By Nanpei Yamada. Released in Japan as “Sorairo Kaigan” by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume (“Betsuhana”). Released in North America by Tokyopop.

As I was reading this volume of Skyblue Shore, it began to dawn on my that its heroine was a rare breed, especially in Hakusensha shoujo: she’s a nice person who can make friends with anyone but doesn’t seen either flighty or dense. Tomo seems to live very much in the real world, and as such doesn’t require more down to earth friends (her best friend Anri seems to fulfill the flakey stereotype here). She’s still a teenager, of course, so we aren’t talking mature beyond her years, but it is nice to see.

The fact that she is so outgoing also balances nicely against Tento, who can be very frustrating. It is nice to see a sullen male shoujo lead who isn’t mooning over the heroine right from the start – in fact, romance is sort of only one mild subplot in this, with Tomo still being very hung up on the older brother Riku, and indeed getting into a love triangle. The relationship she was with Tento is that of a good friend and mentor, and it’s a delight to see, especially when it focuses on the beachcombing and making of accessories. Tento worries about Tomo, who is the outgoing heart-on-her-sleeve sort that makes people worry. Unfortunately, Tento is still quite repressed and brooding, and still has issues with his past (the flashback we see here goes a long way to explaining why).

So we have Tomo, who’s extremely nice. We have Tento, who’s sort of moody but not precisely rude to anyone. We have Riku, Tento’s brother, who’s a barrel of laughs even though it’s implied part of that might be a facade. Isn’t there anyone who can break up the monotony of a group of good people growing up and learning about life on the seashore? Oh, hi Michiru! She is a total breath of fresh air in this series, as she’s so angry, rude, and generally appalling. Of course, this means little to Tomo, who has made it her goal to get Michiru to open up and become friends with her. But it’s clearly a long-term goal. In a series filled with peaceful coming-of-age characters, Michiru is a sour apple that makes the whole thing more flavorful. I want more of her, and hope that she opens up while still being blunt and rude.

As this volume wraps up, we get the sense that it may focus more of the making of beach artifacts and sales thereof – the flamboyant guy who managed to piss off everyone in his one appearance seems to speak of that, as he has the right air of ‘rival artist’ to him. And I hope to see more of Tomo and Tento getting closer, though the series has not yet quite placed its foot in the romance pool yet. This is still a coming of age drama (with funny bits), and quite an interesting read. If you can get used to the mouths.

By Nanpei Yamada. Released in Japan as “Sorairo Kaigan” by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume (“Betsuhana”). Released in North America by Tokyopop.

Nanpei Yamada is a name well known to fans of Hakusensha’s shoujo. She had her first big break in 1990 with the Kumiko and Shingo series, a group of interconnected manga similar to Banri Hidaka’s Akiyoshi series. Then in 1997 she created Tea Prince, a light school fantasy that ended up running for 25 volumes. As often happens with artists who’ve been in Hana to Yume for some time, she then moved on to Betsuhana, where she’s currently creating works. I had expected the first North American License of her titles to be her current bodyswapping manga Orange Chocolate, but instead we get her 2007 6-volume series Skyblue Shore, a slice of life romance surrounding beachcombers.

Those looking for the standard shoujo cliches will find they’re all happily in place here. Spunky young heroine who makes friends easily. Hot older guy she falls instantly in love with. Sullen and withdrawn guy her own age who she’s clearly going to end up with in the end. And of course a tragic past full of secrets. But again, shoujo is not where you go for originality. The whole thing is written in a likeable way that draws the reader in and makes them want to know more.

The art style is sweet and flows without getting too complicated or busy, as many Hakusensha series to (I Hate You More Than Anyone, Gakuen Alice…). Yamada does tend to draw very wide mouths, which took me some getting used to, but that’s more of a stylistic thing than a complaint. Her depiction of a small town and its beachfront seems dead on.

As for the tragic past, we only get tastes of it here. There’s a nice fakeout with the introduction of a character who we think we saw in the flashback at the start. Indeed, for a moment I worried this story was going to get into much darker themes than I’d anticipated, but that is later revealed not to be the case. Not that there isn’t a fair share of drama here, as we not only get a big revelation at the end that changes the way we regard the rest of the volume, but we also see Tomo, our heroine, nearly drown.

Skyblue Shore is another one of the many shoujo manga I’d classify as ‘comfort manga’. Nothing in here is going to blow you away and change the way you think about manga. But on the other hand, there’s a likeable cast, intriguing plot, and at 6 volumes it’s not going to be the huge investment Tea Prince would have been. If you’re a fan of the sort of shoujo Hakusensha puts out, you’ll like this a lot.