Manga Review: Hajimari No Niina

SUMMARY

Amamiya Chitose died at 15-years-old. Her death severely impacts her longtime friend and boyfriend, Itami Atsurou, who grows into adulthood unable to get past his first love. Then, 10 years later, 10-year-old Aoyagi Niina jumps over a wall and into his life.

But Niina is no ordinary girl. She recognizes Atsurou as the boy she was in love with in her previous life. Now his neighbor, Niina attempts to bring happiness to Atsurou, who remains unaware that she was formerly Chitose. As a young girl, and then a teenager, Niina struggles not only with keeping her her memories of her past life a secret, but also with working out where Chitose ends and Niina begins.

Can Niina keep her secrets safe? And can she make the man who loved her in her past life fall in love with her again, despite their age gap?

TL;DR

Something that some readers may struggle with in this manga is the large age gap. In order for Niina to have Chitose's memories, she had to be born at the same time Chitose died, and therefore the age gap between Niina and Atsurou is 15 years. Past this, this is a very sweet manga which takes a twist on the usual boy meets girl at school that we usually see in shoujo manga.

Atsurou's devastation at Chitose's death is clear to see throughout this manga in the lingering issues he has which influence his life decisions, as well as in the flash backs which reveal more of the story. It was actually refreshing to read about someone being shaken by something that actually deserved the intense emotions it stirred. So often something minor things happen to a character, but they still stay home from school for days on end drowning in sorrow.

The way that Niina is characterized is also fantastic. You see moments where Chitose's memories can't help but shine through and affect Niina's reactions, and moments when she is just herself - a new person. This internal struggle is believable and captivating, and you can't help but admire her for being such a young girl but with a lot of maturity.

I found this manga incredibly enjoyable to read, and I always love it when I leave a manga replaying several of my favourite moments in my head. I know that I've found a good one!

Just as an IMPORTANT FYI, if you read the mangahere.com version of the manga, at the end of chapter 3.5 there is a major spoiler for the story which I think they scanned by mistake. If you read the side story, don't click through to the very end. I did it both times I read this manga because I didn't know, and then forgot.


Be careful! More spoiler iceburgs ahead!

FULL SUMMARY

Hmm, yeah, so the age gap. Happily this manga does wait until she is a 16 year old teenager before they introduce the romance, although we see that Niina has loved Atsurou since she was a little girl (if you don't also count her previous life). The mangaka also seems to combat what might be a bit of a creepy storyline by aging Niina, but not Atsurou. I mean of course he gets older in age, but he isn't drawn any differently and instead looks like the handsome young man in his 20s at the end of the manga that he did in the beginning. This isn't exactly realistic, but I didn't mind it.

Aww, how cute are they!

One of the plot lines I loved is how they brought in Chitose's brother and parents. It would have been easy for this manga to stick to Atsurou and the revelations between the two, and I think I've seen a manga do just that, but the more you get to know about Chitose in the flashbacks, the more you start to wonder about the people she left behind. Therefore I am really happy we got to see them, even if it was by a giant coincidence that Chitose's brother becomes Niina's substitute teacher. Those silly pregnant teachers going on materinity leave at convenient times! *shakes fist*

How she gets to see her parents is a very constructed plot line, seriously has anyone ever had their class be invited back to the teacher's home for extra study classes? Surely that's against some kind of rule. But at the same time it's a very humbling scene that tugs on the heart strings. The fact that the mother is using Chitose's old volleyball knee pads and they give Niina an apron to wear that Chitose made. Again, it's all pretty convenient that all these Chitose-y things are coming up at once, but it's also great for Niina to see that Chitose wasn't forgotten, even though the family went on with their lives.

Poor Kanata-kun, the love rival that never stood a chance. I liked his presence in the manga a lot because it felt to me like I could read the story that would have been written for Niina has she not had Chitose's memories. Without them, Atsurou would have been just an adult neighbour, and Niina would have moved with her family to the new city as they did anyway, and she would have gone to school, met Kanata-kun, and perhaps he would have become her boyfriend. It kind of feels like with Niina having her memories, that he's been cheated out of an important relationship. Seriously, I felt huge heartbreak at the scene when he hears Niina talking to Atsurou on the phone and leaves the drink can on the stairs, even though he'd been waiting for her because he'd seen she was upset. Gah! Poor baby!

Some of my favourite moments were definitely the ones where Chitose's memories interfere with Niina's present. Niina knows she is her own person, but she can't help the influences of the past she remembers, like when she stuffs three ingredients in the onigiri, and when she tells Atsurou happily that he kept his promise of being by the lake with Chitose again, and when she speaks as a much more mature person than a 10-year-old when she takes care of Atsurou and says he'd "always get sick like this."

