オトメン(乙男) 15

Otomen #15

by Aya Kanno

メイクと政界、二つの道で揺れる多武峰。だが、父の志を知り跡継ぎとして政界に入る決意を固める。一方、飛鳥とりょうはブライダル企業の設立パーティーに出かけるが、それが多武峰の初披露の場だった!政界入り表明のスピーチが行われる中、予想外のアクシデントが!? 2012年4月刊。

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Humor, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Comics

139 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2012

About the author

Aya Kanno (菅野文; Kanno Aya) is a Japanese shōjo manga artist.

Former assistant of mangaka Masashi Asaki of Psychometrer Eiji fame, she made her debut in the January 2001 issue of Hakusensha's magazine "Hana to Yume" with Soul Rescue. Her works include Otomen.

Reviews

[Rowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the dramatic touch and flair of this manga. For a manga it’s not too overdone, but it still makes me laugh for how ‘extra’ it is. The series continues to be amazing and it doesn’t drag down. The message of defying gender roles to be yourself is as powerful in every volume. This was no exception.

[Mizu · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌸SYNOPSIS
Hajime is now in a position where he must give up his true self for the path that is being thrust onto him. Will he overcome this challenge, or will he give up his Otomen ways forever?
Also, Yamato has met again with people from the past who remind him of how feminine he looks, so by asking Ryo, he tries to prove that he has a girlfriend and is quite the manly man. Does this work or is it a recipe for disaster? Find out in Volume 15

🌸OPINION
I kind of like this volume since it is slow and calm, which feels like a prequel to a huge conclusion that will literally turn the world of Otomen upside down.
I like the development of Yamato and Hajime. I want to see them reach their full potential and become amazing characters who are proud of themselves, their loves and their hobbies. I also like how the cover has the other characters who are such a huge influence on Asuka. I think this volume is more about the characters who are important to Asuka and how they develop thanks to him.

🌸PRO
Learn more Hajime and the path he may hope to take.
Progress on Yamato and his path to acceptance of himself.

🌸CON
Filler based chapters with decent character progress
A bit slow in some parts

🌸FINAL SAY
“I want to be cool too”
This is something that Yamato has been gripping on since his first arrival back in volume two where he aspires to be like Asuka. I like how Ryo manages to convince him that cool can mean different things and reminds him that he is cute and that’s why she likes him, which is great, since I feel he has always needed that reminder and support since the beginning.

[Michael (Mai) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot especially with the development at the end. There was a lot going on with supporting characters but Ryo and Asuka are still really important.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was fantastic!! I cooed, I laughed (a lot). I was smiling through almost the entire things but it had just enough concern about Tonomine's future. I was a bit worried but of course it turns out better than expected. Asuka dreams of marrying Ryo but I love his shock in what she does here! The first 2/3 if this were the best but the last thrid was great as well. We circle back to Yamato, who has taken a backseat for quite a while now. A cute chapter and might lead to a bit of future trouble for Asuka... he is quickly being cornered it seems.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's post is on Otomen volume 15 by Aya Kanno. It is the fifteenth in her Otomen series. It is 192 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the fifteenth volume in this series, you need to have read the first fourteen volumes to understand the story. The cover is yellow with a group Asuka's friends and his father on it. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga, humor, and love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character with moments of the other characters added in for plot development. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

Review- Asuka's kendo rival Hajime Tonomine feels torn when his father declares him as his future successor. Will Tonomine give up his love of makeup in order to enter the world of politics? Or will his otomen pastime find a way to prevail?

Review- The first story is about Tonomine finally being honest with himself and his family. His family knows but unless he was willing to honest with them about what he wanted they expected him to follow in his father's footsteps. Of course in the end he chooses himself and the future that will make him the happiest. The last story is about Yamato and his desire to not be himself. He does not have a very good self opinion and he gets some work on that in this volume. But it ends with he realizing that he has a crush on Ryo and decides to go for it. So with only three volumes left I'm not sure what Kanno can do with that added story line but I will find out soon!

I give this volume Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

[Amy Keeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars, actually. Tonomine's conflict resolved in a way that made sense, and that made me smile for all the women involved. It also had a nice twist with Ryo that made me grin. Most of all, I was glad to see how things worked out between Tonomine and his father. I was so afraid that part would be over the top as well, but when it comes to emotions Aya Kanno manages to keep things down to earth. It's nice.

