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GALS! #4
Gals! 4
Ran gana un equipo de snowboard en un concurso el día de Año Nuevo.
Ahora que tiene un novio nuevo (Tatsukichín), Ran está dispuesta a comerse Shibuya en el año que empieza.
Ahora que tiene un novio nuevo (Tatsukichín), Ran está dispuesta a comerse Shibuya en el año que empieza.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
4 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Mihona Fujii
27 books34 followersMihona Fujii (藤井みほな in Japanese) is a Japanese shōjo mangaka. Her debut work was Mujaki na mama de, published in the 1990 autumn issue of Ribon Original. Her works have been published in Ribon and, recently, Margaret, where her latest series, Tokyo Angels runs.
She is best known for her manga GALS!, which was adapted into a TV anime series under the name Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran
From Wikipedia
She is best known for her manga GALS!, which was adapted into a TV anime series under the name Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 19, 2025
this volume was.....a lot. cw: sexual assault, child neglect, grooming.
so many of the issues i have with super gals has to do with the character miyu. miyu is ran, the main character, best friend and this girl is dealing with so much. she gets sexually assulted by her boss who literally hired her because he wanted to force sex work onto her, ran, and aya, their other friend in the circle. miyu's mother left her at home by herself as she went off with her boyfriend. her mother also had not been paying tuition at her private school. by the end of the novel miyu is staying with ran's family, and ran's brother lives in that house.
miyu is 16. ran's brother's age is not confirmed but it is clear he is an adult. he's a cop. in japan you have to be 20 to be a cop. we have an idea of how old he is and he is NOT a teenager.
my problem with this is that this series treats the relationship with miyU and ran's older brother like it's cute and something that's ok. this series acts as if he's saving her. while, yes, we know that situations like this happen, where an older man has interests in a teenage girl and the family lets it slide, but we need to be more careful with how we portray these kinds of stories because while yes this happens in real life, IT'S WRONG and should be protrayed as WRONG. .
this series also makes jokes about how ran's father and mother have a big age gap and it's clear that when they got together she was really young. super gals literally romanticized this shit.
so many of the issues i have with super gals has to do with the character miyu. miyu is ran, the main character, best friend and this girl is dealing with so much. she gets sexually assulted by her boss who literally hired her because he wanted to force sex work onto her, ran, and aya, their other friend in the circle. miyu's mother left her at home by herself as she went off with her boyfriend. her mother also had not been paying tuition at her private school. by the end of the novel miyu is staying with ran's family, and ran's brother lives in that house.
miyu is 16. ran's brother's age is not confirmed but it is clear he is an adult. he's a cop. in japan you have to be 20 to be a cop. we have an idea of how old he is and he is NOT a teenager.
my problem with this is that this series treats the relationship with miyU and ran's older brother like it's cute and something that's ok. this series acts as if he's saving her. while, yes, we know that situations like this happen, where an older man has interests in a teenage girl and the family lets it slide, but we need to be more careful with how we portray these kinds of stories because while yes this happens in real life, IT'S WRONG and should be protrayed as WRONG. .
this series also makes jokes about how ran's father and mother have a big age gap and it's clear that when they got together she was really young. super gals literally romanticized this shit.
August 5, 2025
También me gustó mucho 🥺🥺🥺
December 26, 2021
trigger warning: sexual assault in bonus comic
i don't really like how the sexual assault case handled in this one. ran's comment is always blunt and mostly without empathy towards other, rather cruel. while i understand that's the core of her character, with a problem like this i don't think that was the best way to express her concerns :/
i don't really like how the sexual assault case handled in this one. ran's comment is always blunt and mostly without empathy towards other, rather cruel. while i understand that's the core of her character, with a problem like this i don't think that was the best way to express her concerns :/
June 29, 2014
Untuk ukuran komik, buku ini padat isi. Saya menemukan banyak hal yang bisa ditiru dari para gal. Kesetiakawanan, kejujuran, keberanian, keyakinan. Mungkin hal yang tidak perlu ditiru adalah gaya berpakaian mereka, yang masih akan sangat menarik perhatian di Indonesia.
