Surprisingly powerful and enjoyable: this is Dance! Subaru.
I don’t know why, but I had this preconceived idea about Dance! Subaru. Maybe it was the fact it was a sports seinen, or that it’s cover art appeared to be very old, or even because it was about a girly sport called ‘ballet’. So imagine my surprise after I finished the first chapter: I did not expect it to be like this. It wasn’t just about ballet. It was about artistic expression with the body as a medium. Chapter after chapter, I soon found that I wasn’t just trudging through it for my own experience --I was hooked.
The story begins with a heartbreaking tragedy, showing you that Dance! Subaru is going to be one hell of a ride. The chapters literally fly by; the pacing and plot were just so intriguing! After one mini-arc finishes, there is nothing stopping you from immediately starting the next one. It stays on track, and it has a purpose. This story is about human expression, but it is also about metaphysics and transcending the nature of dance. It was extremely powerful, and in the way it was narrated captured the essence perfectly.
This manga isn't going to be about some prodigy Mary-Sue making her way to the top. In fact, Subaru is such an interesting character. She’s a bitch, she’s a narcissist, she’s antisocial... she could even be called arrogant. I wouldn't want to be her friend. In fact, Subaru doesn't even make it to the top in this manga; she only has a purpose: to express all she can through dance, and bring the audience with her into the “other side”. Concerning the support characters: at first, the mangaka scrapped them here and there to advance the story, but I really appreciated it when they were brought back for further development. They never fall into stereotypical cliches. All of them are unique with their own purposes (maybe some admire Subaru, some want to use her, and maybe even some like her --which I doubt, because Subaru isn’t very likable). In this story, the character development of Subaru was the strongest point.
The setting in Dance! Subaru isn't static --meaning that it constantly changes. It doesn't really bring the whole story together, but it doesn't weigh it down either. However, during the most important moments (which are on stage) you know exactly where the characters are, and what kind of atmosphere they are in.
In fact, the whole atmosphere of Dance! Subaru is nice and airy, probably because of the sketchy lines and big eyes. During it’s more powerful moments, those sketchy lines are exaggerated, hard, thick, and really pronounce the atmosphere. So if you couldn’t notice: the atmosphere of Dance! Subaru is really dependent on it’s setting and art.
To sum it all up, Dance! Subaru was a great read with some powerful moments. It’s creativity was extremely high (who has ever read a compelling, palpable ballet manga?) that literally went far beyond all expectations. I would have reached a 9.0, or maybe even higher if it wasn’t for one thing: the ending. While it wasn’t bad (it was actually kind of interesting), it was really sloppy, with no planning whatsoever. It really butchered the greatness this manga achieved, probably the biggest disappointment ever. That brought my final scoring to an 8.0, a fair enough rating for this.
You really get absorbed into this story, and like dance, it’s all up to interpretation. If you get absorbed into it too much, you’ll definitely take something with you once it’s finished.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
