宇佐美真紀 Usami's Debut Work was "Great Song", which appeared in the Deluxe Bessatu Shoujo Comic issue, on October 5th 1998. Most of her works are one-shots about school-life. One of her well-known series is Orange Kiss, licensed in 5 languages already.
Nina hat sich in ihren Mitschüler Koga verliebt, dabei kennt sie ihn eigentlich gar nicht. Doch er willigt ein, mit ihr eine "Beziehung auf Probe" zu führen. Nina ist glücklich, doch nun muss sie Koga erst einmal besser kennenlernen, und das ist irgendwie gar nicht so einfach...
Der erste Band dieser Manga-Reihe hat mir recht gut gefallen. Der Zeichenstil gefällt mir sehr gut. Die Story ist noch etwas oberflächlich, für einen ersten Band aber absolut okay. Ich glaube, das könnte eine ganz niedliche Manga-Reihe werden; ich bin gespannt auf die weiteren Bände!
This was a bit of an aimless purchase, just having been lead to browse Amazon.de and see what manga have been licensed in Germany that haven't been licensed in the US. I quite liked the cover and I thought I'd read scanlation of manga from this mangaka before (browsing Goodreads it turns out that was true - Caramel Milk Tea, for one).
This is isn't a reinvention of the shoujo school romance, or one of its superior examples, like Kimi ni Todoke, but it is a charming story, which gives itself time to slowly develop connections between the characters, after the initial set-up. You can see that this mangaka has quite a few volumes under her belt, because the pacing is impeccable: we get introduced to the love confession on the first page (before we know who these people are) and then it's days later on a school trip where Nina's friends are totally amazed that she replies in the affirmative that she's together with Koga-kun (Can I just say thank you, dear German translator and editor, that you decided to keep the honorifics? It's pretty rare in German manga).
He calls her Kasuga-san, though, but seems to be very kind and caring, going so far as to get out his mobile, although that's forbidden, when Nina manages to feel she was too forward in asking for his phone number. Nina herself is earnest and impulsive, it is clear from the start.
It's also clear that she - as our viewpoint character - has no clear idea why the fact that she earnestly begged the teacher to give the mobile back (and he then collected hers, too ,because she annoyed him *sigh for bad teacher stereotype*) surprised and amuses Koga-kun who had waited for her. We as readers can see the way the mangaka gives the panel space to Koga's facial expression (which usually are calm and rather flat when talking to other people, or distant but friendly) becoming animated and interested: there's a reason, even though we don't get it explained from his side, why he agreed to try being a couple with Nina.
But then, also in the first chapter, there's that legend of a successful couple kissing in the garden at the inn. And Koga and Nina go outside at night, and Nina eventually realises that Koga knew about the legend and was teasing her, looking at her reactions - and even she can tell she's being played with. However, he also talks her out of her upset and says that he enjoys being with her for real, even though it's not yet at kissing-level between them.
This becomes the m.o. for the rest of the chapters. The second chapter then goes to the beginning of Nina's infatuation with Koga-kun (I take it that's when the one-shot was taken up to be a series). There are some side characters who are used to highlight the interaction between the two, but you won't really find a fully functioning cast in this volume. There are two girls Nina talks to, but they don't even get names.
In the final chapter we are introduced to Nina's sister though, although the focus isn't on her, that'll happen in the next volume. Through a misunderstanding Nina waits all of Golden Week for Koga-kun's call and it doesn't come. She's totally devastated. The mangaka shows us the fact that even Koga realises this would hurt Nina to an extent he didn't intend. So he shows up when her family returns home and apologizes truly - the saving grace for the guy is that he doesn't seem to want to cause true anguish but is massively playful, which isn't something you'd expect from his exterior (compare that to Joe in Kimi ni Todoke, heh).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This week I finally went into a used book store that I pass on my commute and, oh my. Every hardcover is less than four dollars US, some paperbacks are less than a buck, and the manga. My goodness, the manga - full sets impeccably shelved, calling to me. And it was 10% off day.