August 8, 2023
Time to get back to the life and times of my favorite gals!
Where to start? I feel like this is a fairly fast-paced volume, and perhaps some of that can be attributed to the fact we have the opening chapter take place on New Year's, while the last and bonus chapters take place in the springtime. Maybe it's just that each chapter is a faster read? Or maybe it's that the opening chapter is rather lighthearted compared to everything that follows. Who knows!
I feel like the big theme of this volume deals with Ran, Miyu and Aya trying to prep for making it to second year and what they're going to do with school, but this feels more like the connecting point all three are struggling with (or in Ran's case, trying to ignore.) This volume focuses a lot on the stress Miyu in particular is dealing with, as she's determined to try and find a part-time job. She confides that there are issues with her mom and mom's boyfriend, and Miyu wants to get emancipated and be self-reliant. Ran and Aya make the effort to try to get part-time jobs with her, only for all three of them to be repeatedly turned down left and right due to their appearances at any place that would hire teens their age. They eventually snag a job, only for the hiring manager to reveal his true colors and tell Miyu he was hoping to get her to sign on for sex work, and he sexually harasses her in the process. Miyu defends herself and Ran and Aya come to her rescue.
This moves us to a discussion where Ran's older brother and Miyu's sweetheart, Yamato, steps in and introduces Miyu to the Kotobuki parents as the girl he wants to marry. C'mon, if you've been reading this series too, then you saw that coming (even if the characters didn't.) For all that Ran and Yamato constantly bicker, the way they come together to look after Miyu is heartwarming, and I'm of course very soft for the relationship between Yamato and Miyu. He goes out of his way to help offer Miyu tools so she doesn't need to feel like a burden or like she can't be independent, but knows that she can still rely on him to have her back.
From there, Miyu cram-studies with Aya, who agonizes about losing her friendship with Ran and Miyu if she does a different course in the upcoming school years (and of course our numbers 1 and 2 heartthrob boys manage to talk sense into her and remind her to have confidence in her friendships.) Miyu at one point collapses and the Kotobuki family helps her, offering her the chance to stay with them and have some safety until she can take a scholarship test (and maybe trick stubborn Ran into studying along the way.) This really is a positive volume in spite of the harassment the girls receive and the ugly look into how rough Miyu's home life is.
On the topic of the sexual harassment, the bonus chapter with the junior detectives also deals with this, particularly in a situation where an adult has been sexually harassing and abusing a minor, and this goes a bit more extreme than the harassment we see Miyu face in the volume in the earlier chapters. Please be aware of that if you're sensitive to this topic before diving in. It's still handled very well, things turn out good and the girl in question is safe by the end, but it's still chilling and stomach-turning. Women's and children's rights are still laws that are trying to be improved in Japan, and this is only a glimpse of the way things were back during this manga's original publication. The sad thing is, it can still function on a contemporary level, from what I understand, and I think that the bonus chapter in particular is one that can be brought up in discussions of how manga can mirror reality on the point of this topic in particular.
Where to start? I feel like this is a fairly fast-paced volume, and perhaps some of that can be attributed to the fact we have the opening chapter take place on New Year's, while the last and bonus chapters take place in the springtime. Maybe it's just that each chapter is a faster read? Or maybe it's that the opening chapter is rather lighthearted compared to everything that follows. Who knows!
I feel like the big theme of this volume deals with Ran, Miyu and Aya trying to prep for making it to second year and what they're going to do with school, but this feels more like the connecting point all three are struggling with (or in Ran's case, trying to ignore.) This volume focuses a lot on the stress Miyu in particular is dealing with, as she's determined to try and find a part-time job. She confides that there are issues with her mom and mom's boyfriend, and Miyu wants to get emancipated and be self-reliant. Ran and Aya make the effort to try to get part-time jobs with her, only for all three of them to be repeatedly turned down left and right due to their appearances at any place that would hire teens their age. They eventually snag a job, only for the hiring manager to reveal his true colors and tell Miyu he was hoping to get her to sign on for sex work, and he sexually harasses her in the process. Miyu defends herself and Ran and Aya come to her rescue.
