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Just like yesterday, today we have reviews of the first and fifth volumes.

Here’s a look at volume 1 at Experiments in Manga, from a fan of androids in science fiction, “Odette’s eyes and subdued facial expressions visually set her apart from her classmates, but the effect is marvelously subtle. Suzuki also is able to capture the good-natured eccentricity of the professor in how he dresses and behaves—an aspect of his character that isn’t immediately obvious from dialogue alone. And both his and other characters’ (especially Asao’s) frequently over-the-top reactions are a lot of fun to see.”

I also posted my review of volume 5 earlier today.

I’m excited to see new readers discovering this series due to the Manga Moveable Feast, and am looking forward to reading more posts about Karakuri Odette tomorrow.

Even though I do enjoy manga series with a more cynical vision of love, it is nice sometimes to read something that does simple and sweet very well. Kimi ni Todoke end up being a gentle, feel-good series with a twist – its heroine is totally naive about normal human interaction because her unfortunate resemblance to a famous character from a Japanese horror movie has isolated her socially for years. High school is a time for her to finally come out of her shell as she finally begins to make friends and manages to attract the attention of Kazehaya, one of the most popular boys in school.

One thing I really enjoy is when manga series with a large ensemble cast take the time to give the supporting members their own stories. Sometimes this can lead to a series seeming unnecessarily drawn out (I’m looking at you, Kare Kano), but more often it seems refreshing to learn more about a character who hadn’t been the main focus of the storytelling previously. The sixth volume of Kimi ni Todoke focuses on Chizu, the tomboy in Sawako’s group of friends. Chizu is boisterous and a little dense, but she has a good heart. She’s nursed a crush on her friend Ryu’s older brother Toru for years, but when he returns home with a fiancee Chizu is forced to confront the reality that he mainly sees her as a sibling. It is obvious that Ryu has a crush on Chizu but she probably isn’t ready to deal with his feelings. Chizu’s friends support her as she works through her issues with Toru. She wants him to see her as a woman, but even when she appears before him in a miniskirt instead of her usual sporty attire, his response is that she’s been showing her legs off since she was a kid.

One of the nice things in this volume was seeing all of Chizu’s friends come together to support her in different ways. Sawako and Yano maintain a facade of normalcy, waiting for the moment when Chizu will feel like talking to them. Ryu always seems to be around when Chizu needs to talk or rage at someone, and Kazehaya keeps tabs on the situation in his own way. Shiina’s art is a little more scratchy around the edges than you might expect if you’ve been reading a lot of more polished-looking shoujo titles, but this actually serves to emphasize the changing emotional states of her characters very well. When Sawako is sunk in gloom wondering how to support Chizu, she does look like a caricature of the terrifying Sadako. Chizu seems to crackle with energy when she makes her outrageous pronouncements. When she sees Toru for the first time with her friends she screams “Hide Yano! Hide her boobs! Put her in a closet!” because she doesn’t want Toru to be drawn in by Yano’s natural sexiness. It was fun to see Chizu work through the loss of her first love, and it was interesting to see the way Ryu seems to serve as a quiet, steady counterweight to her more explosive personality.

Kimi ni Todoke Volume 6 by Karuho Shiina

Kimi ni Todoke Volume 7 by Karuho Shiina

The seventh volume switches back to focus on the romance between Sawako and Kazehaya, which is developing at an adorable but glacial pace. Sawako’s friends decide to spring a date on Sawako and Kazehaya by arranging a group New Year’s outing to a shrine and then abruptly disappearing once Sawako and Kazehaya are together. Sawako’s big secret is that Dec 31st is her birthday, but she’s thrilled that she’s going to be able to see Kazehaya on that special day. Yano and Chizu give Sawako a mini makeover and her horrifying facial expressions when she’s trying not to cry and ruin her makeup are hilarious.

