Summary:
Momozono Nanami’s dad, a man with a penchant for gambling, disappeared after accumulating a huge amount of debt. Thus, she was chased out of her house by the debt collectors. When she met a timid man being chased by a dog, he told her that he’d give her his house. She believed his persuasive talk, but when she went to his house… it turned out to be a shrine. Moreover, a guy with fox ears appeared, which made Nanami even more confused. What will become of homeless and confused Nanami?
Author:Â Suzuki Julietta
I’m so angry at myself for starting this manga while it’s still ongoing. I initially enjoyed the anime adaptation and figured I’d finish off the story with the manga. I’m kicking myself so hard for that, but, at the same time, I feel like there’d be something important missing in my life if I hadn’t read it. It’s not often I get that attached to a story.
What makes KH so amazing is that it keeps all the GOOD elements of a typical shoujo manga but doesn’t overdo them, and also has other amazing things added to it. I don’t get why this is so underrated: this is obviously a masterpiece.
Story: 10/10
None of the many synopses I read for this do justice. In the beginning, I thought this was just a light-hearted story consisting of several funny and heartwarming arcs. And I loved this for that. Even though there were some unoriginal plot elements, the mangaka just added this unique something to them that kept me from being bothered by that.
As the story developed I realized that in fact, most arcs and just simple revelations within them all were put there foreshadowing so many things for the bigger plot/arc that is shown later on in the manga. It becomes slightly more serious, but just very slightly. It’s just amazing how the mangaka wove all those little plot elements together.
The romance is slow, but not frustrating in a bad way or dragging. There’s always chemistry between the two MCs and the romance of other characters is well developed and cute as well.
All of the subplots are fun to read and heartwarming as well, I was never bored reading any of them.
Art: 10/10
I don’t know for others, but I personally really love this art style. It doesn’t have characters drawn so unrealistically beautiful, but they definitely don’t look ugly. I’m not sure what you call them exactly, but the art when showing a very funny situation is very well drawn too. I laugh every time at them. Last but not least, the character designs are really well done.
Additionally, the art is always consistent throughout the chapters, if not improved subtly but greatly.
Characters: 9/10
I agree that on the surface the characters seem pretty bland, but I promise they’re not. Yup, there is a cheery high school girl who stumbles upon a fantasy world and gains powers, she meets a yokai boy, everybody comes to like her, etc. The yokai boy isn’t very friendly, is powerful. But seriously, they’re not the usual type of characters in any manga. I actually like Nanami a lot (she’s the female MC), which is a miracle for me really.
Nanami IS weak, she’s just a high school girl after all. But she knows this and tries hard at all times to be independent, and though she doesn’t always succeed, readers can come to like her for how down to earth, strong, caring and brave she is. Also, she’s not very intelligent, no, but she’s not ignorant. She’s not a little kid.
All the characters in KH are all lovable, and even they are antagonists. There’s only a very thin line between good and evil, which I love. Everyone’s feelings seem real, and they’re very well developed.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Full points, of course. This is one of my favorite mangas or possibly my favorite out of all, and I re-read this many times. It has a slice of life feeling (which I usually find boring… I know, I know, I’m just a very picky reader) but it’s not boring or anything thanks to the fantasy elements and quirky characters.
So, I give an overall score of 10/10. What is there not to like of KH? None, really.
Angel's Haven 