“This manga is not for everyone. But for the people that it is for, it's pretty much everything you could want from a manga.
My advice for the people considering whether to read this manga: read the first 7 or 8 pages of Chapter 36 before you start at the beginning. Don't go further than the page where the bucket is thrown (a "story arc", if you could call it that, begins there), but do note the line on that page which reads, "This is all the more a gag manga". If you don't like this kind of manga, do yourself a favor and stay away. If, like me, you do like this kind of thing, start reading now - you will not regret it!
I've seen a few comments saying that this manga is not your typical shoujo manga. This is true...but only partially. It subverts, averts or otherwise plays with a lot of shoujo manga tropes, but certainly it's not the first manga that does that. What makes it stand out, in my opinion, is the fact that it doesn't completely parody shoujo manga - and so it pokes fun not only at the original genre but at the parodies as well. For example, often you'll find female leads who are terrible at cooking. So naturally a manga that plays with tropes would be expected to make the female lead a great cook, right? It follows that we'd expect Hinata to be either a great cook or a terrible one. As it turns out, her cooking is so completely normal that even her boyfriend comments on how mysteriously normal it is!
There is indeed a lot of fluffiness and romance and lovey-doveyness in this manga, but for the most part - and I think some people don't realize this - the romance is secondary to the comedy. Usotsuki Lily is a gag manga first and a romance manga second. This is important, so let me repeat that.
USOTSUKI LILY IS A GAG MANGA FIRST AND A ROMANCE MANGA SECOND.
Comedy is, of course, very subjective. Not everyone is going to enjoy Komura-sensei's brand of humor. The excerpt I refer to above is the kind of thing you're signing up for when you read this manga. The fourth wall starts crumbling in the first few chapters and is pretty much destroyed about ten to twenty chapters later. In the latest chapters Komura-sensei has been pulverizing the remains with a gusto that could only be matched by a crowd of East Germans armed with jackhammers. Indeed, she has become a sort of minor character in her own right. Now, when you break the fourth wall or insert yourself into your own work you have to be careful, or you'll come across as annoying (or worse). Komura-sensei manages this very well, with hilarious results. I no longer make the mistake of eating while reading this manga lest my laughter kill me.
Of course, a manga that lies entirely on fourth-wall-breaking for comedy is hardly worth reading. But that's not all this manga's got! The cast of characters is large and likable. It is true that they could be fleshed out a little bit more (especially Rui and Niko), but in a gag manga I don't think every single character needs to be developed in full detail. This is not high literature, after all - and each character does have some personality. Of the twenty-odd recurring characters, I find I dislike none of them! This is very unusual for me - countless manga have left bad tastes in my mouth because I take issue with one character or another (*cough*Special A*cough*). Hinata and En don't grate like so many romantic leads. They're referred to (endearingly, it must be admitted) as an "idiot couple" a few times in the manga, but there's plenty of couples who deserve that epithet thousands of times more than these two do. The side characters really add color to the story: you've got Kojirou who always acts like a samurai, Naota who's a bit of a sadist, Hinata's little brother Taiyou who's as close to the straight man of the manga as anyone's going to be, and more and more! Special mention should be made of the Shinohara family, whose members are refreshingly honest with themselves and with the world. Pretty much the first thing En's little brother Ten says is, "I like boys". The oldest brother An goes further: he proudly declares that he'll go for both guys and girls as long as they're cute!
But that's not to say the romance isn't there. It is, and it's really beautiful. En and Hinata really, really love each other - and they are secure in that love. Once in a while Hinata may come across as somewhat insecure, but deep down she knows that En loves her and won't waver. One thing should be mentioned, though. Pretty much all the romantic development occurs in the first two chapters. After that, while some events of a romantic nature occur, there's nothing significant. I don't think that's a bad thing, though. Why does there need to be more development? They are deeply devoted to each other, and there's absolutely no reason not to assume that they won't marry, procreate and die of old age in each other's arms. Hinata turned down En's latest love rival in one page. At this point I don't think it's possible or necessary for them to deepen their love. From the romance point of view, this manga should really be seen as the "happily ever after" part of the story. Honestly, I think that's a good thing. All that drama and heartbreak and insecurity that you see in some other manga can really get on my nerves, and it's pleasant and refreshing to read about a couple who simply loves each other.
