The core premise isn't horrible. A man who due to cruel bullying in school is scared of women, and he works through relationships to overcome that fear and become a better person. A more horny version of The World God Only Knows.

Except that isn't what this story is. The women he encounters exist only for the scantest of moments before they are unceremoniously left behind only to be mentioned again when the author wants to use them to forward the plot.

But worse still than that... He doesn't grow! None of them have a lasting impact on him, and right up until the end he is the same pathetic person who can't speak up for himself or express any real confidence.

There is no conclusion to his arc with the bully, nor his arc with most of the girls. It would be daring to claim some of the girls even had an arc with how swiftly they are discarded by the story.

None of that is the real problem with this story, though. The pacing is bad and the characters are all over the place, but one beacon stands out as the shining testament to how shit this story is.

Kaoruko-san.

Kaoruko is effectively the female lead, she is the aunt who takes the main character in and sends him on this quest to woo women to become more like Hikaru Genji. She isn't just a soft hand pointing him to the next girl whenever the last relationship ends, she actively manipulates him in every waking moment to get him to comply with her research, shattering potential relationships just because she wants him to move on to the next girl. And she does this repeatedly as the pathetic whelp of an MC nods with little more than a yes ma'am.

The series even has its own psycho yandere called Rokujou, yet somehow all her manipulations feel utterly mundane compared to the utterly vile level of psychotic control Kaoruko has. The narrative itself makes this clear, because she effectively has Rokujou on a leash listening to whatever she says!

I knew this series was based on Genji Monogatari. I knew from the start Kaoruko was endgame and that the MC was being taught to be the perfect man, because that is literally what happens in Genji just with reversed roles. But the method in getting there was just horrible. I should find this character charming, someone who helped the MC to be a better person and find love, but instead I hate her very existence. The author somehow managed to write one of the most manipulative characters in fiction yet completely missed they had done so and instead acts like she is exemplary and something to be wanted.

I'm not complaining that it's grooming. I'm not complaining that it's incest. Those were obviously on the docket from the start, this series is smut based on smut. I'm complaining about the callous and cruel manipulations lauded by the story that literally did not need to be there, we would have reached the same endpoint without them!

The only praise I would dare give the series is its art, and even that dramatically differs in quality depending on the chapter.

The ending did feel anticlimactic, I liked the premise of helping Minamoto get over his gynophobia. Only a few of these girls/women he had sex with felt worthwhile. I love his aunt though. She's a schemer, but ultimately had his best interest at heart.

The story is a mess and the characters, while usually interesting when they come in are not good at staying true to their character. The setup is awful from the start but if the story had been good I could let that go. It was not. Most of the points I gave are for the art, and the rest are for the characters as introduced are way better than whatever it is they all become (which for most of them is ing a blur of cute girls with no remaining distinctiveness)

I do like the short chapters and good art and found it useful for when I've only got a few minutes to read something but if not for a shortage of such, I'd have not given it as many chances. I did finish.

N/A

Decent setup and art ruined by a complete lack of quality storytelling.

I have no idea what the mangaka was thinking over the last few chapters. Having Fujiwara disappear, only to reappear with zero explanation, and then give some nebulous excuse about another professor as a one-off later on? Completely idiotic.
I don't know why mangaka can't end their stories in a satisfying way, but this one deserves an award for how brilliantly it was botched. Garbage.

Story: 6/10
Art: 8/10
Characters: 6/10
Quality Polish Edition: -/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 6.8/10

I went to the last chapters, no incest with aunt, ambiguous ending. MEH.

the best

Overall I like the manga, if it was an actual H series this would be my top favorite of all time. Naturally its weird to talk so highly of anything because its sexy, hence the mixed feelings. The MC is the usual annoying wuss, but he gets better as the story goes on. He still gets flustered at the slightest provocation but that's how most Japanese people are.

As for the characters, so far I like em all for different reasons. My current favorite is the most recent girl cause of reasons. I haven't read Tale of Genji so I don't know how closely Minamoto-kun Monogatari follows it, but it feels like it's in for the long run, IE he gets dumped by most of the girls but it feels like they'll come around and eventually form his harem. If it DOES get a legitimate harem end then this will be my top favorite manga

If you read the title of my review and like this concept, you'll be in for a good ride.

Here's the good points:

1. The erotic build up is great because it's done slowly with a lot of teasing.
2. The girls and the art are sexy as hell. The aunt is hot as fck.

Here's the bad parts:

1. If you read the original Tales of Genji, you'll know that the main character has the bad end for all 14 girls.
2. Male mc gets too easily flustered at the most simplistic erosticm. See some girl's cleavage? Face gets flushed and almost faints. See some butt curves? Gets flushed and almost faints. See some bra outline? Gets flushed again and almost faints. Sees a girl? Can't think of anything but sex. Goes on a date? He just day dreams about sex again. At some point in the story, after fucking 4-5 girls, the MC still hasn't changed from his pathetic personality. It'll be nice if there's some developments...

If read as a hentai, it's pretty great! If considered as a normal manga, it's pretty disappointing.

The only thing I'm hoping for in this series is if he will man up his courage to bone his aunt. LOL