Cipher, Volume 5

Cipher #5

by Minako Narita

When Siva and Cipher, identical twin brothers, trade off attending school and acting auditions, they encounter many mishaps and must learn the value of having their own identities.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2006

About the author

Associated names : Minako Narita

Name (in native language) : 成田美名子

Zodiac : Pisces

Blood type : AB

Born in Aomori in 1960. Debuted in 1977 with “Invitation to a Star” in the girls' manga magazine “Hana to Yume”. Her best-known works are “Alien Street” and “Cipher.” Debuting in December of 1984, Cipher was a true oddity among shojo manga in general. While manga certainly could take place in the United States, Cipher was definitely drawn and written by someone who absolutely loved the country, especially what was going on there during the 80's. In fact, when Jason Thompson covered it in his House of 1000 Manga article, he outright called Cipher "The Most '80s Manga Ever."[1][2]

[1]http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house...
[2]http://landofobscusion.blogspot.it/20...

Acclaimed for her precise and intricate drawings and “watermark,” a collection of her pictures. Her works deal mostly with human relationships, life, ideals, friendship, etc. Currently, her “Hana Yori mo Hana no Gotoku,” a manga series featuring a young Noh performer, runs in the bimonthly magazine “Melody”.

She is regarded as one of the most important manga authors of 80's and 90's.

Reviews

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to tell the twins apart. I don't know why but for some reason, for me, their Americanized names make it even more difficult.

I haven't read volumes 1-4, so I'm a little bit lost, but I did enjoy the story in this volume. (The reason I'm jumping into volume 5 is because I'm currently on a quest to (re-)read every manga in my collection, and I guess I must have picked this volume up for free somewhere a while ago.)

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, akhirnya Dana muncul juga. Aku tak yakin Jake bener2 jatuh cinta pada Dana, merasa dia itu sangat sangat kesepian karena Roy kembarannya yg selama ini di sisinya akhirnya jadian dgn Anise, sehingga Jake pun akhirnya 'menyambar' siapa pun yg baik padanya (plus cantik, why not?), jadilah dia ini jatuh cinta pada cinta. Jake sendiri mengakui dia ingin punya kekasih yg benar2 mencintainya dan sebaliknya. Terinspirasi dari Roy dan Anise.
Aku suka karena akhirnya di Alexandrite Jake jadian dgn Ellen, tapi lagi-lagi krn Jake bukan tokoh utama di Alexandrite, chemistry antara Jake dan Ellen juga tidak kerasa. Aku merasa Jake yg tertarik pada Ellen itu terlalu mendadak. Mungkin Jake ini ditakdirkan mangaka buat jadi tokoh yg takut kesepian, bahkan di Alexandrite.

Anyway, setelah reread lagi, aku akhirnya bisa paham kenapa komik ini tdk diterbitkan di sini dan malahan spin off-nya yg terbit duluan, krn banyak fan service kissu between twins, lol. Karena masalah gay dan incest, padahal ini straight beneran si kembar. Bromance-nya memang hampir nyerempet twincest (ciuman, bobo bareng, pelukan, kurang mandi bersama aja buat fan service, huahaha) sampe2 aku berharap ini twincest beneran saja deh. ;p
Waktu Roy jadian dgn Anise, aku kurang senang, haha. Efek fan service yg kelewat memanjakan seorang fujoshi.
Entahlah, lagian Anise itu bratty bgt, apalagi waktu di vol 4 dia menjauhi Roy krn mulai jengah sama perasaannya sendiri pada Roy. Drama queen gitu, yah namanya juga masih remaja, dianya aja di umur 16 tahun baru bersedia pake bra.
Aku agak ga tega Roy jadian sama dia sebenarnya. Berharap Roy ini gay sajalah, huahaha, rusakkkk....XDD