Hinata herself is the kind of character that I wish would occur more often. She is definitely not the typical whiny, insecure, weak, shy and unstable shoujo manga heroine, yet she is also not the kind of character who's strong and self-reliant to a fault, typical of mangaka who want to get away from weak heroines. She is definitely not frail - she can hold En in her arms even though he's bigger than her - but sometimes she does need En to come in and save the day. (Thankfully, this is very rare.) She may worry when she gains weight, but she doesn't wallow in insecurity when another girl tries to steal En from her. She takes action, and boy did she leave my jaw hanging! In the end, though she may be boyish sometimes (she comments on how she loses to En in "girl power"), she is still a girl. Indeed, if you strip off the zany, comedic parts of her she comes across as more realistic than many manga characters I've seen.
En's case is similar. He's not the perfect, strong, cool, untouchable type, nor is he a weak pushover. He's not particularly popular among the girls (but he is popular among the guys, to his utter disgust), nor is he one of those rough delinquents who are tamed by their girlfriends. He's neither a prince nor a nerd. Admittedly, he is more in touch with his female side than some males (and not just because he crossdresses), but he's still a guy. He supports Hinata when she needs it, and gets support from her when he needs it. He pays for their dates and everything, but he's not rich and he doesn't do it ostentatiously. He very rarely swoops in to save the day, and when he does he ends up looking more like a pervert than a hero. What he does have in common with the typical shoujo manga male lead, though, is his insane hotness. He's really won the lottery as far as looks go - he's hot as a guy and as a girl. But I think that En, too, when you strip off those traits which are meant to be silly, is at least somewhat realistic. Certainly he's more realistic than those rich, handsome heirs to companies who are always perfect gentlemen and who have admirers lining up out the door!
Plot-wise, there's very little that I haven't already said. The manga is mostly gags, with a good amount of fluff and lovey-doveyness but no real development. Each chapter is mostly self-contained, with a smattering of two-chapter arcs. One weakness of this manga - and the reason why I didn't rate it a full 10 - is that it does have a few serious moments. They are jarring given the general extremely light (indeed, irreverent) tone of the manga, and they aren't done particularly well. (I make exception for the one occasion where a certain chapter ends darkly, but the dark ending is shown in the next chapter to be a gag.) Apart from them, whatever plot there is serves as a vehicle for the comedy, and does the job admirably. In all, I would say: don't read this manga for the plot. It is a gag manga.
I have little to say about the artwork. Tastes differ, and it's easy to click through a few pages to see if you like it. My own opinion is that all the characters look tasty enough to eat. The guys especially are hot enough to make anyone drool (except Ten, who's really cute but not hot). And Hinata-kun in Chapter 37... Dressed up like that, there's no reason why the girls wouldn't squeal!
I've said a good deal here, and I think I'd better wrap things up.
The verdict: Awesome manga. Recommend? No to anyone looking for drama and deep plots; a huge, resounding YES to anyone who enjoys comedy, especially of the fourth-wall-breaking variety.”
I have read this story a long time ago and it is still one of my absolute favorite series of all time. It really hurts me to see that people hate it so much because of how long it is and that there are “filters” but honestly that’s what the beauty of the story is. It’s a gag manga first, and a romantic comedy the second. It’s supposed to be weird and wild at the get go. The reason why I love it so much is because of so much diversity and variety of the characters. Ayumi Komura was not afraid to explore the different possibilities of relationships, ranging from Bisexual, to gay, to straight, to “I just love this person because of how they are.” The different setups from trap characters, to cosplay characters, to tomboy characters, to girly characters, to whatever, all help to shape out this unique one of a kind shoujo manga.
