Otomen, vol. 1-10

Otomen, vol. 1-10
by Aya Kanno
Published by VIZ Media LLC

This series first came out while I was in college and I remember borrowing the first few books from a friend to read and found it hilarious. I recently went to the library and saw they had volumes 1-10 on the shelf so I picked up all of them and re-indulged. I was not disappointed!

The premise of the series is that Asuka, the main character, has immersed himself into Kendo, Judo, and several other manly endeavors. The truth is, he's an "otomen", a man that enjoys feminine things. He hides this from his mother who has drilled into him that he must "act like a man" after dealing with Asuka's father leaving, declaring that he's always wanted to be a woman.

What I love about this series is similar why I love Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun (Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun) is that most of the gender roles and character tropes are reversed. Asuka's love interest is a girl who is very cute, but was raised by her single father, a dojo owner.

So of course, hilarity ensues!

There's hardly a time where I read a volume and I don't laugh out loud. The art style is very appealing, and Kanno does a great job of keeping the flow of the story going and showing when Asuka is emotionally moved without making him too out of character.

I look forward to reading the rest of the volumes!

Honey and Clover, Vol. 1-9

Honey and Clover, Vol. 1-9
by Chica Umino
Published by VIZ Media

This is a series that I first read when VIZ published their collective magazine Shojo Beat. It was something that was hard to read in a chapter a month format, just because this manga is very slice-of-life.

The art style appealed to me, so I picked up vol. 1-9 (10 is the last volume in the series) from the library and dived in.

The story follows a group of art school students as they go through school and deal with the struggles of transitioning from students to adults, and dealing with expectations that are given to them by the people and world around them.

Hagumi "Hagu", a 18 year old girl who appears (and acts) as a child. Sheltered from her upbringing, she's brought to art college by her cousin and guardian, Shuji, a professor at the art college.

Takemoto, who deals with his place in not only art school, but the role he wants to play in the world.

Morita, who appears as a slacker but also a gifted artist, who has a tendency to miss his final exams and has to repeat and his relation to a mysterious man who shows up to offer him jobs with good pay.

Mayama, who is in love with an older woman that doesn't seem to notice his feelings, and how he has to deal with growing up and proving to her that he is capable of taking care of her.

Yamada, who is in love with Mayama, struggles with staying true to her feelings and wishing Mayama would love her in return.

Because this is a slice-of-life, the themes and point of views change with each volume, but each small snippet of story leaves you with a happy, bittersweet feeling. Some of the stories are cheerful, some of the stories are darker. There are love triangles, there are real emotions that you feel as you come to know these characters.

I haven't gotten to read the last volume in the series (because for some reason the library doesn't have it?!) but I might cave and get it as a ebook, just so I can know how everything ends. I would definitely recommend this for people who don't have the attention for long stories, but enjoy small separate stories with fun characters who learn and grow the more volumes you read.

QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3

QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3
By Kyousuke Motomi
Synopsis (from goodreads.com)

The manga's ad uses the tagline "brush away all the soot of the hear". The "cleaning story of love and bravery(!!)" follows Kyuutarou, who never leaves a speck of dust behind when he "cleans". One day, he meets a girl who wants to be his apprentice.

Review: 
First off, I'm a big fan of manga, especially 'shojo' titles, so my review may be a tad biased.  Potential spoilers ahead too.

This was a really interesting story idea. It is about people that harbor bad thoughts of self doubt, etc, that causes their minds to become corrupted or "dirty". They leave behind these black insects that Kyutaro "sweeps" away using magic. He calls himself a cleaner. He meets transfer student Fumi after she stumbles into the mind path and destroys a bug with her bare hands.

His brother has him take her on as an apprentice since she has no where to stay. The dynamic between them is similar to Motomi's other series, Dengenki Daisy, but the improved art and paranormal aspect of the story makes it fresh and a solid series in it's own right.

According to other reviews that I've read on Goodreads, this series ends with volume 3 and continues as a new series. I'm definitely interested in learning the continued story.

I rated this series as a 4, as the art and story were interesting, and kept my attention through all three volumes.

Friends with Boys

Friends with Boys

Faith Erin Hicks

Published Feb. 2012 by First Second

224 illustrated pages

Summary:

A coming-of-age tale with a spooky twist!

Maggie McKay hardly knows what to do with herself. After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and rough-housing with her older brothers, it’s time for Maggie to face the outside world, all on her own. But that means facing high school first. And it also means solving the mystery of the melancholy ghost who has silently followed Maggie throughout her entire life. Maybe it even means making a new friend—one who isn’t one of her brothers.

Review:

This graphic novel follows Maggie, a homeschooled teenager, and her immersion into public high school. She has a challenge: making a friend that isn’t one of her 3 older brothers. Kookier still, is a ghost that follows Maggie around through various points of the story. Not only does she have to deal with High School but a ghost as well.

Hicks does a great job putting you in the shoes of Maggie. Each page is richly illustrated with backgrounds and there is a lot of feeling behind character’s facial expressions. It’s surprising how she uses body language and expressions to say things that are unsaid, like the animosity between her eldest brother and one of her new friends.

The novel sometimes feels like a slice of life comic, with no particular plot line. It seems to gain more of a storyline near the end of the book, and I’m hoping for something a bit more structured in book 2.

I’m also still a little unclear on why the author chose the title she did for the series, but I assume that in the original drafts the storyline pertained a bit more to the title.

Fans of the Scott Pilgrim series will most likely enjoy Friends with Boys.

3.5/5