By Aya Konno. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume (“Betsuhana”). Released in North America by Viz.

Sometimes a shoujo author just doesn’t want to write about romance. This can be tougher than it sounds. Many of the shoujo and shonen magazines in Japan have very narrow demographics, and an author sometimes has to disguise their intent in order to get a title published. Ken Akamatsu is perhaps the most famous example, as his editors did not want him writing a fighting series – they wanted more harem comedy. So, he wrote them a harem comedy… which has now become a fighting series with harem comedy fluidly worked into it.

And sometimes you simply realize that your strengths are not in romantic dialogue. Tomoko Hayakawa has written in her manga The Wallflower about her arguments with the editor, who wants things wrapped up soon-ish – it’s been 24 volumes, after all – and her own abilities to write romance, which suck. She’s much better at comedic stuff, and knows it.

Now, since I’m actually reviewing Otomen 6 here, I note that Aya Konno can clearly write romance, as is evidenced by the few meager scenes we see in this series. She just doesn’t particularly WANT to. The series is about gender roles. Asuka’s attempts to be manly, despite his love of girly things. Ryo’s gung-ho tomboyishness showing him the way that it can be done. And a nagging tendency for all the tall, handsome, rugged men to love flowers and makeup. It’s comedic (just look at that cover!) and can be very clever, but it also means that in some volumes, such as this one, Ryo is almost entirely absent.

She’s not needed as there isn’t a gratuitous “Asuka pines after Ryo” chapter here. We do see her giving Asuka Valentine’s Day chocolate (once again, the question of whether they’re an official couple or not is sidestepped), but that’s used just to give Asuka determination (and for comic effect – her chocolates are the funniest thing in the volume). This is more frustrating as two chapters in this volume *do* actually deal with romance. Juta’s sister Kuriko has two suitors here – the girly Yamato and the flower-loving Kitora. Tellingly, these are both the weakest chapters of the volume, and one of them ALSO ends up dealing with gender roles, as Yamato takes Asuka on a ‘practice date’.

This is still a good manga, and I think it manages to keep a clever balance between mocking all the gender stuff and making telling points about being yourself. But I think at this point having romance almost hampers it, as it’s setting us up for plot lines I doubt we’ll ever really get. The goal we’re headed for is not Asuka and Ryo as a couple, it’s Asuka realizing that he can accept his love of feminine things. The author KNOWS what is expected of her – there’s a whole plotline in Otomen about Juta’s frustration at Ryo and Asuka, as his editor is telling him to move the couple in “Love Chick” forward. It’s unclear how much of this is based in real life, but I’d suggest more than likely Kanno has her editors at Betsuhana say the same thing.

Plus, of course, everyone reads this for the pretty boys anyway. Ryo who? :)

By Aya Konno. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume (“Betsuhana”). Released in North America by Viz.

This was quite an enjoyable volume of Otomen for me. One of the main reasons being that it actually focused on Ryo for a short period. It’s no secret that Otomen is a manga written solely for female readers, and that the focus is clearly on Asuka and Juta. We see things from their point of view, and hear their internal monologues. Ryo may be the female love interest, but we rarely if ever see what she’s thinking.

Now, I’m not sure this bothers most fans (Ryo suffers a bit from Himawari Syndrome, which is when you’re the female love interest in a heavily yaoi fandom), but I’d like to get to know her better and see how she thinks. This volumes beauty contest goes a long way towards giving us that. Putting Ryo up against a female rival who’s excellent at ‘traditional female’ things helps to show off her insecurities, which is necessary for a ‘pedestal’ character like Ryo to possess. Plus she gets to drop kick heavy Kliegl lights out of the air while dressed in a kimono.

Of course, her relationship with Asuka is still ambiguous. The author is still having trouble handling the actual romance, partly as I suspect she’s more interested in interaction between Asuka and Juta, but also partly as Asuka has now confessed TWICE, and yet nothing has seemed to change. The lack of forward motion in their romance that frustrates Juta also frustrates us, as he’s correct – if you like each other, and have confessed, WHY AREN’T YOU A COUPLE?

But then, the manga is not really about their romance. It’s about Asuka’s struggles with his love of feminine things. The final chapter in this volume has Asuka torn, as his growing fame as a ‘masked beauty samurai’ is starting to open up the risk of being outed to the world – and more importantly, to his mother. Asuka’s mixed feelings towards his father are handled well, but it does lead to a very obvious cliffhanger. Oh well, Otomen is not exactly about subtle.

The other chapter in here is about Juta winning an award, and realizing that his own secret identity is at risk. Juta’s remarks about the dreams of young girls is very telling, and I suspect much of this chapter is a parody of the current shoujo manga market, where it would not surprise me at all if many shoujo artists *were* men using a female pseudonym as a front. This climaxes in Juta’s solution to the problem, which once again could be seen from 93,000,000 miles away, but is still very funny.

As a romance manga, this can be quite frustrating. But as a comedy, it’s really very funny. Filled with likeable leads you sympathize with and wacky sitcom situations (I’m sure Ryo will have to impersonate her identical twin Eastern European sister any day now), it’s a bright and easy read.