A Vintage Fantasy Love: Barairo My Honey

Synopsis

Koume is as pretty as a girl can be on the outside, but the moment she opens her mouth, she makes her personality known as shrewd and independent woman who will not take anything from anyone. One day she encounters two males with the titles of “tiger master” and “tiger tamer” and her life is completely changed.

The Good

The first striking thing about this series is the art style, even at the time of its publication, there wa a uniqueness to the art style that made it distinct. Then there is the plot, an interesting take on bottling one’s emotions up. But the most striking thing about the series is how well developed the relationship of the main leads are and how well balanced the struggles and triumphs are in their relationship is. Throughout the series, the two goes through a number of arcs that flows well with the plot and develops them as characters. Another point that would interest a reader is how many cute and humorous moments are slipped in because of the “tiger master” aspect of the male lead.

The Bad

Like many other works, there is always a slight issue when it comes to the development of the characters and this is no different. In the series, there is a secondary male character who acts a confidant and friend to the main leads, and yet, not much is known about him. True enough, he was given a proper background, place in the plot and an endearing personality, but not much is said about him unless he is playing a certain role. Then there is the flow of the series, while it is relatively smooth, it is also somewhat fast paced and only certain moments are given for a break.

Conclusion

It is a vintage series with a unique plot that you won’t see that much these days as well as a well-done art style that stands out on its own. The characters are all endearing and as stated, the development of the main leads was well done and doesn’t build up to the point of the frustrating call of “just kiss already!” like many other shoujo works lately. It’s a short but sweet series, with moments of drama, fluff and slips of comedy in it too.

Rating: 8/10