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Manga Reviews REVIEWS

Everyone’s Getting Married Vol. 3

Everyone’s Getting Married, Volume 3 by Izumi Miyazono

Is everyone getting married? I see no evidence of it yet in this series where aspiring housewife Asuka and committed bachelor Ryu continue to fall in love with each other despite their utterly incompatible life goals. This manga manages to balance the twists and turns of a soap opera with some very touching moments as Ryu and Asuka continue to struggle with their feelings for each other, balance their demanding work schedules, and navigate their possibly doomed relationship.

One of the things I like about this series is how little it relies on conflict due to people not talking to each other. Sure it happens sometimes, but not talking about a problem isn’t stretched over multiple volumes as sometimes happens in romance manga. Even when some standard plot elements pop up in the form of Ryu’s Complicated Ex-Girlfriend and Asuka’s Flirty Co-Worker, this continues to lead the couple to reflect on their relationship.

Two events happen in fairly short succession that cause some strain. Yuko, a married actress who Ryu had a long-term affair with years ago is back in town. She’s touched by scandal due to her philandering husband, and Ryu is maneuvered by combative questions from the press into joking on tv that he’d dump his girlfriend for a chance to date her. In addition, Asuka gets news of a upcoming work transfer and is spending time with Kamiya, a colleague. They’re walking down the street together and they agree to do a “couple interview” as a joke, only Asuka is shocked when she sees that Ryu is interviewing her.

These additional people popping up near Asuka and Ryu cause them to confront some of the issues in their relationship. Asuka wonders if Yuko is the reason why Ryu is so set against marriage. Ryu is jealous of Kamiya, even though his relationship with Asuka is professional. But while the only person Asuka wants to marry is Ryu, she wonders what might happen if she takes Kamiya’s overtures seriously since it seems he does really want to get married.

As always the art is attractive and easy to follow, easily handling cute scenes of Ryu and Asuka supporting each other in addition to some tumultuous relationship drama. I wish Shojo Beat could bring out more series like this all at the same time, but I’ll be happy with what I can get.

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Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 1

Welcome to the Ballroom Volume 1 by Tomo Takeuchi

The ballet manga Swan is one of my all-time favorites, and dance manga doesn’t get translated into english very often so I was very interested in checking out Welcome to the Ballroom, which has a shonen take on learning how to dance.

Like many shonen protagonists, Tatara Fujita is aimless and without purpose. When he’s saved from being bullied by Kaname Sengoku, Tatara is dragged along to a ballroom dance studio where he is part of a new student round-up campaign. Kaname yells at him, “Through dance, you can absolutely achieve your adolescent fantasies of touching someone’s body!” Conveniently Tatara discovers that Shizuku, a girl at his school has been taking dance classes at the same studio. Tatara is too self-conscious and poor to sign up for lessons, but later on at home he watches a dvd of ballroom dance performances and decides that he’s finally found something that he can care about.

When Tatara shows up at the studio again and announces to Kaname that he’s going to turn pro and wants to learn how to dance, he’s set up for some serious hazing. Kaname instructs his new student in the box step and tells him to practice until he is given permission to stop. Tatara practices all through the night and into the next morning. It turns out that while he isn’t great at following directions, if he sees a dance performed he can successfully mimic some advanced movements.

I enjoyed the art in this book, while the dancing doesn’t reach level of the ballet in Swan, the dance scenes are suitably dynamic. I was impressed at how Takeuchi handled the varying looks and somewhat split personality of Shizuku’s partner Hanaoka, who shifts from being a polished and commanding presence on the dance floor to a scruffy student with a cold. The contrast between the dancers in daily life and their costumes and bearing during competition showcases how ballroom dancing is an entirely new world.

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By the end of the volume, Tatara has found his purpose, started to practice with great devotion, and continued despite all of Kaname’s attempts to discourage him. It is possible to see the possibility that he might make it as a dancer, and I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing some of the shonen staple sports manga plot elements being applied to ballroom dance.

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Komomo Confiserie, Vols 4 and 5

Komomo Confiserie, Vols 4 and 5 by Maki Minami

This series was five volumes long, and it feels like exactly the right length to wrap everything up and not leave the readers hanging. It was pleasant enough, but I don’t see myself rereading it anytime soon. Still, this is the first Minami series that I’ve stuck with all the way to the end, so there’s something about cranky pasty chefs that I must find appealing! The last two volumes of the series work through a few barriers to Komomo and Natsu getting together.

This volume shows how Komomo deals with a psychotic girl who has decided to stalk Natsu in a dramatic fashion. Natsu starts ignoring Komomo for her own protection, because he doesn’t want Komomo to become a focus for Noelle’s wrath. Komomo doesn’t deal well with being ignored though, and since Natsu doesn’t openly discuss this problem with her at all (which is standard practice for shoujo heroes) the situation drags on far too long. While Komomo manages to fly under the radar for a little bit, Noelle becomes suspicious of Komomo and Natsu’s relationship and decides to take out her revenge on the Meli-Melo pastry shop. Here, Komomo’s sheer force of will and commanding nature comes out when she decides that she will not stand for Natsu’s livelihood being threatened, and she takes charge in a spectacular fashion, exhibiting some emotional maturity that she wouldn’t have been capable of at the start of the series.