The twist at the end of the volume made me groan, though. I don't want a love triangle, even if part of it is one-sided, and if it gets too painful, I'm going to take a break from this series. We'll see.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still enjoying Otomen, but I think it's starting to coast now. I hope the love triangle that seems to be showing itself in the last chapter doesn't come to much. I think that would be more tiresome than anything else. Asuka is now so far overdue for a serious talk with his father that it's getting really annoying.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is hilarious and has those life lessons that they try to give. without giving much away this is about tonomine and ariake. both story lines are quite good. the manga's almost ending though...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tonomine feels pressured by his father to follow his footsteps,and he has to make a speech announcing his future involvement in politics. Before he does the speech though,the weather changes,and he has to come clean about his interest in makeup and beauty. Because it’s a manga,his father only says to do the best with his talent.

In the second half,Yamato runs into an old classmate and he pretends that Ryo is his girlfriend to make himself look more cool. Through a series of events,Yamato starts to accept the facets of himself he doesn’t really see as valuable and realises that he might have a crush on Ryo.

[Rici · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hier haben wir sehr viel Charakterentwicklung seitens Tounomine, der Make-up Artist werden will. Weiterhin wächst der kleine Ariake wächst über sich hinaus.

[Isabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

OH NO
DON'T THROW AN UNNECESSARY LOVE TRIANGLE AT ME
ESPECIALLY NOT WITH MY FAVORITE CHARACTER , YAMATO
HE DESERVES BETTER!¡!!!!!
GOD FUCKIGN DAMN IT

[teacupsandunicorns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yo we could achieve world peace by baking cakes together.

[Judyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

~4-4.5/5

[Contains some spoilers.]

So, I don’t really know what happened, given how before I was just enjoying the series, but now I’m kind of in love with it. It’s just… this volume was so good. It just was. And I loved it. And I really want the next one now.

The first half of the volume focuses on Tonomine, who I like, but am not a huge fan of. Still, the story was entertaining. I feel for Tonomine, I’m glad for how his story turned out. He’s being pressured by his dad to go into politics, while he wants very badly to be a makeup artist, and his sister knows this. There’s also a bridal show, which includes Asuka and Ryo and is just kind of cute. And even while it was being super cheesy, I was, for some reason, grinning. It was just so enjoyable, I don’t know why.

One of my problems with this series, I think, is that there’s so much drama and anguish over something, like how Tonomine’s father will react, and then it just turns out like roses and butterflies at the end. The conclusions are just too sweet, and sometimes the setups are too convenient. This bothers me, but I try not to let it, because I still really enjoy this series.

After Tonomine, the story shifts to focus on Yamato. Yamato is just an okay character, really, but I really enjoyed his storyline here. He has a hard time with the fact that he looks girly, because he wants to be so manly and tough. And then a guy who he used to go to school with, who bullied him, shows up and Yamato tells him that Ryo is his girlfriend. He doesn’t tell anyone else this, Ryo has no idea, and yet his charade goes on. And turns out rather well for him in the end, as he learns to embrace his girly looks, in a rather awesome, hilarious way. This whole half of the volume had me grinning and laughing, honestly, and I’m not even sure why. It was just so good.

The best part about this whole volume, though, was Ryo. I just love her. I don’t even know how to express my utter love for her, but she is simply amazing, and I love her. She’s so simple minded, and tough, and oblivious. And she’s so open, and happy to try anything. She’s not a good cook, but she tries anyway; she’s a girl and it’s unconventional, but she’ll happily fight with anyone. I mean, Yamato and his old bully are fighting it out at carnival games, trying to prove who is tougher, and she is beating all of their asses at everything, without even realizing what this means to them. And then, when she realizes Yamato is having a hard time with his self-confidence, she spouts off, twice, with very helpful advice, without even realizing how helpful she is being to him. I just love her, and I want more of her. I want her to get more focus in later volumes; I want her to get all the focus, really, because I want her, all the time. More of her. Please?

Anyway, on the romance front. So, Yamato comes to realize that he’s kind of falling for Ryo, and want this to stop, but of course, when he goes to Juta, he spouts off about how “Love is a Battle”, which gets Yamato all worked up. This is surely not going to be good for Ryo and Asuka, but good writing material for Juta, and all around funny in the next volume.

On the other hand, I really enjoy Ryo and Asuka’s relationship. There is very little actual romance between them that is shown; they’re barely ever holding hands or kissing or even going out on dates but once in a blue moon. But it’s so obvious how they feel about each other. I mean, they’re always thinking about each other, they kind of light up when they’re around each other. Asuka would love to do love-dovey things with Ryo, while she is oblivious to it all, and he’s okay with that. They’re just happy together, and I love that.

I am really looking forward to the next volume. I want it to focus solely on Ryo, and then on Ryo and Asuka, but as long as it has Ryo in it, I’ll be happy, I think.


