The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, Tome 9

紳士同盟 クロス [Shinshi Doumei Cross] #9

by Arina Tanemura

Hainé quitte soudain les Otomiya et rejoint son ancienne bande de délinquantes. Elle veut faire sortir sa mère, Maika, de la maison des Kamiya. Quant aux membres du conseil des élèves, ils recherchent activement Hainé...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Drama, LGBT, Comics Manga

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 15, 2008

About the author

Name in Japanese: 種村有菜 (Tanemura Arina)
Western Zodiac: Pisces

Arina Tanemura was born on March 12, 1978. She's the author of Full Moon O Sagashite, Time Stranger Kyoko, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross, Sakura Hime Kaden, and more.

Her favorite hobby is Karaoke. One song that she sings is Smile, originally by Myco. She has two cats, named Riku and Kai. She has one elder and one younger sister and one brother. She's the type who hates to lose in anything. She also likes Ribon.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars because I'm genuinely enjoying it. Still, it's hard not to gnash my teeth at some of this nonsense.

- Haine goes back to her girl gang (yanki) because she's in a self-annihilation spiral. That isn't too bad, as plot lines go, but nearly immediately she decides she's going to save her mother from Kazuhito's household by... her and her yanki friends setting fire to the Kamiya manse and pulling her out. So you're saying you're going to restore your mother's happiness with kidnapping and arson?? This makes no sense on either an emotional or a practical level. Haine's two younger siblings live in the house--they could be killed! This whole thing is just as stupid as the previous kidnapping story was. After the fire, it's like, "So, we're rebuilding the house," and otherwise the incident is forgotten.

- The relationship arcs for the parents are just as hare-brained as the ones for the younger people have been. Maika gets her memory back, and after a couple of scenes, she's decided that she has finally fallen in love with Kazuhito... whom she's had two children with. So Kazuhito has been having sex with and impregnating Maika when--by her own admission--she doesn't love him. Love excuses and/or forgives literally any sin, I guess? Even in the context of a story, this is not great.

- Haine has her "two dads" cake and eats it too, by continuing to live in Itsuki's household and having permission to be reinstated on Kazuhito's family records whenever she is ready. Itsuki returns to his wife in a scene where he basically reconciles himself to settling for her instead of his "soul mate" Maika. So the non-rapist nice guy gets the downer, "I'm happy, I guess" ending.

Here are a couple of quotes that struck me. The first is cool in its way, though it has some troubling implications, and the second is just melodramatic silliness.

Those who are weak run away before they get hurt. So the stronger you are, the bigger your wounds are, too.

How long did it take for me to lose everything bit by bit and for my heart to turn to ash?

One thing that makes the second mildly interesting is that part of Haine's name (I think it's her family name) includes the kanji for "ash."

As always, I love the art. I enjoy Tanemura's side bars (though I skip the ones about music and video games), which give some insight into her character conceptions, i.e. "The love between Takanari and Haine seems to be pretty realistic for me, but when it comes to Shizumasa and Haine, it's like a romance between a god and an angel."

Believe it or not, I am looking forward to continuing and finishing the story in its last two volumes. We've got to resolve that body-double love triangle, after all. Though considering the quote in the previous paragraph, and how the arc with Haine's parents turned out, I would bet you real money Shizumasa will get the girl.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is destroying my social life. Arina as always making me cry.