Of course, this doesn't really register for Atsurou, who recognizes when she says something weird and out of place but doesn't put two and two together until he realizes she knows the chicken Fujiko's birthdate when she couldn't possibly. It's physical evidence right before his eyes, and then it all adds up, all the parallels and strange moments.

I love how he tricks Niina into admitting her past memories without Niina even knowing she's done it. For Niina, both her lives overlap in many ways and so she doesn't notice when he mentions a moment in Chitose's past as if Niina did it. Awesome beans! Clever boy. It's also nice that he keeps his new-found knowledge a secret, because he clearly has already started to build up feelings for the girl but if he had mentioned it then, I don't think Niina would have been able to believe that he was considering her separately from Chitose.

Finally, another plot moment that pleases me greatly is the father's reaction. If you were able to forget the age difference, it's brought to the forefront again with a realistic fatherly reaction of horror when he realizes his 16 year-old-daughter is dating a man in his early 30s, no matter how much he has always liked Atsurou. The horror does somewhat blow over quite quickly, but he still tries to keep them separated and test them in case this is just a convenient fad. He's looking out for his daughter! Yay for a manga father who actually takes responsible care of his child instead of working all hours and leaving them home alone which is a common trope. It makes the moment when Atsurou hears Niina for the first time in a year and runs to the door all the more joyous. I LOVE IT!

Get The Look: Orange Caramel - My Copycat

Okay, this isn't my usual but can I just express some quick love for Orange Caramel - My Copycat? This has got to be one of the catchiest songs of the year, I've been listening to it almost non-stop all week. I am officially obsessed and wish I'd been playing it all summer long because this is total road-trip material.

WANT THE OUTFIT?

They wear a lot of outfits in this music video, but I have created a version of the outfit on the cover that is more updated and wearable, but still cute!

Orange Caramel My Copycat by eleanaclaire

I chose a loose short sleeved orange and white striped top, dark denim shorts overalls as I didn't much like the options for skirt overalls, low black boots and finished off with an orange wired headband.

Manga Review: Strobe Edge

 
I'm about to introduce you to the best romance manga you have ever read. Brace yourself.

*ALREADY FANGIRLING* Okay, calm down. Let's begin.

Strobe Edge is written and illustrated by the talented Sakisaka Io. It began serialization in 2007 and ended in 2010 with a total of 10 volumes. I've just found out there is a live action film adaptation which will be coming out in March 2015 and I am trying to control another fangirl reaction. The manga has been completely scanslated so you can read it in its entirety.

SUMMARY

Kinoshita Ninako is a sweet, kind and caring schoolgirl who is small and looks young but has a strong, honest personality. A chance encounter with a boy on a train has her starting to fall in love for the first time. However, not only is Ichinose Ren the most popular boy at school, he also already has a long-term girlfriend. After he rejects her kindly, she decides she still wants to be his friend and starts to bring out a more relaxed, happy side to Ren than his usual quiet and withdrawn demeanor.

However, Ren's unusual attitude towards Ninako sparks an interest in his friend Andou Takumi, who surprisingly finds himself falling in love with this kind-hearted special young woman. And Takumi, who has so often let Ren be the one to shine, decides he no longer wants to live in Ren's shadow.

TL;DR

This story centers primarily around love, and the love triangle between Ninako, Ren and Andou. There are side stories, but these also concern love, so if romance isn't your thing then this manga may not be for you, however good the story and however well it is drawn.

But if romance is for you, then you will struggle to find a manga to top this one. From the characters to the drawing to the plot, this manga has everything you could ask for. Realism, escapism, heart-warming characters, relationships, and scenes, it's got it all. Ninako is an extremely likable protagonist who cares greatly for the people around her. She is incredibly sweet and occasionally I felt like I just wanted to reach into the manga to pinch her cheeks.

Ren and Andou are also brilliant as love interests, and it's Ren that ultimately captures my heart. I say ultimately, but from the moment I was introduced to him I wondered where I could get one. The fact that these characters don't just materialize into the story, but have important back stories that influence how they currently live their lives is extremely compelling and it brings them to life.

The plot progresses really nicely so that it feels neither too rushed or too slow. As characters shift and change, you really believe them and the mangaka guides us through their emotions so nicely. Although the ending is rather predictable, as is the case with most shoujo manga, I really enjoyed the journey. I can't count how many times I've read this manga, so I give it 2 thumbs, 8 fingers, and 10 toes up.

And now for spoilers...

FULL REVIEW

This is by far the best manga I have read so far, because everything works together so brilliantly. The drawing is great, the plot is fantastic, the progress is believable and no one suddenly goes off the deep and acts out of character. The characters are believable and relatable, the love interests have interesting stories of their own, there is a side story so that you can see that there are other things in this world that matter and happen, not just to the protagonists. The length is great, and it doesn't end abruptly after the characters get together like so many mangas where you see all of the struggle and none of the reciprocal romance. There's just so much good in this manga! I'll try and think of some bad but there's hardly any to me.

