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Shoujo manga that doesn't suck
There are a lot of clichéd tropes in shoujo manga, but here are a few titles that pleasantly surprised me by playing around with those clichés and turning them into something fresh and entertaining. (All Viz titles, coincidentally.)
When I read the summary for the first volume of High School Debut, I rolled my eyes and groaned in disgust: After blindly following the advice of fashion magazines and the like, Haruna fails to win the eye of any guy. Convinced that a coach is needed (just like when she trained for softball), she recruits cute upperclassman Yoh Komiyama to instruct her on how to make herself more appealing. Yoh agrees, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!
I thought, "Oh no, another story about a girl changing herself to make a guy like her!" But my local library had it on the shelf, and I figured, what the heck, I'll give it a try since it won't cost me anything. And I'm so glad I did because I loved the series and now I'm completely hooked! It actually turns out that it's not about Haruna going through an ugly-duckling-to-swan transformation, but rather, about Haruna learning that she doesn't need to change and is attractive the way she is.
Part of her problem is that she's gotten most of her notions about love and romance from shoujo manga, and she tries to make herself conform to them, which is an ill fit. For example, she wears overly frilly clothes that don't suit her tall, athletic frame. Yoh does initially help her find some clothes that are still feminine but flatter her figure better, but it's not really about Haruna getting a makeover. By being with Yoh, Haruna realizes that she doesn't need to fit that stereotype she has in her head.
And okay, maybe it would've been better if she didn't need a guy to tell her that, but she helps Yoh change for the better, too. He helps her only reluctantly, because she's so earnestly persistent, and because his younger sister Asami is amused by the idea and urges him to help Haruna. While Yoh has a good eye for what makes a woman attractive, he's gruff and brusque, and bad at communicating with other people. He has a good heart deep down, but sometimes people mistake his gruffness for meanness. In fact, he's sworn off dating completely due to a bad breakup with his previous girlfriend, who didn't understand how much he cared about her because he couldn't express himself properly.
Haruna may be naive and a bit gullible at times, but she's so exuberant and good-natured that you can't really hold it against her. She's kind and sees the best in people--even sometimes when they don't deserve it, as when Asami grows jealous of Haruna and Yoh's growing closeness in Book 2, and steals away the guy that Haruna has developed a crush on, a friend of Yoh's named Fumi. Haruna doesn't understand that Asami did it out of spite, and believes that Asami sincerely likes Fumi, so she doesn't hold a grudge. And when Asami is later wracked by guilt over how badly she treated Haruna and Fumi, Haruna helps her realize that she really does like Fumi, after all. I read one review where the reviewer couldn't forgive Asami for what she did, even if she was sorry afterward, but I sort of felt like Haruna, by having faith in Asami--and to a greater extent, Yoh--is able to bring out the best in them.
(Incidentally, there's a character named Asami in my Haru fanfics, but it wasn't based on this Asami; I just liked the name, and wasn't thinking of Yoh's sister when I created my OC Asami.)
Because Yoh changes, too--thanks to Haruna's friendship, he gradually begins to open up and get along with other people better. And I like that Yoh isn't perfect--he's stunningly good looking and all the girls in the school are chasing after him, but he doesn't really have any more of a clue of how to be a good boyfriend than Haruna knows how to be a good girlfriend.
But somehow they muddle through--because of course it's obvious that they're going to get together eventually. Another thing that's nice about this series is that it doesn't keep you hanging by dragging on the courtship forever: Haruna and Yoh get together fairly soon, by the third volume. The manga-ka keeps the reader's interest by showing that a relationship needs work in order to survive, and things don't magically turn out happily ever after just because a couple confesses their feelings for each other. One particularly nice chapter is the one about their first date: Haruna tries to orchestrate a perfect shoujo manga style date, and of course it's a disaster because she's too nervous to enjoy herself. But on the way home, they happen to pass by a field where some underclassmen from Haruna's old middle school are playing softball, and they ask her to give them some pointers. (She was a star athlete in middle school.) So the date turns out all right after all, because Yoh gets to see the real Haruna at ease with herself, laughing and playing softball, and he makes it clear that he likes her this way.
