Happy Mania, Book 1

ハッピーマニア [Happy Mania] #1

by Moyoco Anno, Shirley Kubo, Leah Ginsberg

Shigeta is an attractive and "physically active" female looking for her soulmate in all the wrong places. In this day and age, love is a game people play to gain an advantage over others. Sincerity and honesty are often thrown by the wayside in an effort to get to the top. However, there are those--like Shigeta--who still look for true love in spite of it all.

Genres: Manga, Josei, Comics, Graphic Novels, Romance, Comics Manga, Japanese Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

See also: 安野モヨコ

Moyoko Anno (安野 モヨコ) is a Japanese manga artist and a fashion writer, with numerous books published in both categories. Her manga and books have attained considerable popularity among young women in Japan. Though she primarily writes manga of the josei demographic, her most popular series, Sugar Sugar Rune, (serialized in Nakayoshi) is targeted at primary school-aged girls. In a recent Oricon poll, she was voted the number eight most popular manga artist among females and thirteen in the general category. Her manga Happy Mania was made into a television series in 1998, followed by Hataraki Man in October 2007. Sakuran was made into a movie in 2006.
In the movie Japan Sinks, she has a cameo role alongside her husband; their characters were also married. The movie was directed by Shinji Higuchi, who, like her husband Hideaki Anno, is a co-founder of Gainax.

Anno won the 29th Kodansha Manga Award for children's manga in 2005 for Sugar Sugar Rune.

Visit her blog: http://www.annomoyoco.com/blog/

Reviews

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARGHHHH un shojo comme à l'époque, (excepté un peu plus adulte) <3
La perso principal c'est : littéralement moi, une libraire qui a du quartz pour la bonne augure et des poupées vaudou pour jeter des sorts. 😭
C'était trop rigolo, j'ai hâte de découvrir la suite !

[lil4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

c'est incroyable d'être une girlfailure à ce point

[Kricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty silly stuff. i just finished "the poisonwood bible" so it's nice to read some frivolous comics now.

[Moss Mountains · Rating 3 out of 5]

something is wrong with her

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

The curse of the important series is for its innovations and ideas to become so thoroughly ingrained that when a Johnny-come-lately like me reads it, it just feels like... a good example of the genre? Happy Mania is by many accounts a huge deal in the world of josei manga - I've seen commentators call it one of the most important bits of 90s Japanese pop culture, and others saying it revolutionised what manga for young women could be.

And I can believe it, but mostly because the 21st century josei series I've read - like Tokyo Tarareba Girls - are clearly in this vein. Happy Mania is a satirical romance comic - the title comes from protagonist Kayoko Shigeta's obsession with finding the perfect relationship. Unfortunately for her prospects, Shigeta is highly impulsive with terrible judgement: she seduces a co-worker's boyfriend, quits her job after falling in lust with a young DJ and then spends the rest of the volume fighting with his several other women.

In other words, she's a funny, charismatic protagonist who does interesting, awful things. Which - I have to believe from the things people say about Happy Mania - used to be a lot rarer. But now it feels like the obvious thing to do with a lead character - why wouldn't you make her the most interesting thing in the book? Shigeta is a caricature herself - insecure, selfish, a collection of sitcom character traits but also vivid and likeable. The other characters so far aren't as sharply drawn - assorted pretty men, Shigeta's hot but markedly more together roommate, and her nerdy male co-worker who has a crush on her. But they don't have to be - Shigeta's self-induced permacrises give Happy Mania plenty of heat and momentum.

Shigeta also shines as a protagonist because Moyoco Anno obviously loves drawing her. A sometime fashion blogger, Anno is superb at body language, the nuances of dress, and facial expression, though the expression she enjoys drawing most is barely suppressed fury - which is handy, as Shigeta feels it a lot. Her murderous stares and haughty glowering are hilarious by themselves, and Anno's sense of style means the manga absolutely pops off the page. Well worth reading, even if its power to scandalise has been blunted by decades of influence.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT!!! The adult humor was on point! I was laughing the whole time!

I can see how most readers don’t like Shigeta. But honestly, I think it’s refreshing that our main character isn’t perfect. She fucks up. A lot. It’s a story. It’s humorous. Not meant to be taken seriously.

[Vex · Rating 4 out of 5]

~3.5 stars rounded up~

A super silly josei that had me laughing out loud. Some of the facial expressions seen on the main character and her roommate remind me of Skip Beat.

A fun read if you enjoy melodramatic stories about zany people who just can’t seem to get “love” right.

[Henry Hikawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Starlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely frivolous and simple manga I found at a Goodwill. Originally bought it as a gift but it might be a bit too racy.

[kita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rpz les 11 tomes, bof

[Maëliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

en gros c'est la vie d'une jeune femme éperdument insatisfaite et qui a peur de l'engagement + daddy issues

[Sucre · Rating 4 out of 5]

four stars is mainly love for the art, though it did make me laugh out loud a couple times. it's definitely a bit i6f a dated josei manga, but the chaotic nature of it keeps you from thinking too hard.

[Jocilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was good. I would definitely read more of it. I just can't remember anything about it. Just kidding. No, so i thought Shigeta was actually not all that atypical for a young Japanese woman. Or even just a young woman. Sure she seems... obsessed? with finding Mr. Right, as if he simply MUST exist (why does she think that?) without being willing to settle for less and in the process ends up really hurting herself. That part was sad. Honestly i'm really at loss for what it is Takahashi is it? sees in her. He seems like a perfectly redeemable person who's not living in his head so... to anyone sane, she would appear to be completely unhinged, right? That's really too bad. I'm sure they go on to have a love/hate relationship where Shigeta never recognizes how wonderful of a person Takahashi is until it's too late. Or maybe he gives up on her and she spends the next ten volumes falling in lust with worthless assholes like women often do in real life.

[TT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was aimed at the older gals, career minded and looking to settle down. This is a popular mangaka but I've never been a big fan. I kept giving her stuff a try and not being satisfied with it, I think the only one I really liked was Sugar Sugar Rune. This series centers around a selfish young woman trying to have it all. She treats the one good guy in her life like dirt but I think I recall him pulling some crap himself (cheating on his gf to be with the mc). And the ending?!? Pissed me the heck off. I sold the series years ago for a tidy profit.

[Circa Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first taste of josei manga and I loved it. Yes, the main character is desperate and boy-crazy like most shojo manga but the way she expresses herself is funny and the pacing of the story is fast enough to keep you interested. There's also a hint of unpredictability to the story so it's bound to keep you hooked.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

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[Ingenue · Rating 1 out of 5]

HAAAAAAAAAATE

[Garnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read entire series...Volumes 1-11

[Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

You cannot go wrong with Moyoco Anno. Her distinctive artwork makes this a fun reading, although I'm not that much crazy about the story. But the first volume is fun enough to continue to next.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried picking up this series since I enjoyed some of the "girly" comics. But this one failed to keep me interested, and didn't pick up any books after the first one.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Heroine is too immature and self-centered to be likeable, and there isn't much intrigue to the plot. Read the first two volumes, but doubt I'd read any more.

[lana del slay · Rating 4 out of 5]

so excited to read the rest of this series

[Sam Barnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

my first manga very fast read it was good