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天使な小生意気 [Tenshi na Konamaiki] #1
Cheeky Angel, Vol. 1
When nine-year-old Megumi Amatsuka receives a book of magic from a sorcerer, he summons a genie and requests to be the "manliest man on earth," but the genie, a mischievous devil, makes him the "womanliest woman on the earth."
200 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 12 reviews
April 17, 2017
A magical spell has transformed Megumi Amakusa from a boy into a girl. And not just any girl, but the womanliest of women. Whatever that might mean. The end result, now that high school has begun, is that Megumi is a reluctant school idol whose gruff, boylike personality doesn't deter male attention at all.
Thematically the story seems to be looking at how society, as a whole down to our closest friends, shape us, or attempt to shape us, depending on our external appearance as "male" or "female." Megumi's best friend Miki, and the handful of goofy boys that ends up being her main group of friends, including ex-tough-guy Genzo, all are highly invested in Megumi embracing life as a "real woman" (again, whatever that might mean), and meet resistance the whole way.
This first volume has a lot of fist-fighting in it, and felt almost dystopian in its depiction of high school life for boys. Either you're a fighter, or you're the victim of bullies, and the only way to get outside the fighter's sphere is by falling in love? Something like that. By the end of this first volume, Genzo, once the baddest of the bad, has transformed into a love-smitten lug, and it takes very little time for the dudes he's been battling with for years to recognize it and leave him be. Megumi, as a boy, wanted to be a tough guy, and the realization that "she" will never be taken seriously as such in this body is not sitting well.
Cheeky Angel seems to think that while our physiological limitations are insurmountable, our psychological ones can be overcome with strength and will. Maybe. Or maybe it thinks that it's okay to behave outside your expected gender role (as long as your body is a girl's?). Well... it's probably not a good idea to look for messaging in a comedy manga. The comedy itself doesn't always hit the mark, and I'm not sure if that's a side effect of the author and I being from different cultures, our having different outlooks on life (to say the least), the translation being slightly clunky, or what.
Thematically the story seems to be looking at how society, as a whole down to our closest friends, shape us, or attempt to shape us, depending on our external appearance as "male" or "female." Megumi's best friend Miki, and the handful of goofy boys that ends up being her main group of friends, including ex-tough-guy Genzo, all are highly invested in Megumi embracing life as a "real woman" (again, whatever that might mean), and meet resistance the whole way.
This first volume has a lot of fist-fighting in it, and felt almost dystopian in its depiction of high school life for boys. Either you're a fighter, or you're the victim of bullies, and the only way to get outside the fighter's sphere is by falling in love? Something like that. By the end of this first volume, Genzo, once the baddest of the bad, has transformed into a love-smitten lug, and it takes very little time for the dudes he's been battling with for years to recognize it and leave him be. Megumi, as a boy, wanted to be a tough guy, and the realization that "she" will never be taken seriously as such in this body is not sitting well.
Cheeky Angel seems to think that while our physiological limitations are insurmountable, our psychological ones can be overcome with strength and will. Maybe. Or maybe it thinks that it's okay to behave outside your expected gender role (as long as your body is a girl's?). Well... it's probably not a good idea to look for messaging in a comedy manga. The comedy itself doesn't always hit the mark, and I'm not sure if that's a side effect of the author and I being from different cultures, our having different outlooks on life (to say the least), the translation being slightly clunky, or what.
May 18, 2019
Decent. Funny, but don't like how pushy Genzo is. Meg is entertaining. The tone of the book came across as creepy more than funny to me. 3.5 stars.
March 6, 2012
This review is for the series as a whole:
Hijinks! So many hijinks. I love gender benders. They're so humorous, because the characters do such absurd things. They also tend to be more friendly to all kinds of sexuality.
At the beginning, I really liked this. Meg so desperately wants to be a boy again, but she's a gorgeous girl, and ends up getting this group of guys that follow her around and want to date her. Her friend, Miki, tries to talk her into accepting one of the boys and life as a girl. The first volumes are about Meg's attempts to become a boy again, by finding the magic book that changed her. Later, I felt like the story sort of lost its direction, focusing instead on the evil plan of a guy who wanted to make them suffer; this part has many battles and was generally much less interesting than the rest.
