S.A. Volume 17

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By Maki Minami. Released in Japan by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz.

At last we come to the final volume of Special A. Honestly, most of the plot could have been wrapped up several volumes ago. Indeed, a number of the couples resolved their plotlines long ago, and have simply been sitting there taking up space for long periods. And the plots we see in the final volume are all from the Big Shoujo Book Of Endings, featuring the family resolving misunderstandings, the heroine having to choose between family and her new love, and a final chapter featuring an over the top proposal.

All that said, I quite liked this final volume. Maki Minami is bad at all the actual plotting and pacing, but her writing itself is excellent, and she really knows how to wring emotion out of you. The first chapter resolves the fight between Kei’s mother and grandfather with a minimum of fuss. The surprise here is meant to be that we’ve suspected Kei’s grandfather of hating Hikari as she reminds him so much of his dead wife, whereas the reality is the opposite: Hikari reminds him of his own self, and he (as well as his daughter) feel that she worried herself to death the way that Kei tends to do regarding Hikari. Of course, this is all a giant misunderstanding, but give Hikari the opportunity to leap from tall buildings and be very shiny, her best qualities.

After the weakest chapter of the book, involving Akira growing weary of being treated like a chef/waitress by the others (a genuine grudge, and something resolved far too patly), we find Hikari making that choice that I mentioned earlier. It requires her leaving the school, something she has trouble telling everyone. Once they find out, of course, it becomes a giant farewell party… which, since none of them really want her to leave, turns into a giant contest. Everyone basically straight up admits that this is a way to guilt her into staying, but it doesn’t read as being wrong, mostly as even Hikari’s dad thinks she’s making the wrong decision. Everyone bids her farewell one by one, as Hikari feels worse and worse, culminating in Akira sobbing and begging her not to go.

Until finally, it all comes down to a giant battle between her and Kei. This is the best part of the book, mostly as it’s clear how much this is foreplay for them. We see Kei reminiscing about the history of their battles, and see that yes, he DID try once what all of us wondered about: he let Hikari win. This was back when they were kids. And it devastated her, as she immediately knew he did it. Seeing her on her knees in tears, begging him to fight her again at full strength… is when he fell in love with her, even back then. Then seeing her joyful face as she races from him, knowing that to Hikari the outcome is secondary to the love of the contest… this is the high point of the manga. Really well done.

After that it’s just an epilogue, showing each couple getting about 2 pages to show they’re all happy together. (One part, with Jun and Sakura, seems to be poorly translated by Viz. It notes that Sakura is a free man. I can’t understand that at all.) And, with Kei winning one more contest against Hikari, we are finished.

Honestly, this was a fun volume for me only as I’d read the previous 16 and was invested in the characters. On its own, it’s filled with flaws. But then, anyone reading S.A. 17 will have read the other ones anyway. For them, it’s a decent wrapup to the series, especially for our hero and heroine. Even if it could have been done back at Volume 9 or so.

Kimi Ni Todoke Volume 6

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By Karuho Shiina. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret (“Betsuma”). Released in North America by Viz.

I’m starting to notice a problem with the fact that a great deal of the shoujo manga we see here comes from Hakusensha titles. I’ve grown used to their fast, somewhat chaotic and cluttered style. So when I get to a title from, say, Shueisha, the pace always seems too slow and pedantic for me. That’s the complaint I have with this volume of Kimi ni Todoke – it’s 180 pages, but with only 4 chapters, and with the art and plot as spread out and relaxed as it is, it feels like very little happened here.

Well, that wraps up my complaints. Now back to gushing. Wow, this continues to be one of the best shoujo manga titles coming out here in North America. Sawako mostly takes a backseat for 3/4 of it, as we wrap up the arc featuring Chizuru and her crush on Ryu’s big brother. The cliffhanger we left Vol. 5 with is resolved almost immediately, as Big Brother returns home for the holidays with his fiancee in tow. So most of what we get are Chizuru trying to come to terms with her crushed dreams, and the fight she subsequently has with Ryu.

A lot of the fun in this volume comes from characters not reacting the way that we think they should. Even Ayane notes this out loud, saying that a Chizuru trying to act ‘normally’ while repressing everything is something that she can’t deal with. Meanwhile, Ryu is normally the most perceptive of the group, but here is forced to actually step out of his passive role, and finds it very awkward going. Chizuru can easily scream and yell, but when he’s angry or frustrated, he has no such vent. As a result, we completely understand why Chizuru is so confused with his behavior – why on earth is her steady, reliable friend giving her mixed signals NOW?

