Welcome to another installment of Halftime! The segment where I deliver a report just like your color commentator mom used to make! This time, thanks to me finding the chance and inspiration to watch at least one seasonal anime every season, I’ll be talking about a manga series ruo recommended to me, with us both hyping about it when it was announced that it will be getting an anime adaptation. Heck, we even had a short translation project for the manga, albeit for personal use! That’s how hyped we were for it! Grab your dumbbells and shoujo mangas, for this’ll be a sweet revenge for love!
Masamune’s Revenge, as translated to English, is a story that revolves around Makabe Masamune, a bishounen by all standards. Good looks, nice body, charming personality, academic intellect that average students can only dream of, you name it! He wasn’t always like this. In fact, when he was a child, he was the exact opposite physically (the other two, it was never mentioned). You know how the fat kids get made fun of. It would hurt even more if the only friend you had, whom you’ve learned to love, turned on you, giving you the most dreaded nickname ever, “Piggy” (豚足 (とんそく）, or “pig’s foot”, but “Piggy” because pragmatics/creative license). To denounce such an embarrassing nickname, Makabe devoted his entire life turning his image around, from a fatso everyone views in ridicule to an ikemen, who girls would like and guys would want to be like. His mission: “Operation: Dead or Love”. Get revenge on his childhood friend by making her fall in love with him and eventually rejecting her in the end. His target: the rich heiress to the Adagaki household, a sort of hime-tsun combo, known more fittingly as the Cruel Princess. Adagaki Aki.
Since I read the manga, I’ll be focusing on what happened in the anime thus far with respect to the manga, its deviations, and a prediction of the scope of the anime. Expect figures as much as a real halftime show, so let’s get right into it!
So far, after 7 episodes, what’s happened in the early parts of the manga already happened:
Straight out of Keima’s teachings, Makabe learns of Aki’s darkest secret.
Talk about high maintenance.
The awesome early-game Piggy name-drop, a plot point I shouldn’t even be talking about causing Makabe to pledge allegiance to the puffy power of Koiwai Yoshino, a deadly Cinderella working for Aki.
Puffy in more ways than one.
And continuing from Keima’s Axiom on Continued Encounters™, here Makabe goes, always meddling with Aki’s state of affairs.
From the first date which, under the premise of a lot of shoujo manga, appears so early within the chapters.
Whitening!
To a test of wits between them both, alongside their respective partners, with a huge wager on the line.
Coincidences.
To a game of Hot and Cold, where neither side won.
Mixing it up.
To a stray cat. (Though, let me point out that Neko’s name doesn’t mean cat)
Since Neko appeared, we needed more footage of her.
So here’s her “health remedy” (simply no-pan).
Shiny~~
And her interactions/passive fight with Yoshino, leading all the way to Makabe’s house.
Finally ending with the mandatory beach episode.
Yes. No one really cared about Makabe’s nice body.
What took me so long with this post was just me getting unnecessarily gritty with the details of each episode, comparing it to the manga. Not to mention me re-reading me manga. Though, I’ll immediately point out here that even though there were but minute details changed from the manga, the anime’s writers did a good job of re-transitioning these scenes in order to better fit the anime. Kudos to them.
Let’s start off with something fairly common.
The events in Episode 3 were reverse to Chapters 4 and 5. The title of Episode 3 was “Yoshino’s Magic Show”, the title of Chapter 4. Immediately after Makabe unwillingly enlists the help of Yoshino, the klutz maid sets them up for the first date. The wager in Chapter 5 was for a second date and was called off because it was a draw (i.e Aki was in no position to take the test).
Next, I’ll just run through the parts I’ve noticed through each episode.
Episode 1 (The Boy Who Was Called Piggy)
The anime started with Makabe in his room, admiring himself, with Chinatsu abruptly interrupting him.
The manga started similarly, except it transitioned instantly into the tennis court scene, with the Chinatsu (and in this moment, Kinue) interaction after school.
Makabe woke up by himself, and Kojuurou was the only one to greet him. Futaba woke him up in the anime.
This message busting Makabe was given in completely different manners.
Aki’s reaction to getting busted is also different.
This scene wasn’t revealed until Chapter 3.
And Shigeo was originally an omake (Chapter 9.5).
Episode 2 (Cinderella Doesn’t Laugh)
Makabe doesn’t fret over Aki being the person who knew about his identity through the letter because of the Shigeo event.
The food stall is outside in the manga. Inside in the anime.
Enjoy the panchira, I guess.
Aki is sitting on different props.
Yoshino was behind two different obstructions in the old photo.
Futaba Tae held more papers in the anime.
And speaking of the Class Rep, the confession she did? It wasn’t passed off as a confession in the anime.
I repeat. Futaba Tae did not confess to Makabe in the anime.
Episode 3 (Yoshino’s Magic Show)
There was some sort of unnecessary emphasis on Makabe’s social awkwardness. Also betting Makabe’s choice of words on this pic was the writer’s fault. Ugh.
Whoever came late to the supplementary lessons were reversed.
The movie’s title was “The Working Dead” in the manga. “corruptionLOVE” in the anime. Guess which one’s the more sick and twisted version?
Episode 4 (Clear and Present Danger)
It was subtly hinted that the being cold tactic was working in the anime through Aki’s great intent to return Makabe’s umbrella.
It could be just me, but the almost kiss scene was closer in the anime than the manga. Eh.
“Pull something out of your chest.” If the anime emphasized Yoshino’s chest size through pure visuals, the manga emphasized it through this line. LOL
Episode 5 (Mysterious Cat)
Kojuurou was forced to wear the ribbon in the manga. No force present in the anime.
The teacher that gave punishment to Aki and Makabe was hit by Aki in two different ways.
Episode 6 (Attack! Battle of the Home Visits)
Yoshino was sitting in two different platforms.
There was further hinting that Kinue and the Fujinomiya household were acquainted with each other in the manga, with Shidou recognizing Kinue as the loli mom approached the trio.
I also don’t remember Makabe repeating Neko’s line to Aki, but it was a funny way to end the episode.
Episode 7 (The Tsunade Island Incident)
Yuisaki was the one delivering the lines and doing the cooking Yoshino was doing in the manga. Hey, if you introduced a character in the anime that only appears once in the season, might as well give her all the lines you can. XD
Crap. Mouthfuls. Anyway, re-reading the manga reignited my hype for what’s to happen in the anime. From the looks of it, and judging from the opening (which, by the way, is super catchy. GJ on that! <3), we’ll only be reaching until the Snow White arc, which is just 8 chapters away from now! Exciting!
Brushing off my unnecessary comparison aside, this series is becoming as promising as its originator. Now would be a good time to pick up Masamune-kun no Revenge if you haven’t already.
That’s it for me. I’ll see y’all again in the after-action report of Masamune-kun no Revenge! See ya’! XD
(Pics where due yet again. XD)
Nihon Otaku-Hikikomori Kyoukai 
