Pita Ten, Vol. 02

ぴたテン [Pita Ten] #2

by Koge-Donbo*

When your next-door neighbors are a hyperactive angel and her enigmatic friend, life can be filled with drama -- just ask Kotarou. Mayhem magnifies when Kotarou's best friend, Takashi, sprains his ankle right before the elementary school's new play is set to debut! And now Kotarou must take on the lead role as the Moon Princess Kaguya! Will Kotarou get stage fright, or just frighten everyone on stage? Send in the clowns -- we'll have tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Romance, Comics Manga, Fiction, Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Koge-Donbo (or Koge-Donbo*) is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist. Koge-Donbo* started her career soon after college as a doujinshi artist. She got the idea of a unique pen-name, Koge-Donbo* from Akira Toriyama's pet cat. She made her first official US appearance at Otakon 2004 in Baltimore, MD as a Guest of Honor.
She's known best as the author of Pita-Ten, Kamichama Karin, and Kamichama Karin Chu series.

Reviews

[Nikakioy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der zweite Band hat mir deutlich besser gefallen als Band 1. Die Geschichte hat jetzt etwas mehr Struktur und man erkennt langsam einen roten Faden. Noch hat mich der Manga nicht ganz abgeholt, aber es geht in die richtige Richtung.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a cute manga and has cute art/characters but that’s about it! The story was crappy and confusing 🤯😁❤️

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Marzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going off of my last review I think it makes a lot of sense that in this volume Kotarou does not like Shia despite knowing that he has a very nurturing personality. Whether or not Kotarou really understand the life-draining thing she did last volume, I think there's always an aspect of being repulsed by seeing your own faults in another person.

There's also some really, really good foreshadowing as to who Shia is in this volume that I was pretty impressed by. For example, she is scared of the camera asking about that age-old idea that a camera can steal your soul, and then that's followed with an immediate cut to talking about the Meiji era in class. Additionally she does not seem to have extensive literacy which could be because of the era she lived in. Also, the choice of Princess Kaguya as the school play is a nice foreshadow for Misha too.

We also learn that Kotarou's father is in his life, but he’s just never at home, saying “I’d love to be at home more. But I…I just can’t right now”. We can assume that he’s grieving the loss of his wife by throwing himself into work, leaving Kotarou as a latchkey kid

In this volume we finally really start to see Takashi. I have a soft spot for the best-friend-of-the-protagonist characters. I like how Koge Donbo shows the way he is viewing the relationship between Shia and Kotarou. Having a hard time understanding what is the nature of their relationship especially as Kotarou says he doesn’t like Shia. It gets particularly nasty in this volume between them, so much that it makes you wonder about how affable Takashi is being on the surface, and if that is a front for a longer one-sided resentment he's had about Kotarou.[spoilers: yes it is] He’s jealous that Kotarou gets Shia's attention, so much to the point that when Mitarai places Misha as a side for his one-sided rivalry, Takashi does not shut it down even though he does not care about Misha or the stupid bet, and its all for the sake of getting under Kotarou's skin and sticking it to Mitarai who does nothing but insult Shia. All of this may make Takashi seem like a jerk but he snaps out of it when during the play he realises that he’s pushing a lot onto Kotarou plate when Kotarou’s already struggling to get work done. It's clear that Takashi is considerate of Kotarou and others but he's probably needing someone to extend that consideration and sympathy towards him.

Now this was the volume when I actually realised that all the characters were in elementary school, and all my complaints I have about that are in my review of the first volume. It is so extremely hard to judge ages in this manga. Kotarou looks like an actual baby in the flashbacks and is still wearing a similar uniform, so exactly how long ago did his mother die? Its possible that the flashback moments are from at the beginning of elementary school so about 6 or 7 years old. Either way this is frustrating trying to figure out the timeline.

Some more pros and cons of this volume:
Cons: the events in this volume were really dragged down with the addition of Mitarai's sister in particular, unlike Hiroshi, her meddling does not add a deeper relationship with Takashi and Kotarou

Pros: Kotaro getting extra scrappy. It was kind of fun to see that as passive as he is, considering he's been left on his own for so long, he can be more aggressive when he needs to be. I also like how the close call with a truck triggering his PTSD was not a way to get him closer to Misha in a shallow way, but there are actually effects to the incident, as well as the overall grief from loosing his mom and taking on more responsibility at home is also tanking his grades.