~ded~
I browsed for an hour and settled on a nonfiction book by a 911-esque dispatcher (old habits die hard) and the first volume of Kokoro Button (ココロボタン). In it a guy (Koga) and a girl (Kasuga) meet at high school orientation - she is smitten, but he is not looking for a relationship with anyone. She says how about a trial period to see if we could like each other? His reply:
You don't know much about me yet... are you sure?
It turns out Koga-kun is a "little bit S", or a little bit sadistic, so she doesn't realize how loaded the question is. She says she's sure, and the series is off and running.
Fear not, there is no BDSM in this high school manga; in fact, it's purely PG. This "little bit S" is the reason I picked up the book - what does that look like?
Well, it's basically teasing in the form of misdirection. He'd tell her one thing, she'd get worried or upset, and he'd enjoy that reaction (there's the S). Then he'd say no, actually it's this other thing, and turn into a sweet boyfriend until it was time to tease her again. It's hurt/comfort, but with both parts from the same person.
I can see this working if Kasuga-san a) realizes what's going on or b) gives as good as she gets, but she worries and laments about every little thing. For example, one night Koga-kun doesn't call and she's reduced to a sobbing catatonic mess. I'm okay with not-strong heroines (huzzah variety!) but this is a little much for me.
Even so it was a quick read. The style is typical shojo with lots of white space and wispy lines, and while the art is average some frames stick out as particularly well framed or comical. All in all I'm not a fan, and can only recommend Kokoro Button if a "little bit S" is your sort of thing.
Classic rom-com shoujo manga. Great for when you want to read a straight love story without heavy themes. There's never any doubt the two are meant for each other, but that doesn't mean that there are no obstacles in their path. What I loved about the series is that author sticks to realistic problems faced by high school students yet she manages to make it funny and interesting enough to keep reading for the entire series.
Komik shoujo pertama yg aku baca. Awalnya so sweet ngeliat hubungan koga-niina yang tarik ulur. Koga iseng banget jailin niina yang cengeng. Apalagi yang part niina ngajakin koga buat percobaan pacaran, dan koga mau mau aja padahal dia setuju buat pengen jailin aja. Menurutku Koga agak red flag
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Cewek pemberani yang maju duluan. Nina dan Koga pasangan yang menggemaskan. Seneng dengan interaksi mereka berdua. Semoga kedepannya hubungan mereka berdua tambah dekat dan manis.
Today I’ll be covering a very sweet story and even though there were no new chapters updated for more than a year, I still took it up to read and review. Mostly if I see tat the manga is not being updated for a long time I do not really start reading it, but I guess I’m still an optimistic person, who believed that one good translating team will take it up to translate it and will make at least me happy. Okay, enough with my expectation. Let me get back to the story.
You might think it’s your usual shoujo romance story, yeah, not so fast! It actually reminded me a bit of “wolf girl ad black prince”, but I believe this one was written before that one, so at that time it was a new idea and the development was really different too, well, if you can call the 20 chapters development. But to me, there were a lot of things that changed and I learned even more about each character, what is there going to be in the next 7 volumes I wonder! The story starts off pretty fast and is really nice to read about; especially if you’re on a verge of getting sick or just a pretty exhausting class. Both of that situations where me starting to read this story.
I mentioned that the story starts off pretty fast, so you’ll think, that the romance between the characters starts pretty fast., right? As if! Niina and Koga (that’s the guy’s surname, but because she’s still calling him Koga and not Eito I’m leaving it like that) do start off dating right from the beginning, so where’s the catch you might ask me. They’re on atrial, and that trial is to make Koga fall n love with Niina. Pretty normal, but what if Koga s an absolute sadist, which enjoys teasing Niina and likes to be chased after. Now, you have ¾ of the whole picture. Pretty fun? Yeah, for us, but surely not for Niina. So will she be able to find the key to Koga’s heart? Or will she abandon that dream of dating Koga for real? Well, read for yourself and find out. The answer is in our scarce 20 chapters.
