My First review! Well…enough with the ceremony! onto the review…
So, i was hunting down Oh My Goddess! vol5 at a little out of the way comic book store…when on a whim i picked up an old-school large manga with a pretty cover, and many pages. Honestly, i liked the feel of the thick paper, kind of chalky, you know?
Well, the publish copyright was 2003, so the out-of-print junkie i am impulse bought it knowing nothing of the story. i got even more excited when i saw the original publish year was 1994. what i bought was
Princess Prince. A manga that by all means, is too crazy to exist. I was instantly struck by the absurdity of it all within the first couple of pages. Well…maybe the first one. “In the Kingdom of Gemstone…” You know that board game where you move your piece around the board so that, should you land on the right square, you may slowly begin to don the rings, necklaces, bracelets , feather boas and finally the crown to become….a princess?
I can’t even remember what it’s called. but that game instantly popped into my head. I felt 5 again and continued to read. The plot…doesn’t really matter. But if you must know, here is a summary about as brief as it’s mention in the actual manga.
Two princes live in Gemstone, the Queen dies, so the Distraught King raises the one son who looks like his wife as a girl.
Tada!! Basically that’s the tissue paper contrivance of a plot so that the author may draw boys who look like women. And then create plots that revolve around relationships complicated by the gender ambiguity. There are two other short storys completely unrelated, maybe with better plots..but personally i wanted resolution…but it never comes. There is plenty that it still left hanging in the air, as the manga concludes and you really hope that there is a second volume. but there isn’t. this.is.it.
I liked the artwork cuz it made me think of Sailor Moon. I was not bored once reading this manga. It’s pure bubble-gum. But it’s so silly and out there…if you love shojo…you’ll find yourself enjoying this odd jelly bean of a comic.
Bottomline: tacky, overly simplistic, silly, lacking depth, lot’s of fun for those willing to be mindlessly enterained.
Not for most people. I loved it!
Now , upon reading this volume, i decided to hunt down anything and everything Tomoko Taniguchi has ever had published. Thankfully, my handy dandy hole in the wall comic book store had more old nuggets that Borders chucked to the curb a long time ago. Next i read
Call me princess! : Yes i was begining to notice a theme here…but i was undaunted. I mean, are there really other options for women out there to be other than princess? I’m not so sure. However. this manga would only agree with me.
So, a girl who’s name is not worth remembering, we’ll call her Princess. Princess is very envious of her older sister. Her older sister is happily married some ten years and her husband treats her like a princess. Her husband is Princess’ ideal man. She longs for the day when someone will pamper her and call her princess in earnest!
Unfortunately, a bloke we’ll call, Sap #1, isn’t cutting it. He’s a school chum who courts her the school yard way, by being mean. Basically this confused soul is road block #1 to Princess hooking up with Mr. Dark tall and handsome who suddenly pops up to help Princess out of a sticky situation. Mr. Dark tall and handsome conviently dissapears immediately, allowing our Herione to idealize him in all ways possible..untill the simple plot twist reveals him to be of a relation to her she wasn’t quite expecting. Oh yea roadblock #2 is her jealous bestfriend who plays her part and then is quickly resolved.
Half-hearted angst and misery insues…but ofcourse there’s a happy ending.
BOTTOMLINE: I Like her drawings and the story, though not innovative, or very creative, is again, enjoyable. That’s really Tomoko Taniguchi in one word. I liked it. Flaws and all.
Next i read
Aquarium: This is a collection of 3 short stories. The second one is about a flight attendant unsure of a guy’s reasons for liking her *lawn*. The third story is a run of the mill “i have a crush on you but can’t say cuz i’m insecure about myself” story. You’ve read it hundreds of times and this one is instantly forgetable. Now. all is not lost. The first short story is the keeper here. It’s also much longer then the last 2.
Basically Aquarium (the short story) is a about a girl who is seriously depressed about not making it into the school of choice. She resorts to very drastic measures to deal with her pain and, for once, it really resonates. She meets a guy at the aquarium she frequents who does his best to cheer her up, and regardless his intentions to her, it’s not about that. As depressing as it is, it’s also very inspiring. The metaphor of the imprisioned marine animals and her own feeling of entrapment at her new school is very effective. Don’t give up and believe in yourself, you can still change things. That’s the message of the story and it’s works so well, without comming off phony or forced.
BOTTOMLINE : One short story saves this volume, it’s her best and worth buying. really stellar.
Finally, my review will conclude with the final volume i manged to purchase
Popcorn Romance : This. is.horrible. I hated this entire volume. Both stories included. One is kind of interesting (at least it isn’t so contrived) a girl feels insecure about her acne…while i can relate..it’s not incredible. That’s why this volume gets any points with me. But that’s where it ends. The main story is about saving the enviorment. Not a bad message but it’s how it gets there that just boggles my mind.
Two pop stars on the rise, (who are boys but one looks like a girl) are forced to return to their grandfather’s farm when the girl-looking boy collaspes on stage. They are returning for a little R&R, but walk into a whole mess. Gramps has no one to inherit the farm and a development company wants to buy it and turn it into a golf club. However, all the cute little animals will lose their homes. It then comes out that the girl-looking boy has a chronic disease and a normal touring schedule would kill him. So, he falls in love with the farm and decides to inherit it and perform there and build a hotel and and…omg whatever. Swallow that pill i dare you. Oh there’s another brother i haven’t mentioned yet because there’s this poorly underdeveloped love story between him and some local chick. BUt that’s not the point of this story and it fades in and out like poor reception, most likely a point used to drag us along so we’ll keep reading, through a story that otherwise doesn’t interest us. All in all, a story that makes no logical sense. It’s just stupid beyond enjoyment.
BOTTOMLINE: Bad art, poor character development, horribly contrived plot. Skip this one!
And that’s all folks!
