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Otomen #17
オトメン(乙男) 17
飛鳥の母・浄美の策略で、突然『らぶちっく』の連載を打ち切られた充太は「飛鳥に近付いたら正体をバラす」と言われてしまう。さらに浄美の魔の手はりょうにも及び…? 母の陰謀と苦悩を知った飛鳥は、ある決断を下す!!
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 18, 2013
7 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Aya Kanno
64 books198 followersAya 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 6, 2014
I guess this was originally supposed to be the last volume. So much for that. Instead, we get a cliffhanger. Let's be honest here, unless you're entirely genre-blind, you'll know exactly what will happen in the end, but not how. The suspense comes from not knowing how it will all go down, and if Asuka will have the strength to break away from his horrible, emotionally abusive mother on his own, or if he'll need to learn exactly how manipulative she is first. His mother is so awful that it made this volume harder to read. And I'm getting really frustrated as Asuka's continual refusal to ask his father the most obvious question in the world: if he left the family because he wanted to become a woman, why is he now living as a man? I have no idea why he hasn't asked him yet, and it's getting very annoying.
January 31, 2014
My thoughts on this volume are going to be even more concise than usual. Asuka’s mother is a horrible person, and I really can’t stand her. She makes me ill. And since this volume is all about her horrible machinations to make her son as miserable as possible and to separate him from every friend he’s ever known, well . . . I can do without this kind of disgusting emotional abuse, thanks. I’ll wait for volume eighteen and hope beyond hope that it’s a good ending to the series. Without his mother. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope Asuka runs away from her, never to return. It would serve her right.
January 18, 2016
This was all plot development. I read through it so fast. I'm excited for the ending because I can't handle this stress x__x
September 10, 2018
🌸SYNOPSIS
To turn Asuka away from the “Dark side”, Kiyomi continues her rampage to destroy everything Asuka loves to have her delusion of a manly man. This begins with eradicating his favourite manga, Love Chick. That’s not all, she plans to isolate him from those who corrupt him from his manly path and sets her eyes on ruining his relationship with Ryo. When will the madness stop? Will Ryo and Asuka really separate!?
As the rest of his friends try and work together to help Asuka, what will happen? Will Asuka be lost to them forever? Will Ryo reach the Otomen Asuka that she loves? Find out with volume 17
🌸OPINION
This volume makes me want to boot it out a window. I mean, besides the themes of making someone into something you want is not cool but the fact that the earlier volumes could have less fillers and an earlier start on the ending arc could have made it feel a little less pushed and overbearing. It took me a while to finish it because it got me so worked up.
I love the 17 and 18 volume covers and they look like they belong together which makes me so happy. That’s about it though causes the content between them really got my blood to boil, but like my partner says, “That’s a great sign of character if they can make you feel so strongly, no matter if it’s for or against them” and that is very correct. I may resent Kiyomi currently, but it just proved that she filled her role as an Anti-Otomen.
🌸PRO
Getting closer to the end
Gorgeous cover
🌸CON
Cliff-hanger
Becoming over-emotional over everything
🌸FINAL SAY
“What are you doing Asuka-chan?”
I asked that same thing so many times during the whole extent of the manga because I am a sucker for someone being true to themselves even if it’s a guy who likes girly things. I think at one point I wanted to shake him and be like “WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME?” and that honestly takes an amazing sort of story writing to get me so worked up over a character and story like this. I kind of felt like this was a bit rushed though.
I give it a four instead of two because as much as I hated this manga, at this point, I like the fact that it played on my emotions so strongly and it takes a lot to do that and I admire Aya Kanno for being able to do that so well. I wish it was kind of earlier in the series but can't complain too much since it won't change anything.
To turn Asuka away from the “Dark side”, Kiyomi continues her rampage to destroy everything Asuka loves to have her delusion of a manly man. This begins with eradicating his favourite manga, Love Chick. That’s not all, she plans to isolate him from those who corrupt him from his manly path and sets her eyes on ruining his relationship with Ryo. When will the madness stop? Will Ryo and Asuka really separate!?
As the rest of his friends try and work together to help Asuka, what will happen? Will Asuka be lost to them forever? Will Ryo reach the Otomen Asuka that she loves? Find out with volume 17
🌸OPINION
This volume makes me want to boot it out a window. I mean, besides the themes of making someone into something you want is not cool but the fact that the earlier volumes could have less fillers and an earlier start on the ending arc could have made it feel a little less pushed and overbearing. It took me a while to finish it because it got me so worked up.
I love the 17 and 18 volume covers and they look like they belong together which makes me so happy. That’s about it though causes the content between them really got my blood to boil, but like my partner says, “That’s a great sign of character if they can make you feel so strongly, no matter if it’s for or against them” and that is very correct. I may resent Kiyomi currently, but it just proved that she filled her role as an Anti-Otomen.
🌸PRO
Getting closer to the end
Gorgeous cover
🌸CON
Cliff-hanger
Becoming over-emotional over everything
🌸FINAL SAY
“What are you doing Asuka-chan?”
I asked that same thing so many times during the whole extent of the manga because I am a sucker for someone being true to themselves even if it’s a guy who likes girly things. I think at one point I wanted to shake him and be like “WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME?” and that honestly takes an amazing sort of story writing to get me so worked up over a character and story like this. I kind of felt like this was a bit rushed though.
I give it a four instead of two because as much as I hated this manga, at this point, I like the fact that it played on my emotions so strongly and it takes a lot to do that and I admire Aya Kanno for being able to do that so well. I wish it was kind of earlier in the series but can't complain too much since it won't change anything.
July 22, 2023
So any woman who wants her son to be manly, girls to be girly yet she is so "unfeminine" herself in many ways! Ugh> I HATE Asuka's mother. The crap she pulls. Especially threatening Juta like that and faking her illness for months! How did we have another Christmas so soon? This timeline... Poor Asuka, how alone he must feel in this. And the change Ryo goes through in this, just to "fix things." Must go real final volume NOW! Bye!
December 16, 2017
This one wasn’t as strong. You can really see it’s all boiling up to the final conclusion. I’m just not sure if I like where it’s heading. However I do like that the plot for Juta is getting some development.
April 29, 2024
Reading this volume made me VERY glad I skipped ahead and see how things would unfold because I don't think I have the heart to read the whole series now.
Asuka's mom really came through in the worst and most selfish way possible. I have no words except I am devastated for Asuka. 😭😭😭
Asuka's mom really came through in the worst and most selfish way possible. I have no words except I am devastated for Asuka. 😭😭😭
April 7, 2020
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!
Nous approchons la fin de la série!
Je voulais tellement que le père d'Asuka et Monsieur Amakashi soient un couple mais cela a été démystifié dans le premier chapitre ... dommage.
Bon, dans ce volume, la mère d'Asuka (qui est si terrible) continue de le manipuler et ruine la relation d'Asuka avec tout le monde autour de lui!
J'ai vraiment hâte de lire la finale pour voir comment cela sera résolu.
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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
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Cette critique fait partie d'un défi personnel: d’améliorer mon français!
Nous approchons la fin de la série!
Je voulais tellement que le père d'Asuka et Monsieur Amakashi soient un couple mais cela a été démystifié dans le premier chapitre ... dommage.
Bon, dans ce volume, la mère d'Asuka (qui est si terrible) continue de le manipuler et ruine la relation d'Asuka avec tout le monde autour de lui!
J'ai vraiment hâte de lire la finale pour voir comment cela sera résolu.
----------------------------------------------
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
July 31, 2017
Today's post is on Otomen volume 17 by Aya Kanno. It is the seventeenth in her Otomen series. It is 192 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the seventeenth volume in this series, you need to have read the first sixteen volumes to understand the story. The cover is a very light pink with Juta, Hajime, and Kitora on it looking at the reader. 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- In her quest to get Asuka to turn away from his otomen ways, Asuka mom, Kiyomi, cancels his favorite shojo manga, Love Chick! What's worse, she plans to break up Asuka and Ryo! Will Asuka succumb to his mother's anti-otomen schemes?!
