“Excellent Property Rejects for Residents” official synopsis from Yen Press: “Yuugo Sayama is twenty years old, jobless, and broke. But when the angel Hamniel appears and offers to help him find work, Yuugo eagerly turns her down! After all, he lives at the so-called Reject Residences, where rent is cheap and the tenants are all human failures just like him! Can a little divine intervention turn Yuugo’s life around, or is Hamniel in over her halo…?”
With a wonderfully eccentric cast of misfits, a solid visual direction, and moments of hilarity, “Excellent Property Rejects for Residents” should have all the makings of a home run hit. However, the inaugural release feels like it is being held back, with each of its positives falling short to distinguish it from its contemporaries. The result is a slightly frustrating experience, leaving only little nuggets of hope that the series will break the mediocre mold established in volume one.
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To touch on one vital element, Suu Minazuki‘s visuals are very expressive and excellent at balancing fan service with comedy. This is particularly true with the angel Hanmei, whose inexperience with humanity and tendency to get stuck in her portals are constant points of amusement in Minazuki’s art. Moreover, for those also looking to avoid overly infantilized characters mashed up with lewd elements, the cast exudes maturity under the art, even with Hanmei’s more bumbling antics. However, the visuals are more exuberant in mood than it is a polished project, with the manga lacking those memorable visual cues that will endear the readers to the characters and stories. Yen Press’s choice to print the series in a slightly larger edition does help give allure to the visuals, but this boost feels like it could have been better served elsewhere.
The manga’s comedy beats make for some pretty uproarious moments when they work. Yuugo’s teasing of his divine partner consistently lands the punchline. However, the supporting cast feels relatively underdeveloped, with their eccentricities when played for comedic effect landing flat. There is the possibility that the series is looking to introduce many loud personalities upfront and balance them out in later volumes. However, the first impression is that Suu Minazuki feels oddly out of touch with his characters and the story he is looking to create. Another fails for every joke that lands, giving the series a severe tonal problem.
This imbalance also leads to the dramatic elements feeling rather uninspired. There is room to explore why Yuugo Sayama disconnects so adamantly from society and chooses to live a directionless life. Yet, without clarifying his reasoning or giving him a tragic backstory, he comes across as an uninspired and unlikable protganist, a slacker with no direction. Hamniel also suffers from being rather one-dimensional, but as her character is the most expressive and exciting thus far, there is some appeal to seeing how her story develops. As is with the humor, the imbalance in quality hampers the dramatic elements, creating a strong disconnect from the characters.
This is not to say that the work is unenjoyable. Part of the frustration comes from seeing those glimmering moments that point to a better series than what is on offer in Volume 1. With such an abundance of great fantasy/comedy manga, it is difficult to recommend “Excellent Property Rejects for Residents” until the latter volumes give the needed substance to make the series shine.
