[Review] Candy Color Paradox, Vol. 1 - Isaku Natsume

Summary: Reporter Onoe and photographer Kaburagi constantly bicker and argue on their stakeouts, but will their antagonistic behavior paradoxically evolve into something sweeter?

Satoshi Onoe, a reporter for a weekly magazine, has a new stakeout partner, and he’s anything but thrilled about it. Photographer Motoharu Kaburagi’s unconventional reporting methods and overall bad attitude are enough to drive Onoe insane. But the more the two work together, the closer they get.

Satoshi Onoe takes pride in the good writing and ethical reporting he does in his job at a weekly magazine. But when the stakeout teams are shuffled around, he ends up being paired up with Motoharu Kaburagi, an ill-mannered photographer who is nothing but trouble. Onoe despises Kaburagi’s haphazard and unethical reporting methods, and the two bicker constantly. But Onoe’s annoyance begins to shift as he spends more time with Kaburagi, and his feelings turn a bit sweeter… (Pub Date: Mar 12, 2019)

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I have previously reviewed the second volume and had a pleasant surprised when I received the first one the other day. But, finally, these are my opinions on the first!

This is a cute manga exploring the trope from rivals to lovers and what else? As I've mentioned before, it's the average Boys Love story. Onoe couldn't stand how Kaburagi behaved and yet they're put to work together. And we go from there.

I didn't see much standing out in this story, but there aren't negative sides either. In other words, you will have a fun reading time. And I think the main characters had good chemistry, which is a necessary plus.

Something I noticed is that I could have very well stopped in the first volume, the story was more or less complete there, but as I have already read the second one I can say we get to have more character development, perhaps because now the author had more time to work on it, and more backstory on the main characters. The first volume is more about them getting to know each other, more plot-driven, I'd say. I think that's great for those unsure if they want to give another series a chance—just take some of your time and read the first volume, drop it there if you didn't like it much.

The art is very cute and the jokes are also good. No spoilers but I can assure you the second volume maintains this rhythm as well. If you're after a cute lovers-quarrel BL, this could be it for you!

Rating: 3 out of 5.