This review is also available on my blog, with extras.

[melhara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is part of a personal challenge to: 1) read more French books; 2) improve my French; 3) read all the French manga novels from my mom's manga collection. Seeing as I read this book in French, the actual review will be in French (duh).

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Cette critique fait partie d'un défi personnel: d’améliorer mon français!

Il y a deux histoires principales dans ce livre. La première histoire est à propos de Tonomine, qui doit décider s'il veut poursuivre une carrière en politique ou une carrière maquillage.

La deuxième histoire est à propos d'Ariake, qui, en essayant d'impressionner un camarade, est tombé amoureux de Miyakozuka!


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Note moyenne de la série: 4.1/5
Critiques pour le reste de la série:
Tome 1 | Tome 2 | Tome 3 | Tome 4 | Tome 5 | Tome 6 | Tome 7 | Tome 8 | Tome 9 | Tome 10 | Tome 11 | Tome 12 | Tome 13 | Tome 14 | Tome 15 | Tome 16 | Tome 17 | Tome 18

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being groomed to follow in the family footsteps is rarely comfortable for the offspring involved. Couple that with a tendency towards girlish pursuits and you’ve got a real dilemma on your hands.

In this volume, we learn a little more about Hajime’s background and his first encounter with makeup. Dissatisfied with his big sister’s attempts to dress him up and paint his face, the usually quiet boy asserts himself by dabbling in the face paint and makes a much better effort than his astonished sister.

All grown up, Hajime forces himself into the über-male role, much as Asuka has had to do. But whereas Asuka has merely to contend with some vague masculine ideal set by his overbearing mother, poor Hajime has additional pressure set on him to become a politician like dear old dad.

Hajime’s mental contortions as he attempts to stifle his inner nature and conform to his father’s wishes are almost painful to read. The author’s slow twisting of the screw (will he stand up to his father and assert himself as he did when he was a little boy?) made this story a truly compelling read. Asuka is also on hand to lend his talents but the spotlight remains firmly on Hajime.

As if forcibly lightening the mood, the second story once again shifts attention to the little girly man Yamato. Plagued by a verbally abusive bully who made him miserable by calling him “Yamako” (a girl’s name) when they were in school, leads Yamato to make a foolish boast that once again lands him in deep trouble, as usual. Matters aren't helped when he's given some wrong-headed advice by the constantly interfering Juta.

I feel this volume could have done without the inclusion of Yamato's story. But that was the author’s decision to make. It also hints at a further complication for Asuka and Ryo in future, leading this reader to wonder at a possible new plot twist.

[Denise みか Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just another fun, humorous, relaxing volume of Otomen! There are two main stories here, the first of which carries over from where the previous left off and comes to a nice resolution. The second story begins and ends within this tome, no cliffhangers here. I think it's great this volume was released in June, since that's when summer starts and the main theme for much of the book is very summery. It even has that far-off hint of melancholy, knowing that summer, and this series, will soon end. At this point, there are only a couple big issues to tackle and it seems Kanno-sensei is on her way to tying everything up nicely, just like Asuka would~

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

AHHHH! The cuteness levels of this volume are out of this world. My two favorite characters are the features, the makeup artist who finally accepts himself and the delicate boy who realizes he doesn't have to be manly to be cool . Another reason I love this series is because I think it has great lessons about accepting that traditional gender roles are not the only ones that exist and people are diverse and complicated, yet it does so couched in adorable ridiculousness.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new volume the readers focus in mainly on the two characters of Tonomine and Yamato. Tonomine's predicament concerns his father's goals, and his own wish to work in cosmetics. In later chapters, young Yamato must deal with past classmates and his beginning infatuations with Ryo. It will come down for both to make some important decisions in their lives. I wonder how the latter may affect Asuka's and Ryo's relationship later on?

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why am I reading this series again? Oh yeah, because I'm a completest and have come too far not to see this thing through to the end, I'm not out any money - these are library copies, and there's nothing offensive. Otomen is just kind of dull. The outrageous stereotypes have been run into the ground without any supporting character development to pull these characters back out again. Thank goodness we're on the home stretch.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was really entertaining and allowed us to learn more about both Tonomine & Yamato.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tonohime struggles with what he wants do; appease his father or continue doing makeup. In the end, Hajime wins his father's approval.

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

Another interesting volume. That's a lot of volumes. At least I'm catching up on these series. And a lot more. But still, good volume.

[Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of volume 15 is good but Yamato's appearance as MC at the last chapter spoiled it for me.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go! Go Tonomine! Go! Also it's festival time so gear up!

[Miss Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty low key but it had some nice cool!ryo moments. 3 stars