I definitely added the speech bubble above... just so you know ^_^

Ninako is a fantastic character because she doesn't do stupid things, and oh what a relief it is. She doesn't follow the usual tropes that other protagonists fall into like dating a guy just because the one she likes is unavailable. "Date me and I'll make you forget all about him." How about no?

You can see that her desire to be Ren's friend is genuine. She doesn't want to weasel her way in to his life and his good books; by falling in love she has come to care about him. And you can see by how she treats her other friends that she is a really good person. Her friends don't feel like convenient characters to show she isn't an outcast, she is just as considerate of them as she is with Ren. She's also considerate on Andou as well, even though she finds that more difficult because he is actively pursuing her. But isn't that a natural reaction when someone you like and treat as a friend declares they're in love with you and won't give up!

Of course this manga does deal with many familiar romance conventions: the love triangle, the popular idol of the school as the love interest, awkward working situations etc etc, and they don't occur in completely new and unusual ways that I've never seen before, but when I read them I feel that they are in a way treated differently as I get a different feel for them.

For example, love interests are sometimes dating other people at the start of a manga but Ren and Mayuka's relationship is different. It's long term, which is slightly unusual, and is based not only on attraction but emotional need. Ren has always felt isolated, and Mayuka opened herself up to him, spent time with him, actually wanted him to be around. Mayuka was dealing with her parents' separation which had rocked her world and she not only needed a sounding board but also something that promised to be constant, and Ren did just that. And so they fell in love. And we are led to believe that they genuinely loved each other and they even say so, which definitely gives them some depth.

Mayuka's relationship with Ren is also fantastic as a comparison to Ninako's. While Ninako's is platonic despite her feelings, we can see how Ninako changes Ren more than Mayuka was able to. While Mayuka provided companionship and the feeling of being wanted, she began to put her work first despite the fact her relationship was important to her.  Ninako on the other hand brings Ren completely out the darkness of isolation, which had been started by Andou years earlier. She enables him to open up to others around him and his classmates begin to see him as more friendly than they realized. And she also represents his equal in terms of a partner. Whatever Ren puts into the relationship she can match with emotions, feelings, attention etc, unlike Mayuka.

SQUEEEEEE! This is one of my favourite drawings of Ren. Isn't he beautiful? I was a goner almost at the beginning, and my friend Sakiko and I would sigh endlessly over him. He's beautiful. Okay. I shall try to limit my discussion of his looks to just this.

Which isn't hard because there is so much more I can say about him. I need to go back and reread exactly why he felt isolated from such a young age, perhaps it was from his parents ignoring him? Anyway, at school, long before he attended the same one as Ninako, he was an isolated fellow without friends because his classmates would misunderstand him or be jealous of his looks and smarts. Then Andou comes along and we see the drawing where Ren feels like he is going to be buried by darkness and isolation around him, and then Andou figuratively reaches out the hand of friendship. It's not a big deal to Andou who is friends with everyone, but it's huge to Ren.

I really like this aspect to the story, it creates an incredibly interesting relationship between Ren and Andou. Yes, they end up competing for the girl but they have a strange relationship whereby they are close, but not close at all. Some of it is due to the incident with Andou's ex-girlfriend, but it's also because they are polar opposites - the social butterfly Andou and the quiet loner Ren. Even so, Andou feels like he lives in Ren's shadow somewhat, whereas Ren believes he lives in Andous. This could be seen as negative, living in someone's shadow, but they don't let jealousy pervade their relationship (at least till Ninako comes along). In fact it can be seen as a complimentary, because they clearly hold each other in high esteem to believe they cast a shadow. It's great that these boys' relationship is thoroughly explored throughout the manga as well. Without it, it just wouldn't have been as good.

Oh Andou. It's odd but all the way through the manga I was completely in line with Ninako's feelings for him. When she was first getting to know him and didn't quite know what to expect with him, I felt that too. When she did her best to protect him and his feelings I felt like I wanted to protect them too. But also the fact that she refused to date him to get over Ren and, as even Andou says near the end, she never came to think of him as anything more than a friend, I felt that too. I also felt heartbroken for Andou when he admitted to himself that Ninako never really "looked" at him (considered him) once, as her feelings were always tied to Ren. It was clearly both something he admired in her, because she was steadfast and unwavering unlike his ex-girlfriend, and hated because it did mean she always looked at Ren instead of him.

