I knew that reading Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Vol. 1 (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, #1) by Coolkyoushinja would be a tad of a challenge as I am not used to the manga style, but as I did know it was written in the manga format I caught on pretty quickly.
What became my major issue was that the text did not flow. It seemed that it was starting mid-sentence then stop in another mid-sentence. Who is talking is not always clear either. Even though there are thought bubbles pointing toward the characters, things literally overlap and can be confusing. And there are a few thought bubbles that took me a minute to realize that they are not spoken out loud but are actual thoughts. This is shown with a different shaped thought bubble. I am not sure if these language issue I was having was due to the fact that it is a translation (which I am not sure of but assuming) or it is just the writing style of Coolkyoushinja.
The story is flat. And seems like it might be the second series, as there are at least three series dealing with Miss Kobayashi (Dragon Maid, Kanna’s Daily and Elma’s Office Lady Diary). Everything about the book is a stereotype manga read: geeky computer techs, the lonely Miss K and some serious “cosplay manga looking large booty and big breasts girls.” For ages 14 up. (Possibly 12 and up if a more mature reader).
The art blends into itself making it hard to distinguish details. This combined with the text issues I was having made this graphic novel not always pleasing to read. Overall, manga and me are going to have a hit and miss love affair.