I also like that Haruna isn't a helpless damsel in distress. There is one scene early on in the series where Yoh rescues her from a sleazy guy who picked her up, but there's another scene in a later volume where a bunch of jealous girls are harassing her because she's seeing Yoh. She doesn't tell him, because she doesn't want him to worry, but when he finds out that they've called her out for a confrontation, he comes rushing to the rescue--only to find out that's she's already taken on all of them in a fight and soundly kicked their asses. He's protective of her, like a good boyfriend, but she's just as protective of him.
The series is at ten volumes right now and still going. Other complications turn up to challenge Haruna and Yoh, including a few standard tropes like Yoh's old girlfriend wanting to get back together, but they're handled in such an amusing and entertaining way that I don't mind. This is one my favorite Viz titles and highly recommended--I started off borrowing it from the library but went out and bought the last two volumes because the library didn't get in fast enough and I couldn't wait to read them.
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Mixed Vegetables also sounded rather "meh" to me at first: Hanayu is the heir to a pastry shop, but her dream is to become a sushi chef. She plots to become the girlfriend (and eventually the wife) of her classmate Hayato, the heir to a sushi restaurant. However, Hayato secretly wants to become a pastry chef, and dates her because he's plotting to marry into her family.
While the series is still ongoing, I think it's pretty obvious how it will eventually turn out: I predict that they'll get married and Hanayu will take over the sushi shop, and Hayato will take over the pastry shop. However, the characters are likable and engaging, and the fun is in seeing how they will reach the obvious solution.
Hanayu is outraged when she finds out that Hayato is using her to take over the shop, but can't really complain because she's doing the same thing to him. At least, he says that he's using her, but I got the feeling that he really does like her. In any case, after the hurt feelings fade, they resolve to start over as friends and support each other's dreams. As their friendship grows, Hanayu gradually finds herself becoming sincerely attracted to Hayato, and it's obvious that he likes her, too, although as of Book 4, they still haven't really figured out that the feelings are mutual.
Book 4 is my favorite so far because we're really starting to get into the meat of the story: Hanayu finally tells her father that she wants to become a sushi chef, and he is predictably hurt and angry. No one is the bad guy here: Hanayu's father loves her, but naturally wants to see the family business carry on into the next generation, and Hanayu is torn between wanting to follow her dream and not wanting to hurt her parents or little brother. (The brother is a talented baseball player, and Hanayu doesn't want him to have to give up his dream in order to achieve her own.) Hayato has not yet confronted his own family, but it's clear that he's also conflicted about pursuing his dream when he knows that his family is counting on him to take over the sushi shop. I think the conflicted feelings and the characters in both families are handled really well and with sensitivity: the reader wants to root for Hanayu and Hayato, but their family relationships are portrayed lovingly enough that you have sympathy for their parents, too.
I also have to admit that this plotline really touched me, because in my Haru wo Daiteita fanfic series, I wrote that Onozuka ran away from home and his duty as the heir to the family business in order to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. (And it was also a food-related business too, since in my universe, he comes from a long line of wagashi confectioners--"wagashi" being traditional Japanese sweets.) Onozuka chose his dream and has become a successful actor, but at a great price, as he's currently estranged from his family. So I sympathize with Hanayu and Hayato, and hope that they convince their families to let them follow their dreams.
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love*com: Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Ôtani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo.
I didn't find the premise offensive, as I did at first with High School Debut, but it sounded a bit silly to me. However, I was soon hooked: the comedy is hilarious, and Risa and Otani are really fun and likable. Even their names are part of the joke: "Koizumi" means "little spring" and "Otani" means "big valley"--obviously ironic, considering their respective statures.
Again, the plot isn't especially original: it's the old "the couple who quarrels a lot turns out to like each other," but it's handled really well. Risa and Otani start off as reluctant allies, but a fast friendship develops between them, and it's only when the friendship is solid that it begins to blossom into romance. Risa is the first to realize that she likes Otani as more than a friend, which complicates things, because Otani doesn't really want their relationship to change. It's handled with both humor and sensitivity: there are some poignant moments where you really feel for Risa, contrasted with some over-the-top humor, like the introduction of Mr. "Mighty" Maitake, the impossibly handsome and suave young teacher who looks just like the main character from one of Risa's dating simulation games (which is the closest she's come to having a boyfriend prior to Otani).
