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Apr 23, 2009
Otona Pink is in many ways your regular, stereotypical shoujo manga. It has so many of this genres cliches: love triangle, student/teacher relationship, absent parents, co-habitating woes, just to mention a few. Having said that, it's still an enjoyable read because, even though some of the situations are down right absurd (it is a shoujo after all), the author knows her cliches and plays them well, in a way she still manages to deliver a solid plot.
The heroine of the story is Mikuni, your average cheerful girl, who lives alone with her mom, a scientist obsessed with penguins. She has a crush on Chiho,
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a good looking guy who is a bit harsh and narcissistic, but actually likes her too. They start going out, but just when they're about to kiss for the first time, they are interrupted by their homeroom teacher, Nishizono. He seems like a serious, indifferent guy, ut after this event, he starts harassing Mikuni in a playful, not really that creepy way. Things start getting weirder when Mikuni's mum announces she's leaving to work in the South Pole and none other than Nishizono will take her place as Mikuni's guardian. That, of course, means he'll live in her house, just the two of them (it's amazing how aloof are some manga parents).
I've read ten chapters so far, and one of the things that bother me is how undeveloped is the character of Mizuni. We know virtually nothing about her, and her quick changes of attitude (and heart) left me a little bemused. I honestly wouldn't know how to describe her other that "cheerful". But at least, she's likable.
I give this manga extra points for managing to build an actual interesting love triangle. Usually I dislike them, because I've made up my mind in the first chapter of which guy I like the better and I'm frustrated by the wavering affections of the heroine. But in this case, both guys are equally attractive (personality wise) and I think that many readers will find that it's not so easy to pick between them.
Overall, it's a fun read. I doubt it will leave you with a very lasting impression, but if you're a fan of traditional shoujo, you'll enjoy the adventures of Mikuni, the romantic scenes and the humorous tone of the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 23, 2008
"Devil and Her Love Song" 's a refreshing shoujo manga because it escapes the usual stereotypes you can find in this genre. The main character, Maria Kawai, is quite original for a shoujo heroine. She's brutally honest, has no tact whatsoever, and is usually so serious she tends to be scary. She also seems harsh and rude. She was expelled from the exclusive St. Katrina's school (she claims it's because she beat up her teacher) and ends up in a regular high school where her bad reputation precedes her.
That's the surface, but this manga obviously invites the readers to dig a little deeper in their
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characters. The really insteresting aspect of Maria is her apparently lack of understanding of how the world works... She's actually so transparent, that she fails to act acordingly to what's socially acceptable. And just as layered as she is, you'll find that the other main characters are equally complex: a guy called Yuusuke who seems nice and cheerful but seems to hide a different character beneath; Megumu, the rude, antisocial loner who, despite himself, can't help but get tangled with Maria... At least in the first two volumes, you only catch a glimpse of the true characters hiding beneath the exterior, and this proves to be very interesting: nothing is that obvious nor predictable, as it often happens in this sort of stories.
This is not your average "bad girl/boy who is actually nice" plot. I'm curious to see where the story will go, but be warned that this (at least for now) is a character driven plot. There's not much going on in matters of action or conflict. So far is mostly about showing the true nature of its characters, and that is done in a beautiful way, with gorgeous art to boost. It's a very enjoyable read and promises even more entertainment in what's to come.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 18, 2008
B-Shock is a surprisingly funny -and silly- romantic comedy. Arata is your regular college student who as many of his classmates admires Hatsune, a beautiful girl who is also a student in his university. Things take a strange turn when a lunatic scientist decides that Arata and Hatsune are perfect subjects for his new experiment: B-Shock, a sort of watch that forces them to be apart only for a few cm or risk to blow in pieces.
Of course, the path for Arata and Hatsune, who hadn't really met before, is quite difficult. They are forced to share a place to live and be together all
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the time. The author creates many hilarious situations for them, starting from how to go to the bathroom to the hardships of finding a job that allows them to be together all the time. The character development is one of the strong points here. Both characters are very immature in their own way, and they're so different that they have a hard time learning to respect and care for each other.
