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Shoujo

Tidbits: Sports Manga for the Win!

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Welcome to another installment of Tidbits! This time I turn my attention to sports manga, a genre for which I nurture an inexplicable adoration. First up is Crimson Hero, a shoujo tale that attempts to balance volleyball and romance, followed by six early volumes of Eyeshield 21 and four later ones from The Prince of Tennis, in which the Seishun Academy tennis team finally makes it to the semifinals of Nationals.

Crimson Hero 14 by Mitsuba Takanashi: B
I’m not entirely sure it’s accurate to classify Crimson Hero as sports manga. Ostensibly, it’s about Nobara Sumiyoshi and the rest of the girls on the volleyball team at Crimson High as they pursue their goal of winning the Spring Tournament. In reality, there are only a dozen pages of volleyball in this volume, and only half of those feature the girls.

When last we left off, Haibuki, one of the aces on the guys’ team, had run off because he learned that Nobara was secretly going out with his teammate, Yushin. Also, some other guy named Kaz was spreading rumors about Nobara that caused her to break up with Yushin. It was really a mess, which I ranted about in more detail here.

Thankfully, Takanashi almost immediately addresses all of the things I found so annoying! Kaz abruptly apologizes and disappears. It was totally random, but whatever; I’m glad he’s gone. Yushin and Nobara discover where Haibuki is and both implore him to return. When Yushin goes to great lengths to win Haibuki back from another school that’s been attempting to recruit him, Haibuki realizes that Yushin kept his relationship with Nobara a secret only because he thought it would be best for the team and finally stops being a petulant brat. Hooray!

Though I mock some of the emotional moments in this volume, the truth is that when done well, it’s honestly very entertaining. It’s not the most original story in the world—earnest but academically challenged girl is sought after by two boys with contrasting personalities—but I like it. I still wish they would just play some volleyball already, though.

Eyeshield 21 4-9 by Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata: B
In addition to his fearsome talent for gathering information and blackmailing others to get his way, Hiruma, the demonic captain of the Deimon Devil Bats football team, also excels at motivation and promotion. It’s through his efforts that a crowd of Deimon students turns out to watch the Devil Bats defeat the Zokugaku Chameleons, which in turn leads to a record turnout at the next recruitment meeting.

A handful of new players joins the team, including the absolutely adorable Komusubi, who looks like a muppet and idolizes Kurita, and the Devil Bats proceed to a tie game against their next opponent, which earns them a spot in a televised face-off against a visiting American team. A summer training trip to America soon follows, with the all-important fall tournament season only a few weeks away.

At this point, Eyeshield 21 is following the sports manga formula pretty closely: the team gets better, important positions are filled, and everyone tries hard to get stronger as they face increasingly more formidable opponents. Just because it’s formulaic, though, doesn’t make it any less good. There’s a certain amount of satisfaction to be derived from watching someone earnestly work hard to achieve their goals, and even if much of what happens in this series is completely over-the-top, it’s still a fun read.

My favorite aspect of the story, though, is how those with less inate talent are not forgotten. This is best exemplified by what’s going on with “The Hah?! Brothers.” These three thugs were originally blackmailed into playing by Hiruma, but have gradually become genuinely invested in the team’s goals. Jumonji, their leader, was particularly upset to see his friends’ contributions belittled in an article, and works hard to help them improve themselves. I’m not sure why, but I find the idea of a former delinquent finally finding something to care about and strive for really moving. A scene in which the crowd cheers them for the first time actually made me teary-eyed!

Now if only there were fewer poop jokes…

The Prince of Tennis 36-39 by Takeshi Konomi: C+
When one is a long-time fan of The Prince of Tennis, as I am, one becomes accustomed to and can forgive a lot of the ridiculousness that goes on in the series. For example, it’s a given now that characters will be introduced who are supposed to be in junior high, even though they look thirty, and who have at their disposal an arsenal of highly improbable shots with silly names like “Super Ultra Delicious Swinging Mountain Storm.” Sets will also almost always end at 7-6, after a grueling tie-break, and characters frequently are one point away from defeat when they suddenly “evolve” and rally valiantly. It’s repetitive, but hey, how much variation can one really expect?