The bit where the ex-girlfriend comes down the stairs and promises she's going to chase after him seriously now instead of supporting his new love is a bit convenient. Luckily it's not like she literally appeared out of nowhere at that moment, she had been a part of the plot before, but yeah... convenient so that Andou doesn't become a loose end. In fact I wouldn't have minded if the ex-girlfriend had been left out altogether and that incident between her, Andou and Ren was introduced to us in some other way. Either that or she needed to have been more of a threat to Ren and Ninako than she was. There was a lot of promise for her to be a real threat, but it kind of seemed to tail off.

There we go! Some constructive criticism instead of just I love it I love it I love it!

I have a few favourite moments which I can try and recall. Again, it's been a while. I love the small moment when Ren is listening to music on his headphones and Ninako ends up listening to the other ear bud. I thought it was immensely clever how Ninako's face slowly fades in Ren's mind when Mayuka breaks down in front of him and tells him how much she needs him. I also love when Ren smells the air, realizing it's "half winter half fall," then Ninako does exactly the same out loud behind him.

They are so on the same page. GET MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES ALREADY!

Ahem.

I am now reading Ao Haru Ride, another manga by the same mangaka. The drawing is just as great, the plot, the progress etc etc and I'm so excited about it, although it has not been completely scanslated yet so I am waiting for that. However, as good as it is, it hasn't quite replaced Strobe Edge as my absolutely favourite shoujo manga of all time. It's definitely up there with the best! But I don't think I'll ever find one as good as this.

If you do know of a manga that would compare, please let me know. I'm desperate for some more good ones!

In conclusion, I highly absolutely recommend this manga. I love it to pieces and have read it over many times. I hope you enjoy it as much as me, otherwise I really built this up to be something for nothing ^_^ I hope Sakisaka Io brings out more mangas like this, and that they are scanslated. This was truly a pleasure to read.

Film Review: Gwanghae a.k.a. Masquerade

Gwanghae or Masquerade is a 2012 film directed by Choo Chang-Min and starring Lee Byung-Hun both as King Gwanghae and as Ha-Sun, a lowly commoner. I have literally just finished this movie having watched it over three days in my Korean class and I couldn't not write a review on this amazing film.

SUMMARY

King Gwanghae is the 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty and he heads a court full of corrupt and greedy officials, while he himself has lost sight of his people. Fearing that there is a conspiracy to kill him, he has his Chief Secretary find him a body double to replace him on occasion. The Chief Secretary find Ha-Sun, who not only looks exactly like the King but is also able to copy his voice and actions with his talents as an acrobat and entertainer. However, just as Ha-Sun gets used to his occasional role, conspirators manage to poison the real King, and suddenly he has to fulfill and maintain the role while the King is sent away to recover.

What kind of temporary King will Ha-Sun be? How long will he be able to fool not only the court of officials, but also the King's wife, the Queen Consort? And what will he do if he is discovered?

TL;DR

At first, when the movie began and we were introduced to the King maliciously tipping his food onto the head of a terrified servant as the others around quiver in fear, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I thought this might be an intensely serious and informative film that I was going to have to struggle through because, me being me, if something isn't crapping happiness and light (pardon the crude expression) it's not usually my cup of tea.

But that isn't this story. Among difficult and serious scenes there is real comedic value added by the jovial Ha-Sun, especially as he learns the ropes as King. The poop scene was a little stomach churning but my whole class laughed out loud, and we're usually pretty quiet.

The characters were incredibly endearing, even the strict Chief Secretary, although I didn't quite feel for the Queen Consort's plights as I was probably meant to. Also, you don't really get a sense of the real King Gwanghae, which leaves a few open-ended questions at the end. I liked the progress of the plot, which spanned about two weeks and could have felt rushed, but didn't at all. The settings and costumes were beautiful and completely convincing, unlike the drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal where I didn't really believe in the historical setting.

Ha-Sun's relationships with the people who surround him and know of the secret swap is the biggest selling point of all to me, and I can't praise the acting enough for pulling that off so well. Whether comedic or serious, I laughed and cried as these relationships progressed and were tested. The final scene really shows just how important this aspect was in the film.

I would absolutely recommend anyone who loves movies to watch this. You'll need a box of tissues to wipe away the tears of laughter as well as the tears of sadness, but I think that's a testament to just how brilliant this movie is.

And now... to the spoilers!

FULL REVIEW

The FEELS!!! Which is a phrase I hate to use even regarding cliched manga and cheesy dramas but I am still recovering from watching the end of the movie not 30 minutes ago. I can see why this movie topped the box office and remains one of the most successful movies ever in Korea.

I have read that there has been some controversy about how King Gwanghae has been presented in this film, but I am not familiar with Korea's royal history, therefore I will not be providing commentary on the accuracy of the film because I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I will, however, provide commentary on how the plot, characters, acting etc functions as a film. That I can do.

