オトメン(乙男) 16

Otomen #16

by Aya Kanno

最後の銀百合祭を迎えた飛鳥は、かぐや姫を元にしたアドリブ劇「プロポーズ大作戦」に出演。共演者の有明らと姫役のりょうを巡って激突するが…母・浄美に舞台上での乙男全開ぶりを目撃されてしまう! 乙男生活最大級のピンチ襲来!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Comedy

190 pages, Paperback

First published September 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

[Michael (Mai) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I say I really like every Otomen installment I read but I really liked this one. The play at the beginning and the love triangle with Yamato was mediocre but towards the end you can really start to see the plot progressing towards the end. It has a pretty tense ending for a shojo manga.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The play had me rolling my eyes at the beginning, but when Asuka's mother suddenly takes an interest, the whole vibe changes. She is officially on the crazy list. Does she want her son to be miserable???? She has issues. And I wonder if she misheard something about her husband. We constantly get the line "I want to be a woman," but he isn't one. Did he change his mind, or did he say I want to be an Otomen? I wonder because when Asuka says that she flashes back to him leaving with that line, so I wonder. I hope that gets answered what really happened in this series. The new dark twist to the series has me on edge and eager for the last couple volumes!

[Mizu · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌸SYNOPSIS
Asuka and his friends has ended up getting involved in the school play. They all seem to be competing for the hand of Princess Kaguya, who is played by our darling Ryo, but that’s not the major problem, Asuka’s mother is watching and Asuka reveals his Otomen heart for all to see, especially her. Will this be the end of Asuka and his love for all things cute?
That’s not all, Asuka and friends go on a retreat to a cute little farm where they could be free to enjoy all things cute, but they are not alone. In the end, so many changes are occurring, will they be able to keep true to themselves? Or is this the end to our gang of open and caring Otomen friends.

🌸OPINION
I like how this story makes me emotional, even if it makes me so angry since this whole theme is out-dated but I need to know more, I need to know how it ends. Which is a great motivator, but I am sad that it is occurring in the last three volumes, like it happens with long run series.

🌸PRO
The story is finally hitting a high, I dread but look forward to reading more

🌸CON
That bloody narrow-minded twat of a mother and this is me being nice about it
Cliff-hanger

🌸FINAL SAY
“I’ll wipe out all of them”
This sticks to me so much cause that’s basically what will be the main theme for the last three volumes and this is spoken by a cruel character, in my honest opinion. I really want to know the real reason why the concept scares her so much and I don’t think it’s cause of her husband. I think it’s more deeper than that but I hope that within the next two volumes it reveals why she is like this and maybe, hopefully, allow Asuka be his true self with the people who knows and loves him the most.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, I was bored by the school play story that takes up way too much of this volume. This series really didn't need a half-hearted romantic rivalry. What it did need is what happens towards the end: Asuka's mother finally discovers her son's love of stereotypically girly things. She's portrayed as an almost demonic character, which I suppose is fitting. I don't expect great introspection into the antagonist in a manga like this. That said, I ended up feeling kind of sorry for her. It takes a pretty broken person to see her son happy and surrounded by friends who love him and decide that she must end that at all costs. The next volume will be the last, so I don't expect a drawn out confrontation here. Hopefully, it will lead to certain things being settled. The fact that Asuka still hasn't had a heart-to-heart with his father is getting silly.

[C2AngieChe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun but interesting book. I liked the plot twists and the dramatic moments. This is a good read for people who like drama, and action. Many parts of this story were eye popping, so it was a fun read, and i'm excited to see the ending!

[melhara · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** I read this book as part of the #LNYReadathon20 hosted by @laceybooklovers and @remarkablylisa ***

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!

Ce n'était pas mon volume préféré, mais j'ai apprécié le développement intéressant qui s'est produit avec la mère d'Asuka. Elle a découvert le secret d'Asuka et a élaboré un plan assez diabolique pour se débarrasser de tous ses amis Otomen!
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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

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's post is on Otomen volume 16 by Aya Kanno. It is the sixteenth in her Otomen series. It is 192 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the sixteenth volume in this series, you need to have read the first fifteenth volumes to understand the story. The cover is deep pink with Asuka and his mother on it looking at each other. 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.

From the back of the book- At a school play, Asuka competes against his friends for the hand of Princess Kaguya- played by Ryo! While on stage, Asuka inevitably displays his otomen qualities while his anti-otomen mother is watching... is Asuka about to face the biggest crisis of his life?