For the National Tournament, mangaka Takeshi Konomi kicks things up a notch with the introduction of a technique so eyeroll-inducing that even I can’t refrain from snerking. It’s called “the selfless state,” and manifests as a glowing aura that spectactors can detect instantly. “There it is!!” cries the peanut gallery, “The selfess state!!” It enables the player to instinctively recreate any opponent’s move that he’s ever seen, which results in even more shouting from the sidelines as familiar shots are recognized by the crowd. Our hero Ryoma Echizen can do it, naturally, but he’s been doing so for ten volumes or so now so it’s time to tweak it still further.

Volumes 36 through 39 of the series focus on Seishun’s semifinal match-up against a school from Osaka called Shitenhoji. After Fuji loses the first singles match, Seishun retaliates with a doubles victory followed by a singles win via forfeit. If they win the next doubles match, they’re going to the finals. Enter Seishun’s captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, who not only can achieve the selfless state, but a special variation thereof called “the pinnacle of mastery.” Not to be outdone, Shitenhoji puts up Senri Chitose, whose ability to access “the pinnacle of brilliance” makes him go all sparkly.

Stoic Tezuka is my favorite character, so I don’t begrudge him the opportunity to be a badass, particularly since he missed most of the Kanto Tournament due to injury, but there’s only so much ridiculousness I can take. I mean, there’s one two-page spread where these guys just stand there and glow at one another! Tezuka ultimately wins, of course. After a brief interlude provided by a yakiniku eating contest, the finals begin, but Ryoma is nowhere to be found and Tezuka seems poised to reinjure himself in pursuit of victory.

These volumes make me sigh heavily. And yet… for all my complaining, I will eagerly buy the last three volumes of the series and be bummed out if the sequel isn’t licensed soon.

Review copy for volume 39 of The Prince of Tennis provided by the publisher.

Dengeki Daisy 1 by Kyousuke Motomi: B+

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From the back cover:
After orphan Teru Kurebayashi loses her beloved older brother, she finds solace in the messages she exchanges with DAISY, an enigmatic figure who can only be reached through the cell phone her brother left her. Meanwhile, mysterious Tasuku Kurosaki always seems to be around whenever Teru needs help. Could DAISY be a lot closer than Teru thinks?

One day at school, Teru accidentally breaks a window and agrees to pay for it by helping Kurosaki with chores around school. Kurosaki is an impossible taskmaster, though, and he also seems to be hiding something important from Teru…

Review:
Dengeki Daisy, from the creator of the charming Beast Master, is the latest series to debut under VIZ’s Shojo Beat imprint. It’s the story of orphan Teru Kurebayashi, whose older brother recently passed away, but not before giving her a cell phone that will enable her to contact “Daisy,” who will always be there to protect Teru in her brother’s place.

Due to her status as a scholarship student, Teru faces bullying at school, but pretends like everything is fine when text messaging Daisy. Little does she know that Tasuku Kurosaki, the delinquent school custodian, is actually Daisy and has been watching over her all this time. When Teru accidentally breaks a window at school, Kurosaki uses it as an excuse to keep an eye on her while he plays mahjong on his laptop and she does all the work.

There are definitely some familiar elements to this story. You’ve got the impoverished heroine being called a pauper, the all-powerful student council, and the somewhat-jerky-but-really-kind male lead. What makes Dengeki Daisy stand out from the pack are the original twists Kyousuke Motomi employs. Student-teacher romances are fairly common, but I’ve never seen a student-custodian one before. I like that Kurosaki is in love, but Teru is oblivious (though she does suspect right away that he might be Daisy, which he denies). And I genuinely like the characters and the way they interact, especially Teru’s group of misfit friends and the scene in which Kurosaki wields an edger as a weapon!

I really don’t have any complaints about this volume—it’s light, cute fun—but I can see how Kurosaki’s protectiveness and occasional dispeasure with Teru’s actions could possibly be viewed as patronizing. It honestly didn’t come across this way to me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if others took issue with it.

All in all, I really enjoyed this debut and am looking forward to continuing the series. Thanks, VIZ, for bringing us something else from this talented mangaka!