I'd recommend this manga to anyone who want a lighthearted and funny read, with nice art and interesting characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 24, 2008
The title of this summarizes pretty well what the manga is about: a very random story about a girl who is trying to find love and dates several guys along the way.
I really like Wataru Yoshizumi (the mangaka); her art style is so pretty and the characters are fun, but I think this is one of her weakest works in terms of plot and characterization. I don't mind the randomness as long as the characters are interesting, but here most of them are quite plain.
Random Walk failed to really engage me with the story; even though I read it until the end, I didn't invest
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too much emotions on the heroine's journey. I'm not going to spoil who she ends up with (although it's pretty predictable), but I'd would have liked to see that male character and their relationship more developed, because, in the end, even their hook up seems random.
Still, it's a decent story and worthy of at least taking a look at it, even if it's to catch the glimpses of Wataru's genius shoujo style.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 23, 2008
Love Catalogue is an enjoyable and nicely developed story about the love story of a girl called Mika Hanamoto, a 17 year old who trusts way too much in horoscopes and magazine articles to build her love life... That's probably why she's never had a boyfriend until now.
The story begins when Mika meets Takada and boldly asks him out. He accepts of course, and that's the starting point of a surprisingly realistic (or as realistic as a shoujo manga can be) portray of the development of a first-love relationship. Because Mika and Takada hardly know each other when they start to go out, there's a
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lot to learn for them and the readers; plus, it offers a lot of comic relief through the awkward situations that are bound to happen.
This manga is not much else than that, and it focus heavily on character and relationship developments. The art is not wonderful, but is nice and fits well the mood of the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 23, 2008
Cute and funny, Good Morning Call is a manga I'd recommend to any shoujo fan that is looking for a upbeat and lighthearted story to enjoy some time and laugh a little.
GMC is the story of Nao Yoshikawa, a 15 year old girl who stays behind in the city when her parents move to the countryside. Excited at the prospect of living alone for the first time, she soon encounters a problem: the apartment where she's going to live has also been rented to a boy, Hisashi Uehara who (of course) is one of the most popular guys at her school.
Unable to decide who should
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keep the apartment (and also faced with a raise in the rental fee), these two decide to become roomates, even though they have nothing in common and didn't even know each other until then. You can probably guess what happens next.
I really like the way this mangaka draws her characters, especially when they make silly expressions. The heroine in this is quite silly, but likeable, and her relationship with Uehara provides some really funny situations, most of them thanks to the fact that he is probably one of the least romantic and cheesy shoujo heroes ever.
The low point is probably the extension. Most readers might be put off by the lack of real plot in the second half of the series. Some volumes are actually full of fillers that, while funny, don't really bring that much to the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 23, 2008
The mere four chapters of this manga aren't nearly enough to develop such an outrageous story. It's true that many shoujo mangas (especially mature ones like this) usually have ridiculous plots, but this one presents more serious issues.
First, I should warn you that the "official" plot summary is quite misleading. Yes, it's about a school teacher that has a relationship with a student, but this isn't really the taboo of the story... Actually, it doesn't even matter that she's his teacher, that's hardly a conflict on its own.
The true summary should go like this: Misuzu is an enthusiastic english teacher that's going out with the
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young principal of the school, the gentle Kazuki. One day after class she's cornered by a cute and shy boy called Masahiro, who shocks Misuzu (and probably the reader as well) when he attacks her and proceeds to rape her. Indeed, the fact that Masahiro is Kazuki's younger brother is connected with this... So what will Mizusu do now?
I don't know about you, but I can't understand how a love story can be born after such a traumatic event as a rape, much less how can it be justified in only a few chapters. But even if you're okay with that, the story has other problems, starting by the characters. They all seem inconsistent and paradoxical, and their actions have absolutely nothing to do with their personalities.
There are abundant smut scenes and the art style is very cartoonish, as expected from Miki Aihara, but it's clean and well defined. But the story is poorly developed and very implausible, even inside the fantasy world of a shoujo manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 23, 2008
This is one of those stories you can read fairly fast and enjoy it, but it's not especially memorable. The plot develops quickly and it offers some nice characters and situations, with a good dose of romance and comedy.
