What do men think about? That’s what most girls want to know and heck most guys too. Otomen, however, answers this question without a second thought: Guys think about girly things.
Asuka Masamune likes pretty, shiny things, the color pink, and even stuffed animals. Not to mention shoujo manga. Sounds normal enough right? Well, it’s not if you’re boy. At least not to Asuka, who’s suppose to maintain a “manly” image at all times and not shame his family with his fondness for girly objects. To him, walking around with a sowing kit and a stuffed bunny is not the ideal to keep his reputation intact. After his father left his mom to become a woman and completely devastating her, she made her only son promise her he would be the manliest of men.
The story is sweet and I have yet to see more character development from Asuka in accepting himself as who he is, but there are still more volumes to go. It just goes to show you some men struggle with their own stereotypes too. It’s not one of those stories you lose sleep with turning page after page because you NEED to know what happens next, but it’s still the one you read and remember it for it’s charm. It would have been more interesting to me, if instead of his girly inner persona he would have had to deal with questioning his sexuality as a whole. But I fear that would have given this manga a serious edge versus a cute fluffly one, which doesn’t seem to be the mangakas intentions. Underneath it all, Asuka is still a guy and his journey into winning the heart of the girl won’t be all cakes and rainbows which makes it all the more interesting
Which brings me to the characters themselves.
Asuka is a different sort of character who hides who he truly is in order to maintain the illusion of what people think he is, including his own mother. Being known for being the prince-like figure in his school because of his fighting abilities and his overall serious demeanor. He has his secret lifestyle under control until the day he saves a girl from being bullied and starts crushing on her. Everything is going more or less on the shoujo path until Juta, a classmate, who’s always been watching him confronts him about the girl and his secret.
Juta was a great addition to this manga where all characters seem to have a closet persona. In his case it’s that he’s the creator of Asuka’s favorite manga. He starts off with the role like his fairy godmother and even though sometimes his intentions aren’t clear, meaning for whose gain he does certain things, they still get done with his meddling (at first). He keeps the fact that he’s a shoujo mangaka a secret from everyone at school to maintain his promiscuous guy imagine, or maybe because of it…Overall, he does lot of things with unclear intentions but he’s definitely a complex and deeply layered character.
Ryo has her own secrets and just proves that not all girls are, well girly. Being raised only by her father, he wanted to make sure he raised a daughter who could take care of herself like a man would. Together this unlikely trio will in a weird way be each others anchors and comfort in finding their true self’s and hopefully find the courage to come out of their shells.
There many more characters some that jump in and add to the story but only for a short time, while Asuka and friends help them deal with their issues and hope they don’t discover his secret while they move on their way. Which feels like it’s the recurring theme with new characters. Drop in, cause confusion, things get settled by doing something involving cake batter , flowers, or pink (or all), and then everyone is happy. Other characters stick around and become more involved and turn out to be enjoyable side characters that make the manga more fun and unpredictable.
I would like to say that all the embroidery and cakes don’t feel repetitive after the first three volumes but that is not the case. It dies down a little and we get to see more sides to Asuka, his boyish charm and chivalry everyone seems to be in love with.
The art is pretty (yes, pretty), I could swear I can see pink everywhere even though it’s in black and white. I blame the way Asuka blushes and light’s up every time he seems something “cute.” There were no disproportions and the kendo and martial arts sections, though short, were nicely drawn. Asuka is the main change in the manga, when he’s being manly or his regular stoic self he looks his part but when he starts changing into his true self, the one that like to sow his aura completely changes, making him look more delicate. Very nicely done.
Otomen or not, the message is clear: Be yourself. Whether you think you’ll be accepted or whether people will ever really understand you. In order for you to become truly happy and succeed, you have to be yourself.