I was surprised by the comedic elements of the film, which for me really started when Ha-Sun is led away to be presented to the King with a sack over his head... which causes him to bump his head and be knocked over several times by the low roof beams. The poop jokes almost did me in, and I had to say goodbye to a half full can of Sprite which no longer seemed appetizing. I've noticed that Korean films and dramas present poop and fart jokes that go beyond what even western films and dramas are prepared to do.

Regardless, I found this film incredibly funny and Lee Byung-Hun sells Ha-Sun amazingly well as a good-hearted fool who turns out not to be quite the fool everyone thought after all. Instead, he becomes the ideal King who cares more about his people than politics, and whose moral fibre is strong enough to actually make good decisions while he has the power of a King to make them.

Now I am very happy to accept Ha-Sun exactly as he is and wouldn't want him written any other way, but I know that others might call him a little one-dimensional as a character. He's too good, there are no real bad sides of him. He is fair and just and caring of everyone, from the people of power to the lowly servants who serve him. He refuses to take the thrown and provide the people with a King they deserve because it would mean taking the life of the actual King, which he could not do in good conscience. Right to the end when he turns back and returns to the dying Captain Do's side, there is nothing selfish about him. Perhaps the scene where he has one of the court officials tortured who had a leading role in an assassination attempt on his life but instead kill the self-sacrificing Sa-Wol provides a momentary nudge into showing that he is not completely above hate, revenge, and cruelty. But the moment is pretty fleeting.

Other than Ha-Sun, I have to say my favourite character in this entire film was Sa-Wol, a servant in the palace and the King's food taster. With every meal her life is put in jeopardy in case someone has poisoned the King's food. At first she appears to be a very minor character, but as the plot progresses she develops a close friendship with the fake King. Their easy smiles and her delight when he does or says something nice to her is unbelievably heart-warming and cute. Ha-Sun comes to care for her enough that with his final Royal order, he tells the Chief Secretary to find Sa-Wol's mother and family and reunite them. Stop winning my heart, Ha-Sun!

This makes her death all the more devastating. Not only is the acting sublime, but the fact that this 15-year-old girl knowingly and purposefully consumes the poison she has been ordered to slip to the King made me want to bawl like a baby. Ha-Sun has never been one for treating servants as below him. He himself is of course also of low birth but pretending to be King should dictate that he at least pretend to act this way. He chooses not to, only doing the minimum necessary to keep up the pretense. Even so, the image of the King dressed in deep red and gold royal garb carrying the dying servant was incredibly powerful. Sa-Wol is too far gone at the end to answer his pleas to tell him who has done this to her, and so her final words are robbed from her, but I couldn't help but feel this was fitting. It was all the more tragic.

The plot would not have made it without the enabling characters Eunuch Jo, the Chief Secretary and Captain Do. Jo is the first to to realize Ha-Sun's good qualities, and helps him to become a positive stand-in for the King by providing him with books to help him understand the laws and what the court officials demand each day. Jo is quiet, patient, and respectful, and in turn the audience has a lot of respect for him.

The Chief Secretary is hard for Ha-Sun to win over for most of the film. He is in regular contact with the actual King and finds Ha-Sun frustrating and at times insolent. This is why the last few scenes where he offers the position of King to Ha-Sun, promising to make it happen if he wants it, are so intense. The Chief Secretary can see just how much Ha-Sun loves the regular people, and how much he will do to protect them. He stand in direct opposition to the Gwanghae who has long since allowed himself to forget the ideals he once held and instead allow corruption to run riot, caring more that concubines share his bed than that his people have enough to eat. The final scene, where he comes to stand at the harbor and watch Ha-Sun sail away to safety shows how far along he has come in appreciating the person the fake King is.

Oh Captain Do. Here is a character that I did not think would win my heart as much as he did. His skills at protecting the King are not given much chance to shine, and so he seems to be a little bit of a bumbling idiot unable to think to budge much from the palace rules. The scene where Ha-Sun wants privacy and kicks his shoe off so that Captain Do has to retrieve it only seeks to reinforce this idea, as Do chases after the escaping King, shoe in hand. It's very funny, but he seems an odd choice in bodyguard.

He provides one of the first challenges to Ha-Sun's position when he realizes that Ha-Sun is too different from the King and confronts him with a sword to his neck. The Queen Consort is able to give Ha-Sun the ability to "prove" he is the real King by mentioning a birth mark she has that only the King knew about, which he had accidentally saw in an earlier scene. The moment that follows between Ha-Sun and Do, where Ha-Sun forgives him and teaches him to value his own life more after Do tries to take his own life for questioning the King is one of my absolute favourites. His sobs may be comedic, but you can see that a sense of loyalty to this King has taken over Do where to the real King there was only a sense of duty.

In the end, Do's death scene rivals Sa-Wol's in terms of feeling and tragedy. He, like her, chooses to sacrifice himself to save Ha-Sun, except he has found out who Ha-Sun actually is. Perhaps on some level Sa-Wol did know, after all she couldn't fail to notice the difference in the King. But anyway, it looks like Captain Do has been ordered by the King to lead Ha-Sun away and then kill him in the woods, but then he draws his sword and tells Ha-Sun to run to the harbor at the end of the road. As he turns back to face the road leading to the palace, down which several riders on horseback are approaching, I began to think that perhaps Captain Do was never ordered to kill him, but knew he would be, and so left with Ha-Sun to give him a head start. When he acknowledges to the rider that Ha-Sun is not the king, "but he is my king" I almost broke down in front of my classmates.

Ha-Sun, as ever a moral, up-standing person, realizes or hears that Captain Do is being attacked and runs back to see him cut down the last of his attackers, but unfortunately Do is fatally wounded himself. Do's bloody hands reaching forward at Ha-Sun's feet, I think in a way that suggests he is kneeling in respect before his "King," before he dies was heartbreaking. In fact my throat hurts now just typing this. Even though I hate that he died, I am happy that he did not die alone, and that he saw that the man he died for had come back for him.

Now I have mentioned in other posts my penchant for romance. Happily this film does include it in the form of the Queen Consort who believes that the King has changed back into the caring man she once knew, unaware that he has been replaced with a body double. I wish there was more to say about the romance, which is usually my favourite relationship, but in the case I must sadly bow out. If the King had been unmarried and the Queen Consort completely cut from the movie, there would have been no difference whatsoever. While I am aware that as a woman her personality is restricted to conform to palace etiquette, even in the quiet private moments we are privy to there is not much personality to speak of. I thought this was a real shame. I couldn't tell you if this is a reflection of Han Hyo-Joo's acting having never seen her act in anything else before, or if it was simply the way the character was written, but yeah, a shame.

I didn't need them to end up together, in fact that would have been a great tragic conclusion where these two people in love recognize they could not be together and one leaves alone while the other remains and stays strong. But meh, we see that she escapes the assassins sent to kill her as the others go to confront the King. We are left hanging as to what happens to her, we don't know if she successfully escapes or is killed or kills herself as she so often threatens to do in this movie, but we also... kind of... don't care. Sorry.

To conclude, I thought this film was absolutely amazing. It was intense, comedic, tragic, and heartwarming all at the same time. The story is not exactly original (there have been plenty of body double plots before) and I can't say how historically accurate this movie is (from some reviews I have read it is suggested that there's reason to say it isn't), but the plot does enough to keep you excited and interested so that you stay to fall in love with the characters. I saw this movie in three separate sittings and the excitement I felt going to class everyday to see the next part and the sadness I felt when we had to stop the movie until the next day should go some way to say how this movie keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I absolutely recommend this as a good watch and I can't wait to look into other movies by this director and these actors.

Manga Review: Heroine Shikkaku

Heroine Shikkaku, there is so much to say about this manga. So I'm going to split my review into two parts. A short summary, a spoiler-free TL;DR and then a spoiler-laden full review and discussion.


SUMMARY

Matsuzaki Hatori sees life as a story book in this comedic shoujo manga by Koda Momoko. Of course, she sees herself as the heroine of the story; there are the supporting characters, like her best friend Nakajima; and then there's Terasaka Rita, her childhood friend and the hero to her heroine. Hatori is so sure she is Rita's heroine that she doesn't even bother to confess her long-held feelings. Rita is constantly in and out of short relationships, and she is happy to wait until he is ready for a long-term relationship and realizes she has been the one constant thing in his life.

However, something happens, and the future she has been so sure of is suddenly put into jeopardy. Will she end up with Rita? Or will her love remain unrequited?


TL;DR

There is a lot of good and bad in this manga, but more good than bad and so overall I think that it is worth a read. Hatori is one of the most interesting female leads I have seen in a long time. She continuously surprised me with her behaviour and the things she said, which was a really nice change to the simpering or stoic romantic leads I usually see. If you're not offended by a little swearing, then you'll definitely enjoy the refreshing change this manga brings.

The story itself is full of the usual romance cliches of unrequited love, miscommunication, rivals, jealousy and so on, but I definitely feel like this manga sets itself apart from others I've read with similar themes. I've read so many that some have merged together, but not Heroine Shikkaku.

The only negative thing I can talk about without giving away spoilers is the general admission that as the manga progresses, it gets more and more typical of the shoujo romance genre and loses some of its individuality and realism. Also, behaviours and reactions of the characters become a bit wishy washy or extreme, and the ending comes about rather abruptly. I have read some reviews and comments of this manga, and people seem split down the middle with how happy they felt about who Hatori ends up with (because you know with this kind of manga she is going to end up with someone).

Anyway, if you haven't read the manga yet and want to without knowing what happens, STOP HERE! From here on in, spoilers galore.

FULL REVIEW

The best way to give a review of the story and plot is to review the characters, because this story is so character driven.

As I said, I love Hatori for how different she is from the usual female lead of a shoujo manga. She is portrayed as an attractive and confident heroine, but sometimes her confidence will border on serious arrogance. She has a lot of familiar flaws which are presented really uniquely, for example she is drawn into bad-mouthing the unpopular Adachi, her love rival, when other girls take offense to her dating the popular Rita. However, when she looks in the bathroom mirror and sees how ugly her "reflection" is as she insults Adachi, she realizes what a terrible thing she is doing and stops.

She also has her vulnerable moments where I really feel for her, like when she finally confesses to Rita with the tiniest hope that he may return her feelings, even though he has made it clear he has never considered her in a romantic way.

I also love how the mangaka, Koda Momoko, has drawn Hatori. Most of the time she is drawn as a very cute and feminine girl. And then during moments when Hatori is completely taken aback, shocked, or horrified, she is drawn like so:

It is really refreshing to see a shoujo manga where the mangaka has not been afraid to take a pretty character and draw her like, well, the above. And it's also refreshing to see a female lead whose character flaws aren't explained away into acceptability. Her friends don't make excuses for her, and when she tries at one point to be more like the pure kind-hearted Adachi it backfires and she just ends up seeming incredibly strange. This is just how she is. An imperfect heroine.

However, there is also, unfortunately, a few things that I take issue with when it comes to Hatori. She is in love with Rita for five years, and fights for him when he starts to date Adachi. However, when she is forced to give up on Rita and Hiromitsu Kousuke (an arrogant playboy) comes into the picture, she becomes so wishy washy when it comes to her feelings. I understand that she is trying to convince herself that she now likes Hiromitsu and not Rita to get over her feelings for the latter, but the way she insists so quickly that she loves him and no longer cares for her past love completely irks me. Compared to some other mangas I know and admire which deal with the same situation, her feelings for her new boyfriend seemed so superficial I never truly believed she had come to love Hiromitsu even towards the end. Which is a shame because I get the feeling that the mangaka was trying to show that a part of her did love Hiromitsu. Ao Haru Ride has the same kind of situation but it is dealt much more realistically and the heroine's feelings always come across as genuine.

Rita, the male lead, is a great character. It was a nice twist to see a love interest who, when confronted with the heroine's feelings, flatly rejects them because he genuinely doesn't think of her that way. The usual trend is for the male lead to suddenly consider the change in the relationship and ultimately realize that he has loved his childhood friend all along, but Rita doesn't do this. His girlfriend Adachi is an incredibly lovely girl, genuine, honest, and kind, and he can recognize he has a good thing with her.

When romantic feelings for Hatori start to grow, they are new feelings, not feelings from long ago unrealized until later. The mangaka sets up the events for the change in feeling well too. Rita has issues with abandonment and Adachi's willingness to leave on a three month long trip without telling him or considering him until all the plans are made start to stir these issues in their relationship. Additionally, Hatori purposefully doesn't see Rita over a summer break in order to make him miss her presence, and then she shows him her calendar of their time spent apart where everyday is marked with how she has missed Rita. It not only makes him realize she has always been a constant presence in his life, it shows him that she genuinely always wants to be with him and being away from him is a struggle, unlike Adachi who functions very well away from him.

This doesn't exactly make Hatori a great role model for young women by suggesting that her life completely revolves around him and that spending time away from him is absolutely miserable. But I understand the premise that it is supposed to prove to the boy with abandonment issues that there is one girl he can put his trust in to not leave him and who will always keep him in her consideration.

I really like Rita as the male lead. I like how he eventually struggles between fighting for Hatori and supporting her happiness as she dates another guy. I wish we had seen a little more angst as he worked out his feelings for Adachi and Hatori, and I wish he was a little more stern with his childhood friend, especially in her more ridiculous moments, but I think that if there is someone who can handle Hatori, it's him.

Poor old Hiromistu Kousuke. He wasn't quite given the roundness of character that the other characters had. Of them all, he is probably the most typical shoujo character in the manga: confident playboy meets erratic heroine; likes that she is different than the other girls he plays with; pursues her and leaves behind all his other flings; becomes more serious and does his best to be patient as her heart struggles to leave her past love behind; ultimately loses out on the girl and does so graciously.