Review- Asuka's mother has lost her mind. Not only is she threatening innocent people, she is pretending to be deathly ill from the shock of learning that Asuka is an otomen. I did not ever really like his mother but in these last two volumes, she has lost all sympathy that I had for her at the beginning of the series. She knows that Asuka is unhappy and lonely but because he acting like a 'real' man she does not care. We are to believe that she believes she is doing this to Asuka for his own good but I do not believe that. I think that she is doing everything to make herself happy; no matter the cost to others or even to Asuka himself. Kanno is going to have to something really big to get me forgive Asuka's mother for this. But with only one volume left I am not sure that she can.
I give this this volume a Four of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.
From the back of the book- In her quest to get Asuka to turn away from his otomen ways, Asuka mom, Kiyomi, cancels his favorite shojo manga, Love Chick! What's worse, she plans to break up Asuka and Ryo! Will Asuka succumb to his mother's anti-otomen schemes?!
Review- Asuka's mother has lost her mind. Not only is she threatening innocent people, she is pretending to be deathly ill from the shock of learning that Asuka is an otomen. I did not ever really like his mother but in these last two volumes, she has lost all sympathy that I had for her at the beginning of the series. She knows that Asuka is unhappy and lonely but because he acting like a 'real' man she does not care. We are to believe that she believes she is doing this to Asuka for his own good but I do not believe that. I think that she is doing everything to make herself happy; no matter the cost to others or even to Asuka himself. Kanno is going to have to something really big to get me forgive Asuka's mother for this. But with only one volume left I am not sure that she can.
I give this this volume a Four of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.
November 4, 2019
Asuka’s wish to pursue his otomen desires is once again derailed by his intolerant, bigoted mother. Resorting to coercion, emotional manipulation and outright deceit, she’s interfering with his friendships, his love life and his genuine love of all things girly and feminine. His friends and girlfriend are equally warped by her machinations and it makes for a compelling and sobering installation in this series.
Kiyomi’s unreasonable and unreasoning behavior is the catalyst for all sorts of story development and I’m wondering just what will happen in volume 18, which is stated to be the last in the Otomen storyline. Will it all come right? Will Asuka stand up to his mother? Will there be a happily-ever-after ending for Asuka or his father? After all this time, I still want to know.
Kiyomi’s unreasonable and unreasoning behavior is the catalyst for all sorts of story development and I’m wondering just what will happen in volume 18, which is stated to be the last in the Otomen storyline. Will it all come right? Will Asuka stand up to his mother? Will there be a happily-ever-after ending for Asuka or his father? After all this time, I still want to know.
February 14, 2014
Uggghhhh! How frustrating! Asuka's mom is a complete and total bitch with absolutely ZERO redeeming qualities! I thought we'd at least see she had a good reason in her mind (even if it was convoluted and irrational) but after this volume... The good thing is, having such a purely selfish and, dare I say it, evil character makes for hella good reading. Emotionally abusive and manipulative mom, I hope you get your comeuppance in the next volume...*steams off*
May 13, 2015
Only one more volume NOOOOOO. I love Otomen, so I'm not sure how i'll fill the void. This volume has all my favorite elements of the series and focuses on the main story instead of the side characters or mini plots. Asuka's mom is SUCH a psycho. I can't help wondering how much of this "men must be manly" attitude is really prevalent in Japan and how much is used to create the drama this series makes so hilarious.
August 19, 2015
I hate Asuka's mother. I want her scheming person to disappear from the manga. She is a horrible, spiteful, vindictive person. The type of person who should have their children taken away by child services and given a large taste of her own medicine! Poor Asuka and friends.
September 4, 2014
There's no point living if you aren't your true self.
June 25, 2014
I dislike Asuka's mother even more after reading this volume. One more volume to go.
September 9, 2017
Uggg truth is I cried T^T, even tho I know everything is going to be fine at the end.
I love the fact that Juta loves Asuka and that he would do whatever for him to be happy. Juta is definitely my favorite <3 <3 <3
Special mention to that part where Asuka asked his sensei if he's going out with his dad (I headcanon that they totally are!)
I love the fact that Juta loves Asuka and that he would do whatever for him to be happy. Juta is definitely my favorite <3 <3 <3
Special mention to that part where Asuka asked his sensei if he's going out with his dad (I headcanon that they totally are!)
