Reviews

Wandance, Volume 1 by Coffee

jpdubs's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

3.5 stars rounded up. This book had the soul and ambition to be a great story but fell a bit short.

The art was the first thing I noticed. The dancing panels were slightly awkward, and the way characters bent while dancing was somewhat unnatural. I know it is meant to be exaggerated, but it felt off. It may be because movement is hard to convey in still pictures. I can see this being translated well into an awesome anime. The artist also made the girls in the story beautiful, and I loved the style, but the boys, including the main character, were slightly ugly and did not match the girls at all. It felt like they drew a lot of girls and not so many guys.

The story itself has a lot of potential. I think it has more depth than similar manga I have read, especially the relationship between the main character and his friends. I think that him standing up to their mysogony can be a plot point that makes this manga stand out. Also, his stutter will be an interesting point to learn more about.

Overall this manga has the beginning of a great story, just with some hiccups that can hopefully improve over time.

fushigimini's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

ivyinthepages's review

Go to review page

3.0

Rating: 3.63 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Sports
Type: Manga
Worth?: Yeah

Hated|Disliked|Liked|Loved|Favorited

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. The are was def not my cup of tea and I found it hard to concentrate some of the time. The main characters were kind of adorable but I totally get the fright of doing something when your group of friends think it is dumb.

scientist_reading_world's review

Go to review page

4.0

more a 3.5, it's a slow manga with not much happening but I like the way they explain dance and how it works in a different way to different people. also, the MC representation is amazing really liked that but so far nothing big happen just a build-up maybe for the next volumes which makes this one a bit slow. let's see how it continues

nyxshadow's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

3.5
J'ai eu du mal à bien comprendre les différents mouvements de danse. Pourtant, le coup de crayon est incroyable et l'autrice se donne un mal fou pour nous rendre cette passion et cette beauté.
L'atout de cette histoire est sans conteste Kabo, un personnage touchant et attachant.

saramarie08's review

Go to review page

5.0

Reviewed this title for Booklist - I think this would be great for readers who like Blue Period or Your Lie in April. There's definitely an assumption that you know something about music and dance, as it doesn't really explain concepts like "rhythm" and what it means when the dance captain is counting. But I really enjoyed this one.

Read more, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.

molly_dettmann's review

Go to review page

4.0

This was a really sweet story. A boy with a stutter decides to join the dance club after he sees a girl in his class dance like nobody is watching. Lots of sequences of dancing. The boy stands up for the girl when he discovered she was filmed while dancing in an inappropriate way. This is definitely kind of like Blue Period or Boys on the Run, but with dance as the main feature. My only dislike was that the legs on any of the girls were drawn very very thin and just looked a bit odd.

djinnetta's review

Go to review page

4.0

Read Wandance online but more than happy to support the author with their work. Reads even better in printed form. I like listening to the tracks they dance to as they perform. Kabo is a wonderful lead and he bounces off well with Wanda. Coffee's art is incredible and you can tell how personal this story and characters are to him. Very recommended.

sunnydee's review

Go to review page

5.0

Der Manga hat mich echt total positiv überrascht. Erstmal finde ich die Aufmachung echt toll. Die Farbwahl und die Dynamik des Covers genauso wie der schöne doppelseitig bedruckte Print sind einfach schön.
Inhaltlich hat es mich auch überrascht. Es geht hier um Kaboku, der als Kind ein schlechtes Erlebnis mit dem Tanzen hatte und seitdem nicht einmal mehr anderen beim Tanzen zusehen kann. Doch dann sieht er seine Klassenkameradin Hikari tanzen und ist fasziniert. Beide melden sich dann im Tanzclub an und Kaboku lernt mit seinen Ängsten umzugehen und eine Verbindung zu seinem Körper zu bekommen.
Was das ganze aber so extrem interessant und besonders macht, sind die beiden Hauptcharaktere. Kaboku ist nicht nur mega sympathisch, sonder durch seine eher introvertierte, zurückhaltende Art und sein Problem mit dem Stottern, sehr interessant. Auch wie sein Umfeld mit dem Stottern und seiner Entscheidung dem Tanzclub beizutreten, umgeht, wird richtig toll dargestellt. Hikari ist ebenfalls einfach nur mega sympathisch. Die ist auch eher introvertiert und hat kaum Freunde, aber andererseits ist sie auch sehr offen und selbstbewusst. Bei ihr hatte ich immer das Gefühl, dass sie sehr im Einklang mit sich selbst ist und total unabhängig von der Meinung anderer ist. So einen Charakter habe ich in Mangas noch nie gesehen.
Die beiden Treffen dann aufeinander und die Interaktionen sind emotional überzeugend.
Der Zeichenstil ist ebenfalls toll. Allein wie dynamisch hier Tanzschritte dargestellt werden und was über die Gestik und Mimik vermittelt wird, ist beeindruckend. Dann gibt es immer wieder Erwähnungen von Songs zu den Tanzübungen. Dann kann man sich dann heraussuchen und nebenbei hören, was ich ebenfalls richtig innovativ und interessant fand.
Ich freue mich schon mega auf Band 2 und kann es kaum erwarten, dass er erscheint.

Story 4,4/5
Emotionen 4,6/5
Charaktere 5+0/5
Unterhaltung 4,4/5
Zeichenstil 4,6/5
Lesegefühl 4,4/5
Gesamt 4,6/5

keikoreadsmanga's review

Go to review page

4.0

My gratitude to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this series in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how seinen manga is evolving these days. I've read a few series that made me look at this manga category in a different light, of course, with an undeniable smile.

Wandance is a story of self-discovery, freedom of self-expression, coming out of comfort zones, and following one's passion, all tied in a delicate rhythm. The art style is kind of odd but it's one of the elements that built its attractiveness. I'm not a fan of dance or idol-thing in general, and I am not once amused in the premise of this story, but to each his own. Nonetheless, Kaboku's character development is really hooking and at most moving. Also, this series actually pretty wholesome no matter what angle I look at it.

This review is actually long overdue. I couldn't find the right time to write this, anyway, now it's here before the English translation release day on June 28! Phew!