To be fair to him, his outro in the manga was pretty great. He refuses to side with Hatori who is yet again being mean and unfair towards a girl she is jealous of, which causes him to call off their relationship because she demands unwavering support even when what she is doing and saying is wrong. Good for you boy!

Because there is a lot of good in Hatori, it is understandable when he decides he wants them to start over and they have one last brief shot at the relationship before she realizes she can't do it and really loves Rita after all. I wish he had been a little more upset when it ultimately doesn't work out, but all the way through the mangaka gives us small signs that while he definitely cares about Hatori, he also seems to enjoy the relationship mostly because she amuses him in a life he otherwise finds kind of dull. Therefore his gracious parting with her doesn't seem too far-fetched.

I think there was so much more that could have been done with his character, and I'm left with the feeling that he was maybe only a step above being a simple convenience character for providing another obstacle between Rita and Hatori.

Adachi.... oh Adachi.

Yes, these pictures are both of Adachi. I guess it makes a lot of sense that they look so different because her personality does a complete about-face. Adachi with the short bob is a girl that I liked a lot. As I said she is genuinely nice, kind, and caring of others. She insists that she wouldn't resent Hatori if Rita should begin to like her instead because that would be his choice. I definitely understand this point of view, but I wish that it stemmed from an inner strength instead of a lack of confidence. Other than this, I don't have much to complain about the early Adachi.

But the later Adachi? HOLY CRAP WHAT HAPPENED? So a popular boy breaks up with an unpopular girl and this turns her into a slutty glutton for punishment? What? That's not even the slightest bit realistic. I have the feeling the mangaka wanted to shock the reader with this change, but I feel like it was completely out of place and unnecessary. It did nothing at all to add to or further the plot. I think it's supposed to provide a scenario to make Rita confront his guilt over dumping her, but Adachi hadn't been mentioned for so many chapters I had pretty much forgotten about her, as I'm sure had the other main characters.

This part of the manga was honestly bizarre. I thought that Adachi would eventually grow stronger and happier with herself after the set back of a heartbreak, but instead she became even more pathetic. SADNESS!

Anyway, to conclude. I'm not sure whether it comes across that I have equal love and ire for this manga, but that's really what I feel. I think that Heroine Shikkaku had a lot of potential, and some of it was realized, and some of it wasn't. I still think it's worth reading though, because its good points are really strong. The pace was a little strange, but not wholly unbelievable. The way the manga has been drawn is definitely appealing, and the story started off really strong. I'm interested to check out what else the mangaka has written to see if they were able to capitalize on their strengths.

This could be any girl. Imagine being a heroine of a love story. Hatori also believed that one day she would get married to her childhood friend, Rita. But that's not how the world works! This is a hilarious comedy that honestly paints a painful unrequited love story of this young girl! - See more at: http://www.mangahere.co/manga/heroine_shikkaku/#sthash.LW0lfFmB.dpuf

This could be any girl. Imagine being a heroine of a love story. Hatori also believed that one day she would get married to her childhood friend, Rita. But that's not how the world works! This is a hilarious comedy that honestly paints a painful unrequited love story of this young girl! - See more at: http://www.mangahere.co/manga/heroine_shikkaku/#sthash.LW0lfFmB.dpuf

The Aim of the Game

I couldn't resist making this blog when the idea struck me only the other day.

I have a lot of obsessions, and I have created differemt outlets for those obsessions (a Youtube channel, writing stories, taking a Korean class etc). But one obsession that I feel I haven't fully let run free yet is my love of romance anime, manga and dramas. I know absolutely no one in my proximity who enjoys them as much as I do, and I greatly miss talking about them with my old friends in England and Australia.

THEREFORE I am creating this blog to capitalize on the trend of enjoying something publicly and loudly on the internet hemisphere, rather than privately in the confines of my apartment.

I wasn't really sure what to say in my first post, but talking about my reasons for setting up the blog (above) and what you can expect to see (below) sounded like a good idea, so I'm running with it.

There will be reviews, suggestions and recommendations of romance anime and manga that I am getting into, which will also allow me to go over and rediscover some old favourites. Not everything I enjoy is solely focused on romance, but everything I tend to read and watch has some aspect of romance in it.

I also want to explore my love for beauty and style. Asian beauty and style is awesome and sometimes kind of hard to recreate over here in the West. So I want to attempt to do so by creating Get The Look posts for hair, makeup, and outfits as best as I possible can from the animes, mangas and dramas I enjoy. In the next year I will be moving to Korea, so I imagine it will get a little easier! Hopefully ^_^

Oh, and to explain the blog title, ManAni is of course Manga and Anime merged together, and Mochi I chose because I LOVE THEM and they are adorable and cute! There is quite a mix of font styles here....

Anyway, onwards!