This month, we revisit four ongoing series under the Shojo Beat imprint. Erin starts things off with an amusing review of the sixth volume of B.O.D.Y., Michelle looks at volume two of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You and volume fourteen of Love*Com, and Melinda shares her impressions of volume six of Sand Chronicles.

B.O.D.Y., Vol. 6

By Ao Mimori
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

Read Katherine’s review of volume one here.

In middle school, I tried getting into the Sweet Valley High series by reading randomly selected Sweet Valley High #53—Second Chance. It wasn’t about the series’ twin protagonists Jessica and Elizabeth; instead, it followed a tennis pro at their school. I don’t think I finished it. It doesn’t take B.O.D.Y. 53 volumes to run out of stories focusing on its star couple Ryoko and Ryunosuke—after only five volumes, Ryoko’s friend Asuka has troubles with another young host named Kousuke who vows to get revenge on Ryoko for her interference in his blackmail scheme. Like some kind of Sweet Valley Super Edition, volume five found Ryoko snowbound in a ski cabin in the mountains, trapped by that jackass Kousuke. After the incident, instead of ditching Kousuke, Asuka FORGIVES HIM AND IS ABLE TO CHANGE HIM FROM HIS EVIL WAYS. What a terrible message for young women! If he’s a dirty liar who literally tries to kill your friend, for the love of god, DUMP HIM. You can’t change him. Hopefully the young women reading this title in the U.S. and Japan know better, and are reading B.O.D.Y. out of a twisted sense of wish fulfillment. “Wouldn’t it be great if I could change him?”

B.O.D.Y. is a guilty pleasure for me—it’s so terrible, but I’m compelled to read it because I’m fascinated by what crap the author will come up with next (it’s like trying a new crappy Pringles flavor—gross, yet fascinating). It seems like Mimori has no idea what’s going to happen next; she’s just drawing whatever comes to mind.

Volume six of B.O.D.Y. is available now.

–Reviewed by Erin Finnegan

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 2

By Karuho Shiina
VIZ, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen

In volume one of this charming series, Sawako Kuronuma learned that by sharing her true feelings she could clear up misunderstandings. When malicious rumors begin to circulate about two classmates who’ve been kind to her, with Sawako named as the source of the stories, she desperately wants to clear up the “misunderstanding,” too innocent to understand that the tales have been spread purposefully to turn her new friends against her and make the sought-after Kazehaya disgusted with her.

Happily, the two classmates in question, Yano and Yoshida, aren’t fooled for a second that Sawako could be responsible. That is, until her hesitance to presume that they could actually already be friends makes them wonder how she really feels about them. I love that these two tough girls have clearly grown attached to their strange classmate and when everything is explained, with Kazehaya once again providing Sawako with helpful advice and encouragement, it’s rather sniffle-inducing. It’s depressingly rare that female friendships are given so much attention in a shojo series, and I heartily approve!

That’s not to say that romance is entirely missing. Although their relationship is developing slowly, Sawako seems to be starting to view Kazehaya in a different light, while Kazehaya is holding back in order to let Sawako enjoy having friends for the first time. I’m sure that when they finally do get together, it’ll be touching and sweet, just like everything else about this series.

Volume two of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You will be available on October 6, 2009.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Love*Com, Vol. 14

By Aya Nakahara
VIZ, 200 pp.
Rating: Teen

Tall Risa Koizumi and her short boyfriend, Atsushi Outani, 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 Outani in order to sabotage their relationship. This leads to two chapters of extremely frustrating angst and misunderstanding, in which Outani 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 Outani 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 Outani’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.

Volume fourteen of Love*Com is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Sand Chronicles, Vol. 6

By Hinako Ashihara
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teen)

Having finally broken up with Daigo, Ann decides to give a relationship with long-suffering Fuji a try. Their physical relationship gets a slow start, but thanks to conniving friends, they are eventually thrown into a romantic situation from which even Ann cannot escape. Unfortunately, Fuji’s gentle eagerness and Ann’s indecision only serve to create a situation more painful than any of Fuji’s many years of unrequited love, and Ann only ends up accumulating further regret. Meanwhile, Daigo also attempts to move on by letting himself become involved with a former schoolmate who has harbored a longtime crush on him. This volume also contains a welcome dose of Ann’s grandmother as well as some insight into her father’s past. Shika’s story, too, becomes more poignant in this volume and it is a pleasure to watch her finally discovering how to break away from what hurts her.

This quietly nuanced series truly becomes richer with each new volume. It is genuinely heartbreaking to watch Ann and Fuji together, filled with such earnest affection for each other but unable to move beyond the weight of Ann’s lingering feelings for Daigo. It is only after having made a grand gesture symbolizing her break with Daigo that Ann truly begins to understand her own feelings, and though she strays far from doing right by Fuji (“I used the person it would hurt the most,” she thinks tearfully to herself, “but I needed someone to rescue me so badly.”) he understands her too well to hate her or even feel any real anger over her actions. It is this series’ refusal to vilify any of its characters that makes it feel so true to life, and this volume is a perfect example of that.

Ashihara’s art, always one of the series’ great strengths, is especially strong in this volume in terms of expressing the feelings of her characters. This is particularly evident in the scenes between Ann and Fuji, which are stunningly effective. Both visually and otherwise, Sand Chronicles continues to be an exceptionally rewarding read.

Volume six of Sand Chronicles is available now.

–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi