24 Jan, 2008

This week I’m looking at three titles from Viz’s Shojo Beat line, all of which I like. Woops, these are low-res images… I’ll replace them later.

I’d also like take a moment to explain that I give As to titles I’d recommend to anyone, A- to titles I’d recommend to almost anyone, and the rare A+ is for books I suggest you buy immediately, no questions asked.

Honey and Clover, Vol. 1

by Chica Umino
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teens

Before Honey and Clover I didn’t know shojo titles could have male protagonists. H&C centers around three college dormmates at an art school: Takemoto, the white-haired directionless sophomore; Morita, a fifth-year senior brunette with a mysterious job and odd personal habits; and heartbreaker senior Mayama who’s in love with his widowed boss. Most of the gang hangs out in Hanamoto-sensei’s office, and the inciting incident is the introduction of Hanamoto’s younger cousin Hagu.

Hagu-chan enters the college as a freshmen, but she’s so short that people mistake her for either a 12-year-old or some kind of leprechaun from Hokkaido (well, Morita thinks so). At 18 Hagu is an accomplished artist with gallery shows, making her a freak at the art school and putting her under a lot of pressure. Fortunately she fits in with Hanamoto’s posse of weirdoes.

When I watched the anime series, I worried Hagu’s small stature and Morita’s obsession with her meant H&C was an otaku title, but my concerns were unwarranted. (Although sometimes I still worry Hagu’s tiny hands are being fetishized.) Morita and Takemoto both fall in love with Hagu on sight, but they’re too naive or dense to realize it – instead a third-person narrator lets us know what’s going on.

Jason Thompson said of Honey and Clover in the Daily Yomiuri:

I know that a lot of people go into college or adulthood not knowing what they want to do with their lives, and many manga characters have the same directionless attitude, but I find it more inspiring to read about characters who do know what they want.

I was puzzled by Thompson, because the reason I fell in love with H&C was because of Takemoto’s lack of direction in life. Takemoto entered art school because he wanted to do something with his hands. He has no idea what he’ll do when he graduates. It’s Takemoto’s fear of the future in the anime series really captured my heart.

Ceramics major “Ironman” Ayu Yamada kicks her way into the volume at page 110. She’s in love with Mayama, but he doesn’t return her feelings and it’s breaking her heart. I really want to like Yamada because she kicks guys in the head. Her physical strength contrasts with Hagu’s weakness – but Yamada’s path is heartbreak. She cries in half the scenes she’s in (which I’ve been reading in Shojo Beat). I understand college heartbreak, but there’s not one strong woman in H&C (emotionally, and only Yamada has physical strength).

The art style of H&C is incredibly appealing, with fun sketchy lines. There are many comedic moments covering up the deeper dramatic story, and the comedy is drawn well. I love all of the characters, even Mayama’s tragic boss. All of them have unique stories and quirks that make them seem like real people. It really captures the feeling of college, a certain love of meat, and the absolute terror of “What am I going to do for the rest of my life?”

The manga is only 11 volumes, so it seems compact compared to the 36 episodes of anime. Viz is releasing the live action film adaption later this year (I’ll review it soon! I promise!) and there is a live action drama TV series adaptation currently airing in Japan. H&C and Nodame Cantible are giant josei hits in Japan.

Honey and Clover volume 1 (of 11) will be in stores on March 4th. It is currently running in Shojo Beat magazine.

The Sand Chronicles, Vol. 1

By Hinako Ashihara
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teens

The Sand Chronicles is shojo that picks you up by the collar and beats the shit out of you just for fun. One minute it’s all flowers and screentone and the next it’s TEAR JERKING MELODRAMA OH SHIT DID THAT JUST HAPPEN!? No wonder it won the Shogakukan Award.

Ann lives a total hick town which has driven her mother to suicide. In her grief, Ann clings to her boyfriend Daigo, wishing desperately that they’ll be together forever. He gives her an hourglass (thus the title). Ann’s estranged father lives in Tokyo, but that story is for a later arc (currently running in Shojo Beat). Ann feels like she’s got nobody but her friends and her boyfriend. She signs up for a summer camp to spend more time with her friends and inevitably twists her ankle while hanging out in the woods alone with a boy who is not her boyfriend (it was bound to happen, Marmalade Boy, Kodocha, Absolute Boyfriend, My Heavenly Hockey Club) – but damned if there’s not a thunderstorm and a cliff and THERE WILL BE BLOOD!! No, literally, this is the only manga I’ve read since High School Girls with a serious discussion of menstruation.

Sand Chronicles knows how to turn the drama up to 11. I find myself reading the next chapter every month because I’m worried about Ann. I’ve got no complaints about the art. Ann and Daigo’s character designs aren’t the most memorable, but Ann’s big eyes were clearly drawn for crying sweet, sweet shojo tears. This is the perfect storm of a shojo title.

David Welsh called Sand Chronicles one of the best manga of 2008 already, and he reviews it more elegantly than I have here. I guess I’m still a greenhorn puking reviews onto the ‘net.

Sand Chronicles volume 1 (of 10) is currently available. It is currently running in Shojo Beat magazine.

Fall in Love Like a Comic, Vol. 2

By Chitose Yagami
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teens

My review of Fall in Love Like a Comic volume 1 received a lot of comments, leading me to believe this title is pretty popular, perhaps because of the hilarious sample chapter that ran in Shojo Beat. Since the series is only two books long, it will likely find it’s way to the shelves of many shojo fans.

In volume two, Rena and Tomoyo’s relationship is threatened when Rena’s new tutor turns out to be Tomoyo’s [hot, older] ex-girlfriend. This standard romance plotline used to really annoy me – why would an ex be a threat? Do the characters lack confidence in their relationships? Looking back on my own love life and the love lives of some friends, it’s easy to find examples where this actually happens. Just because I’ve never dumped anyone to go back out with my ex… However, I’ve never been jealous of a younger cousin dominating my boyfriend’s time, as it happens later in book.

Volume one made me wonder about the age rating. Older teens? Really? Volume two quickly made me understand the chosen rating as Rena shouts the word “SEX!!!” in large bolded letters about five pages in. Things get steamy but never hot and heavy so it turns out the rating was appropriate. Well played, Viz, well played.

The plot wraps up rather quickly two-thirds of the way through the book. At first I thought the final chapter was some kind of dream sequence, but no, it’s really happening! The ending is over-the-top happy. The final third of the book has an epilogue chapter, an extra story, and a series of pages about how to draw manga which were dense and informative.

The book delivers everything you could really hope for in the second volume of a two volume series – lots of mero mero moments, Tomoyo being a hot guy with a heart of gold, a cute epilogue, and a good solid lesson about making your own manga. The short “Bewildered Princess” falls a bit flat, but otherwise, I’ve got no complaints.

Chitose Yagami has several other titles, all published in Ciao magazine or Ciao Deluxe, none of which have been imported. Most of them have “Kiss” in the title and are 3 volumes or shorter.

Fall in Love Like a Comic volume 2 (of 2) is currently available. A sample chapter ran in Shojo Beat’s September 2007 issue.

- Erin F.