Volume one of Dengeki Daisy is available now. The series is still ongoing in Japan—volume seven will be coming out there in a couple of weeks.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Beast Master 2 by Kyousuke Motomi: A-

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From the back cover:
Leo Aoi looks like a crazy animal with wild eyes, and he goes berserk whenever he feels threatened or sees blood. That doesn’t stop animal lover Yuiko Kubozuka from befriending him, however. In fact, Yuiko is the only person Leo will listen to when he has one of his violent fits…

Leo’s 18th birthday is around the corner, but celebrating seems impossible as someone is after Leo’s life! Can Leo overcome the dangers of his past? Or will this beast-like boy be separated from his beloved “master”… forever?

Review:
I suppose there’s not anything terribly original about these final three chapters of Beast Master. In the first, we get a little more information on Leo’s backstory, including the revelation that he’s worth billions and began living in the wild in the first place to avoid his murderous relations. In the second, Leo’s dad reenters the picture and, after another attempt on his son’s life puts him in the hospital, suggests a move overseas. Finally, Yuiko develops insecurities about how Leo feels about her upon seeing how popular he’s become with other girls.

What makes this series so special, then, is how truly sweet it is. Not some cloying and irritating approximation of sweetness, either, but something truly genuine and moving. After Yuiko witnesses Leo being hit by a car, it makes sense that she’d support his father’s plan to relocate him someplace safer, and the scene where she attempts to maintain a brave face as she bids him good-bye, only to break down as he drives off is perfectly painful. Although we, as readers, can expect him to return, Yuiko’s sadness is nicely portrayed, as she realizes that simply knowing he’s safer will not make her miss him any less.

The final chapter’s a nice spin on the “I don’t know how he feels about me” idea, too. It works here because Leo is so child-like, Yuiko has to wonder whether he even realizes that there are different levels of liking someone. He can “like” a girl classmate who loans him some CDs, but does he feel anything more than this for Yuiko? Well, of course he does, and his eventual shy confession is so adorable it made me sniffly.

Rounding out the volume is “Cactus Summer Surprise,” a short story about a body-swapping cactus. Yes, you read that right. In a nutshell, Akira is a cactus fan who once gave her prized plant to her middle-school crush, Kaito, who told her that he threw it away. They’ve been enemies ever since—though, of course, it’s obvious they really fancy each other—and through the machinations of a middle-aged female spirit who transitions from the cactus in which she resides into possessing Kaito’s body, they manage to patch things up. Again, like Beast Master, this story ends with a particularly adorable scene of a guy trying to get his feelings across.

When I finished this volume, my first thought was, “That was good! I’d like to read something longer by Kyousuke Motomi.” And my second thought was, “Oh yeah! Dengeki Daisy is coming in two months!” Thank you, VIZ!

Love*Com 17 by Aya Nakahara: B

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After the main Love*Com story finished, mangaka Aya Nakahara published a few additional bonus stories, which are collected in the series’ seventeenth and final volume. Three stories depict Ôtani and Risa during their junior high years and one revisits the gang four months after graduation. One of the major flaws of Love*Com in its later volumes was that, in a transparent effort to milk the series for all it was worth, the focus drifted too much from the leads to the uninspiring supporting cast. Here, at least, each story features one or both of the protagonists in the starring role(s).

Despite its hokey setup—practically every semi-significant character from the series coincidentally converges on the same beach on the same day—the post-graduation story is not only the best of the four, but also provides the best Risa/Ôtani scene in quite some time. It deals with Risa’s feelings of being left behind by her undergraduate friends, who are off having new experiences with people she doesn’t know while she contends with the challenges of fashion stylist school, which is not going as well as she had hoped. Somehow, this series works best when Risa is miserable, and when Ôtani steps up to the plate to cheer her up and listen to her troubles, it provides a better and more personal farewell for the series than the full-cast send-off volume sixteen offered.

It’s been a long time since I paused to admire and reread a particularly sweet moment between these two characters, and I can’t help feeling grateful that I was able to experience it one more time before the end. Maybe, just a little, Love*Com has redeemed itself.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Love*Com 15-16 by Aya Nakahara: B-

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I used to like Love*Com very much, but as I read these two volumes the main thought going through my mind was, “Just end, already!”

End it eventually does, as volume sixteen sees the conclusion of the main story line (the seventeenth and final volume is comprised of short stories) , but before that can happen we must endure more chapters focusing on the supporting cast. First up is the transgendered Seiko, whose dreams of confessing to the boy she likes are stymied by the untimely deepening of her voice. Next, the whole gang takes a conveniently free trip to an unspecified tropical island to witness the wedding of a popular teacher, culminating in a rather immature freakout from Risa at the thought of sharing a room/bed with Ôtani.

As volume sixteen begins, the gang is planning for graduation, but instead of spending the final chapters on the main cast, some new random third-year girl is introduced for the purpose of providing a girlfriend for Kohori, Risa’s coworker who had a thing for her at one point. These chapters—in which the girl (Abe) attempts to break up Risa and Ôtani so that Risa can date Kohori and make him happy—are pretty pointless and predictable, though they do at least inspire Ôtani to dismiss the chances of them breaking up any time soon.

The final chapter of the main story, chapter 62, is nothing fantastic, but still manages to be satisfying. True to form, Risa and Ôtani are late to their graduation ceremony, and as punishment must deliver a speech that devolves into one final comedy routine. A DVD of classmate memories yields further testimonies of love from the protagonists, and everything ends on a sunny note.

I wish the volume had ended there as well, but instead there’s a bonus story about the singer/actor whose first big role was playing Ôtani in the Love*Com movie. It’s all about his struggles to achieve stardom and to get people to listen as he and his buddy play acoustic guitars out in public. It’s exceedingly boring, and memories of Negishi in Detroit Metal City performing the same sorts of gigs—with lyrics as sappy—kept intruding.

Love*Com has fallen a lot in my estimation since its early volumes, but I don’t regret persevering to the end. It should have ended sooner, definitely, and all the filler gets on my nerves, but I can’t really quibble with its warm and fuzzy finale.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

Beast Master 1 by Kyousuke Motomi: B+

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beastmaster1From the back cover:
Leo Aoi looks like a crazy animal with wild eyes—and no one at his new high school will go near him! He does seem to have a special connection with animals, though, which intrigues overzealous animal lover Yuiko Kubozuka. In reality, Leo isn’t as frightening as he appears, but Yuiko finds out that he goes berserk whenever he sees blood! Will Yuiko be able to get through to Leo during these violent fits? Or will Leo’s ferocious side eventually devour her?

Review:
I initially didn’t expect much from Beast Master but, like other reviewers before me, I found it to be surprisingly adorable.

It’s the story of an enthusiastic animal lover named Yuiko Kubozuka whose attempts to hug and squeeze various furry friends all end in disaster. One rainy day, after her attentions have driven her pet cat up a tree, a bloodstained boy with wild eyes rescues the kitty then runs off. As always happens in shoujo manga, the boy, named Leo Aoi, turns up as a transfer student in her class the next day. The other students are all frightened of him, save Yuiko, and when some thugs arrive to seek retribution for a fight in which Leo thrashed several of their compatriots, it’s Yuiko who explains his circumstances and, with her natural ability to get along with anyone, handily converts the main thug, referred to simply as “Boss,” into a recurring ally and resource. She’s less successful in deflecting the violent intentions of another gang, though, and Leo ends up going into a berserker mode and nearly biting a classmate until Yuiko soothes him.

What follows from there is a series of chapters in which Yuiko is threatened and Leo’s bloodlust is triggered. Simultaneously, she uses her social skills to introduce him to others and show that he’s not really a bad guy, despite what his appearance may indicate. What makes this different than other series in which “heroine requires rescue” is a common theme is that sometimes Yuiko is able to take down the suspicious person herself, even if that person is actually Leo’s guardian, Toki. Sometimes, unfortunately, she’s a liiiiitle stupid, like when she decides that she’s capable of calming a violent stray dog despite much evidence to the contrary and a sincere warning from Leo. I found this lapse in reasoning especially disappointing, because up until then Yuiko had seemed competent and quick-thinking.

Leo himself is completely endearing, much more like a kitten than a wild beast and transparently overjoyed to have met a kind person who isn’t afraid of him. His plight actually reminds me a lot of Sawako from Kimi ni Todoke: he looks frightening until he smiles, at which point he’s utterly transformed. In fact, Leo in chibi mode bears a striking resemblance to Sawako in the same state; is this a case of long-lost manga siblings?! My very favorite moment in the volume comes in a rooftop scene when Leo, wanting to cheer up a depressed Yuiko, puts his arms around her so that birds will land on her like she’s always wanted. It’s very, very sweet.

Overall, Beast Master is adorable and, though it employs a few shoujo clichés, unique. It’s not quite a romance yet, but I have no doubt that the second and final volume will take care of that!

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Love*Com 14 by Aya Nakahara: B-

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lovecom14Tall Risa Koizumi and her short boyfriend, Atsushi Ôtani, have been dating for a while and have weathered various obstacles. Their latest opponent is Risa’s visiting grandpa, whose primary objection seems to be their difference in height. He feels so strongly about it that he hires a hostess to seduce Ôtani in order to sabotage their relationship. This leads to two chapters of extremely frustrating angst and misunderstanding, in which Ôtani believes the tale fed him by a buxom stranger over Risa’s insistence that her grandfather is responsible. Of course, after all is revealed and Ôtani bravely dashes off to rescue Risa from the clutches of some possibly dangerous men, Gramps has a change of heart.

For the most part, the events in this volume are annoying. Grandpa blows in like a foul breeze, causes a few chapters’ worth of havoc, then wafts out again. Everyone acts like a moron at least once. The follow-up chapter, in which Haruka, Grandpa’s pick for Risa’s suitor, has his heartbreak assuaged by his fangirls, is pointless.

And yet, for all of that, it’s hard to completely dislike this volume of Love*Com. Scattered throughout are some genuinely nice moments between the lead couple, like Ôtani’s adamant declaration that Risa’s the only one he loves or an evening scene in a playground after Risa has run away from home to protest her grandfather’s meddling ways. This series certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s easy to forgive its flaws when it manages to deliver when it really counts.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Love*Com 12-13 by Aya Nakahara: B

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lovecom12I used to be very fond of Love*Com but after a disappointing eleventh volume, my ardor cooled and the volumes have been piling up. For most of these two volumes, I was happy again, but when Risa’s grandfather is introduced at the end of volume thirteen, it all goes rapidly downhill.

Volume twelve begins with the gang awaiting Ôtani’s exam results and Risa trying to decide which vocational school she wants to attend. After this is resolved nicely, it’s revealed that one of their friends, Suzuki, failed to get into the same college as his girlfriend and is now waffling on whether to give her up to a more muscled dude who might protect her in his absence. This plot involves a judo challenge, which would otherwise be very stupid, but somehow Suzuki is kind of appealing and I wound up not disliking this story, despite all the silliness. I think a lot of the appeal is that, while helping their friend, Risa and Ôtani work together well. Overall, I noticed a distinct lack of squabbling between the two of them in these two volumes, which is nice!

lovecom13Of course, our couple can’t remain stable and happy for long, so as soon as the Suzuki plot is resolved, Risa’s brother has to voice his objections to the relationship which stupidly causes the protagonists to wonder whether they belong together. And as soon as that’s resolved, Risa’s horndog grandfather, who is about as one-note and ridiculous as a character possibly could be, objects to Ôtani because of his height and sets about trying to break them up. At least Risa reacts hotly, and some nice discussions about trust result, but my intense dislike for grandpa means this arc can’t be over soon enough for me!

On the positive side, these two volumes contain quite a few amusing moments. I shan’t list them all here, but I will end with my new favorite absurd quote from an author’s sidebar.

Drain your salads thoroughly! This is my plea!

Review copy for volume thirteen provided by the publisher.

Love*Com 11 by Aya Nakahara: B-

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After briefly breaking up in the previous volume, things are going okay for series protagonists Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Ôtani. It’s up to the supporting cast, therefore, to deliver the angst. Risa’s best friend, Nobu, fulfills her obligation by suddenly deciding to attend college in Hokkaido so that she can be with the ailing, much-beloved grandmother whom she’s never previously mentioned.

