Mamotte! Lollipop review

randomperson13
Apr 04, 2021
Story: 4

What the synopsis on MAL doesn’t tell you is how these two “hot” boys fall into her lap—she eats the crystal pearl designed to be the retrieval item needed to pass their magic exam. As you can already tell, Nina isn’t exactly the brightest girl. The rest of the manga involves Nina being constantly saved by her two potential love interests and being a damsel in distress. I don’t know what the point of having two of them there was when I already knew which one she would end up with when I finished the first volume. Scratch that, I know the answer: to fuel every preteen’s dream of having two hot guys pining over you.

Art: 7

It’s shoujo. Nothing special. At least each character is distinguishable from each other—something a lot of shoujo fail at. However, I will praise Michiyo Kikuta on her color schemes. The covers are really colorful and I find myself able to just stare at the back covers of the volumes for a while, appreciating the images colored in, especially volume 6. I have a feeling if the mangaka took that story approach, it’d be a little more interesting.

Character: 5

The characters weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be. But they’re still bad. Nina’s the typical Mary Sue who acts as the damsel in distress (though Michiyo tries to change her image in the later volumes, she’s still not a very likeable character).

Zero’s the hotheaded guy and Ichi’s the calm one. Yeah, the two typical potential love interests in most cliché shoujo manga. At least Michiyo gave those two a back story, and I’ll admit that I found their back stories interesting. She also gives a little back story to the other characters (3, 4, 5, 6).

And though the character names are a little gimmicky, I still find them cute. I was also more interested in Sun and Forte than the main trio.

(In replacement of Enjoyment…) Romance: 3

As I mentioned above, I already knew which of the two, Zero or Ichi, Nina would end up with when I finished the first volume. Of course I’m not going to tell you which one, but if you just look at the signs properly and think about the clichés of shoujo manga (and romance in general), then I’m sure you’d easily figure it out too.

Now, is the romance done well? Meh. It’s full of clichés. Nina falls, guy catches her. Nina cries, guy comforts her. Zero flirts with Nina, she blushes. Ichi flirts with Nina, she blushes. She’s caught in compromising situations that lead to jealousy, misunderstanding, and more internal conflict. She thinks typical stuff like “Do I like him? Why is my heart beating so much? Maybe I like him? But I like the other guy too! Oh no, which one do I like more?”

Oh, the troubles of a teenage girl’s heart.

Again, I found myself more interested in the romance between Sun and Forte.

Overall: 4

Some of you guys may be thinking I’m being harsh on Mamotte! Lollipop because it’s a kid’s manga (for a kid’s manga, there’s an awful lot of friggin fan-service), but that’s not true. I freaking love Sugar Sugar Rune, Kodocha, and Gakuen Alice—and all the main characters of those manga are YOUNGER than those of this manga!

Mamotte! Lollipop is just full of clichés and amateurish story-telling. This is proved by the second half of this series where another arc takes place after the Magic Exam is over. Seriously, it just popped out of nowhere and is there to add a big BANG to the series and have you thinking, “Ooo, big battle where Nina can show that she’s actually a very capable heroine and not a whining little girl.” Seriously, it’s just shoved in there.

And of course, following typical shoujo plot, the ending is tied into a neat and tidy bow. But did you know there’s a sequel?

I freaking hate it when they over-milk a manga. Just end it already. It’s not that great enough to demand a sequel for anyway.
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Mamotte! Lollipop
Mamotte! Lollipop
Author Kikuta, Michiyo
Artist