This moves us to a discussion where Ran's older brother and Miyu's sweetheart, Yamato, steps in and introduces Miyu to the Kotobuki parents as the girl he wants to marry. C'mon, if you've been reading this series too, then you saw that coming (even if the characters didn't.) For all that Ran and Yamato constantly bicker, the way they come together to look after Miyu is heartwarming, and I'm of course very soft for the relationship between Yamato and Miyu. He goes out of his way to help offer Miyu tools so she doesn't need to feel like a burden or like she can't be independent, but knows that she can still rely on him to have her back.
From there, Miyu cram-studies with Aya, who agonizes about losing her friendship with Ran and Miyu if she does a different course in the upcoming school years (and of course our numbers 1 and 2 heartthrob boys manage to talk sense into her and remind her to have confidence in her friendships.) Miyu at one point collapses and the Kotobuki family helps her, offering her the chance to stay with them and have some safety until she can take a scholarship test (and maybe trick stubborn Ran into studying along the way.) This really is a positive volume in spite of the harassment the girls receive and the ugly look into how rough Miyu's home life is.
On the topic of the sexual harassment, the bonus chapter with the junior detectives also deals with this, particularly in a situation where an adult has been sexually harassing and abusing a minor, and this goes a bit more extreme than the harassment we see Miyu face in the volume in the earlier chapters. Please be aware of that if you're sensitive to this topic before diving in. It's still handled very well, things turn out good and the girl in question is safe by the end, but it's still chilling and stomach-turning. Women's and children's rights are still laws that are trying to be improved in Japan, and this is only a glimpse of the way things were back during this manga's original publication. The sad thing is, it can still function on a contemporary level, from what I understand, and I think that the bonus chapter in particular is one that can be brought up in discussions of how manga can mirror reality on the point of this topic in particular.
April 25, 2022
(Saya baca edisi pertama dari PT Gramedia yang terbit pada 2004. Harga Rp 9.500. Tidak menemukan ISBN.)
Saya tidak ingat punya berapa dari seri ini, yang jelas cuma menemukan dua nomor (volume 4 dan 10). (Koleksi Salad Days juga entah ke mana, hiks, padahal ada lumayan banyak.) Saya ingat seorang teman yang juga membeli komik ini. Sepertinya saya tahu tentang komik ini dari dia.
Saya membaca ulang komik ini karena ingin mendata aksesori yang digunakan para tokohnya. Dari pengamatan sekilas sih, tampaknya cuma cincin, gelang, kalung, jepit, kuku palsu, ikat rambut, pin/badge, gantungan kunci/handphone, anting … pernak-pernik aneka model yang sepertinya bisa ditemukan juga di Hearwarmer BIP/BSM awal 2000-an—tidak peduli mau gaya Shibuya atau Harajuku atau mana. (Setelah googling: Harajuku itu nama distrik di Shibuya!)
Kotobuki Ran adalah karakter yang berkebalikan 180 derajat dari saya, macam Becky Shopaholic. Keduanya bisa dibilang fashionable kali, ya, doyan pernak-pernik yang atraktif, serta sejumlah sifat yang bisa dianggap sebagai kekurangan. Ran malas, cuma ingin main, enggak sopan sama orang tua, dsb. Becky kecanduan belanja, pembohong dan manipulatif, dsb. But in the end, they always save the day. Segala kekurangan itu pun tampak tak membawa konsekuensi yang berarti. Cerita dengan karakterisasi tokoh utama seperti ini, di samping fungsi utamanya sebagai hiburan, barangkali menyiratkan amanat untuk menoleransi sifat-sifat buruk orang lain asalkan pada akhirnya dia bisa memecahkan masalah.
Mungkin karena sudah "berumur", saya menganggap kata-kata mutiara serta berbagai tindakan heroik Ran sebagai bullshit belaka. Bahkan saya sempat merasa bosan atau capek saat membacanya.