I don't think I'm spoiling things too much by saying that Risa and Otani eventually get together, but as with High School Debut, the series continues past the big love-confession climax, and we get to see the two struggling--with a lot of humor, of course--to make their new relationship work.
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Otomen: Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things--sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Ryo Miyakozuka, on the other hand, is a girl who can't sew or bake a cake to save her life. Asuka finds himself drawn to Ryo, but she likes only the manliest of men! Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to the girl that he's falling for?
This is another one that I thought sounded kind of silly, but I loved it when I actually read it. It's a role-reversal parody, of course, but it's absolutely hilarious. Asuka and Ryo are both impossibly but sweetly naive: Ryo is clueless that Asuka likes her as more than a friend, but contrary to what the official summary implies, she accepts Asuka as he is, and she is one of the two people that he doesn't have to hide his true nature from. (More on the second person in a bit.)
The real reason that Asuka has to pretend to be manly is because when he was a little boy, his father left the family because he wanted to become a woman, severely traumatizing Asuka's mother. If Asuka shows any hint of girliness, she goes into hysterics and becomes convinced that he will follow in his father's footsteps--even though it's obvious, at least to the reader, that he's perfectly straight and likes girls; it's just that he enjoys traditionally feminine hobbies. However, his mother can't see reason, and whenever Asuka tries to tell her the truth, she feigns a severe illness and pretends that the shock would kill her, so the gullible and guilt-stricken Asuka continues to play the role of the perfect manly son. If she wasn't played with such over the top humor, she would be a psycho, manipulative bitch. Well, actually, she is, but fortunately she spends most of her time traveling away for her job, so Asuka is left alone and in peace for the most part, though Mom turns up periodically to complicate his life. Even though it's a parody and played for laughs, I do feel a bit sad that Asuka's mother can't accept him as he is, but I guess if she did, there would be no manga storyline.
The other person who knows Asuka's secret is his friend Juta, who unbeknownst to Asuka, writes a shoujo manga called "Love Chick" under a penname, and has modeled the heroine after Asuka (and eventually, the hero after Ryo), and he hangs around Asuka to get more ideas for his manga. The clueless Asuka has no idea that the heroine is based on himself, even though "Love Chick" is his favorite manga (which he reads in secret, of course). At first glance, Juta might appear to be a bit of a jerk since he's befriended Asuka out of ulterior motives, but I think there are hints that he isn't such a bad guy and really does care about Asuka.
The over the top humor might not be for everyone, but I'm really enjoying this series.
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Kaze Hikaru: This one I sort of have mixed feelings about. It's a historical manga, where the main character Sei disguises herself as a boy so that she can join the Shinsengumi and avenge the deaths of her family. (The Shinsengumi were a special police force organized to keep peace in Kyoto during the waning days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, when tensions between the Shogunate supporters and the anti-Shogunate, pro-Imperial factions were running high.)
I became fascinated by the Shinsengumi after seeing the 2004 NHK TV series, so I started reading this manga, and at first, I didn't really like it. The story of the Shinsengumi is basically a tragedy: they clung to traditional samurai values in an era when the power of the samurai was waning, and were eventually abandoned by the Shogunate they had sworn to protect. Nearly all of them were killed in the conflicts that led to the overthrow of the Shogun and the restoration of power to the Emperor.
So it's not a happy story, although there are humorous elements that show up in various fictionalized accounts, such as Vice-commander Hijikata's womanizing, and Souji's happy-go-lucky nature. However, since the (Japanese) audience already knows how history turned out, the shadow of tragedy hangs over the story. So it bothered me a bit that the first few volumes seemed overly cutesy to me, playing up the humor of Sei's cross-dressing masquerade and her crush on Souji, the handsome captain of the first unit. I also have to confess that I love the handsome, stoic Saitou from the NHK series, and the fierce, wolfish Saitou in the Rurouni Kenshin manga, so I don't really care for the bland, mild-mannered Saitou in Kaze Hikaru, who falls in love with Sei (still believing she's a boy) and gets as flustered as a teenage boy around her, although he's careful to hide his feelings from her. (His unrequited love is played for laughs, since Saitou looks just like Sei's older brother and she can't see him as anything other than a brother figure, and besides, she's in love with Souji.) So it may be unfair to penalize the manga-ka for my own bias, but I just don't like her version of Saitou, and it spoils the enjoyment of the manga for me a little. If you're not familiar with the character from other works, though, it probably won't bother you.
