HomeMangaStrawberry Marshmallow (Ichigo Mashimaro) - Volume 4

Strawberry Marshmallow (Ichigo Mashimaro) – Volume 4

-

marshmallow4

After watching Ichigo Mashimaro: Encore and trying hard all day to log into the Granado Espada forums which is suffering a login bug all day…. as well as countless hours of uni work which I left to the last minute this once ._., I finally feel like I should get reviewing.

This volume, was still as good as what a Strawberry Marshmallow manga should be like, however I didn’t find it as funny as the previous ones, and whilst some moments were good, overall I found it just a read with a few good chuckles in it. Looking over all of the chapters, there were some which were definately worthwhile reading such as “Door-to-Door – You cannot help but feel sorry for that businessman“, “Bow-Wow – Inu Kawaii~” and “The Elementary School Haunting – Funny ending” however there were some which I felt could have been left out and basically made me skim over them such as “An Amazing Stew (Using Miu) II” and Schooled”.  If you look past the two or three that I didn’t really find up to standard, the others were of the same high comedy that I would expect from any volume of Strawberry Mashimaro.

Artwork wise… still of a great quality. They do use excessive detail on some things such as in “The Elementary School Haunting” where, for example, the Human Anatomy models and Statues around the school were detailed very well. One thing I will complain about, whilst in the previous volumes, they had segments between chapters such as “Strawberry Sports” etc, this time they had interviews, which I guess I was a little bit disappointed in as the artwork was usually very Kawaii! (I am not disappointed that the interview was there) Despite this, the artwork on the Chapter Title remained, which is something I guess =). Also, all the girls nay Nobue as Wanko were Kawaii~

Character development was still a large part of the volume. Matsuri’s insecurity without her parents, Nobue or Ana around were reinforced in the first chapter, Miu’s stupidity is reinforced throughout the whole volume and the discovery of how far Nobue will go to have a relationship with her admirer is shown in “The Love Trap” just to name a few. Each chapter either develops or mocks the relationships and personalities of the girls in more than one way. Then between the chapters, we have the character interviews where we learn just a little bit more about the girls personalities, friendships and habits.

Overall Reviews:

Artwork
I was impressed with everything overall. While there is less Kawaii-ness seperate from the manga, there is definately not a shortage in the actual story. + points for doggy’s! (4)

Storyline
Some chapters could have been put to better use, however, a few chapters shouldn’t change the overall score dramatically for the other 2/3rds that were very very good! (3)

Characters
They did replace artwork between chapters with the interview, which may have been slightly costly in the artwork department however it did boost the character development a lot more! (4.5)

Extras
This volumes extras include:

  • Character List
  • Character Interviews
  • Advertisements for other manga

Unfortunately, they did not have a “Next Volume” Summary so that had to be removed, even if they did have one setting up suspense. (2.5)

Personal Preference
I did enjoy most of this volume, except for the few bits. Personally, I think that some of the chapters are definately the most rewarding to read out of the whole series. I will say that this is definately a strong series which could go on for a few more Volumes at least. The latest episode of Ichigo Mashimaro: Encore hightened my interest in the series as well… (4)

Overall
Artwork: 4
Storyline: 3
Characters: 4
Extras: 2.5
Personal Preference: 4

Overall Score: 3.5 (B)

Book Description:
Five cute girls–Chika, Miu, Ana, Matsuri and Nobu–plus a door-to-door salesman equals a whole lotta fun, especially when you’re trying to entertain yourself on a rainy day! When the storm lets up, it’s nothing but entertainment for the girls: Nobu receives a mysterious love letter; Matsuri finds a dog that looks just like Miu; and Matsuri, Ana, and Nobu go to Matsuri’s school at night and have a “scary” experience. Get a behind-the-scenes look: This volume includes a special interview–the Strawberry Marshmallow characters answer your questions!

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Advertisment

Recent Posts