Additionally it’s known as a parody of other shoujos. The little gimmicks based on the typical shoujo “girl mc who cannot cook” was shown brilliantly through our main character Hinata. As a fellow commentor once stated, “…so it pokes fun not only at the original genre but at the parodies as well. For example, often you'll find female leads who are terrible at cooking. So naturally a manga that plays with tropes would be expected to make the female lead a great cook, right? It follows that we'd expect Hinata to be either a great cook or a terrible one. As it turns out, her cooking is so completely normal that even her boyfriend comments on how mysteriously normal it is!”
And don’t even get me started on the art style. Ayumi Komua delivers such a beautiful sense of style that I actually got jealous of all the uniquely gorgeous designs each character wore and each hairstyle they had. She actually inspired me to do better with my in real style as a result
Honestly there is so much more to say about this, but the reviews above on the website says it all Overall it’s a one of a kind unique, underrated gem that I hope will be looked at more. It made me cry, laugh, get jealous, and even got relieved at certain points in time due to particular plot twists. Anyways, I hope these reviews will help you, and when and if you do decide to dive in, I hope you enjoy this one of a kind shoujo journey that has a bit of everything combined in it
Hey! I like shouju mangas and i would like to know if you guys have any sites you guys can recommend that I could use to read some few old shouju mangas like this since its hard to find websites this days, aw btw can someone recommend some shouju mangas like please I need recommendation! ╮(￣▽￣)╭
This serie is very funny the only thing the kinda tires the reading,to me atleast, is that make overs and crodressing (not the protagonist but just how at some point many characters got into it) I don't know it felt stretched out when it happens often... Like the first they try to do when there's a character dev ordeal is to dress up or make over.
Oh, I didn't read usotsuki lily here, I bought the mangas. Still so far one of my favorite rom-com stories in manga. ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
Topics
I forgot how much i loved thisლ(´ڡ`ლ)(≧∀≦)
This topic may contain spoiler
“This manga is not for everyone. But for the people that it is for, it's pretty much everything you could want from a manga.
My advice for the people considering whether to read this manga: read the first 7 or 8 pages of Chapter 36 before you start at the beginning. Don't go further than the page where the bucket is thrown (a "story arc", if you could call it that, begins there), but do note the line on that page which reads, "This is all the more a gag manga". If you don't like this kind of manga, do yourself a favor and stay away. If, like me, you do like this kind of thing, start reading now - you will not regret it!
I've seen a few comments saying that this manga is not your typical shoujo manga. This is true...but only partially. It subverts, averts or otherwise plays with a lot of shoujo manga tropes, but certainly it's not the first manga that does that. What makes it stand out, in my opinion, is the fact that it doesn't completely parody shoujo manga - and so it pokes fun not only at the original genre but at the parodies as well. For example, often you'll find female leads who are terrible at cooking. So naturally a manga that plays with tropes would be expected to make the female lead a great cook, right? It follows that we'd expect Hinata to be either a great cook or a terrible one. As it turns out, her cooking is so completely normal that even her boyfriend comments on how mysteriously normal it is!
There is indeed a lot of fluffiness and romance and lovey-doveyness in this manga, but for the most part - and I think some people don't realize this - the romance is secondary to the comedy. Usotsuki Lily is a gag manga first and a romance manga second. This is important, so let me repeat that.
USOTSUKI LILY IS A GAG MANGA FIRST AND A ROMANCE MANGA SECOND.
Comedy is, of course, very subjective. Not everyone is going to enjoy Komura-sensei's brand of humor. The excerpt I refer to above is the kind of thing you're signing up for when you read this manga. The fourth wall starts crumbling in the first few chapters and is pretty much destroyed about ten to twenty chapters later. In the latest chapters Komura-sensei has been pulverizing the remains with a gusto that could only be matched by a crowd of East Germans armed with jackhammers. Indeed, she has become a sort of minor character in her own right. Now, when you break the fourth wall or insert yourself into your own work you have to be careful, or you'll come across as annoying (or worse). Komura-sensei manages this very well, with hilarious results. I no longer make the mistake of eating while reading this manga lest my laughter kill me.
Of course, a manga that lies entirely on fourth-wall-breaking for comedy is hardly worth reading. But that's not all this manga's got! The cast of characters is large and likable. It is true that they could be fleshed out a little bit more (especially Rui and Niko), but in a gag manga I don't think every single character needs to be developed in full detail. This is not high literature, after all - and each character does have some personality. Of the twenty-odd recurring characters, I find I dislike none of them! This is very unusual for me - countless manga have left bad tastes in my mouth because I take issue with one character or another (*cough*Special A*cough*). Hinata and En don't grate like so many romantic leads. They're referred to (endearingly, it must be admitted) as an "idiot couple" a few times in the manga, but there's plenty of couples who deserve that epithet thousands of times more than these two do. The side characters really add color to the story: you've got Kojirou who always acts like a samurai, Naota who's a bit of a sadist, Hinata's little brother Taiyou who's as close to the straight man of the manga as anyone's going to be, and more and more! Special mention should be made of the Shinohara family, whose members are refreshingly honest with themselves and with the world. Pretty much the first thing En's little brother Ten says is, "I like boys". The oldest brother An goes further: he proudly declares that he'll go for both guys and girls as long as they're cute!
But that's not to say the romance isn't there. It is, and it's really beautiful. En and Hinata really, really love each other - and they are secure in that love. Once in a while Hinata may come across as somewhat insecure, but deep down she knows that En loves her and won't waver. One thing should be mentioned, though. Pretty much all the romantic development occurs in the first two chapters. After that, while some events of a romantic nature occur, there's nothing significant. I don't think that's a bad thing, though. Why does there need to be more development? They are deeply devoted to each other, and there's absolutely no reason not to assume that they won't marry, procreate and die of old age in each other's arms. Hinata turned down En's latest love rival in one page. At this point I don't think it's possible or necessary for them to deepen their love. From the romance point of view, this manga should really be seen as the "happily ever after" part of the story. Honestly, I think that's a good thing. All that drama and heartbreak and insecurity that you see in some other manga can really get on my nerves, and it's pleasant and refreshing to read about a couple who simply loves each other.
Hinata herself is the kind of character that I wish would occur more often. She is definitely not the typical whiny, insecure, weak, shy and unstable shoujo manga heroine, yet she is also not the kind of character who's strong and self-reliant to a fault, typical of mangaka who want to get away from weak heroines. She is definitely not frail - she can hold En in her arms even though he's bigger than her - but sometimes she does need En to come in and save the day. (Thankfully, this is very rare.) She may worry when she gains weight, but she doesn't wallow in insecurity when another girl tries to steal En from her. She takes action, and boy did she leave my jaw hanging! In the end, though she may be boyish sometimes (she comments on how she loses to En in "girl power"), she is still a girl. Indeed, if you strip off the zany, comedic parts of her she comes across as more realistic than many manga characters I've seen.
En's case is similar. He's not the perfect, strong, cool, untouchable type, nor is he a weak pushover. He's not particularly popular among the girls (but he is popular among the guys, to his utter disgust), nor is he one of those rough delinquents who are tamed by their girlfriends. He's neither a prince nor a nerd. Admittedly, he is more in touch with his female side than some males (and not just because he crossdresses), but he's still a guy. He supports Hinata when she needs it, and gets support from her when he needs it. He pays for their dates and everything, but he's not rich and he doesn't do it ostentatiously. He very rarely swoops in to save the day, and when he does he ends up looking more like a pervert than a hero. What he does have in common with the typical shoujo manga male lead, though, is his insane hotness. He's really won the lottery as far as looks go - he's hot as a guy and as a girl. But I think that En, too, when you strip off those traits which are meant to be silly, is at least somewhat realistic. Certainly he's more realistic than those rich, handsome heirs to companies who are always perfect gentlemen and who have admirers lining up out the door!
Plot-wise, there's very little that I haven't already said. The manga is mostly gags, with a good amount of fluff and lovey-doveyness but no real development. Each chapter is mostly self-contained, with a smattering of two-chapter arcs. One weakness of this manga - and the reason why I didn't rate it a full 10 - is that it does have a few serious moments. They are jarring given the general extremely light (indeed, irreverent) tone of the manga, and they aren't done particularly well. (I make exception for the one occasion where a certain chapter ends darkly, but the dark ending is shown in the next chapter to be a gag.) Apart from them, whatever plot there is serves as a vehicle for the comedy, and does the job admirably. In all, I would say: don't read this manga for the plot. It is a gag manga.