Mitsuru, an old friend of Natsu starts to move in on the story. He’s fascinated with Komomo and figures out that Natsu must be in love with her. However, he has his own secret motivation for becoming involved with the odd pastry-obsessed couple, which is explored more fully in the next volume.

While Komomo starts to realize her feelings for Natsu when she begins to feel jealous of Noelle in the previous volume, the dynamic in the final volume is reversed as Natsu is forced to confront just how precious Komomo is to him once Mitsuru comes charging on the scene. Komomo has a choice to go back to her old life or stay devoted to Meli-Melo, and while her feelings aren’t in question, it takes a bit of time for Natsu to actually acknowledge what the reader has known has been going on since the very first volume.

Komomo Confiserie isn’t the most innovative shoujo manga, but I enjoyed the pastry-themed setting and Komomo’s imperious manner, expressive eyebrows, and occasional fits of rage. I While I don’t see myself rereading this manga anytime soon, it was the first Maki Minami series that I actually read from start to finish. Even though I had a very clear idea where the story would conclude after reading the first volume, I still enjoyed reading the whole series.

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Idol Dreams, Vol. 3

Idol Dreams Volume 3 by Arina Tanemura

Well, I spent the first two volumes really hoping that Tanemura would be able to pull off the inherently problematic premise of a 30 year old heroine with arrested development suddenly being given the chance to relive her teen years through magic teen idol pills, but as the various love triangles start to develop with Chikage’s two personas I found myself wishing that the series would wrap up quickly before it starts to head into some uncomfortable territory.

One part of this volume that I liked very much is more time spent with Chikage as an adult. She runs into her long-lost crush Haru and they start to reconnect. Tokita keeps interfering in any situation where Haru and Chikage might become more intimate, even though he doesn’t really have a logical excuse for his actions. Haru has been a bit too mysterious so far, so it was good to get some of his backstory filled in, and see how it is clear that he really did care for Chikage when they were teenagers and he still has feelings for her. It was fun to see the teenage bonds of friendship resurface between Chikage and the two men as they hang out as a trio for the first time in years. Haru is very observant, and seeing how Tokita keeps reacting to Chikage, he decides to step back, but this is only temporary. What is more problematic is that Chikage really can’t relate to anyone intimately as an adult, and she reacts like a flustered teenager to Haru’s overtures. At this point, I’m convinced that she needs therapy more than magic teen idol pills.

Chikage’s adventures as Akari in this volume were a bit more dynamic as she has to manage babysitting duties and breaking into a school in disguise. However, what I was hoping wouldn’t happen in this series happened, as Akari decides to date a 16 year old. I find this more creepy than anything, and I hope this is really short-lived. I’ve enjoyed Arina Tanemura series so much in the past, but now I’m wondering if I should just fill in some of the gaps in my Sakura Hime manga collection and going back and reading that instead. I’m still firmly team Tokita, as he’s clearly the only man that Chikage can actually relax around and be herself with. I hope that the romance swings more that way in future volumes.

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Skip Beat!, Vol 37

Skip Beat! Volume 37, by Yoshiki Nakamura

I always do a mental happy dance whenever a new volume of Skip Beat! comes out, because it is just so consistently good. This volume brings the pain, as Kyoko has to deal with her mother. Kyoko’s family has always been consistently absent from this series, and now the reader knows why. There was a bit of a reference to family difficulties when Kyoko had to get her mother’s permission to sign with a talent agency, but she hasn’t appeared in person in the manga before. Kyoko’s mom appears to be a cold-hearted lawyer who doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by her own daughter.

Coming off of the Heel Siblings arc, Kyoko is back in Japan, working as a Love Me section member again while the first few episodes of her new drama are airing. She runs into her mother by an elevator, but she only displays a few hostile micro-expressions before walking by her daughter, utterly ignoring her. Later, it turns out that Saena Mogami is filling in for another lawyer on a variety show and when responding to questions about her cold demeanor, she replies that she’s never had children. Both Ren and Sho witness this moment, and they think about Kyoko’s feelings, rushing to be by her side.

Sho arrives first, right after Kyoko sees her mother deny her existence. Kyoko’s response to this event is to utterly shut down her emotions. Nakamura does such a great job with Kyoko’s facial expressions in this scene. Kyoko is usually so animated, swinging from one emotional extreme to another that to see her be both beyond sad and blank at the same time is shocking. Kyoko’s eyes are shadowed in grey, and the aftermath of her mother’s interview settles on Kyoko like a physical weight. Sho being Sho, his response is to try to provoke some sort of emotion out of her, and he fails miserably.

Skip Beat! has that rare combination of gripping plots and lovely art, even though the characters might have the leg proportions of giraffes. There are always several pages in each volume where I stop to appreciate the art, like the panels that show Kyoko’s devastation, a photo shoot with Ren that shows the charisma he has that has made him a star, and the moment where Kyoko finally finds some comfort.

Kyoko goes on the run and finds Ren, but she thinks he’s Corn! Oh the tangled web we weave, etc! Still, no mater what side of himself Ren may be portraying, he’s the refuge that Kyoko needs at the time. I can see this storyline spinning out over several volumes, and as usual when Skip Beat! embarks on new direction I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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