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A review by katarina_kirishiki
Smile Down the Runway, Volume 1 by Kotoba Inoya
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.75
- Read for a Manga Book Club -
The general idea of the story is amazing but the execution in the first volume is in my opinion lacking.
I usually like when the first few chapters of Manga tackle a lot of the main concepts but in this one, there was way too much stuff happening in just the first chapter alone. Additionally, many probably interesting scenes happened "off-camera" instead of being shown to readers directly.
I get that this was published in a shonen magazine and it very much has shonen vibes. I'd even go as far as to say this could have had the same vibes as any good shonen sports manga, but it just doesn't.
To me it seems there are sooo many tropes the author put in that everything seems "too much" and thus kinda lacking overall. From the characters and how they act and react to the plot points in the story.
Also, some points made in the Manga seem weird to me, like whenShizuku said something along the lines of "models on the runway should compliment the clothes not the other way around" but Chiyuki then says "I think the outfit needs to look charming when I wear it..." and that's what gets her a spot at her dad's company. The first quote is right for the most part. Especially on runway shows, you want the clothes/designs to be presented and sold. So it was quite weird to then see that Chiyuki's notion of "the clothes need to fit me" is what get's her in. I get that it has a focus on her modelling journey but still.
Which brings me to my next point, in my opinion,Chiyuki's journey was way too fastly abandoned for Ikuto's. I get that he is the second main character and there will probably be more focus on her later too but I would've liked to spend a bit more time in the first volume with Chiyuki's ambitions before focusing on him so fast.
I also would've liked for it to be more "fashiony" if that makes sense. Since it is about modelling and designing it would've been interesting to see some actual fashion designs. The outfits that "wowed" everyone just seem meh. They're ok, but nothing screams fashion. Maybe street fashion, but tbh even that would be a reach, in my opinion.
I will not continue or finish this series, since there are so many aspects that bother me.
The general idea of the story is amazing but the execution in the first volume is in my opinion lacking.
I usually like when the first few chapters of Manga tackle a lot of the main concepts but in this one, there was way too much stuff happening in just the first chapter alone. Additionally, many probably interesting scenes happened "off-camera" instead of being shown to readers directly.
I get that this was published in a shonen magazine and it very much has shonen vibes. I'd even go as far as to say this could have had the same vibes as any good shonen sports manga, but it just doesn't.
To me it seems there are sooo many tropes the author put in that everything seems "too much" and thus kinda lacking overall. From the characters and how they act and react to the plot points in the story.
Also, some points made in the Manga seem weird to me, like when
Which brings me to my next point, in my opinion,
I also would've liked for it to be more "fashiony" if that makes sense. Since it is about modelling and designing it would've been interesting to see some actual fashion designs. The outfits that "wowed" everyone just seem meh. They're ok, but nothing screams fashion. Maybe street fashion, but tbh even that would be a reach, in my opinion.
I will not continue or finish this series, since there are so many aspects that bother me.