Initial Impressions on the Nisekoi Manga as Someone Who Started With the Anime/Update

Today I completed reading volume 1 of the Nisekoi manga and am currently on the second volume. I wanted to offer some brief impressions. As someone who has seen the anime up to this point, I am familiar with most of the events that are occurring. I have noticed that the plot seems to have greater headway initially and then quickly subsides to focus on the characters. Generally, the plot is only slightly changed from the typical romance story of forced love, which does not really save the manga when it seems unclear or uninteresting. As a whole, it is so far too little and too late. That said, despite its use of cliches and seeming already done, the manga seems to still be its own unique entity somehow. I would credit this observation more to the characters - Ruri, Ichijo, Chitoge, and Kosaki in particular at this point in the manga - than to the plot. The characters tend to be entertaining and involved in interesting situations, even though the plot is not properly paced. I am also enjoying the mangaka's art - I am not sure if I can call it good (because I have such a deficient drawing background) but it paints the characters from varying perspectives. Mangaka Naoshi Komi in particular seems adept at providing intriguing facial expressions that are so exaggerated that they often strike me as hilarious. I have heard this manga starts to decline following a certain point but I hope that I can still enjoy it, even if it is flawed. Thus far, I've been able to think beyond the numerous faults and see the characters interact and potentially grow. Unfortunately, the manga does not have "Click" or "Step" (by ClariS).

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Take some italics, ye internet-dwellers! I am at work on varying blog posts. At the moment, I have established a new blog - focused on health policy and healthcare - that I will mention once I complete my first major post. However, simultaneously, I am working on a blog post related to From the New World (Shinsekai Yori) that will likely be rather substantial. Expect a separate blog post appearing within the next few days, though. I intend for this shorter blog post to be fundamentally different from what one would expect on Nighttrail. I will likely take another 'hiatus' from both of my blogs due to post-graduate burnout. (Hey, I need to burnout eventually, right?)