Overall this volume is okay, I love all the expanding on Kotarou's relationship with his friends; but it is also equally as marred with the stupid Mitarai sibling hijinks.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for the complete series

Pita Ten was one of my first manga and one I still love to this day. I was a little taken aback when I realised there are quite a few negative reviews floating around for this series - after a reread ad mulling it over, I think I can see why. Some of it seems to come down to the English translation which I personally haven't read so I can't comment. But Koge-Donbo has quite a particular style, both art and story telling, which mixes certain elements together that don't often appeal to the same readers, and I find this shows particularly strong in Pita Ten.

This story around Kotaru and the angel Misha who moves in next door has all the signs of being a cutesy manga. The characters are in their early teens, the plot and especially Misha appear quite silly and even random and the distinct but cute art plays right into that. But Koge-Donbo often likes to blend over the top cute content with silly humour and darker underlining themes. While all the going ons in this series may start off seeming silly and without direction, it's actually a bittersweet tale of realising one's own dreams rather than relying on others.

You have to get about half way through the series before the more serious themes start to surface, and some readers might have already been put off by the silliness before they reach that point. Had I read this manga now for the first time, I might have felt the same. Although I still think that this is quite a niche manga that might not appeal to all, I do think that one needs a little patience with it for it to unfold its messages and potential.

One thing that I did notice during my reread is that I think the story would have benefited a lot had the characters been a tad older. Even a year old two older would have helped, at least I think some of the more serious themes - especially around love and loss - feel less impactful purely based on the fact that the characters are just barely teenagers.

Despite its flaws, I very much enjoy Pita Ten and it's more than nostalgia that lets it keep a place in my heart. It is both sweet and bittersweet and I wouldn't expect anything else from Koge-Donbo.

[Rebecca Lowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Middle school appropriate. In book two we are introduced to a character somehow even more annoying than our angel who talks like baby talk Harley Quinn. At least I believe this character is SUPPOSED to be seen as annoying. This new character is nicknamed—I kid you not—“Poops.” Poops has transferred to our main characters’ school because he has a vendetta. He dreams up ridiculous challenges that involve another person as a “prize” without her knowledge or consent. And then randomly there will be a scene thrown in to remind us that Misha is an angel and Shia is a demon—but then the antics resume and there are seemingly no consequences. Also, the main group of kids is studying for middle school entrance exams but they are hanging out with Misha (who is in middle school but living on her own with no adults. I get that WE know she is an angel but no one else knows, so they don’t think this is weird?) and Shia. Kotarou pegs Shia at being around 19. So there is a huge age gap. This is not too uncommon for Japanese manga though. There is a redeeming feature to this series—often manga can be problematic for American audiences due to sexual content but that appears to be absent.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It got better

[Bethany Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice short manga which is lighthearted with young characters and a very simple but amusing story and plot the relationship between the cats are also very sweet and cutie

[Neko · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume was much better than the first but still it wasn't that amazing and again if I didn't have this in a volume set I probably wouldn't of continued past #1. Maybe if Misha wasn't so annoying with the way she spoke I might be able to get into the series better but I don't see that changing any time soon...Honestly when I see the over the top 'okie dokies smokies, etc' or whatever words you can try and make "quute" I just turn off.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved book one, the art is still the same, but throughout the series the artwork will look different. Anyway volume 2 of this series does not disappoint. This volume is a bit thinner then most of the volumes in this series.
Great continuation.
If you loved this series definitely check out kamichama karin!

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book.All the characters are different from one another.Shia is quiet,while Misha is loud ad always cheerful and Koboshi is a bit sneaky.Kotarou works hard at his schoolwork and Ten-Chan is naturally smart and good at sports.This book is really nice and i enjoyed reading it,Each character deals with their own problem and still have time for their studying and friends.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not really blown away with the second volume of Pita-Ten.

It has some funny moments in it but is not that original in plot. However like a lot of manga I have read it does have a certain strangeness which allows for the abundance of cute.

It is a quick read that allows some laughs but will not make it onto my best books list.

[Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

With more characters introduced this series continues being fun with some very slight dark undertones. The art is sometimes very simplistic but cute in its own way. Good series so far.

[Amy]

Pita-Ten, Volume 2 by Koge-donbo (2004)

[Bananajunior Charameo]

I read like almost every volume of this ! why isn't there volume 6

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

not for me, read it because of an ex-gf

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poop! Not sure what more to say....

[Magik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 is just as cute as volume 1. Misha-san is just as annoying as volumn 1. This volume has some funny parts and some dark parts as it touches more on Kotarou's PTSD.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok but bit annoying