Review- Asuka's mother is beginning to realized that her son is his own person and she does not like this person. She wants him to someone he is not no matter what that does to Asuka himself. In addition to all that she blames Ryo for Asuka acting this way. She begins to push Asuka and he is beginning to become who he was at the beginning of the manga and that scares him. But I'm really curious about how Asuka is going to handle things when his mother tries to break him and Ryo up. The manga ends with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to see where it is going to go. Only two volumes left.

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

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've got to give this a five because the first few chappies are about a Kaguya-hime play which tugs my heart because i wrote a parody for this. i swear this was so hilarious and so adorable. and since the managa is almost ending, the story lines are getting sad because they're kinda saying goodbye and it's giving me the feels!!!. i also loved the arts made by the mangaka's assistants. i feel like they give glimpses of the manga's behind the scenes.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asuka's mother is a scary woman and now that she knows for sure that her son is an otomen, she's out for blood. Trying to destroy all that Asuka's fought to gain. I don't know what's going to happen but I wish his mother would just lay off. I understand that she's hurting but that's no reason to not be understanding to her son. No reason at all.

[Rowie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this one wasn’t as fun. It’s going into plots that are very common for a shoujo manga when it’s going on for long, like love triangle territory. Often that’s done in a way to keep the story going but without a lot of thought into it. This feels like No exception. But the manga is still enjoyable due to cute drawings of parents, a flair for dramatics and the stakes getting higher.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The play was so funny xD
And the mom finally found out Asuka is an otomen!

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale of Princess Kaguya is to be played out at Ginyuri school festival. Yamato fails in gaining Ryo's love, but Asuka is a forgiving rival. Asuka's mom finds out his ambition to be a bride and she goes ballistic.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asuka’s mum realises that her son is an Otomen and makes moves to separate him from his friends because she thinks they are the bad influence on him.

It’s quite the transitory book because it shows him and his friends graduating and making tentative moves towards adulthood.

[Rici · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es geht eindeutig dem Ende zu, da nun alles versucht wird, unser Pärchen auseinander zu reißen.

[Sara Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! I laughed so much at the Alpaca scene.

[S.Q. Eries · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Summary

Kanno-sensei wraps up the spotlight on Yamato with a school play turned battleground for Ryo’s affections! In the midst of the usual comic silliness is a moving and surprisingly candid declaration of Asuka’s feelings for Ryo. Unfortunately for Asuka, it also blows his uber-masculine cover. The horrified look on his mom’s face is priceless, and the way her anti-otomen wrath unleashes makes me eager to see how it will all end.

The Review

Otomen continues with its focus on Yamato and his crush on Ryo. The prevailing theme is “Love is a battle!” and it comes to a head at Ginyuri’s school festival. No Ideal Woman Contest this year (“… cut because of last year’s issues.” –Juta), but in its place is the Drama Club’s unscripted version of the folktale Princess Kaguya.

For those who enjoy zany theatrical fairytale productions so prevalent in shojo manga, Princess Kaguya: Big Proposal Plan will be a treat. Thanks to the ridiculous director (Kanno-sensei admits in the author’s notes that the story becomes absurd because of him), Yamato, Asuka, and their friends wind up as the suitors battling for the hand of Kaguya, played by Ryo. Most of it is silly jokes, but Ryo/Asuka fans will be gratified when Asuka expresses his true feelings for Ryo on stage. (Plus, they look fantastic in period costume!)

After the play, the story immediately transitions to what appears to be the final arc of the series: the wrath of the biggest anti-otomen of all – Asuka’s mom! I’m actually surprised she didn’t catch on sooner (I expected that to happen after Asuka reconciled with his dad). But now that Mama Masamune knows what her son has been doing behind her back, be prepared for a lot of crazy eyes. Interestingly, she doesn’t go for the direct approach. Instead, she stealthily picks apart Asuka’s world in a way only a woman of her wealth and power can. (As they say in manga, rich people are scary.) Things are heading toward an inevitable mother/son confrontation, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next volume.

Extras include five pages introducing Kanno-sensei’s assistants, embedded author’s notes, and translation notes.

You can find more of my manga reviews on my blog Keeping it in Canon!

[Judyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

~3.5/5

[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]

This series is drawing to a close soon, along with several other Shojo Beat titles, surprisingly. Several of them didn’t feel like the end was near, but I definitely don’t mind. This series does need a conclusion soon, and I’m looking forward to the main plots being concluded, but I still wasn’t really expecting it.