[Luna Shen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did anyone else like this book when they were young but when they look back at it they realize how messed up and disgustingly sexist it is? Because I liked it before, but now when I think of this series, I just get angrier and angrier. It'd be one thing if the author created a sexist villain and we realized this is the case, but what makes me angry is 1. the world that the author creates whose characters and practices are complicit with the villain's sexist acts and 2. that we're supposed to completely FORGIVE all the disgusting, manipulative, and controlling shit the dad pulled on his wife and his family for 16 /17 years just because Maika fell in love with him in some twisted Stockholm syndrome way. In this world, if the emperor makes you his lover, then there's nothing you can do about it. In this world, if you have to choose between getting your factory shut down and convincing your daughter to marry a douchebag who would resort to such methods, you choose to convince your daughter to marry the douchebag. In this world, if you're the man of the household, it's perfectly within your right to give away your daughter without so much as TELLING your wife, HER MOTHER, while she's recovering from childbirth. I got to this point, and it was like are you serious right now. You've committed so many crimes and now you're still up to this shit. You've taken away your wife's right to her body (the scene where he was kissing Maika while she was crying and yelling "Why Kazuhito-sama" in volume 8), her choice in marriage, and now her power over her DAUGHTER?!!! He KNEW Haine wasn't even his daughter to give away. And this was his way of trying to right his wrong or whatever, HE DECIDED TO SET HAINE FREE BY GIVING HIMSELF THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHOICES ABOUT MAIKA'S (not even his) DAUGHTER WITHOUT EVEN TELLING HER. And you can see how sexist this world is by Maika's reaction when she finds out he gave Haine away. She didn't confront him, yell at him about how he had no right to do so, tell him she was bringing Haine back. No, the first thing she asks him is "did she do something wrong?" which I think is telling. She recognizes that something's wrong, but she submits to his right to do what he did; her question is why he did it. THEN, she doesn't even try to see Haine, all she can do is send her a letter (I think it was in an earlier volume). And the explanation she gives is that Kazuhito won't LET her see Haine as if that's supposed to be a reasonable explanation for the two of them. As if it's ok for your husband to decide who you see and who you can't see.
THEN, we're supposed to forgive him because Maika fell in love with him. But the stories the author tells to show us how Maika falls in love with him are disgusting too. His parents meet with Maika and tell her how much he must love her because he's never been so passionate about something before. In this case, they know he's really passionate because he asked them to hurry up with the wedding and to help coerce her and her parents into it. The fact that his parents were perfectly fine with this and even thought it was a romantic example of his love shows how much they care about what Maika thinks. In another story, he rushes home to Maika, and Maika tells him he doesn't have to worry about her running off because basically the servants were watching her(?!!!!). He then hugs her and says some line about how he needs to be sure or something, and suddenly his extreme control over her becomes romantic and another example of how much he loves her and needs her. COULD YOU IMAGINE HAVING SO LITTLE POWER OVER YOURSELF THAT YOUR SERVANTS WHO'RE SUPPOSED TO "SERVE" YOU ARE ACTUALLY YOUR PRISON GUARDS.
THIS SENDS A REALLY WORRISOME MESSAGE TO YOUNG GIRLS (THE TARGET AUDIENCE) ABOUT HOW MEN SHOULD BEHAVE IF THEY'RE IN LOVE.

[ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75*

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is much happier than the last few have been. The twins convince Haine not to kill herself, that they would be lonely without her. Haine's mother, Maika, awakes from the stupor she's been living in and tells her husband that she loves him, not Itsuka. And Haine discovers her father doesn't hate her; in fact, he thought he was setting her free by sending her to live with her real father. He was afraid of breaking her spirit like he thought he did her mother's. Haine is out of the gang again, and it turns out her fellow gang member, Kasuga, is related to the twins. Small world.

I'm guessing the next volume will back to our regularly scheduled love triangle, to which I say, "yay!" :)

[Sabrina "Look At My Books" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhhhhhhhh :3

It was sooooooo beautiful *_____________________*

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students attending the Imperial Academy are placed in a hierarchical order based on their parents' income and social standing. Haine is in the bronze class and is not even allowed to interact with the highest gold class - yet the gold class is reserved for the head of the school council, also known as the Emperor, who happens to be the one Haine has set her heart on. When chance allows for her to join the school council, she finds that now that she can finally speak to the Emperor, he does not seem very willing to do so.

I wish I could cover The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross with praise - yet if I try to describe it in a few words I'd come up with chaotic, illogical and terrible humour. From the time of its release, it has been my least favourite series (one-shots not included) by Arina Tanemura and has yet held that position. It's a bit of a modern take on Cinderella with a school for a backdrop that could have taken many routes - but it seems to have gone all over the place.

