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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

April 11, 2009 by MJ 13 Comments

Otomen, Volume 1

Here’s a quick review for the weekend! I’ve been binging on shojo lately, and it shows!

Otomen, Vol. 1
By Aya Kanno
Published by Viz Media

otomen
Buy This Book

Asuke Masamune is a high school boy who loves cooking, sewing, romantic shojo manga, and a whole slew of other things considered feminine by mainstream society. He has spent his whole life trying to suppress these preferences mainly to please his mother, and has managed to hide them from his classmates by spending all his time studying the martial arts (at which he excels) and maintaining a tough, cool facade. Things start to fall apart, however, when he meets cute, tomboyish Ryo Miyakozuka for whom he quickly develops romantic feelings. Ryo is a disaster at typical “feminine” things and Asuka finds himself helping her with her sewing, making her elaborate bento lunches, and even teaching her how to bake a birthday cake for her father. Though Ryo claims to like manly men, she seems to accept Asuka pretty readily once he finally decides to show her his true self (though her father is a different story). Adding an extra twist to the plot is classmate Juta Tachibana who is secretly the author of Asuka’s favorite shojo manga series, “Love Chick,” the heroine of which he has modeled after Asuka.

This book is charming, breezy, and fun, and though it’s difficult to know how serious it’s ever going to get about Asuka’s plight, for the moment it’s too enjoyable for that to matter. The main characters are in some ways reminiscent of those in Ai Morinaga’s Your & My Secret in that they are written as extreme stereotypes of the opposite gender, yet both of them are more in touch with who they are than the characters in that story, and despite being obvious stereotypes there is something very true at the core of each of them that makes them lovable and completely adorable.

Asuka is adorable as he absentmindedly sews cute stuffed animals and expresses his surprise over how much he identifies with the latest chapter of “Love Chick.” Ryo is adorable as she presents her friends with atrocious (huge) rice balls and manages to remain so oblivious to the trappings of romance that she keeps inviting Juta along on her dates with Asuka. It’s absolutely impossible not to root for Asuka and Ryo as they embark on what may be the Cutest Romance Ever, especially when it begins with Ryo leading a frightened Asuka out of a dark, unused school building and then kicking a hoodlum in the head when he suggests that Asuka is really a wimp. “Asuka, you’re really cute,” she says (a scene recreated later in “Love Chick” with the genders reversed, of course). “When I look at you, I start to want to protect you.”

Underneath the story’s playful charm there are few deeper issues lurking, and it will be interesting to see which of these (if any) are brought to the surface over the course of the series. Asuka’s determination to hide his true personality is primarily for the sake of his mother who was traumatized by her husband’s decision to leave her in order to pursue a new life as a woman. Whether or not she can ever accept her son’s feminine side and take responsibility for making him ashamed of his own talents and desires is something I’d like to see addressed down the line. Also, Juta is quite a piece of work. Though he chases after every girl in school and claims to love all women, his ultimate ideal of perfect femininity is actually Asuka, and in fact when at one point in the story he attempts to use real girls as a model for his character, he is completely unable to do so. Whether his interest in Asuka is strictly professional remains to be seen.

Aya Kanno’s art is as charming as her story. The characters are distinctive, expressive, and pretty to look at, and the layouts have the same cheery, whimsical mood as everything else. Even the action scenes play really well, which is not something necessarily expected in this type of manga.

Overall, Otomen is a thoroughly enjoyable read. For lighthearted fun and a clever look at traditional gender roles, this manga is a fantastic choice.

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Filed Under: MANGA REVIEWS Tagged With: manga, otomen

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Grace says

    April 11, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    This is another that’s on my list to read. (Though I am trying not to read any new unfinished series, so I am planning on holding off for a while.)

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      April 11, 2009 at 8:43 pm

      It’s a lot of fun, it really is. :)

      Reply
  2. badzphoto says

    April 11, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    “… his ultimate ideal of perfect femininity is actually Asuka, and in fact when at one point in the story he attempts to use real girls as a model for his character, he is completely unable to do so. Whether his interest in Asuka is strictly professional remains to be seen.”

    Totally. I keep thinking that there is a case to be made for Juta/Asuka pairing, even though I’m rooting for Asuka/Ryo myself.
    One of my favorite panel was when Asuka told Juta “shut up” :)

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      April 12, 2009 at 7:16 am

      It will be interesting to see where it goes!

      Reply
  3. Ed Sizemore says

    April 14, 2009 at 5:49 am

    Just read this last night. I liked it, but I’m worried that the series might choke to death on it’s own fluff. There is a lot of potential to explore some deeper isssues, but I get the sense that Kanno wants to keep this comedic. I’m reserving any final thought until I see volume two. It is a fun reverse shojo book where we get to see the interior life of the two lead men and it’s the girl who is the big mystery.

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      April 14, 2009 at 6:16 am

      Yes, I can definitely see that danger. It all depends on how strong a writer Kanno actually is. I think it could conceivably be kept comedic and still be effective, but it would take a lot of skill.

      It is a fun reverse shojo book where we get to see the interior life of the two lead men and it’s the girl who is the big mystery.

      That was really well said. I wish I’d said it. :D

      Reply
  4. Aja says

    April 14, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    Ahh, this looks so utterly adorable.

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      April 14, 2009 at 7:55 pm

      It really really is. :D

      Reply
  5. Guest says

    March 27, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    I guess I’m the only Asuka/Juta fan…
    Ryo is lame and boring

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      March 28, 2010 at 12:36 pm

      I think Asuka/Juta is a pretty compelling slash pairing, but I admit I’m put off by your comments on Ryo and not just because I disagree. Sure, I think she’s a fun character with great personality, but more than that, she’s absolutely essential to the premise of the series. The entire series (and, by extension, Juta’s manga, “Love Chick”) relies on “otomen” Asuka becoming involved with a girl like Ryo who naturally takes on roles traditionally assigned to men. Without Ryo, there is no story, not for us or for Juta.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Checking the numbers says:
    April 13, 2009 at 6:25 am

    […] Inspector (Kuriousity) Rachel Bentham on vol. 6 of Our Kingdom (Active Anime) Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Otomen (there it is, plain as daylight) Julie on vol. 2 of Otomen (Manga Maniac Cafe) Julie on vol. 6 of […]

    Reply
  2. Checking the numbers | Tokyovation says:
    April 17, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    […] Inspector (Kuriousity) Rachel Bentham on vol. 6 of Our Kingdom (Active Anime) Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Otomen (there it is, plain as daylight) Julie on vol. 2 of Otomen (Manga Maniac Cafe) Julie on vol. 6 of […]

    Reply
  3. Oh Viz, sweet Viz. | Manga Bookshelf says:
    May 12, 2010 at 10:24 am

    […] Go Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You NANA Natsume’s Book of Friends Otomen Pluto Sand Chronicles Solanin They Were Eleven We Were There Bookmark/Share […]

    Reply


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