Asuka’s mom is, like, psychotic, you guys. She feels so strongly against boys doing girly things, it’s ridiculous. And now she’s watching her son closely, wanting to sabotage him. She needs to knock it off, get some sense put into her. I’m looking forward to that confrontation.

Aside from that, there was the rest of the Yamato plot line, then one where the group stars in an ad-lib play. Something big happens with Juta at the end, and that should cause some problems.

I think the shining star in this story is Asuka and Ryo’s relationship. They’re just so sweet and cute together, so secure in their relationships and mature about it. I enjoy relationship drama, but this is very nice to see as well. And I’m honestly starting to wonder if those two are ever going to kiss, or do anything overtly romantic. Hopefully something will happen by the end of the series, since there are only two books left.

This isn’t a series that really sticks out, it’s not high in drama or dark material or anything. It’s very lighthearted and sweet. But that’s nice, too, going into it expecting light and fluffy, drama over little things that get fixed easily, a very sweet read. I’m enjoying it.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matters take a dire turn in the 16th volume of this popular series. Asuka’s mother has finally found out about her son’s otomen tendencies and takes drastic steps to eliminate them. A comic story involving a loony school play director and his haphazard attempts at putting on a play serve as the launch pad for Kiyomi’s assault against Asuka’s friends.

Drawing Kiyomi with truly frightening expressions makes her seem like the devil incarnate (although a side note by the artist makes it clear that she’s supposed to be the one really dark character in the series). Unfortunately, in spite of her Machiavellian actions, this means she comes off as being one dimensional and a tad boring. It’s no longer even clear whether she’s doing this for her son or for her own warped ideals. But her machinations may finally force Asuka into the confrontation with her that he’s avoided all this time.

In spite of its character flaws with one of its secondary characters, this latest volume of “Otomen” provokes breathless anticipation about what will happen next now that Asuka is stripped of his support team.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duh duh duh! Cue that dramatic music as the whole otomen gang acts in their school's festival play (with the exception being Tomomine who gets roped into it). Yamato has feelings for Ryo and competes in the play's odd challenges against Asuka. And Asuka has inadvertanly proclaimed his otomen tendencies to his mom. She makes it her mission onward to sabotage his friendships. I have to wonder how and if Asuka will find out, and put a stop to it before he loses all his friends? Perhaps his dad should step in, and put his foot down on Kiyomi's (Asuka's mom) plans. I'm loving the tension coming down in these final volumes. I really want to read how the characters handle these new obstacles they currently face.

[Denise みか Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh goodness where to start...it's going to be so difficult to wait for the next (and final!) volume. I really enjoyed reading this one, even though the ending was quite dark and a cliffhanger, to boot! The art in Otomen remains as beautiful as ever, the humor makes me laugh out loud every few pages, and the story is simply compelling. I want our protagonist to find happiness! I knew the 'final boss' would have to be his mother, just as indicated from the very first volume, but seeing the depths to which she will plunge to keep him from being an otomen is distressing. It all makes for a great story, though! Here's hoping the final volume pulls everything together and leaves us with a sweet, satisfying aftertaste.

[Miss Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was reading this while chatting with a friend on facebook and came across the line about asuka and ryo being 'enormous good-looking mountains!' at which point i burst into laughter and felt the need to share my thankfulness that this manga exists to my friend. after describing other amazing aspects of this volume (cinderella!asuka/prince!ryo! flower evangelists! undercover cake lessons!) i'm pretty sure i sold her on trying the series

the moral of this story is otomen is amazing and spreading hilarious manga is my One True Librarian Purpose. 3.5 stars

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was another great edition to the Otomen Series and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next. In this volume Asuka's mother starts to interfere more with the lives of all his close friends, I hope that everything works out for them and that they can find a way to overcome the problems she is creating for them.

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't always get along with the comedy in Otomen, but this vol contains possibly the best school play ever. and there is a lot of competition. (i think the one in Fruits Basket was pretty hilarious, but it's been a few years.)

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I legit hate Asuka's mom, wow.

[L. Petunia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story was a bit over-the-top, but yay for things heating up in the second!

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

[Jenjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asuka-chan, you're too cute. Asuka's okaa-san -- you're too scary.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh evil Asuka's mother, you are so creepy. This volume makes it seem like everything is winding down. IS THE SERIES ENDING? I can't bear to think of it.

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

First off, nice cover. Second, love the rock star look he has again. Anyway, this one was cute. Love Asuka and Ryo. Freaking adorable. Other than that, good volume.

[Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

That damn witch! She just can't stand to see Asuka happy.