Let's start with my biggest peeve - where does this all take place? Judging by the names and clothing, it can only be Japan - or a pseudo-Japan? Because although it reflects our contemporary time in many ways, many of the social norms make no sense. Haine is given up for adoption in exchange for 50 million yen, the school's hierarchy seems absolute - you can't talk with people in higher classes and you can rise up in class if your parents pay enough money. Teachers barely seem present, it's like the students run the school in which gang fights are a thing. There's a lot of family abuse going on and people can be proclaimed dead without any investigation, there are forced marriages and just so many extremes. If this were a fantasy setting I wouldn't have minded - fictional worlds can have any rules. But in the setting in which it's presented, it just caused too much disbelief in me.

With that off my chest, let's go back to the beginning. Although the school's concept could have proven an interesting story, it's barely relevant. The plot consists of the characters' dilemmas - and boy are there many. There is not a single character with a normal life that isn't frightfully melodramatic. Let's look at Haine; she's cute but also an ex-yankee/gangster who can easily beat someone silly (why are there knife and snake fights at school again?). She became a yankee because she wanted to prove that she's not worth anything - because, you know, her dad sold her and all. In her mind, her new adoptive family doesn't really want or need her, she's just a burden - so what better solution than to roam the streets at night looking for trouble.

Of course, her whole adoption thing proves to have much more to it, her father's just another tortured soul trying to do the right thing. Her mum goes half insane over it which, once again, didn't make any sense! She's had her teeth knocked out during her yankee-time and whenever her now fake-teeth come out, she goes all strangely berserk - hello humour, you almost made me smile.

Anyway, Haine goes into depression-phase multiple times throughout the story. There are many would-be-climaxes that are either resolved too fast or just interrupted so it could be resolved in a later volume. And because Haine's problems aren't enough, the author made sure that every.single.character. has at least as many to whine over.

If this story would have been much shorter, less wanna-be-depressing and either in a fictional setting or one that makes sense in our world, this could have been a decent story. The council was quite a nice set of characters. I like how they were all pretty different and became great friends.

Shizumasa, the Emperor, starts off as your standard stand-offish main guy but he turns out to be pretty interesting. I feel as though he actually had a legitimate reason to be a jerk to everyone and you know, he's the first to get over himself. His backstory is by far the most interesting and it led to interesting conflicts - it was pretty easy to root for him and hope for a happy ending.

So, while I could try to look past the many, many flaws and read on for the good aspects and hope for a happy end - I can say the ending was a happy one for the characters, if not for me. It was utterly unsatisfactory and pretty much cheats its way past the main obstacle that stands between Haine and Shizumasa. Why resolve the story's main conflict if you can simply ignore it and they all lived happily ever after!

Despite all, I still find myself reading this from time to time. Although most of it is spent shaking my head, there must be enough good in it to make me reread it.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Dass nicht Kazuhito sondern Itsuki ihr leiblicher Vater ist, hat Haine zutiefst schockiert. Völlig kopflos rennt sie von den Otomiyas davon und zu ihrer alten Gang zurück. Mit deren Hilfe plant sie, ihre Mutter Maika aus den Fängen von Kazuhito zu befreien. Doch dann bricht ein Feuerinferno in der Villa der Familie Kamiya aus, das das Leben von Maika und Kazuhito bedroht!


Haine hat dem Schulrat, der Schule, dem Kaiser und ihrer großen Liebe Shizumasa den Rücken gekehrt, nachdem sie erfahren hat, dass ihr Adoptivvater ihr leiblicher Vater ist. Sie ist wieder zu den Yankees zurück gekehrt und hat einen Plan, den sie durchsetzen will. Sie möchte ihre Mutter aus den Fängen ihres Mannes befreien und mit ihr verschwinden, da sie der Ansicht ist, dass dieser sie gefangen hält. Doch sie mit ihrer Band aufbrechen kann, stellen sich ihnen nicht nur eine feindliche Bande sondern auch ihre Freunde in den Weg. Als es zu einem Feuer in der Villa ihrer Eltern kommt, sitzen diese noch im Südturm des Hauses fest. Haine begibt sich in die Flammen, um sie zu retten. Ein Brief, den sie vom Schulrat erhalten hat, hat ihr deutlich gemacht, dass ihr Vater sie doch in gewisser Weise geliebt hat und nun will sie das Leben ihrer Eltern um jeden Preis beschützen. Doch so einfach, wie sie sich das vorgestellt hat ist dann doch wieder nicht...

Diesen Band hätte man sich wirklich sparen können. Die Zeichnungen sind wieder toll, keine Frage, doch der Auftritt der Bande von Haine ist überflüssig. Sie will ihre Mutter befreien, doch was danach kommen soll, darüber hat sie sich noch keine Gedanken gemacht - sehr schlau, nicht. Dann tauchen nach und nach ihre Freunde vom Schulrat und auch Shizumasa/Takanari auf. Auch hier wird Haine aus heiterem Himmel wieder mit Informationen gefüttert, die ihre Ansichten ins Wanken bringen. An sich ist das ja nicht schlecht, aber ich finde es sinnfrei, dass die Informationen immer so aus dem Nichts kommen, das ist wirklich unlogisch. Dass Haine draufgängerisch allein in die Flammen geht, um ihre Familie zu retten ist von ihren Verehrern ja auch sehr ritterlich. Anstatt sie zu unterstützen glotzen ihr die anderen einfach nur doof hinterher. Sie wird immer so zerbrechlich und verletzlich dargestellt und auf einmal macht sie hier den Obermacker - oh bitte... Wie gesagt diesen Band hätte man sich sparen können, besonders vorne an das Kapitel über ihre falschen Zähne, die sie mal ausgeschlagen bekommen hat, als sie aus der Bande ausgestiegen ist. Und, Trommelwirbel, als großen sinnfreien i-Tüpfel hinten an: die Anführerin der Yankee ist die Cousine von Shizumasa - na freilich... alle verwandt und verschwägert. Das war absolut keine Glanzleistung von Arina.

ISBN:9783842028708
Sprache:Deutsch
Ausgabe:eBook (Download)
Umfang:180 Seiten
Verlag:TOKYOPOP
Erscheinungsdatum:18.02.2016

[Jnyama · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been trying to give this series a fair shake, but I think it's a pretty big cheat to lead the resolutions to so many plot points up to a single incident where Haine tries to save her parents from the fire (why did it get out of control?) as her sort-of dad is wandering around with her mom apparently not knowing how to get out of his own house. At least twice, it appears that stone pillars fall on different members of that party, and Haine collapses from smoke inhalation and they all lose consciousness...but in the next frame, everyone is fine.

It's not enough to make me discontinue finishing the series, but man, this was not great storytelling, IMO.

[Kaya Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was all kinds of bad. Haine wasn't making much sense, Kazuhito and Maike being "in love" was atrocious, and the whole thing was messy and convulated in a not fun way. I miss the beginning volumes of this series, and wish it had continued in the light, goofy way instead of introducing Stockholm syndrome and nonsensical yanki activities. (The yanki portion could have gone differently and been cool, but I was not a fan of the way the storyline I got was executed.)

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ca m’a fait plaisir de lire ce tome mais il n’a pas été mon préféré. Ça manquait d’émotions, d’humour. Je pense que c’est du au fait que les problèmes familiaux de Hainé, une fois exposés, se sont résolus très rapidement et même assez naïvement. Evidemment, ça m’a fait Plaisir mais je pense que l’autrice aurait pu plus développer ce point-là de l’histoire.

[merireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

For sure another 5-star one, bc this was so complex and good. I feel like I know Haine a lot better (plus KASUGA!!). Ofc I have to wait for days to read the next one since it's not showing up till next week...I need it in my life nowww ugh

[Em Mirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pending.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this one because it is complicated. Things are reaolved but they aren’t simple and that’s what makes it realistic, to me.

[Liselotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am SCREaming in cute

[Ancelle Tache · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very dramatic ending to one of the series' ongoing character arcs. It didn't quite resonate with me though.

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

itsuki tu resteras mon personnage préféré à vie (mais kazuhito je t'aime bien aussi)

[Betz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es funktioniert natürlich nur, wenn man dran geblieben ist - das finde ich tatsächlich schwieriger als bei bisherigen Serien von Sarina Tanemura, in diesem Band hatte man ein zähe Momente

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why so many love triangles??? It seems like history is repeating with Haine and the twins…

[Kelley Angelica (bookswithbuns) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Actual: 3.75⭐, rounded up) // Full review to come.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

We got a breakthrough but at what cost…

[Amanda Setasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was pretty cute. I know there's two more volumes and I'm not sure what's included, but this one had an "epilogue." If they chose to end the main story here, it's pretty good.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good volume.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually shed tears during this volume. The ending was very touching.

It was nice to get the backstory of Haine's birth parents. And even while it would all be sad for her, I have to just assume that she's bipolar. There really is no other way I can describe her as a character when she has two extreme sides of her and can easily switch between the two. That her multiple personalities.

Though, I am a little sad Haine isn't calling Itsuki-san "dad" or any variation of the word father. Not only is he the one who sort of raised her, but he is her ACTUAL father. And I don't know... maybe it's just me nit picking... but if I've been upset all my life because my father never seemed to accept me and then gave me away to a man who treated me more like a father than my real father, and then I found out that the man he gave me to was actually my REAL father, then I'd be like "F that noise. I don't care about my 'dad'... he's not even my real dad!!" and then I'd be super happy that the man who is my real father has always been there. But no... Haine tells him "You're my other father"... no no, Kazuhito is your "other father"... Itsuki-san IS your father!

It's a manga and I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

[Starbubbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021: So, we aren't going to address how Makia basically found herself in a Stockholm Syndrome-like love relationship with Kazuhito? Was she allowed to leave the house? It felt like the answer was no, but maybe that was me reading into things... At least Kazuhito genuinely loved her. So yay?

I also did not like that they never tell Itsuki that Haine was his biological kid. It sort of felt wrong to keep that from him, esp since he was told he was infertile. A weird thing to know in high school.

Makia got married to Kazuhito right after she graduated HS. Which for her to think she could pass off the pregnancy as his, means he became "emperor" (they all went to a weird school) like a month or two before they graduated, and then got married right away.

Like I said in a previous review, like every relationship in here was surrounded by drama.

2009: was a little disappointed, but am glad the series didn't end here as some rumors suggested. i thought takanari took the backseat a little too much at this point in the "haine arch", but it was understandable. but, i have a bais towards them getting together over shisumasa.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright a good volume because it's mostly getting closer to the end. I like Arina Tanemura, but she's just taking so long with this series, and she's doing it on purpose. I know she wants a longer series, but it's driving me insane not knowing who Haine will choose: Shizumasa or Takanari. I hope Takanari because he is the one who wrote the picture book she loved. And also Shizumasa is making Takanari stand in for him, which what will happen after he no longer needs him. It's all just so unfair. Also, I hate how Haine's parents ended up together, but I'm glad they're happy together. Oh well, I can't wait to see who she picks!

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, so far this is the best installment as far as how people react and pull together as well as moving the story along at the same time. Even Shizusama and Takanari appear to be working together of sorts when it comes to Haine. Haine learns a lot about her family, but they also appear to learn a lot about each other too. It's good to see she has so many people pulling for her, especially for how lonely and isolated she appeared to feel before. It would seem that her story is finally winding towards a positive ending if that is indeed how it will end.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haine thinks her father doesn't care, but it turns out he has been watching her from afar. Haine enters the Kamiya mansion to rescue her father even though she hates him. Haine and her father have a heart to heart and he saves her from falling debris as the mansion is burning all around them.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally have all the characters memorized so I can understand the plotline fully. Love the artwork and all the twists and turns.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad Maika love Kamiya....Whoa! Haine goes yanki not good. They were all saved from the burning mansion, what a cute moment.