On the plus side, the manga is obviously well-researched, and the manga-ka often shares some of her research in the afterwords, which are very interesting. And as the story progresses, it takes on a more serious tone and does a better of job (imho) of balancing the humor with the impending tragedy. So now I do like it a lot, although I still don't care much for Saitou, and I recommend it to readers who are interested in historical and/or samurai stories. I'd suggest borrowing it from the library first if possible, though, to determine if you like it enough to spend money on it.
Oh, and for yaoi fans, there are humorous slashy overtones: not just Saitou, but several other members of the Shinsengumi are attracted to Sei, and Ito, who joins the Shinsengumi later in the series, is comically smitten with Vice-commander Hijikata, who can't stand him, and also with Sei, who is equally horrified.
Some other good titles about the Shinsengumi are Peacemaker and the follow-up series Peacemaker Kurogane by Nanae Chrono, published by Tokyopop--it features an eccentric Saitou who has the ability to talk to ghosts, but for some reason, that didn't bother me. It's heavy on the angst and tragedy, but leavened with bits of humor. And there's also the afore-mentioned Rurouni Kenshin, although it actually takes place 10 years after the fall of the Shogunate. However, Saitou (one of the few surviving Shinsengumi members) appears as a major supporting character in Book 7, and we see flashbacks of the Shinsengumi in Kenshin's and Saitou's past. Rurouni is published under Viz's Shonen Jump line and is more of an action series compared to Kaze Hikaru.
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Oh, hi there, Eiri! I suppose I could also say hello to Genjyo Sanzo too, although he probably thinks there's nothing wrong with his communication skills; after all, he means every word of the dressing down he gives those idiots the Sanbutsushin has saddled him with.
Thanks for the recs! I've already read the first couple of volumes of Otomen, although I think I like the first one better. I have a little more sympathy for his mother; yes, she's being unreasonable and ruining his life, but from her point of view, his father's decision ruined hers. I can understand her being afraid he'll turn out like his father and break some other girl's or woman's heart.
Have you ever taken a look at Sand Chronicles, Honey and Clover, or Honey Hunt? You should also read Blank Slate, which is by the same mangaka as Otomen. The story is quite different; it's almost a shonen/action manga as opposed to a shojo manga, with BL/yaoi overtones but nothing as overt as Gravitation, because the protagonist Zero kills the only man he has an overt relationship with at the end of the prologue.
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I suppose you're right about the mom in Otomen--I have to admit, what she went through was pretty traumatic.
I love Sand Chronicles and Honey and Clover! I thought about including them, but the review was getting a bit long, so I thought maybe I'd save them for another time. I've read Blank Slate, which I liked, but I was really surprised that it was by the Otomen author--two completely different kinds of stories! I guess it shows that she has good range. I haven't read Honey Hunt yet, but I'm on the waiting list at the library, so hopefully I'll get a chance to read it soon. I've heard mixed reviews about it, so I decided to borrow it first before buying.
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I like Honey and Clover, or at least what I read of it in Shojo Beat before it folded (caught the series midstream) better than Sand Chronicles, but then Honey and Clover covers more ground and has a bigger cast. Sand Chronicles is good and affecting but can be a bit melancholy and sometimes cloying with the emphasis on relationships. Honey and Clover has more to balance out the relationship drama than Sand Chronicles. Plus oftentimes it's hysterically funny, which is a plus for me. Gee, I wonder why I like Gravitation so much?
Do you like any shonen manga, and if so, which ones?
