Home
Table of Contents
The Fine Print
Shoujo Anime
Other
Anime
Shoujo
Manga
There
are some manga that have too many drawings of a woman (or women) in scantily
clad clothes. This is one of those series. What? There's no such thing
as too many drawings of those? Wait. You're probably a guy. In my case,
however, it just got too repetitive after a while.
Otona ni Nuts was created by Fukushima Haruka, and it's licensed by Tokyopop. Its English title is "Instant Teen: Just Add Nuts." The moment I saw the title, I decided I must read it. After all, it has "nuts" in the title. How bad could a manga be if it has "nuts" in the title?
Otona ni Nuts is four volumes long, and that's far too long given the overarching themes of the story. Essentially, it's about a girl who gets her hands on magic nuts that make her age like 10 years. Two chapters of this story would've been enough. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Synopsis
Kawashima Natsumi is a fifth grader, and she always fantasizes about being
grown-up. She fantasizes about it so much that she would strategically
stick apples and melons under her clothes to see the effects. Unfortunately,
her fantasies would sometimes get interrupted by her next-door neighbor
and longtime friend, Yaneyama Asuma.
Even though they've known each other since they were in diapers, Asuma and Natsumi argue all the time. One day, Asuma makes fun of Natsumi for making goo-goo eyes at a cute, older guy. Humiliated, Natsumi leaves and runs into a woman offering nut samples. But when Natsumi asks for some, the woman said it's for adults only.
That was the last straw for Natsumi, and she grabs the basket of nuts from the woman before running off. Then she gobbles down some before going to bed.
The following morning, she woke up 10 years older and a total bombshell, especially since she's crammed in her little-girl clothes. It was not long before Asuma finds her and tries to save her from herself. She's essentially a little kid in a body that any man would lust for, and the results are disastrous, starting with a couple of big guys kidnapping her.
The mastermind behind Natsumi's kidnapping was Morinomiya Yuunosuke, a professor of genetic engineering who invented the adult nuts. After observing Natsumi, he decided to study the nuts with her as his subject. The good doctor has an impish streak, which led Natsumi and Asuma into more disasters.
Over four volumes, Natsumi manages to charm several men, fight with Asuma every opportunity she got, use adult nuts whenever she could, and lose lots of clothing as much as she can. Those, and the good doctor also invents new types of nuts that has freaky effects. It was not until Asuma was leaving did she become honest with herself and admit that she actually likes him.
Asuma, on the other hand, likes Natsumi all along. The adult nuts simply became the bane of his existence because as an adult, Natsumi always manages to give him nosebleeds. And as a child, they could not help but fight all the time because they misunderstand each other. When Asuma's father got promoted and he had to move to Hiroshima, he was forced to forget Natsumi. That is, until Natsumi goes after him for a random reason that leads to a confession from both of them. And they lived happily ever after.
Review
I really wish Asuma would take the adult nuts and grow into a gorgeous
adult. I was really curious to see what he would look like 10 years older.
Towards the end of the story, I thought I was going to get my wish. The
last chapter fast-forwarded to 10 years after Asuma and Natsumi confessed
to each other. They were about to get married. Unfortunately, the good
doctor strikes again, as he made them take nuts that made them 10 years
younger. So, really, I never saw Asuma all grown up *sigh*. It's very
disappointing.
If it's not obvious by now, endless panels of Natsumi grown-up with very little clothes have irritated me to no end. The whole thing screamed fanservice, and I suppose I'm not really a fan of seeing lots of fanservice from female characters. And even if I'm into that sort of thing, I probably won't appreciate it still because Natsumi is just not likable. As a kid, she's okay. However, she had this penchance for taking nuts at the slightest excuse. And then when she turns into an adult, she behaves like a total bimbo.
Asuma wouldn't have been so bad, but this whole thing about a perverted kid got to me after a while, too. I guess it's not really his fault. After all, he's a kid with raging hormones, and there's this overgrown bimbo jiggling her breasts at him all the time. But really, repetitive panels of Asuma with spurting nosebleeds gets old fast. As fast as repetitive panels of Natsumi's fanservice.
When I first learned about Otona ni Nuts, I thought it would be a mahou shoujo series, with the heroine using her powers to save the world. I would've been fine with that. Unfortunately, Natsumi doesn't look beyond her own cleavage (with nuts added). I would've been fine with two kids starting to fall in love with each other, too (after all, I love Kodocha). But then... *sigh* repeat after me... Natsumi always finds an excuse to take an adult nut. It was too bad. I really like her as a kid.
I really can't recommend this manga, unless it's given to you for free and there's absolutely nothing else to read. There are far better series out there that could entertain you. As for me, I want my money back. Wait, I got this for free.