The awkward date at the shrine begins, with Kasehaya seeming just as nervous as Sawako. They both are hyper aware that they’re walking together, and their friends hide in the bushes to spy on them and provide a running commentary. Seeing Chizu and Yano look so thrilled about the date was funny, as they exclaim to each other “They’ve started walking and talking side by side!” and “They’re gonna go get amazake!” Ryu just sits off to the side shaking his head. Even though Sawako’s never been out on an accidental date before, Kazahaya is in a similar position. It is the first time he’s gone to a shrine at New Year’s with a girl. I enjoyed all the cultural details of the shrine visit, and it was very cute to see the couple enjoying each others’ company with the type of blushing teenage awkwardness that only manifests itself with first love. They exchange e-mail addresses and when Kazahaya sees the sequence of numbers in Sawako’s after she texts him to say “Thank you for everything this year” he realizes that it is her birthday and comments that he wished he’d bought her a present. While they might have had a nice sudden date, Sawako isn’t really ready to take the next step even though she acknowledges to herself that she wants more than friendship with Kazahaya. It is a very good thing that Kazahaya seems to be the most emotionally intelligent, patient, and sensitive Japanese teenage boy that ever lived, because otherwise I could see rough times ahead for their romance.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

Karakuri Odette Volume 5 by Julietta Suzuki

Once again Suzuki manages to come up with an absolutely adorable cover. I love the way Odette looks so surprised as she’s dancing with the Professor. The fifth volume contrasts old and new friendships as well as different levels of emotional development. Odette’s super strength has been exhibited at school before, and this time Odette overhears a student calling her “Gorilla Girl.” Shirayuki explains “Many men don’t like admitting that a woman is stronger than them. Some of them like the idea of protecting a fragile girl. If that’s what makes a girl cute in their eyes…then a strong girl like you Odette…might not get many cute points.” Odette is depressed about not being thought of as cute due to her strength. Later on she gets trapped with Asao in a storage shed. He’s fully aware of her robot abilities and asks her to break down the door for him. Odette sits with her hands folded in her lap and says it is impossible because she’s never lifted anything heavier than a pair of chopsticks. Asao has grown into the role of Odette’s mentor on being human. He asks her if she’s sitting trapped in a shed because it is something she wants to do, and points out that she isn’t weak. He challenges her, saying “Instead of worrying how people see you, isn’t how you see yourself more important?” Odette concludes that she’s better off using her skills and kicks the door down.

The rest of the volume focuses on two of Odette’s male robot counterparts and her reactions to them. Reformed assassin robot Chris is repaired and waiting to meet Odette again. A side story shows the mission of one of Chris’ brothers as he gets sent to assassinate a professor and instead finds himself forging a strong emotional connection with his target’s young daughter. While the Chris model might not outwardly show emotion very much, it is evident from his actions that he does have deep feelings. Odette encounters a new advanced robot named Travis. He’s arrogant and demanding, but obviously similar to Odette in his almost human-like mannerisms. Odette is so delighted to meet another robot, she doesn’t seem to notice Travis’ more sociopathic tendencies. Travis announces that he’s in Japan to look for a bride, but Odette is oblivious about the fact that she’s the only eligible teenage girl robot around.

Odette has mixed feelings about Chris coming back. He’s extremely popular at school, and her classmates make a big fuss about his return. Odette compares the blank-faced Chris with her new friend Travis and loses patience with him. While Odette has her moments of selfishness, they seem to be the type of emotions experienced by a toddler, which is probably how old Odette actually is. She’s very aware of her own feelings but not tuned in to the effect her words and actions have on others. Asao again serves as her conscience when she abandons Chris. When she tells Asao that Chris doesn’t understand her, he challenges her by yelling “So do you claim you understand him?” Asao’s opinion matters the most to Odette and she begins to realize the consequences of her actions.

Odette seems to seesaw between working through teenage issues like self-image and cuteness or the issues of a young child like selfishness and being able to empathize with others. It strikes me that when Odette is contrasted with Travis, the development of the human-like qualities in the robots is a direct reflection of their creators. Travis’ creator wants to find a bride for Travis only to further his dream of developing the ideal robot. When The Professor is asked to give up Odette he reacts with the same horror a loving parent would experience if asked to give up a human baby. Since this is the next to the last volume, I’m curious to see how Suzuki will conclude this series. Karakuri Odette has always been episodic in nature, but Odette has gradually grown more emotional as the series progressed. I don’t think I’m expecting a grand exciting conclusion, but it would be nice to see Odette find some sort of peace with her half- artificial/half-human nature.