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I do like shonen manga--I'll read almost any manga I can get my hands on! (I've even read some of the Pokemon manga!) My favorites are Bleach and Prince of Tennis, maybe because they have large male casts with lots of slashy possibilities, at least in fanfic. ;) I loved Rurouni Kenshin and Black Cat (both series are complete). Inu Yasha, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, Shaman King, Hikaru no Go and D Gray Man are all Viz shonen series that I'm currently following, but mainly because the library has them for free. Inu Yasha and Hikaru no Go are probably the only ones that I'd buy if the library suddenly dropped them. I also like Rave Master, a Tokyopop title--I'm pretty sure that's considered a shonen-type series.
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Of shonen manga, I like Death Note, although it's so convoluted I can't read more than one volume at a sitting and I've never finished it, Naruto, and Slam Dunk. My daughter likes D. Gray-Man. I like it and I'll read it but I'm not sure I would have bought it for myself. I tried to get into Bleach when my daughter subscribed to Shonen Jump - she'd been into it briefly but stopped before she got the magazine - but found the story jumped around too much and had too large a cast. I've heard of Prince of Tennis but haven't read it.
Then there are some that I think are considered shojo but are sort of borderline: Loveless, Pet Shop of Horrors (which I know you like), and Count Cain/Godchild. I find the latter two a bit too sad and/or twisted, but they certainly have enough to appeal to others.
I've read Hikaru no Go fics and would probably like the manga. I know the artist is the same one who did Death Note.
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I'm really lucky that my library carries a good selection of manga. I donate some of my old manga when I'm finished reading them to show my appreciation, although of course I keep the favorites that I like to re-read over again.
I like the characters in Bleach, but there are a lot of them to keep track of, so I can see how it can get confusing. I got into Prince of Tennis because someone on my Friends list used to write Prince of Tennis fanfic, so I had to go read the manga to figure out what was going on in the fics. ^_^
I like Loveless--though the relationships between the various characters are kind of twisted. I read Godchild (borrowed from the library), but it was incredibly depressing (and twisted). It was beautifully drawn and well written, but I'm not sure that I can say I like it. Pet Shop of Horrors actually has some nice humorous moments to leaven the sadness/horror as the series goes on. I don't really care for the "pet eats unfortunate owner" storyline that much, but I liked it for the way that the slashy friendship between Count D and Leon slowly developed.
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I agree with you about Godchild, although it is an interesting ride. With Pet Shop of Horrors, I found the first volume so incredibly depressing because of the "pet eats owner foolish enough to disobey instructions" storyline that I never read any more other than the last volume of the first series which revealed the secrets of the Count's origins and identity.
I found Loveless a little slow and boring between about volume 2 and volume 5, though the encounter with Ritsuka's mother in volume 5 and Soubi's subsequent rescue of him in retrospect was a turning point. By the time I read volume 6, where Seimei returns, it got better. At first I couldn't wrap my head around the complete reversal in our perception of Seimei, but now that it's up to vol. 8 and Seimei's return to Seven Voices Academy, I really love it.
Not all of the relationships in Loveless are twisted; there's Hinomi-sensei, Ritsuka and Yuiko, even Soubi and Yuiko, and Kio, who despite coming on to Soubi (how teasingly and how seriously is hard to tell) comes across as a caring friend, the two female Zeroes, and even Soubi's relationship with the two male Zeroes. I also like Nana/Se7en and even, when he's not perving on Soubi, Ritsu-sensei, alhtough I consider what he did to Soubi (more the sleeping with him than giving him to Seimei, over which he had less choice) almost unforgivable.
I don't read Soubi's relationship with Ritsuka the way most do (a friend has suggested that the kiss was meant to transfer some of Ritsuka's power to Soubi, which makes sense to me) and in fact I hope they don't wind up together unless Kouga fast forwards the ending many years into the future. I'd rather see Soubi with Kio or Hinomi-sensei and Ritsuka with Yuiko. But I also have a sinking feeling that instead of setting up Soubi to take Ritsuka's ears, she's setting up Seimei to take Ritsuka's ears (and his own) through his statements about Ritsuka being the only one like him, made for him, etc. What his family has to do with it is unclear too, as there was a statement in the flashback to Seimei meeting Soubi for the first time that his family had a lot of influence as an explanation for why Soubi was assigned to him.
I read much of my manga at the bookstore but it's not as satisfying as being able to bring it home and savor it.
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