To be honest, in the very beginning I was not all that interested, but as soon as I started the 2nd volume, it sucked me in and didn’t want to five me freedom. I loved how Niina tried to get closer to Koga. And I surely enjoyed Koga’s sadistic character! Guess my sadistic nature was enjoying itself. The relationship between those two is really fun and very interesting to reads about!
I hope you’ll find some time to read this awesome story and you will love the characters as much as I did! Enjoy it to its fullest and don’t forget to share your thoughts below. Stay tuned for more reviews as well as promos here, on Katie’s Corner! Don’t miss your next favourite book or manga. Happy reading!
awalnya liat covernya. oke. cowoknya 'gue' banget. liat dalemnya. siip. gambarnya oke. ga kaya novel, ya? kalau baca komik, tentu gambar menjadi acuan utama dalam membaca. kalau gambarnya jelek, trus lakon yang ada di dalamnya bukan tipe 'gue' banget. males banget kan suruh baca? Dan setelah baca komik ini. muahahaha. aku terus ketawa dan berpikir : 'ada ya cewek seperti Nina?' Cewek yang polos atau memang terlampau polos. Dengan polosnya dia ngajak Koga yang memang kalo di tokoh komik adalah cowok cool, pintar, dan baik hati atau ramah di setiap orang tapi tetap menjaga jarak dengan orang lain karena tidak ingin ada hubungan lebih. Dan Nina, seperti layaknya komik kebanyakan. Dia adalah sosok cowok yang biasa aja. Cantik kaga. Jelek kaga. Bahkan termasuk di kelas yang kurang pintar atau bahasa jahatnya bodoh. -,- Dan, dia dengan pede-nya menyatakan cinta sama Koga yang jelas-jelas jauh dari harapan untuk diterima. Koga yang hendak menolak pernyataan cinta Nina pun akhirnya menerimanya karena Nina mengajukan syarat untuk masa percobaan. Dan, yeah.. Koga yang terlihat 'pendiam', ternyata memiliki beberapa sifat yang hanya dia tunjukkan jika berada di depan Nina. Sikap usil-nya, perhatian, dan sebagainya yang hanya dia perlihatkan jika sedang berada dengan Nina. Nah... Lanjutannya baca sendiri dah. Udah ampe vol 6 kok di Indo. Malah, di mangafox atau tempat download manga online lainnya belum ada. nb : komik ini dari segi cerita emang sederhana banget. Tapi, yang bikin suka mungkin karena si pembuat komik bisa membawakan tema biasa ini menjadi tema yang menarik untuk dibaca. Kisah tentang cewek polos yang berpacaran dengan cowok upil evil dan permasalahan khas remaja. Yah, meskipun sekarang gue udah ga remaja lagi. Dan bisa dipastikan tema ini sangatlah out of date dari umur gue. But, yeah.. 4 bintang untuk buku ini. :D
I have always been curious about Japanese love confession. How does those kind of relationship works. If you somehow like someone after admiring from afar, you mustered up some courage and confessed. Voila, you got yourselves a partner. However, do you have a trial period to see whether you're compatible with each other? Let's face it, no matter how obsessive you stalk him/her, you wouldn't really know them. In this volume, the girl did exactly as above and end up with someone who's probably out of her league. Nevertheless, it was cute. The girl is always flustered and the guy is playful. He might have teased her a bit too much but among all manga characters, he's perhaps in the middle between playful and a gentleman.
Mi piace Maki Usami. Le sue storie non saranno dei capolavori però si lasciano leggere con gusto. E a volte, basta questo per apprezzare uno shojo.
La protagonista di questo manga è Nina, innamorata pazza del compagno Koga. Lei gli propone di stare insieme per prova, lui accetta e i due si ritrovano a fare coppia. Solo che Koga adora tormentare la povera Nina in tutti i modi possibili immaginabili.
I due personaggi sembrano molto simpatici, ma non so... Mi sa che in futuro mi verrà da prendere Koga e sdrondonarlo fino a fargli entrare un po' di sale in zucca.
2.5/5. Hm. I don't know what to say or feel.. This manga gave me mixed feelings. Literally. I liked some stuff about it and disliked the same amount at the same time. Gonna read more volumes to decide.