Honey Hunt 6 by Miki Aihara

I sometimes feel like a lonely apologist for Miki Aihara, because I think of Hot Gimmick fondly due to the insane soap opera of it all, despite the horrible potentially abusive relationship the heroine ends up in. Any manga where the best match romantic for the heroine is her adopted half-brother. I don’t expect good endings from Aihara, but it is a little disappointing that Honey Hunt is on hiatus and this is the last volume that we’ll get unless she starts up the series again.

Overall, Honey Hunt is perhaps a little less irksome than Hot Gimmick, just because the main character Yura slowly seems to be moving towards standing up for herself. She’s caught between three men – her pop idol boyfriend Q-ta, A-ta’s brother and her fellow actor Haruka, and her manager. Part of the reason why I enjoy Honey Hunt so much is for the train wreck quality as Yura’s potential partners are all horrible for her in different ways. Q-ta is essentially selfish, wanting Yura to give up her promising career as an actress just to spend time with him. Haruka is much more supportive and seems to like Yura, not an image he’s projecting of her. But his inability to express his emotions causes Yura to assume that he hates her. Yura’s manager Mizorogi is the one she trusts the most, but his underhanded manipulations threaten Yura’s emotional well-being. One of my favorite moments was seeing Mizorogi’s silent and lonely agony as he realizes that Yura’s consummated her relationship with Q-ta. He slumps down in a chair with his hands to his face and says “It hurts…more than I imagined.” Then he pulls himself together and proceeds to lecture a half-clad Yura about the necessity of studying her scripts.

Haruka tries to warn Yura of Q-ta’s flightiness but she assumes that it is because he doesn’t approve of her. Mizorogi tells Yura that he approves of her new relationship only to engineer a horrible blow to Yura in order to try to get her to stop seeing Q-ta. All along, Yura’s been afraid that Q-ta is more in love with her composer father than her, and when Mizorogi gets her father to invite Q-ta over during one of the few times they’re able to go out on a date, Yura’s worst fears are realized. She’s left alone while Q-ta rushes to talk about music with her dad. Despite these setbacks, Yura does seem to be coming into her own a little bit. She’s determined to pursue a relationship with Q-ta, even when warned off. She confronts her scheming evil bitch mother when her show beats her mother’s in the ratings. She refuses to see her father when he comes back to Japan, with the reasoning that since he abandoned her, there’s no reason for her to see him now. In many ways she’s acting like a rebellious teenager, but that seems to be a fairly good mode for Yura. After coming out of the shadow of her famous parents and finding some success on her own and fulfillment in acting, it seems like she’s made some progress. But as you might expect from an Aihara heroine, any tentative steps towards self-realization are thwarted by the innate stupidity of a teenager experiencing first love.

Today’s reviews come from one person who is encountering the series for the first time and from someone who has been reading it all along.

Manga Xanadu takes a look at the first volume, concluding “Karakuri Odette has all the makings of a great series. It has a lead character that you quickly care about. Her friends are varied and genuine. The stories are enjoyable and show Odette’s emotional growth slowly and subtly, making it more believable. I’m glad I decided to read this series and will be looking for more volumes. It really deserves the praise it’s received.”

At A Case Suitable for Treatment there’s a review of volume five, noting the return of robot assassin turned high school student Chris, ”
As we see in this volume, however, Chris’s problems are uniquely his own. We get a side-story dealing with one of the other Chris-Assassin-Bombs, who is sent to Italy to kill a professor. Unfortunately, he finds that the Professor is already dead, leaving him without a purpose. He then finds one as he not only bonds with the Professor’s cute daughter, but discovers that her uncle, the professor’s brother, is far more knowledgeable about the “accidental” death than is really allowable. “