Of course, the boys know that she used to be a guy and wants to be one again, and not just a man, but the manliest man. Even so, they commit themselves to help her find her way back to boyhood. They are somewhat torn, but, ultimately, they really just want to make her happy any way they can. The only reason I like Genzo as a character is that I feel he would still like her, even if she did change back to a man.
Meg is fantastic, because she is so powerful. She may be slender and light, but she makes up for it with speed and skill. There are few people in this violent story that can defeat Meg. Of course, the story is completely over the top. People take damage and keep fighting, when no ordinary person could withstand it. Meg can jump down like four stories and land like a cat. Not buying it.
Basically, this was a fun, silly, action-filled manga that confronts the issues of gender and strength.
Hijinks! So many hijinks. I love gender benders. They're so humorous, because the characters do such absurd things. They also tend to be more friendly to all kinds of sexuality.
At the beginning, I really liked this. Meg so desperately wants to be a boy again, but she's a gorgeous girl, and ends up getting this group of guys that follow her around and want to date her. Her friend, Miki, tries to talk her into accepting one of the boys and life as a girl. The first volumes are about Meg's attempts to become a boy again, by finding the magic book that changed her. Later, I felt like the story sort of lost its direction, focusing instead on the evil plan of a guy who wanted to make them suffer; this part has many battles and was generally much less interesting than the rest.
Of course, the boys know that she used to be a guy and wants to be one again, and not just a man, but the manliest man. Even so, they commit themselves to help her find her way back to boyhood. They are somewhat torn, but, ultimately, they really just want to make her happy any way they can. The only reason I like Genzo as a character is that I feel he would still like her, even if she did change back to a man.
Meg is fantastic, because she is so powerful. She may be slender and light, but she makes up for it with speed and skill. There are few people in this violent story that can defeat Meg. Of course, the story is completely over the top. People take damage and keep fighting, when no ordinary person could withstand it. Meg can jump down like four stories and land like a cat. Not buying it.
Basically, this was a fun, silly, action-filled manga that confronts the issues of gender and strength.
August 5, 2024
Megumi Amatsuka was born a boy, but was changed into an attractive girl by a wizard when he/she was 9 years old. Six years later he/she still wants to be a boy, but all the other boys have the hots for her/him. This kind of story is not my cup of tea!
The art interests me; the only features Meg displays that make a girl attractive are long hair and legs. She's not large-breasted and her face is decidedly manly. I don't know how the artist did this, but I'm impressed.
There are many volumes to this manga; thankfully, I bought only one!
The art interests me; the only features Meg displays that make a girl attractive are long hair and legs. She's not large-breasted and her face is decidedly manly. I don't know how the artist did this, but I'm impressed.
There are many volumes to this manga; thankfully, I bought only one!
January 2, 2018
Read the first volume, didn't care for it, but collected the rest of the series in swaps so I could sell.
January 20, 2016
The story opens with a guy giving a girl a hard time. Another girl appears and knees the guy in the groin and tells him off.
Miki talks to Megumi, the girl who took care of the guy, and it's obvious that there is something unusual about Megumi. The story then goes into flashback mode, six years previously, when Megumi was a boy. He and Meg were out by a creek when some other young boys wanted to cause trouble. The boy with Miki beat them up but was slightly injured in the process.
They had met a guy claiming to be a magician and he gave them a book. Some of the blood spilled onto the book and a figure appeared and the boy made a wish to be the manliest man (like Ranma's 'man among men' push), but a strange figure from the book changes him into a girl and everyone else's beliefs about him change to beliefs about her. Even the physical room he lives is in changes to that for a girl.
From that point on, Megumi strives to find a way to returning to being male. In her anger, she had thrown the book with the strange figure into the river and has never been able to find it since.
One by one other characters are introduced. Genzo is the name of the punk at the start of the series. Tasuki is a hentai-lover. Hitomonji knows martial arts. Ichiro is basically an average boy. Keiko is a girl that hates Megumi, always wanting all attention for herself.
Fujiki Ichiro meets her and he's extremely nervous. Then Soga walks in. Megumi beats him up, but Miki reminds her that in junior high Meg was known as Gang Girl and Wonder Dyke for her tomboyish and rather violent ways. She has a major problem with guys being attracted to her.
Soga gets involved in several fights and generally is the one who gets beaten up. Soga tells her he loves her and she tells him she hates him. Every time Miki says something to Meg about how she's behaving like a girl Meg gets really angry.
