Of course the plot seems to follow the usual shounen-pace to a certain extend, since having a main character (Fujita Tatara) who starts from zero and keeps practicing to become a full-fledged dancer. But this doesn't mean the story is flat. On the contrary it's full of exciting ups and downs, getting more exciting chapter by chapter.
This is thanks to the realistic characters we are introduced to and we can easily symphathize with right away. We get to know Fujita's feelings as he desperately tries to set foot in the world of dancing, struggles through competitions, makes important acquaintances and has to face qruel truths concerning dancing but also himself.
However, this story certainly isn't pure drama. In fact, humor plays a key role here. May it be due to hilarious situations or to the naive but innocent behavior of Fujita itself, the manga often make me laugh like an idiot. At he same time there are countless sensitive moments, when I could really relate to the characters sadness. As the story moves on you can't help but taking the characters, who are all individuals without exception, into your heart.
The feelings of a person are very well expressed through the art here. Just taking a look at their face let's you know how they feel. The most important part of this manga, the dancing-scenes, also gives us a clear idea of how the characters 'sweep over the ballroom', though sometimes their moves aren't fully understandable due to too many speedlines.
Also striking as negative to me, from time to time when dancing is described, several technical terms are used without having previously been introduced to the reader. Sadly these often won't further explained to us as the story continues. So those who haven't dealt with dancing before probably can't experience these scenes to the fullest. However, this fact doesn't pull down the manga at all, since the overall dancemoves actually aren't that complicated and can easily interpreted without further knowledge of dance.
I recommend this sports-manga to everyone who is willing to give a chance to a story about ballroom dancing that is both funny and serious. The plot just unfolds slowly, but those who are patient will be rewarded for sure. Even if you don't know anything about dancing, just like me.