Well, I guess every series can have a dud now and then. I would’ve been far more interested in Nobu’s decision if she had ever actually talked about her grandmother, if any seeds at all had been planted in advance of this suddenly sprouting plotline. As it is, it feels completely random, like saying, “Oh yes, I have this best friend who I’ve never ever mentioned but I am suddenly very devastated that they have died.” Also, Nobu and her boyfriend Nakao are simply not very thoroughly developed characters in their own right, existing primarily to advise, chastise, or encourage Risa and Ôtani as situations warrant.

The art also looks a lot different to me in this volume. At first, I thought maybe the reason Nobu looks almost like a different person is because we usually see her in background and not close-up. But then I noticed that Ôtani looks rather different, too. I compared the art to volume ten and it was obviously evolving back then, too, but it wasn’t as noticeable. The new style might actually be more polished, but it’s also more generic-looking.

The final chapter is an improvement on its predecessors. For the past few volumes, Ôtani has been studying furiously for his college entrance exams. Risa went through a range of reactions to his efforts, from attempting to dissuade him from a futile endeavor to resolving to stay out of his way until his exams are over. When a family flu outbreak, snow, and cancelled trains threaten to keep Ôtani from making it to the testing facility on time, it’s Risa’s determination that gets him there in the end, which is nice to see. They may bicker far too often for my liking, but when they really come through for each other, it’s very satisfying.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Love*Com 10 by Aya Nakahara: B+

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From the back cover:
Risa got a job at a restaurant so she could be close to Ôtani’s cram school. But now it looks like one of her coworkers wants to get close to her! Kohori is cute and short and majorly into Umibouzu, but Risa just wants to be friends. When circumstances conspire to make it look like she’s interested in more, what will a super-stressed Ôtani do?

Review:
It seemed like I was always annoyed with one or the other of the two leads throughout this volume and, at different times, mentally advised each to dump the other. First, Ôtani, with the excuse of being stressed out about college entrance exams, says a lot of really unkind things to Risa, saying that she’s basically useless and has nothing to offer in terms of helping him out. Next, Risa, who already knows a guy at work fancies her (since he’s been caught in the act of kissing her while she slept) and that Ôtani is exhausted and jealous, stupidly agrees to basically go on the date with the guy to a concert. And, of course, Ôtani runs into the two of them together.

This act is so stupid, in fact, that it was EXTREMELY satisfying that Ôtani breaks up with her as a result. I was probably supposed to be all, “Oh noes,” but instead I felt a vicious glee. One thing I didn’t like is that, because Ôtani is always mouthing off and saying mean things he doesn’t really mean, the impact of his harsh words was lessened. The rest of the volume is Risa trying to get back into his good graces, eventually resolving to stay away from him until he finishes his exams and planning to persuade him to take her back at that time. Interesting how I kind of forgave her too by this point, making the volume’s happy ending a welcome one.

Risa’s propensity to start sentences with “Well,” continues. In one chapter, she did it ten times. Three of those were the “Well, gosh” variant. I had to snicker at one square o’ narration (squarration?) that was comprised entirely of this meaningful sentence: “Well, I mean, gosh.” I assume that she really is saying some particular Japanese phrase over and over again, but it’s starting to get on my nerves. While I’m griping, who the heck is that other kid on the cover? I recognize Kohori (the aforementioned coworker who fancies Risa) but I have no idea who the other dude is.

Love*Com 9 by Aya Nakahara: B+

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From the back cover:
Risa’s life should be perfect. After all, she’s finally dating the guy she loves. But Ôtani’s never actually said that he loves her, and they don’t even act like boyfriend and girlfriend. Wasn’t dating supposed to fix all that? To make matters worse, graduation is looming and Risa’s not sure she likes the way her future with Ôtani looks. Could this be the end of her love and their friendship?

Review:
Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve read this series. I kind of forgot how good it is.

Risa and Ôtani are getting a little more comfortable together as a couple, but Risa still isn’t sure how Ôtani feels about her, since he keeps saying mean things to her. The tendency of both characters to speak insultingly to each other is the one thing I really don’t like about this series, so I was happy to see it actually addressed in the plot, even though it doesn’t seem like it really gets any better afterwards. Essentially, Risa just realizes that Ôtani doesn’t mean what he says and that he actually does love her.

Random observation: Risa’s friend Chiharu is the Tina Hakim Baba of the series. When Risa complains about Ôtani calling her stupid, Chiharu attests, “I think that’s just his way of saying he loves you!” Totally Tina. If you don’t catch that reference, you’re probably lucky.

Moving on, there’s a brief chapter on the school festival then it seems like we kind of branch into a new arc. Everyone except for Risa knows what they want to do after graduation. Even Ôtani has begun to study to try to get admitted into college. Risa initially tries to dissuade him, since his grades are so bad, but it turns out that when he buckles down, he can actually do pretty well. This just makes Risa feel more alone and abandoned than ever, though.

Even though I’ve seen variations on this plot before, I still think it’s interesting and well-handled and look forward to where it’s headed. I’m especially pleased that the characters are graduating now, when the series is only half over, since it seems we might be following them at least a little while into young adulthood. Risa also ends up taking a part-time job in this volume, bringing with it an injection of new characters, too.

One final random observation: Has Risa always begun 80% (approx.) of her sentences with “Well,”? I was seeing it all over the place in this volume and it was really distracting.

Two Flowers for the Dragon 1 by Nari Kusakawa: A-

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From the back cover:
Shakuya is the heir to the Dragon Clan and next in line to rule the land. Oh, and she also happens to have two fiancés! Lucien won Shakuya’s love and her hand in marriage, but he disappeared before the wedding day. So the princess did what any woman would do—replaced him. Kuwan stepped in as her new soon-to-be-husband, and everything was fine until fiancé number one came back to town—with everything but his memory. What is a girl to do?! Now, Shakuya must choose who she wants to marry, using her two magical tattoos that change to reflect her feelings for each of the suitors!

Review:
I find it simultaneously amusing and perplexing that the words “magical tattoos” are in a different color and font than the rest of the text, as if that is the most important aspect of the story. I make my own fun by imagining purchasing decisions being made solely on a basis of “Ooh, magical tattoos! That settles it, then.”

Back cover mockery aside, I really, really like this. It’s cute, it’s funny, and I like the characters. Shakuya is far more sensible and intelligent than most shoujo heroines, and is perfectly fine with the necessity of a political marriage, though she’d prefer it if she and her spouse could also be in love. Kuwan is serious and sometimes kind, though not very merciful, and while Lucien begins as cocky and teasing, he also has a more gentle and affectionate personality.

I like the way Kusakawa handles the story’s gimmicks, namely Shakuya’s ability to turn into a dragon when her “feelings needle swings into the red zone” and the magical tattos that serve as a gauge for her feelings for each fiancé. The positive and negative aspects of her transformation ability are both explored well. The growth of the tattoos is nicely integrated into the story and, as Shakuya’s feelings for Lucien bloom ever so slightly, I found my own opinion of him shifting as the story wore on and more of Kuwan’s flaws became apparent.

Too, I like how little things show how well the stories are thought out. Like, early on Shakuya mentions how she has difficulty braiding her own, very long hair. Later, when her handmaid has skipped out on her duties in order to attend a market day, Shakuya must dress herself and appears with her hair in mere pigtails. It’s a very minor thing, but somehow impressed me immensely. Also, the final chapter, with its plot about snake charmers who kidnap Shakuya, could’ve been ridiculously silly but was instead unique and quite exciting.

I’m sure some will not be fans of the art, but I like it a lot. Kusakawa has a distinctive style and I have no complaints about it. In fact, now I feel compelled to read everything by her that I own.

Love*Com 8 by Aya Nakahara: B+

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Risa and Ôtani are finally going out, but she’s uncertain about how she’s supposed to act around him now. She’s got this preconceived notion of what a girlfriend should be, and internally beats herself up each time she fails to live up to that ideal. It helps some when Ôtani sets aside his natural reticence and introduces her to people as his girlfriend, but he still hasn’t articulated exactly why he loves her, and she’s having a hard time imagining what he could see in her.

Later, Ôtani’s neighbor, Mimi, finds out he’s got a new girlfriend and is furious. The beautiful and tall middle schooler has harbored a crush on him for years, but abandoned hope because she thought he only liked tiny girls. A lot of Mimi angst follows, and while it’s creditable that Risa sympathizes with her plight, the way this new character suddenly dominates the story is rather irksome.

Eventually, though, I realized that her purpose is to solidify the main couple’s relationship. We see that she really poses no threat to them at all, that Ôtani’s feelings never waver, and that he and Risa really are made for each other, rough edges and all. Having fulfilled this destiny, may she now go quietly away.

While this particular volume didn’t focus on the leads quite as much as I would’ve liked, it still excels at depicting the insecurities and awkwardness of this period in a relationship. That’s no surprise, since Love*Com has nailed many other aspects of first love. I’m sure it will continue to do so in the volumes to come.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Love*Com 7 by Aya Nakahara: A

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From the back cover:
Risa is sick of having her emotions yanked back and forth by her feelings for Ôtani, so she decides once and for all to just be friends. But when she tells Ôtani that she’s getting over him, he freaks out and tells her not to! Has the comedy duo turned into a couple?

Review:
It’s a special book that can make me grin like a great big doofus at least twice and get all teary-eyed by the final scene. That’s just how good this series is, and in particular this volume, where things finally, finally go where everyone has been wanting them to go.

It’s a slow build up throughout the volume, with some fantastic scenes along the way. Each chapter brings the two leads closer and closer together, and though I thought the terrific moment between them at her birthday party (see above re: doofus) was the apex of awesomeness, the final chapter surpasses it. Nakahara is excellent at body language in these scenes; I particularly love how Ôtani shyly ducks his head and turns away after giving Risa a little kiss.

Also, I’ve never been a fan of the insults these two have hurled at each other in the past, so I was happy that in this volume, I could really see them trying not to do that anymore. It helped that Ôtani actually said something encouraging to Risa, so she had that to rely on when his subsequent actions might’ve previously sent her into a tizzy.

I love that, now that they’re finally a couple, it doesn’t feel like the series ought to be over. It feels like “where will it go from here?”

Love*Com 6 by Aya Nakahara: B+

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From the back cover:
Ôtani acquires tickets to the Umibouzu concert and asks Risa to go with him. Could this be the answer to her dreams—their first date?! But as fate would have it, Ôtani gets sick the day before the concert. Concerned (about her friend and the date) Risa visits his sick bed and gets her first kiss! Or does she! Was it an accident? Does Ôtani even remember it?

Review:
This volume started and ended well, but the middle was annoying as heck. In the first chapter, Ôtani was sick and ended up smooching Risa in a fever daze. There was more to it than that, of course, like further discussion of his reaction to her confession. And at the very end, Ôtani was stirred into jealousy over Risa and led her away from another dude.

Said other dude, however, was incredibly annoying. New faculty member Maitake, who looked just like a dreamy guy from one of Risa’s dating sim video games, was creepy and cheesy. I honestly couldn’t tell whether he was nice and was purposefully attempting to help Risa and Ôtani out or whether he’s truly creepy and interested in one of his students. I reckon it’s the former, but I still didn’t like him much. Worse was how Risa became an utter moron in singing his praises.

While it’s true that Ôtani can be dense at times, I felt sorry for him again in this volume. Everyone portrayed him as the villain when he’s just this kind of clueless guy who keeps getting broadsided by the unexpected twists in Risa’s female brain. An example: Risa’s sad and Ôtani, told by everyone that it’s his fault, went to apologize because he wanted her to cheer up. Risa throws him for a loop by asking, “What’re you saying sorry for? For not remembering that you kissed me? Or did you mean you’re sorry, but you’re never ever going to be attracted to me in a million years, no matter what I do?” Poor guy! Of course he had no ready answer for that one.

Anyway, I ultimately liked how the volume ended and I hope that stupid Maitake either goes away soon or ceases to be someone that Risa focuses on to distract herself from Ôtani.