There's even a group of guys that join together to 'protect' her and find out more about her.
Miki talks to Megumi, the girl who took care of the guy, and it's obvious that there is something unusual about Megumi. The story then goes into flashback mode, six years previously, when Megumi was a boy. He and Meg were out by a creek when some other young boys wanted to cause trouble. The boy with Miki beat them up but was slightly injured in the process.
They had met a guy claiming to be a magician and he gave them a book. Some of the blood spilled onto the book and a figure appeared and the boy made a wish to be the manliest man (like Ranma's 'man among men' push), but a strange figure from the book changes him into a girl and everyone else's beliefs about him change to beliefs about her. Even the physical room he lives is in changes to that for a girl.
From that point on, Megumi strives to find a way to returning to being male. In her anger, she had thrown the book with the strange figure into the river and has never been able to find it since.
One by one other characters are introduced. Genzo is the name of the punk at the start of the series. Tasuki is a hentai-lover. Hitomonji knows martial arts. Ichiro is basically an average boy. Keiko is a girl that hates Megumi, always wanting all attention for herself.
Fujiki Ichiro meets her and he's extremely nervous. Then Soga walks in. Megumi beats him up, but Miki reminds her that in junior high Meg was known as Gang Girl and Wonder Dyke for her tomboyish and rather violent ways. She has a major problem with guys being attracted to her.
Soga gets involved in several fights and generally is the one who gets beaten up. Soga tells her he loves her and she tells him she hates him. Every time Miki says something to Meg about how she's behaving like a girl Meg gets really angry.
There's even a group of guys that join together to 'protect' her and find out more about her.
August 24, 2012
The concept for 'Cheeky Angel' is the sort of hilarious, crazy idea you expect from manga and anime. Megumi Amatsuka the most beautiful girl in school - an angel descended from heaven - but the truth is: she's a boy! Megumi came into posession of a magic book and a creature within offered her a wish and she wish to be a 'man among men'. The naughty spirit chose to hear that as 'a woman among women' and turned Megumi into the angel she is today.
Megumi enchants at a glance, but she still a rough and tumble boy inside, so when she sees tough punk Genzo Soga dump his girlfriend harshly she doesn't use he words to tell him what she thinks of jerks like him. Of course, despite the beating, Genzo can't help but fall in love with Megumi - along with the rest of the boys in class at their new high school.
Meg and her best friend Miki are determined to find the magic book and return Meg to her natural state (or IS Miki?) while the boys of school flock to their angel promising aid even though they don't believe her.
This series is hilarious, the characters and plot line are so much fun. At first the art seemed a little stilted in the actions scenes, but it improves as the series progresses.
I recommend this series for fans of Ranma 1/2 and manga in general.
Megumi enchants at a glance, but she still a rough and tumble boy inside, so when she sees tough punk Genzo Soga dump his girlfriend harshly she doesn't use he words to tell him what she thinks of jerks like him. Of course, despite the beating, Genzo can't help but fall in love with Megumi - along with the rest of the boys in class at their new high school.
Meg and her best friend Miki are determined to find the magic book and return Meg to her natural state (or IS Miki?) while the boys of school flock to their angel promising aid even though they don't believe her.
This series is hilarious, the characters and plot line are so much fun. At first the art seemed a little stilted in the actions scenes, but it improves as the series progresses.
I recommend this series for fans of Ranma 1/2 and manga in general.
February 25, 2022
I read this volume as part of a reading challenge to read Japanese every day. I am still practically a beginner in Japanese so I didn't understand all the words but I understood enough and filled in the blanks with my memory. I'd already read the entire series in English and watched the anime. I liked the concept which is why I considered owning the entire series but after this re-read in Japanese, I have given up that idea. The blatant sexism and sexual harrassment was too much for me. I understand that the story was written based on contemporary values back in the past but I can't tolerate it now in the present.
June 14, 2010
This was a fun concept--a boy that gets turned into a hot girl but still retains his boy demeanor (ie kicking everyone's butt). The art was so-so and it got a little repetitive, but it was still fun to read.
November 6, 2015
My first gender-bender. And I liked it. I did not fall in love with the characters yet, but I have a thing for punks with big hearts.
October 15, 2023
Dropped the series at the end of vol 6, I wasn’t really feeling the characters and wanted more from the story, it wasn’t bad just not giving enough for me
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 12 reviews