan or the romance but it's definitely cute.
Sebastian Gutierrez
BOTAN IS PRECIOUS
Elijah Nelson
>it did manage to break the "first girl" trope
you know what is more amazing, it manages to unite Sup Forums on who is best girl, that kind of shit only happens once a decade.
Oliver Price
BOTAN WON THE ITSUK IBOWL!
Joseph Wilson
more importantly, she won the Sup Forumsbowl
Jose Bailey
Botan a cute. A cute!
Dylan Turner
...
Easton Johnson
when are we getting the dilfs NTR doujins?
Ian Howard
I got 1/2 way into the first chapter then the main dude was dressed in drag and I bailed. Is this a major plot premise or just a one time thing because that's on my list of things I don't want to read about. Thought it was neat up until that part though.
Jason Powell
It's a major plot point but it doesn't get gay in any way (except for some comedy parts).
Gavin Ross
I have the same opinion, mostly because crossdressing usually is just used for trap bait or invite yaoi stuff, but this time is actually part of the plot and like user here says the only times it gets gay is for comedy.
Wyatt Adams
Ehh kept reading. Thinking I am gonna still bail. Too weird for me. Sad because I like the whole "hate filled eyes offputting people" trope like that one anime with the Pom Tiger girl or whatever. Mainly because I have natural sunken in, squinty, dark circled resting "I hate you" eyes.
Wish I could find more with the trope.
Parker Ortiz
I mean it does get sort of gay but more in the yuri sense
Nolan Kelly
This. I've been around for a long time and haven't seen Sup Forums unite under one banner until now. Even Love Hina where there was an objectively best girl, everyone on Sup Forums didn't unite.
Dominic Diaz
My brethren! I, too, cannot stop thinking about how great the end result was.
Botan is forever.
James Sullivan
How big is your Botan folder? I have 56 images.
Jason Edwards
>just realize I dont have a Botan folder
I have sinned brothers, would you help me to atone for this?
Jayden Flores
Write a haiku for Botan.
Bentley Hughes
She had a bad habit of not looking both ways before crossing the street.
Benjamin Morris
330. Are you even trying?
Connor Reed
Wow, nice.
Colton Gray
Cute Botan in your path there is only love
please dont bully.
Daniel Price
Haikus have 5-7-5 syllables. Please try again.
Connor Barnes
Thats 3/3/5. Haiku are 7/5/7 or 3/5/3.
Xavier Mitchell
>the ending is kinda anticlimactic
It was really anticlimatic after he revealed himself to be crossdressing. But I guess that was kind of the point.
Jack Bell
Lovely tomboy comfiness and harmony is what you give
no bully
Jackson Gomez
Nice! I might upload my folder now.
Nathaniel Evans
What is love?
Matthew Jenkins
BABY DON'T HURT ME DON'T HURT ME NO MORE
Lucas Turner
Could just be sameface.
Oliver Scott
Their names are Tarou and Midori Akashi.
Samuel Bell
Not the two MCs. The boy and girl introduced in the latest chapter. They don't have names yet.
Anthony Scott
wouldn't telling you ruin the ending? well there's ichigo 100%
James Mitchell
The one with the demon loli?
Landon Sanders
Yeah. The 8th chapter came out yesterday.
Luis Cooper
That's just mangakas being hacks. They just make the same girls over and over again.
Michael Roberts
>implying this isnt the same for the industry
there is a reason why many characters can be described as X-clone
Jeremiah Davis
That's what I mean; the two kids are named in the chapter they appear in.
Liam Roberts
...
Xavier Long
God, It has been like 2 years since I saw one of this images.
Gabriel Lee
I swear this chart grows every time I see it, even though I'm sure it hasn't been updated in years.
Jack Barnes
they bring in an actual disgusting tranny eventually, it makes it really hard to read and since you know who wins anyways probably best you dropped it
Oliver Robinson
...
Chase Butler
post more botan
Nicholas Rogers
>shitty conceit It really wasn't. The central theme of the story is about lying. Lying to yourself, lying to others. When is it okay to lie, and who is it okay to lie to? Crossdressing was just a plot device. That's where the characters have their dynamics. Itsuki is a liar, Botan is completely honest, and Aoi is confused. Through the course of the story, due to the influence of Botan, Itsuki gradually realizes that he shouldn't lie to the people he cares about, and not to himself. Through the influence of Itsuki, Aoi realizes that sometimes it's okay to lie, and that lying isn't always a bad thing. It's a way more complex story than I expect from a usual romantic comedy shounen, and so well paced too. Instead of episodic crap, with a hasty resolution, we actually get plot paced in a three act structure. Characters grow and change gradually over the course of the series.
Even if Botan was best girl, Aoi was also a great character, and so was the MC. I love how the mangaka always seems to be able to subvert expectations, when we get this dramatic scene of Aoi crying instead, nope, she just wails like a baby - and she knows it. This story was just really well balanced, none of the characters are stereotypes and each has unique motivations and flaws. Rather than sticking quirks onto archetypes, it feels the author went out of his way to build characters from the ground up.
The ending was great. The story acknowledges that the central conflict of the story is resolved - and really it ended chapter 31. I think the author intentionally left a minor conflict, Itsuki being kind of a pussy, for our characters, after their development and arcs through the series, to deal with in the finale. To kind of compare and contrast their personalities from the start of the series, to the end. Botan is less volatile and more gentle, Keitarou is actually assertive, and Aoi did a 180 and actually became kind of sly.
Owen Ortiz
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Liam Diaz
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Jackson Smith
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Christian Ward
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Kayden Perry
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Kevin Gutierrez
When will Botan be forgotten, I wonder.
Samuel Bennett
Hopefully never. Between it's structured pacing, balanced characterization, and best best girl, I can't think of a shonen romcom in recent memory better than Ookami.
Brody Cooper
I know, right? I do feel bad for having read so few manga, but from now on this one has set the standard for love stories for me.
Jace Roberts
Botan is just format defining.
Levi Russell
Here's a question.
What's the best part of Botan?
Easton Cook
She shines like the sun.
Liam Scott
Ookami Shounen has end ? Maybe I will give it a try then.