June 4, 2017
Die Story nähert sich dem Ende, vor allem haben wir hier die ganzen Charaktere, die Asukas Leben beeinflusst haben, und wie er sich von diesen trennen muss, um weiteren Schmerz zu verhindern. Seine Mutter ist echt böse.
December 29, 2021
Loved it!
April 3, 2025
literally cried so hard why can't asuka just be happy with all of his friends 💔
November 3, 2016
In Summary
With her cunning, determination, and massive resources, it’s inevitable that Kiyomi would force Asuka’s hand. However, Kanno-sensei does such an excellent job of depicting the angst of Asuka (and Ryo and Juta) you almost don’t mind the predictability of the plot. It’s almost a certainty that Ryo and Asuka’s love will prevail in the next and final volume, but it will be interesting to see if and how Asuka wins his mother’s acceptance.
The Review
Kiyomi continues with her plan to remove unmanly influences by pulling the plug on Juta’s Love Chick manga. Interestingly, out of Asuka’s friends, Juta’s the only one confronted by Kiyomi. While the arc is ultimately about Mama Masamune manipulating her son, Kanno-sensei takes the opportunity to show some back story on Juta’s career. Despite his carefree personality, he’s surprisingly serious about his fans and manga career. When he acquiesces to Kiyomi’s demands, you can feel his agony about his decision.
A couple of lighter scenes follow. Asuka asks Amakashi-sensei the very thing I’ve been wondering about him and Hiromi, and then Ryo and Asuka play detective together. But the mood darkens again with the moment this entire series has been working toward: Asuka’s confession to his mother. Surprisingly, Mama Masamune doesn’t take the hard-line approach, preferring instead to deceive her son. Her method is hardly original, but it does the job of forcing Asuka to give up Ryo and all things otomen.
After that, it’s not surprising to see pre-Ryo Asuka return. What’s really unexpected is how losing Asuka pushes Ryo to her own extremes. Kanno-sensei’s illustrations of the separated pair really tug on the heartstrings, which makes me all the more eager for Volume 18, the series’ final volume. With Asuka being put forth as class valedictorian, I have a feeling we’re in store for something similar to his festival play confession.
Extras include embedded author’s notes featuring the original character designs for Otomen and translation notes.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
With her cunning, determination, and massive resources, it’s inevitable that Kiyomi would force Asuka’s hand. However, Kanno-sensei does such an excellent job of depicting the angst of Asuka (and Ryo and Juta) you almost don’t mind the predictability of the plot. It’s almost a certainty that Ryo and Asuka’s love will prevail in the next and final volume, but it will be interesting to see if and how Asuka wins his mother’s acceptance.
The Review
Kiyomi continues with her plan to remove unmanly influences by pulling the plug on Juta’s Love Chick manga. Interestingly, out of Asuka’s friends, Juta’s the only one confronted by Kiyomi. While the arc is ultimately about Mama Masamune manipulating her son, Kanno-sensei takes the opportunity to show some back story on Juta’s career. Despite his carefree personality, he’s surprisingly serious about his fans and manga career. When he acquiesces to Kiyomi’s demands, you can feel his agony about his decision.
A couple of lighter scenes follow. Asuka asks Amakashi-sensei the very thing I’ve been wondering about him and Hiromi, and then Ryo and Asuka play detective together. But the mood darkens again with the moment this entire series has been working toward: Asuka’s confession to his mother. Surprisingly, Mama Masamune doesn’t take the hard-line approach, preferring instead to deceive her son. Her method is hardly original, but it does the job of forcing Asuka to give up Ryo and all things otomen.
After that, it’s not surprising to see pre-Ryo Asuka return. What’s really unexpected is how losing Asuka pushes Ryo to her own extremes. Kanno-sensei’s illustrations of the separated pair really tug on the heartstrings, which makes me all the more eager for Volume 18, the series’ final volume. With Asuka being put forth as class valedictorian, I have a feeling we’re in store for something similar to his festival play confession.