I have little to say about the artwork. Tastes differ, and it's easy to click through a few pages to see if you like it. My own opinion is that all the characters look tasty enough to eat. The guys especially are hot enough to make anyone drool (except Ten, who's really cute but not hot). And Hinata-kun in Chapter 37... Dressed up like that, there's no reason why the girls wouldn't squeal!
I've said a good deal here, and I think I'd better wrap things up.
The verdict: Awesome manga.
Recommend? No to anyone looking for drama and deep plots; a huge, resounding YES to anyone who enjoys comedy, especially of the fourth-wall-breaking variety.”
FOUND ON THIS SITE: https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=48916&perpage=10&page=3#comment77817 on the first comment
I have read this story a long time ago and it is still one of my absolute favorite series of all time. It really hurts me to see that people hate it so much because of how long it is and that there are “filters” but honestly that’s what the beauty of the story is. It’s a gag manga first, and a romantic comedy the second. It’s supposed to be weird and wild at the get go. The reason why I love it so much is because of so much diversity and variety of the characters. Ayumi Komura was not afraid to explore the different possibilities of relationships, ranging from Bisexual, to gay, to straight, to “I just love this person because of how they are.” The different setups from trap characters, to cosplay characters, to tomboy characters, to girly characters, to whatever, all help to shape out this unique one of a kind shoujo manga.
Additionally it’s known as a parody of other shoujos. The little gimmicks based on the typical shoujo “girl mc who cannot cook” was shown brilliantly through our main character Hinata. As a fellow commentor once stated, “…so it pokes fun not only at the original genre but at the parodies as well. For example, often you'll find female leads who are terrible at cooking. So naturally a manga that plays with tropes would be expected to make the female lead a great cook, right? It follows that we'd expect Hinata to be either a great cook or a terrible one. As it turns out, her cooking is so completely normal that even her boyfriend comments on how mysteriously normal it is!”
—> (found here: https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=48916&perpage=10&page=3#comment77817 on the first comment) <—
And don’t even get me started on the art style. Ayumi Komua delivers such a beautiful sense of style that I actually got jealous of all the uniquely gorgeous designs each character wore and each hairstyle they had. She actually inspired me to do better with my in real style as a result
Honestly there is so much more to say about this, but the reviews above on the website says it all Overall it’s a one of a kind unique, underrated gem that I hope will be looked at more. It made me cry, laugh, get jealous, and even got relieved at certain points in time due to particular plot twists. Anyways, I hope these reviews will help you, and when and if you do decide to dive in, I hope you enjoy this one of a kind shoujo journey that has a bit of everything combined in it
i wanted to see more of niko...(/TДT)/ we only got to see her sister.... （￣へ￣）what a shame
Hey! I like shouju mangas and i would like to know if you guys have any sites you guys can recommend that I could use to read some few old shouju mangas like this since its hard to find websites this days, aw btw can someone recommend some shouju mangas like please I need recommendation! ╮(￣▽￣)╭
my bad! I meant to give you a thumbs up because I was wondering the same thing too (sorry about that!!)
It's fine lol! It's no big deal!!
Mangakakalot
Ty!! <33
You're welcome
"Something has come out!!! " Lmao
I would've like to see more of the other couples at the end
wow my childhood
This serie is very funny the only thing the kinda tires the reading,to me atleast, is that make overs and crodressing (not the protagonist but just how at some point many characters got into it) I don't know it felt stretched out when it happens often... Like the first they try to do when there's a character dev ordeal is to dress up or make over.
Oh, I didn't read usotsuki lily here, I bought the mangas. Still so far one of my favorite rom-com stories in manga. ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
the 16 year and 40 year old,,,,,,, that ain't it chief
I wish I had a cross dressing boyfriend ╥﹏╥