Padahal jelas buku ini bagus juga sebagai bacaan remaja. Di samping art-nya yang menarik dan demikian mendetail, tiap chapter (ada 3 + 1 spesial) mengangkat berbagai permasalahan interpersonal--baik dalam masyarakat luas maupun circle pertemanan--yang terjalin secara rapi dalam plot, dengan bersetia terhadap karakterisasi para tokoh betapapun stereotipe atau absurdnya. (Contohnya adalah pacar Ran yang submissive dan enggak gampang tersinggung oleh sikap si Nomor 2, mengingat dia itu cowok ....). Saya menduga beberapa persoalan yang diungkit dalam buku ini -menggambarkan fenomena nyata di Jepang, seperti:
- susahnya bagi para cewek gals untuk mencari pekerjaan karena penampilan mereka menimbulkan kesan bahwa mereka enggak akan bisa serius,
- penelantaran anak,
- pelecehan seksual terhadap pelajar, bahkan oleh guru sendiri.
Persoalan lainnya yaitu yang menyangkut pertemanan, seperti menghibur teman yang bad mood, menaruh kepercayaan kepada teman meskipun tidak bisa selalu bersama, menolong teman yang pemalas atau menjadi korban pelecehan, dsb .... Hal-hal yang mungkin sudah enggak relevan lagi selepas masa sekolah, atau hanya mungkin diwujudkan oleh pahlawan dalam komik remaja. On the positive side: hal-hal yang dapat menginspirasi remaja pembacanya untuk lebih peduli dan bertindak proaktif terhadap teman.
Pembacaan ini mengingatkan saya bahwa pada masa itu para-para dance lagi menjadi tren, juga menyegarkan bayangan akan pembawaan khas karakter dalam komik-komik Jepang. Seandainya saja ada live action adaptation (bukan anime) untuk komik ini, apalagi kalau dorama ....
Saya tidak ingat punya berapa dari seri ini, yang jelas cuma menemukan dua nomor (volume 4 dan 10). (Koleksi Salad Days juga entah ke mana, hiks, padahal ada lumayan banyak.) Saya ingat seorang teman yang juga membeli komik ini. Sepertinya saya tahu tentang komik ini dari dia.
Saya membaca ulang komik ini karena ingin mendata aksesori yang digunakan para tokohnya. Dari pengamatan sekilas sih, tampaknya cuma cincin, gelang, kalung, jepit, kuku palsu, ikat rambut, pin/badge, gantungan kunci/handphone, anting … pernak-pernik aneka model yang sepertinya bisa ditemukan juga di Hearwarmer BIP/BSM awal 2000-an—tidak peduli mau gaya Shibuya atau Harajuku atau mana. (Setelah googling: Harajuku itu nama distrik di Shibuya!)
Kotobuki Ran adalah karakter yang berkebalikan 180 derajat dari saya, macam Becky Shopaholic. Keduanya bisa dibilang fashionable kali, ya, doyan pernak-pernik yang atraktif, serta sejumlah sifat yang bisa dianggap sebagai kekurangan. Ran malas, cuma ingin main, enggak sopan sama orang tua, dsb. Becky kecanduan belanja, pembohong dan manipulatif, dsb. But in the end, they always save the day. Segala kekurangan itu pun tampak tak membawa konsekuensi yang berarti. Cerita dengan karakterisasi tokoh utama seperti ini, di samping fungsi utamanya sebagai hiburan, barangkali menyiratkan amanat untuk menoleransi sifat-sifat buruk orang lain asalkan pada akhirnya dia bisa memecahkan masalah.
Mungkin karena sudah "berumur", saya menganggap kata-kata mutiara serta berbagai tindakan heroik Ran sebagai bullshit belaka. Bahkan saya sempat merasa bosan atau capek saat membacanya.