We don’t actually end with any sort of confession – far too early in the series for that, and the manga’s at 12 volumes and still running in Japan. But things do wrap up well, with Chizuru and Ryu’s brother working things out as well as they ever will, and then having her and Ryu make up. Their talk at the dockside is the sweetest, most touching part of the volume, and makes you yearn for them to get closer. But at least they’re friends again.

The last chapter is also excellent, reminding us that while Sawako has come very far since the start of the manga, she’s not remotely a normal, sociable girl yet. What’s more, she’s not yet at the point where Christmas is a time for friends and lovers rather than family – though we can see her struggling with it. Luckily, Kazehaya continues to be the best boyfriend ever, and is totally understanding of what she needs to do. He also gets her the perfect Christmas present. But I’ve gone on about Kazehaya’s perfection before.

Basically, even though the pace seems sluggish to me as a reader of much more pacey shoujo manga, it’s not that bad in its own context. And if the pacing is all I can complain about, then you’re in for a treat. Kimi ni Todoke continues to be one of the best manga being published today. Seek it out.

Otomen Volume 8

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

I’m not certain who first came up with the expression, but I first heard it back on rec.arts.drwho in the 90s, from novel author Jonathan Blum. He noted, “There’s a difference between suspension of disbelief and hanging disbelief by the neck until dead dead dead.” I was reminded of it again while reading Otomen Volume 8, which I think has to be read as a gleeful savage parody of shoujo conventions. Mostly because if you don’t, you’ll want to hurl it across the room.

In this volume, we meet Ryo’s grandfather, who she has moved to Hokkaido to care for. (More on that later.) He is a large, Fu-Manchu-mustached BULL of a man. Grumpy and mistrusting of both his granddaughter and Asuka. However, this is a plot twist, as it later turn out… (wait for it…) that he’s secretly an OTOMEN! Oh My God! He sews cute plushies! And makes ornaments and picture frames! How adorable! In the next chapter, however, trouble comes. Asuka’s mother has decided that these feminine men need to be rubbed out, and she’s brought in a ringer to help achieve her plan – Masamune Kasuga, Asuka’s cousin, who is going around looking to expel any man who does girly things.

Now, we don’t get a hint of this in this volume, but I think any self-respecting reader will know that in Volume 9, Kasuga will be revealed to be a secret Otomen. I haven’t read ahead and have no inside information – but DUH. I imagine Kanno-san, every time she writes in another male in this series, just laughing her ass off imagining how far she can take this. Well… quite far, as we’ve seen, but I am starting to get a little aggravated by the whole thing. I read Otomen for reasons other than the giant parody of shoujo conventions, and the reader in me who likes genuine plot and characterization is getting weary of the fakeness that this series possesses.

Let’s look at another example. In this volume, we finally get what I’ve been begging for for ages. Ryo, as I noted above, moves to Hokkaido (briefly – she’s back by the end of the book), and Asuka, knowing Ryo well, decides to give her a big send-off by taking her training in the mountains. This leads up to him noting that there’s no need to make lots of fun memories thinking they’ll never meet again, as he will love her no matter what. And then, Ryo actually says she loves him as well. What’s more, it seems to stick – when they’re walking around Hokkaido, they’re mistaken for a married couple, something Ryo denies, but she does note that they are dating.

I should be more happy about this than I am. The main problem, of course, is that Ryo is as opaque as ever. Even in the most aggravating of shoujo series, where the girl misunderstands her aloof guy constantly, we get the occasional bone thrown to us, showing him secretly staring at her with a kind face, or a brief look at his own thoughts on the matter. Ryo’s thoughts are a mystery to us, and her returning Asuka’s feelings of love is therefore less heartwarming than it should be. Why did she stay silent for so long about her own feelings? Why is she so content to simply let things stay in a holding pattern for so long? There’s any number of answers we can guess at, but the lack of any answers makes Ryo feel a bit flat compared to the rest of the guys.

I am still enjoying reading Otomen. It’s got a fun, biting sense of humor, loves picking at shoujo conventions, and the art is cute and appealing. But every volume makes me wish it were being written less as a parody and more as a genuine story. It has enormous potential, but, like Ryo, seems content to simply be what it is an not move any further. Which is somewhat sad.