Azuki feels she's quite unlucky in love. Because she's the daughter of the president of a talent agency, most of the guys she dates are only interested in her connections.
Still, she has a gift for discovering new talent, even though she's only 15. She loves her job as a producer behind the scenes for the agency, and is quite proud of an upcoming project, "Romeo School",
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a kind of reality show that will choose a new boy band. And even with her history with men, she can't help but feel attracted to one of the aspiring new stars, Souma Nakaido.
That's only the start of it; the manga also dwells in the personal conflicts of some of the other members of Romeo School and shows some very fictionalized view of the entertainment world. Nothing is too deep, and even the angsty situations are resolved quickly and simply.
I personally like the art style of this mangaka, although it's a bit irregular. At times very beautiful, at others a bit unkept.
Overall, it's a well invested time if you want to read something light and fun, without bigger expectations.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 23, 2008
This is such an enjoyable manga in every way possible. The story is lighthearted, but not superficial nor dumb; it is a typical shoujo manga that should satisfy any fan of the genre, yet there's still a freshness to it that won't make you feel like you've already read this a thousand times before.
The story's premise is fairly simple. Haruna is a tomboyish girl who spent most of her junior high school involved in sports, and now that she's in high school, she wants to get a boyfriend and learn how to act and dress like a girl. The problem is, she has no idea
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how to do it. Even though she tries her best to follow magazine's advices and her own misguided intuition, it all ends in disaster.
By chance she meets Yoh Komiyama, an attractive guy who knows how to improve a girl's appearence to boost. Fortunately for Haruna, Yoh goes to her school, and after she begs a bit, he gives in and accepts to be her "coach" in the whole dressing-up/ dating deal.
I think that one of the most attractive aspects of this manga are the characters. They are all so interesting and well developed! Haruna is not the stereotypical shoujo heroine, even if by description she might sound like it. She's so naive, pure-hearted and clumsy, and yet so strong, determined and brave that you can't help but love her. Yoh seems like the typical cool, reluctantly popular hero, but he's endearingly honest, sharp and full of issues regarding relationships. The supporting characters are equally complex and charming and not just faces to help move the plot along.
The way the relationship between Haruna and Yoh develops and make them evolve and overcome their flaws is done with care and love for the characters, which is a bonus for this mangaka. She definitely knows her characters and never betrays their true nature.
As a conclusion, I can say that this story will make you laugh, get involved with it and leave you with a warm feeling when you've done reading each chapter.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 21, 2008
This is probably the simplest series by Yuu Watase: there's no fantasy, no magic, no adventure, no science fiction. Just a really heart-warming and moving story about a cheerful girl called Tanpopo who transfers to a very exclusive school where she expects to make friends and live happily. On her first visit there, she mets a boy who is taking care lovingly of a dandelion and seems to like gardening. Tanpopo thinks she's made her very first friend...
However, reality proves to be a lot harsher. Her new school turns out to be full of onnoxious people who care more about social status and money than
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friendship, and because Tanpopo lacks boths, she's soon tagged as a "weed". Not just that, the boy she had met the previous day is none other than Kouki Kugyou, the richest guy of the school, cold hearted and unapproachable and he doesn't want to do anything with her.
Tanpopo of course is not going to just sit there and weep. She's determined to make friends even if it means create something as outrageous as a gardening club to peak Kouki's interest.
Just because I said this story was simple, compared to other Watase's works, doesn't mean that its plot or characters are superficial. On the contrary, the gallery of people that fill Imadoki! is wonderfully drawn and developed. The characters are rich, complex and lovable. The story, about friendship, love and authenticity, is full of funny situations but also there's angst and pain as each character learns to bloom for whom they are and to trust in others.
The story is inspiring and hard to forget. I read this manga three years ago and still remember vividly how it made me feel once I finished it. I certainly recommend it for any shoujo fan out there.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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