Padahal jelas buku ini bagus juga sebagai bacaan remaja. Di samping art-nya yang menarik dan demikian mendetail, tiap chapter (ada 3 + 1 spesial) mengangkat berbagai permasalahan interpersonal--baik dalam masyarakat luas maupun circle pertemanan--yang terjalin secara rapi dalam plot, dengan bersetia terhadap karakterisasi para tokoh betapapun stereotipe atau absurdnya. (Contohnya adalah pacar Ran yang submissive dan enggak gampang tersinggung oleh sikap si Nomor 2, mengingat dia itu cowok ....). Saya menduga beberapa persoalan yang diungkit dalam buku ini -menggambarkan fenomena nyata di Jepang, seperti:
- susahnya bagi para cewek gals untuk mencari pekerjaan karena penampilan mereka menimbulkan kesan bahwa mereka enggak akan bisa serius,
- penelantaran anak,
- pelecehan seksual terhadap pelajar, bahkan oleh guru sendiri.
Persoalan lainnya yaitu yang menyangkut pertemanan, seperti menghibur teman yang bad mood, menaruh kepercayaan kepada teman meskipun tidak bisa selalu bersama, menolong teman yang pemalas atau menjadi korban pelecehan, dsb .... Hal-hal yang mungkin sudah enggak relevan lagi selepas masa sekolah, atau hanya mungkin diwujudkan oleh pahlawan dalam komik remaja. On the positive side: hal-hal yang dapat menginspirasi remaja pembacanya untuk lebih peduli dan bertindak proaktif terhadap teman.
Pembacaan ini mengingatkan saya bahwa pada masa itu para-para dance lagi menjadi tren, juga menyegarkan bayangan akan pembawaan khas karakter dalam komik-komik Jepang. Seandainya saja ada live action adaptation (bukan anime) untuk komik ini, apalagi kalau dorama ....
December 15, 2023
Fokus pada volume ini adalah pada cerita Miyuki yang tidak diurus oleh ibunya yang sibuk pacaran. Ya Allah. Kasihan anak ini. Uang sekolahnya belum dibayar ibunya selama dua bulan. Ibunya malah nyuruh dia kerja sendiri atau nyari cowok yang bisa ngurus dirinya. Ibu macam apa?!
Miyuki pun berusaha mencari kerja sambilan bersama Ran dan Aya. Namun, semua tempat menolaknya dan Ran karena rambut mereka diwarnai pirang. Ketika akhirnya mereka mendapat pekerjaan untuk menjual cokelat, pemilik usaha malah menawari Miyuki untuk jadi bintang JAV. Sial, meskipun atmosfer komik ini begitu ceria, tapi sisipan beberapa ceritanya sungguh kelam.
Miyuki dan Ran pun menghajar si pemilik usaha. Akibatnya, meskipun sudah bekerja menjual cokelat seharian, mereka jadi tak digaji.
Yamato yang tahu masalah Miyuki kemudian memperkenalkan gadis itu ke keluarganya sebagai tunangan. Semua orang menerimanya dengan baik sampai Miyuki terharu. Yamato menawari Miyuki untuk ikut ujian bagi calon penerima beasiswa. Agar Miyuki bisa fokus ujian, keluarga Kotobuki mempersilahkan Miyuki tinggal di kamar Ran. Efeknya, mau nggak mau Ran jadi ikutan belajar dan akhirnya bisa naik ke kelas 2! Hahahaha. Tapi Nakanishi-sensei lagi yang jadi wali kelasnya.
Lalu ada juga soal kegalauan Aya yang tidak mau memilih kelas khusus akademis di kelas dua karena tidak mau berpisah dengan Ran dan Miyuki yang masuk kelas reguler. Tapi akhirnya, setelah diyakinkan Ran dan Miyuki bahwa persahabatan mereka tidak akan berakhir meski kelas terpisah, Aya pun masuk ke kelas khusus akademis demi persiapan kuliahnya. Aku suka ketika Ran bilang bahwa dia bisa menerima Aya yang memang suka mengkhawatirkan banyak hal. Benar-benar pertemanan sejati.
Di akhir komik, ada bonus chapter yang mengisahkan teman Sayo, Yukari, yang tidak masuk sekolah dalam kurun waktu lama gara-gara dilecehkan oleh gurunya. Ouch!!!
