“Wooden puppet "student" Sumire, operated by an old man, befriends creeped-out classmate Renge at high school.”
Sumire♡16-sai!!
スミレ♡16歳!!
Would You Love or Hate This?
AI-powered analysis tailored to your taste
Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
Synopsis
Wooden puppet "student" Sumire, operated by an old man, befriends creeped-out classmate Renge at high school.
High school is home to all kinds of new encounters and people, but for Renge Ooyama, her first encounter with a classmate was much weirder than she expected. When Renge meets her classmate Sumire Yotsuya, the latter is clearly not the 16-year-old student she claims to be, but instead is a wooden puppet operated by an old man dressed in black. Though the students and faculty attempt to ward off the man, he refuses to break character and only gives confused responses from the puppet Sumire. Thanks to the principal seeing Sumire as a real girl, teachers and pupils alike must accept this new and odd student as the normal person "she" claims to be. Now classmates with Sumire, Renge is creeped out when "she" insists they hang out and become friends, and worries how it might affect her reputation at school. However, when Renge falls into trouble, it's none other than Sumire who comes to her aid. Finding that Sumire (and the old man) aren't so bad after all, she decides to give "her" a shot. Sumire♡16-sai!! follows Renge and her schoolmates as they attend school with this masquerader and come to realize that despite the wooden body, Sumire's heart is certainly real.
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 6 sampled reviews
What 6 readers settled on.
Mostly aligned
σ 1.67 · some divergence
—
Not enough recommend signal yet
↓ 1.17
Running avg · Feb 2011 → Jun 2023
- 10 “There really is no story, the art is nothing astounding, and the premise of the manga seems a little...creepy to say at the least. The execution however, is pure gold. From start to finish, I...”
- 10 “Sumire is a sixteen year old girl who goes to high school. She always puts others before herself and keeps her cheer no matter what. There's one other thing, though - she's actually a ventriloquist...”
- 10 “Sumire 16 Sai!! is an amazing manga that I think everyone should try. Story 10/10: Sumire is about an old man who is a ventriloquist; he attendees high school by using a life size doll called...”
Read Order & Related
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A Manga Publication
- Format 52 × 5 ch × vol
- Total read 6h 56m approx
- Published May 2006 – Jan 2009
- Source Manga media type
- Ref. BS-M4588 catalog