Pretty Face, Vol. 2

プリティフェイス [Pretty Face] #2

by Yasuhiro Kano

Rando struggles to be a good "big sister" to Rina as fate conspires to put him in one disastrous situation after another. When pants start coming off, and half-naked women start crawling all over him for the thinnest of reasons, Rando must use all his karate wiles to avoid being exposed as a complete weirdo. Meanwhile, will the mad Dr. Manabe succeed in his plan to remove the last remnants of Rando's manhood...or will Rando remove Dr. Manabe's brains with his fist?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shonen, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comics, Genderqueer

200 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2002

Reviews

[Manmangaboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little better but I still can't get behind the premise

[Alyson Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book: Pretty Face, Vol. 2
Author: Yasuhiro Kano
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

You know this story is not one bit believable, and it is out there, but I am having such a great time with it. I don’t fully know what it is about this series that is pulling me in, but it is, and I am having so much fun with it. It’s just one of those series that you just have to go with it.

I am going to try to keep my review as spoiler-free as possible, but since this is the second book in a series, there may be spoilers for earlier volumes.

Rando continues his unusual double life as he tries to convince everyone that he is Rina's older sister. Keeping his true identity hidden proves harder than ever as one embarrassing misunderstanding after another threatens to expose his secret. At the same time, Rando must rely on his karate skills to escape increasingly chaotic situations while adjusting to life in his new role. His troubles only grow worse when the eccentric Dr Manabe returns with another outrageous plan that could change Rando's life forever. With secrets to protect and challenges around every corner, Rando finds himself balancing comedy, action, and plenty of unexpected twists.

I am really enjoying getting to follow this ridiculous story and characters. It’s not the type of story that I would normally go along with, but it’s just fun, and that’s all that matters. I’m enjoying the characters and seeing what they get into. All of the adventures only make this series that much more entertaining, especially Rando’s reactions to the things that the females in the story do. I think his reactions are what truly make this for me.

You cannot take this story at face value. You just have to go with it and allow yourself to accept what this story is. It’s not going to be for everyone. Yes, it is messed up and does have its creepy moments, but I don’t know. I am just enjoying it, and I know I keep saying it over and over.

Overall, I am still enjoying this one a lot. It’s a short series, so I will be finishing it very soon.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Still pretty fun of the mill but good for a few chuckles. The volume starts out with the group taking the stereotypical beach trip to Okinawa where Rando/Yuna has to hide his identity and his obviously not female body from the girls he’s rooming with. Try not to think about it too deeply it’s definitely a creeper story even if his intentions and actions are questionably wholesome.

We have a ridiculous chapter where Rando gets fake boobs from the Doctor but they are too large and are stuck for awhile.

Then we have Yuna and Rina’s cousin Miwa come to stay with them and she is super suspicious of Rando.

Noting amazing but not terrible.

Rando/Yuna and Rina on the cover of Volume 2.

Read 8/26/22

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this at a Goodwill for 50 cents and thought the premise was very interesting.

However, the premise that could have been interesting is played out terribly as a one note joke to death in each chapter.

I liked the artwork though. However, I’ve already redonated the book so there won’t be any future rereading and I don’t intend on checking out the other volumes.

[David Doel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story in this volume is pretty lame -- mostly high school stuff (panty peeks, etc.). Not much has happened to resolve the longer term issue. I gave it two stars because the author worked hard to make the characters clear.

[Wow · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've laughed this much

[Dani Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series cracks me up so much.

[Primadonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the fact that the hero gets to play the heroine. True, plenty of slapsticks going on, rather sexist jokes and all that. It's still fun!

Just imagine that you were a guy. You got an accident or something. You lost your consciousness. When you came around, you looked into the mirror, realizing that you saw the face of the woman that you loved. When she saw you, she thought you were her twin sister (the "real" sister apparently lived in another city or something)! Then she asked you to come home, and then... (I'd better keep my mouth shut!)

My partner, twin bro, and I love this manga. It feels so good to laugh!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume isn't any more plausible than the first one, but it is interesting that this boy pretending to be a girl has to save up for surgery. Surgery to get his old, male face back. But there's a good trans metaphor in there.