Miyuki pun berusaha mencari kerja sambilan bersama Ran dan Aya. Namun, semua tempat menolaknya dan Ran karena rambut mereka diwarnai pirang. Ketika akhirnya mereka mendapat pekerjaan untuk menjual cokelat, pemilik usaha malah menawari Miyuki untuk jadi bintang JAV. Sial, meskipun atmosfer komik ini begitu ceria, tapi sisipan beberapa ceritanya sungguh kelam.
Miyuki dan Ran pun menghajar si pemilik usaha. Akibatnya, meskipun sudah bekerja menjual cokelat seharian, mereka jadi tak digaji.
Yamato yang tahu masalah Miyuki kemudian memperkenalkan gadis itu ke keluarganya sebagai tunangan. Semua orang menerimanya dengan baik sampai Miyuki terharu. Yamato menawari Miyuki untuk ikut ujian bagi calon penerima beasiswa. Agar Miyuki bisa fokus ujian, keluarga Kotobuki mempersilahkan Miyuki tinggal di kamar Ran. Efeknya, mau nggak mau Ran jadi ikutan belajar dan akhirnya bisa naik ke kelas 2! Hahahaha. Tapi Nakanishi-sensei lagi yang jadi wali kelasnya.
Lalu ada juga soal kegalauan Aya yang tidak mau memilih kelas khusus akademis di kelas dua karena tidak mau berpisah dengan Ran dan Miyuki yang masuk kelas reguler. Tapi akhirnya, setelah diyakinkan Ran dan Miyuki bahwa persahabatan mereka tidak akan berakhir meski kelas terpisah, Aya pun masuk ke kelas khusus akademis demi persiapan kuliahnya. Aku suka ketika Ran bilang bahwa dia bisa menerima Aya yang memang suka mengkhawatirkan banyak hal. Benar-benar pertemanan sejati.
Di akhir komik, ada bonus chapter yang mengisahkan teman Sayo, Yukari, yang tidak masuk sekolah dalam kurun waktu lama gara-gara dilecehkan oleh gurunya. Ouch!!!
December 4, 2020
I was originally drawn to the title due to my interest in the gyaru subculture from the late 90s and early 2000s, and the fashions did not disappoint! I would place this manga in a similar category as many of Ai Yazawa's works (Paradise Kiss quickly comes to mind), but with a more youthful and fast paced storyline.
The major appeals of the series are its designs and relevance to the broader gyaru movement and history. Though this is definitely a manga aimed at a younger teenage audience, the fun art style and hyper-cute character design can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in 90s/00s Shibuya/Harajuku fashion subcultures.
The major appeals of the series are its designs and relevance to the broader gyaru movement and history. Though this is definitely a manga aimed at a younger teenage audience, the fun art style and hyper-cute character design can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in 90s/00s Shibuya/Harajuku fashion subcultures.
August 19, 2017
brings me back ~
June 9, 2024
Another great book with our favorite Shibuya GALS! The book takes a serious turn when Miyu's mother doesn't pay the fees for her to continue her education at a private school. Miyu wants to be independent and tries getting a part time job which doesn't work out as well as she hoped. Miyu is tired of feeling alone and abandoned by her mother. She keeps her problems to herself because she doesn't want to be a burden to others. But Ran's brother proposes to Miyu and promises in two years they will get married and have their own place. For the first time in her life with the help of her fiancé and her friends she doesn't feel alone anymore. This book hits home for me and I'm happy that this book touched on an issue like this. I don't feel like enough books in general do so it was nice to have such a relatable character for me. Aya almost makes a poor choice considering her education. With the help of her friends she decides to continue her academic track classes even though she won't be in the same classes. But they all promise to be friends and still hang out as usual. Second Place is still having trouble letting go of his love for Ran. But surprisingly becomes friends with her boyfriend and everything is moving in a good direction there.
December 15, 2007
the story about a gals girl name Kotobuki Ran from Hounan High School in Tokyo that really energic and a little deliquent. She have a big brother name Yamato, he is a police officer.
May 8, 2020
2,5 stars
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews