Manga 133306 I Tell C

The number one thing to keep in mind for this series and getting into it is knowing it's short and ends abruptly.

The series has an interesting plot and I think overall, it's a very fun journey. The characters in this series are very solidified and likeable, and the art is lovely as well. However, the series struggles with pacing at points. I think a big plot-relevant reveal does happen a bit too early, especially since it's in the first 1/3 approximately of the series. I think this series would be a bigger hit if it was given the proper chance, but sadly, it didn't get ... that. Personally, I wish there was more, especially since the ending felt very abrupt and it could've continued on, especially as in the last 2 chapters a new character is introduced.

Even though it ends so suddenly, it's a good read if someone wants something quick and comical for an afternoon read.

TLDR: This was a meh series that had a cool idea, but didn't deliver the story in the best way and was then axed before the series could really end. Not a horrible read, but nothing particularly special.


i tell c is a series that introduced a very interesting concept for a police department story, where the MC is obsessed and falls in love with criminals, and this deep love allows her to think like a criminal and find them when the rest of the police department can't. This concept was really interesting to see, but it wasn't executed to the best of its ability. There ... were definitely some moments where I thought, "Oh, that's a clever way to think about that", but many times, it just felt rushed.

The art style was decent, although it was nothing to write home about. There were a couple of panels with more striking images that were nice to look at, but the majority was fairly basic IMO.

The MC was certainly a fun character to read about, and could certainly have been a really intriguing character to learn more about, but the manga was axed before writers were able to delve deeper into the inner workings and the past of the MC. The side characters were not horrible, but anytime there was a turning point in an arc, the part that the side characters played felt rushed to me in certain sections. Also, one of the Big Bads that was introduced in the story and was what I assumed would be the main antagonist in the climax of the series just never showed up again due to the series getting axed, so the story felt almost incomplete as a result.

All and all, this was a quick series that has some shining moments and a different perspective on a police department story that could potentially be reimagined in another series with great success, and if you are looking for a short series to read, it isn't terrible

“Crime equates to poison, and once you have poison on your hands, no one will reach for them.”

Chapter 3

i tell c was a series that had the writing on the wall for the latter half of its run. It took a while to get on its feet and this was its death sentence. When the core premise is ‘woman falls in love with criminals’ you need to work fast to establish confidence in the reader while walking a very tricky line. Especially when it comes to the potential romanticisation of kidnap, assault, stalking, and murder.

Outside of the issues that arise from i tell c’s premise, ... one of the other difficult elements to overcome was the repetition. One of the most notable instances was the motif of poison which would appear a lot in the early chapters. There needs to be a little bit more faith that the reader understands your intentions because it began to feel more like a miniature lecture. The other is that all of the cases taken followed a similar pattern that i tell c struggled to break away from and meant that there was a lack of stand-out moments that would make a reader want to continue.

Some of the characters were interesting and set the foundation for growth, but many more felt a little lacklustre. The supposed main villain added a bit of danger to the plot but was only around for a few chapters before disappearing so it was difficult to really establish him. This is especially true since he has already had a big impact on the character’s lives.

The character designs, however, were really interesting. Some were pretty creepy while others were absolutely ridiculous… I mean one character’s mohawk was so tall that it never fit in the panel; regardless of the angle (which was quite funny, I promise). This disparity in design does highlight another one of i tell c’s flaws. It doesn’t quite mix the more slapstick moments with the darker themes. I admire Inaoka’s attempt as it is something difficult to do and, especially in the later chapters, they seemed to be growing in confidence.

The art itself is able to move between a wide variety of moods and this flexibility will definitely leave Inaoka’s options open for any future works. Hopefully, they will be given another chance as the potential beginning to appear in i tell c shows that there could be a promising future for them.

It is a shame that they weren’t given a little more time to wrap up the loose ends of i tell c though as a couple of the plot threads were interesting and they could have it be a bit more satisfying. But there isn’t much that can be done about this.

Overall, i tell c was a series that took too long to establish its potential while dealing with concepts that could quickly turn its readers away. I hope that those who worked on it are able to move on to new series because there was definitely potential that could be improved upon.