Take a photo of a barcode or cover
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I haven't read manga for a long time. After reading this I know it was too long. I missed it! Cute shojo manga is at it's best with Otomen. This was a title I wanted to read when I was back in Japan but by the time I wanted to pick it up it was already at 15 volumes or something ridiculous and I was getting ready to leave Japan.
I miss reading it in Japanese but the English was still still good. I like Asuka and Ryo a lot but I don't think he could be a fictional boyfriend for me. I just like routing for him.
I miss reading it in Japanese but the English was still still good. I like Asuka and Ryo a lot but I don't think he could be a fictional boyfriend for me. I just like routing for him.
I still love it. All of the new teachers end up converted by the end of this one and The school is slightly more normal until Asuka's mom comes back to Japan. We also get to see more about the supporting characters who aren't in the main group of friends in this one like Asuka's home room teacher and Chef. It's such a cute story.
Riffs off traditional gender roles for laughs, but doesn't go so far as to offer an intelligent critique.
A three-star review from me for a shojo series is about as high a mark of approval as I can give, really. I'm notoriously grumpy when it comes to a lot of shojo series, but this one kind of charmed me.
Manga series often seem refreshing for their openness when it comes to playing around with gender roles and this series is especially notable for that. Asuka, who is a martial arts maven, is seen as this cool guy/jock at school, but he remains an aloof, enigmatic man of mystery for the most part to hide the fact that his real interests/hobbies might be a little bit...feminine. He loves cooking and making crafts and, believe it or not...shojo manga, but as his father left his mother to become a woman, he's overwhelmed by self-doubt about what all of this means about his "manliness" and fears that if everything came out, he would cause even more pain to his mother and lose all of his hard-won acceptance at school. He manages the deception pretty well until he develops a crush on Ryo--a lovely girl who seems to be inept at most of the "feminine" things Asuka excels at. In the meantime, a meta- twist is that Asuka and Ryo's classically shojo awkward advance-and-retreat dance is serving as the inspiration of a popular shojo magazine serial. The art is nothing out-of-the-ordinarily, funnily enough, Asuka and the other male characters have more of a typically masculine look than what you often see in shojo manga. Asuka looks somewhat reminiscent of Light Yagami of Death Note, actually. Some of the characters may seem recognizable as shojo tropes. Ryo in some ways is similar to Himawari of xxxholic, and so forth, but their likability can't be denied.
Age Appropriateness (vol. 1) 10+
Very tame. A prominent character is kind of labeled a player, but you don't really see any real action. No nudity or discernible fan service. The language is mild, and the martial arts fighting is fairly minimal and harmless. The very brief almost blink-and-you'll-miss it mention of his father's actions are probably the only real thing that would cause any flap, and that's just one of those things that's going to vary depending on the family. Truthfully though---you can't get much tamer than this first volume, and the underlying messages of the importance of being true to yourself and not compromising are about as good as you can get.
Manga series often seem refreshing for their openness when it comes to playing around with gender roles and this series is especially notable for that. Asuka, who is a martial arts maven, is seen as this cool guy/jock at school, but he remains an aloof, enigmatic man of mystery for the most part to hide the fact that his real interests/hobbies might be a little bit...feminine. He loves cooking and making crafts and, believe it or not...shojo manga, but as his father left his mother to become a woman, he's overwhelmed by self-doubt about what all of this means about his "manliness" and fears that if everything came out, he would cause even more pain to his mother and lose all of his hard-won acceptance at school. He manages the deception pretty well until he develops a crush on Ryo--a lovely girl who seems to be inept at most of the "feminine" things Asuka excels at. In the meantime, a meta- twist is that Asuka and Ryo's classically shojo awkward advance-and-retreat dance is serving as the inspiration of a popular shojo magazine serial. The art is nothing out-of-the-ordinarily, funnily enough, Asuka and the other male characters have more of a typically masculine look than what you often see in shojo manga. Asuka looks somewhat reminiscent of Light Yagami of Death Note, actually. Some of the characters may seem recognizable as shojo tropes. Ryo in some ways is similar to Himawari of xxxholic, and so forth, but their likability can't be denied.
Age Appropriateness (vol. 1) 10+
Very tame. A prominent character is kind of labeled a player, but you don't really see any real action. No nudity or discernible fan service. The language is mild, and the martial arts fighting is fairly minimal and harmless. The very brief almost blink-and-you'll-miss it mention of his father's actions are probably the only real thing that would cause any flap, and that's just one of those things that's going to vary depending on the family. Truthfully though---you can't get much tamer than this first volume, and the underlying messages of the importance of being true to yourself and not compromising are about as good as you can get.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just let the boy be himself ðŸ˜
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes