Gaba Kawa by Rie Takada

Title: Gaba Kawa
Mangaka: Rie Takada
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: Approx. 200
# of Volumes: 1
My Rating: 1/5

Rara is a female demon who arrives on Earth in order to cast human souls into darkness. She is most eager to meet her demon idol, Hiroshi Akusawa.

When she starts her new high school as student, she encounters the hottie Aku. She mistakes him as the demon and to find out later that he is a regular human! She immediately falls in love with the mysterious boy with powers of his own. But, can a demon and a human ever be together?

If I could torch books, this would be on my torching pile. It is most unfortunate that my rating does not go any lower than 1/5. I am so glad this is a single volume manga and I did not waste my money on it. It was hard enough for me to get through it. I can't bear to even write this review. But I will force myself so you manga fans out there know where NOT to invest.

In the past I have read Rie Takada's mangas before. The only one I did not mind and actually liked was Punch!!, which was the first series I read by her. But after I spent $15 for a bunch of used volumes for her older series, Wild Act, at a flea market, I was utmost disappointed. It belongs on the torching pile too. But that is for another time.

Takada's female protagonists are always petite and somewhat stupid. Regularly, that is fine because there should be a variety of characters out there. But she overuses this in every series she created. Rara is a shame to female manga characters. The first time she meets Aku, she immediately "falls in love"... WTF? Not only that, but she continuously pursues after this attractive guy... secretly like a stalker. She believes he is the one, when there is no real chemistry involved. She risks her life for someone she barely knows, thinking that she actually does. And some reason, Aku is in love with her too. This is a load of bull because they never spent an ounce of real quality time together and Aku yet proclaims, he "loves" her. There is no plot except for stupid love, which in reality is obsession with good looks. I'm sure that if Aku was not attractive, Rara would not have liked him at first sight. And the ending makes no sense! I was ready to run down both of the characters with a bulldozer for their single-digit IQs.

The only thing this manga has going for it is the art. And that's only the pretty boys. The female looks just as annoying as she is.

Now if you excuse me, I shall throw this thing into a shredder. (And I apologize to any fans, I can not stand this manga at all. The first manga review I have done since over a month is disappointingly have to be on such a sad story. I apologize to my manga readers out there. I will have a couple of new manga reviews up soon).