Maga-Tsuki, Vol. 1 by Hoshino Taguchi
Series Name: Maga-Tsuki
Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook
ISBN: 9781682332221
Rating: 3/5
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Description
Yasuke is your average fifteen year old peeping tom. He wants nothing more than to confess his feelings to his childhood friend and crush, Akari. Unfortunately, he might never get the chance after he accidentally breaks a mirror at his family shrine, releasing a sealed calamity goddess, causing a curse to befall him. Now, he must keep the goddess so close that it’s awkward or die, with the only way to revive him being a kiss from the goddess herself. If he can’t make the goddess, Orihime, happy, he could be stuck cursed forever.
Personal & Info
This is a digital manga I got for free from a BookWalker sale. Unlike other digital manga I’ve gotten this way, this one is available as a physical book. The shop links here lead to the physical editions, but you can find the digital version on most of the same sites, anyway. The BookWalker link is included, because that’s where I got it.
Characters
Yasuke Arahabaki is the main character. He has a crush on his childhood friend and wants to confess his feelings, but he doesn’t know how to go about doing so. The timing never seems right.
Akari Inamori is Yasuke’s childhood friend and crush.
Miyano Arahabaki is Yasuke’s sister. She’s a Shinto priestess.
Seoritsuhime, nickname Orihime, is a goddess of calamity who was sealed and enshrined inside a mirror at Yasuke’s home.
Danzo Matsubara and Eiichi Nitta are Yasuke’s friends at school. They seem perverted and girl crazy. Matsubara more so than Nitta, he’s so girl crazy he gets violent from jealously.
Hinata Amaterasu claims to be Orihime’s sister. Whether it’s genetic or honorary, I have no idea. She is apparently in charge of running the realm of the gods despite her immature behavior.
Kunihiko Inamori is Akari’s father. He is the owner of their family sushi restaurant.
Story & Thoughts
Upon starting this, I was under the implication the publisher description implies a proximity thing. It has nothing to do with proximity. The fact is, Yasuke and Orihime must be touching in some way at all times. If they are not touching, Yasuke will drop dead, and Orihime will have to revive him with a kiss. Obviously, this leads to some awkward public and private situations.
Yasuke’s life gets difficult because of this. Everyone he knows has a problem with how physically close the two of them are, all the time. They can’t so much as use the bathroom or change clothes without holding hands. Some people find it so problematic, they try to convince them to separate.
It makes things with Akari especially stressful, because how can he confess his feelings to her when he’s always holding hands with another girl and refusing to leave her side? Most of the drama between Yasuke and Akari could be avoided if she were let in on the goddess thing from the start. Instead, she’s left confused and frustrated.
The series is apparently harem genre, but if it is, that must come in more later. This volume doesn’t really have anything in it to make it seem like a harem. It comes off as more of a love triangle, but it can be hard to tell things like that from just one volume.
Overall, I like this book. It’s not amazing, but it’s a cute and funny romantic comedy. I wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. The plot twist toward the end has me curious to see how things will play out. I also can’t help but wonder if that twist will happen again with other people. It would make sense if that’s how the harem thing gets incorporated.
There are some bonus comics in the back, as well as some translation information, and a short behind the scenes comic with the creator. Taguchi’s mascot is a hamster and that’s adorable.
I think I’ll be adding this series to my to-read list, but it won’t be a priority. It will likely be a long while before any more reviews for it get added.