Extras include embedded author’s notes featuring the original character designs for Otomen and translation notes.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2014
~3.5-4/5
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
This was a sad volume. I just feel so bad for Asuka. For Ryo, too. They’re both obviously struggling, neither of them sure what to do, thinking that they can’t do anything. The poor, sad things!
And it’s all because of Asuka’s stupid mother. I rather hate her. She’s a selfish, horrible person. I’m not sure if, in the next volume, everything is going to wrap up neatly just by them talking, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, his mother is horrible, and I do not like her at all.
I love Asuka and Ryo, though, and really look forward to seeing how it all wraps up in the next book. It’s the final volume, so it’s sure to be good, and I’m really excited to see how it all goes. I want to see their happy ending. They deserve it.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
This was a sad volume. I just feel so bad for Asuka. For Ryo, too. They’re both obviously struggling, neither of them sure what to do, thinking that they can’t do anything. The poor, sad things!
And it’s all because of Asuka’s stupid mother. I rather hate her. She’s a selfish, horrible person. I’m not sure if, in the next volume, everything is going to wrap up neatly just by them talking, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, his mother is horrible, and I do not like her at all.
I love Asuka and Ryo, though, and really look forward to seeing how it all wraps up in the next book. It’s the final volume, so it’s sure to be good, and I’m really excited to see how it all goes. I want to see their happy ending. They deserve it.
August 10, 2014
Asuka finally reveals his otomen thoughts directly to his mom! Seeing how her health seems to plummet, he as a devoted son decides to turn away from these tendencies. His friends that were already being pushed back by Kiyomi's (Asuka's Mom) influence, now more then ever are worried. Roles seem in reverse as Asuka drifts from his usual cheerfulness to being forced into stoicism. Ryo too is suffering from this loss of connection. I really hope something is done as I see the main characters becoming conflicted, crumbling, and losing their identities. Perhaps Asuka's dad should step out of the shadows, and help in resolving these matters with Kiyomi and their son. I hope to read on how things turn out in the next, and final volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2014
me spending nearly this entire volume crying about asuka masumune? haha nooo that's completely ridic- [trips]
[endless tumblr style tag essays about ryo and asuka's relationship spill out of jacket]
no wait these aren't even mine i found them out by -
[dozens of recordings of me whispering about how much they all love each other noooo goddamn heteronormativity hurting my babies fall out of my pockets]
no you have to listen i'm just holding these for a friend
[entire scroll of all the reasons asuka masumune is precious and must be protected at all costs suddenly drops down]
shit shit look i don't care that much, i'm a tough girl okay
...
frick
4.5 stars
[endless tumblr style tag essays about ryo and asuka's relationship spill out of jacket]
no wait these aren't even mine i found them out by -
[dozens of recordings of me whispering about how much they all love each other noooo goddamn heteronormativity hurting my babies fall out of my pockets]
no you have to listen i'm just holding these for a friend
[entire scroll of all the reasons asuka masumune is precious and must be protected at all costs suddenly drops down]
shit shit look i don't care that much, i'm a tough girl okay
...
frick
4.5 stars
March 31, 2014
Every time I read this series, i have a roller coaster of feelings. One minute I'm happy for the development of everyone. Then I want to slap the crap out of his mother every time she pulls one of her tricks. Seriously,what is the measure of a true man?.On a lighter note, I would so watch a live adaption of this!
February 4, 2017
i love the cover! and they even have the Love Chick version at the back sooooo adorable!
oh my goodness! this manga though, so much feels! it's so sad yet it's still funny. i swear it's so bittersweet! i can put the reading of the last volume off but i'm just so curious now!
oh my goodness! this manga though, so much feels! it's so sad yet it's still funny. i swear it's so bittersweet! i can put the reading of the last volume off but i'm just so curious now!
June 27, 2014
This was such an awesome (but heartbreaking!) volume!
February 6, 2014
nooo Asuka!!! nooooooo!!!! my feelings. arghhhhg no i want my volume 18!!!
/throws a temper tantrum
/throws a temper tantrum
June 10, 2014
I want to read the next one!! I can't believe how things ended up, and I want to see it all end happily.
November 30, 2014
Great ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews