Special A, Vol. 02

S・A（スペシャル・エー）[Special A] #2

by Maki Minami

Her whole life, Hikari Hanazono has been consumed with the desire to win against her school rival, Kei Takishima--at anything. He always comes out on top no matter what he does, and Hikari is determined to do whatever it takes to beat this guy...somehow!At age 6 Hikari lost to Kei in an impromptu wrestling match. Now, at 15, Hikari joins ""Special A,"" a group of the top seven students at a private academy, for the opportunity to trounce the guy who made her suffer her first defeat.

Being No. 2 Sucks!

Hikari and Kei are pitted against a pair of professional wresters in a challenge issued by the student council. Hikari may now be on the same team as Kei, but a rival is still a rival!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Comics Manga, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Comedy

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2004

About the author

Maki Minami ( 南マキ) is a Japanese manga author. She is best known as the author of manga series Special A.

In 2001, her short story Day Dream Believer (デイ・ドリーム・ビリーバー) received an Honourable Mention for Hakusensha's 25th Athena awards. She debuted in Hana to Yume's October 2001 issue with a short story titled Faraway Blue (彼方の青 Kanata no Ao).
Maki Minami's longest running series, Special A, began publication in 2003 and recently ended in 2009. Her current series, Seiyū ka-! began serialization in Hana to Yume in 2009, after the completion of Special A. Her recent works also include the oneshot Ane☆Mone Seikaten (アネ☆モネ 生花店), which appeared in the April 2009 edition of The Hana to Yume.

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review on IG: @xojazzle
I have the same feelings as the first volume. Lots of repetition that was unnecessary. Still keeping up hope because I loved the anime so much! I think once I get farther into the volumes with some more things that I know are coming up (beach, festival, sick day) I’ll be more excited about reading! I’m also really interested to see a lot of the relationships that we got in the anime, more in depth in the manga. This wasn’t bad, but it still hasn’t “wow’d” me yet. Looking forward to the next volumes!

[R ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the scene where Kei's lunch box gets stolen is iconic. This entire volume is iconic, it's hilarious and the art is beautiful and yet so funny sometimes.

It's official, this is the best manga series I've read so far. I love it so much, if it continues this way, I'll surely be giving it 5 stars. There's just so much to love about it, like the slow burn romance, the characters' personalities, the unproblematic-ness (here I go again, making up words), the hilarity and the list goes on.

bookstagram | goodreads

[Mango · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tadashi!!! He is my favourite character!!!!!!!!
Tadashi ♥♥♥ :D

So this review is for the overall series. I give the overall series 5 stars because it was raelly good.

Funny at times, romantic at times, cute at times, sad at times. Also, I really loved the art (It's true! I have some saved pictures from things in the book.)

I would like to say that Hikari is SOOOOOOOO dense. I mean like crazy. I'm not even joking. I'm not going to tell you why but I want to say that when she said that and Takishima was all surprised and some-what happy but then she said something else, I was like in my head, "Wow. She is just so... wow."

One thing I rally love in this book is how Megumi and Jun love Ryuu. It is just so entertaining watching them hug Ryuu. Be protective of you. Huh, it was so cute it was hilarious.

I find it very surprising what Finn is. I was like "HOLY SHIAT!" in the book when I found out. And then with Ryuu and then Hikari. LOL. I hate Finn's father for a reason you will find out if you read the books. :D

I'm not sure if you care but. in this manga there is this one picture of Takishimi and Hikari that I just love to stare at. It looks very nice and I love it for some reason. I even hang it up in my room. I'm such a loser.

I like Megumi's name. I like the fact that she can sing so good that it is dangerous. I also love how she writes down what she wants to say.

Takishima in the manga I like; not so much in the anime. This is probably because in the anime, Takishimi has brown hair a kinda really deep voice and is really thin and lanky (most of the characters in the manga are thin and lanky. :P. In the manga, Takishimi has blond hair, I imagine him with a slighter higher voice and he isn't that thin and lanky. Anyway....

Miss Number Too. I love how Takishima always finds a way to be number one. Like that one test when he got 105%. LAWLS!

So here's what I thought of the book. It was really good. Funny, romantic(in a weird way?) and entertaining. Even thoguh it is Shoujo, I think everyone should read it. :D

[BluGreen19 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I just want to rewatch the rice ball episodeeee

[brookie the cookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazingly, i'm adding this volume to be precious soooooooooooo-good shelf😂 (don't judge the excessive amount of o's too harshly... i was young back then🥺)


the story in volume 2 made me seriously laugh. and during one particular scene, it made me laugh for the whole time😂😭 which i fear i haven't done in like... half a decade o.O (it was the hard, shiny rice ball scene by the way😂😂😂😭)


anyhoo- the story is so cute🥺🤞 i've been mildly obsessed with the idea of school romance and especially the idea of secretly crushing on someone (yk, "暗恋" 😭) ... perhaps bc that concept is kinda wayyy too far away from me personally at the moment hA o.O (yes i'm socially deprived AHEM)

so anyhoo it's so sweet the kei is apparently secretly in love with hikari. i mean, he's not gonna admit it... probably not for a goooood longggg while- but like- 🥺🤧 that's what slow-burn means isn't it... ✨



i'm reading this manga series at the same time as another manga series - frieren - and honestly it's working so well🤭 mb in part bc they're such different genres-

so like (not that anyone cares o.O) basically i'll read a couple volumes of frieren, then force myself to stop so i won't go through that INCREDIBLE story too fast, and then read a volume of s.a


yes i would say that i like frieren better but like- nothing could beat that, don't take it personally s.a🥺🤧🤭

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5. I wasn't feeling too sure about this series at the beginning of this book. I started to come around about the middle to latter half (after the student council nonsense). I think the series needs to find its flow and pace, and we need more moments out of school, like at the party, or events that break up the repetitive "grr, Kei, I'm your rival and I will beat you!" mantra that seems to appear on every page. I want to see more story like what appears in Ouran High School Host Club.

I really hope this series gets better. I bought the whole thing during the pandemic in 2021, but #4 and #12 were on back order so I didn't start reading it. Well, then the series went out of print and I only recently managed to find decent used copies of 4 and 12 for not completely unreasonable prices. SO... Fingers crossed that I will eventually love this as much as everyone else seems to.

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh this is not scratching an itch for me. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly adequate. But we all have our personal preferences when it comes to romance and this is just not my personal jam! Mostly I just don't vibe with the female protagonist, she's a bit much. I was never a fan of that type of character.

I do like this new rival guy, Yahiro... 👀

And one thing I REALLY appreciate about this 20-year-old romcom manga is that, so far, it hasn't been racist or homophobic! Wowie!
(The male love interest is a little bit sexist, but in a I-want-to-protect-the-girl-I-love/I-don't-want-her-to-get-hurt kind of way, so he might grow out of it yet.)

[Lizzie RoseShine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Akira beat down tadashi n it made me laugh. I'm quite curious about Akira n yahiro relationship in the past life. Kei, I know u worried about hikari because she's a girl n beat all the guys n reminds me usui. The worst part was why Akira or kei never tell hikari about yahiro, I mean that girl needs to know the truth before she joined the party. Kei teach hikari about how to make bento, I 'm so happy to see him teaching her but hikari cooking skills needs to be improved too.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beh, non mi pare questa gran cosa. Tra l'altro mi sembrano episodi a sé stanti, cosa che solitamente non mi piace. Inoltre l'episodio in cui lei partecipa a tutte le competizioni sportive mi è sembrato un po' confuso e ho dovuto rileggere le pagine almeno un paio di volte.

Boh, se penso che mi aspettano ancora quindici volumi...

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m on the fence about this series still. Going to read more and see how I feel…

I’m tired of reading the introduction to all the characters at the beginning of every chapter… and who is Hikari’s rival again..? Oh that’s right, it’s KEI! WE GET IT!

[Lamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rice ball gag in this volume has always been endearing to me, and I'm personally a sucker for the old "ML gets jealous over MC interacting with someone else at a fancy party" shoujo trope so overall this volume was a fun read.

[Ayesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

Getting better, enjoying seeing their relationship develop and she is sooo oblivious lol. Looking forward to seeing their relationship blossom even more and the shenanigans they will get up to lol

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good volume.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!! Loving the characters!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This got a lot better by the end but was still meh at first.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like this is where the development of the story really starts! I enjoyed this volume very much.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good and cute school life manga, pretty decent story and love the characters and art style👌😁😻❤️

[sinag · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars!

This is just so cute with Hikari cooking for Kei, and Hikari wearing that baby blue dress.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, although the story is cute, I am having a hard time reading this one. It is too slow for me.

[Sof · Rating 3 out of 5]

El anime recuerdo que lo vi hace varios años y me gustó, la química entre los protagonista es muy interesante

[BlackRose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[selina]

oh this will take awhile for me to finish

[nibha ⋆˚꩜｡]

happy valentines, i love academic rivals to lovers 🫶🏻💌

[Ashanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I CAN LOG MANGA???? I AM MEETING MY GOAL!!!!

Love this vol btw, lot of good stories in this one. I've read it way too many times

[Isabelfs · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75/5
7,5/10

[Miah Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Morgan Vank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come check out my book blog! Teenage Bookaholic

SYNOPSIS: *Please note that this is a review for the entire series, comprised of 17 books*
Hikari Hanazono is not your typical high school girl. While she comes from a modest background, she strives to do her best at anything and everything to top her rival. After losing an impromptu wrestling match as a child, Hikari made it her life's goal to beat Kei Takishima, a wealthy child who is destined to work for the family business, any way possible. She is so determined, she enrolled in the same elite private school as Kei, and worked her way to be number 2 out of not just her class, but the entire school, making her a part of an elite group of 7 called Special A. For Hikari, it's not enough, as Kei is sitting pretty as number 1.

With her friends, Akira, Megumi, Jun, Tadashi, and Ryu along for the ride, Special A follows the comedic adventures of the top 7 students at Hakusenkan High- as Kei is forced to work for the family business, as Jun learns to love, as Megumi finds her voice, as Ryu discovers the hidden face of love, as Tadashi opens up, and as Hikari continues to fight for number 1!

REVIEW: Unlike YA novels, I do not know my favorite type of manga yet. I mostly pick manga based on what series has the first volume on my library's shelves.... It can be a hit or miss, but this was a hit.

Similar to Veronica Roth, the series has a fast pace to it, constantly creating new drama and plot twists that never let the series grow boring. Some things you could see coming, but others not so much. Either way, I was not bored, and the book did not have any prolonged focus on romances, which can be boring for me. The story was also relatable: a student striving for success with friend drama, as well as personal dramas.

With most manga, I have issue of telling characters apart; just when I think it's Person A talking, its Person R, a close look-a-like to Person A, and even when I can tell the characters apart (barely), I still cannot remember the long, authentic Japanese names. None of these issues came up in the series. Consistently, the series would use the formal last name AND informal first, which helped me remember the name as Hikari Hanazono, not Ms. Hanazono or just Hikari... something. Also, the art was very well done, allowing me to tell character differences by expression and hairstyle.

This leads me to the art, which was glorious! Much detail was taken in to the backgrounds (as pointed out by Minami in her novels), and outfits. I also enjoyed the sporadic and roaming quarter pages of commentary. How she talks about a pseudo burglary at her place while the gang is in some sort of peril added a sense of nonchalance that fit the series. It's about the adventure these characters take, rather than following the emotion of the drama.

While this all sounds like a great series, a few elements ruined the series for me. First was the panel styling. Many of the panels were overlapping, which led to a choppy flow of reading. Incredibly distracting and confusing, which stole from enjoying the series. Second, the focus could have been turned more towards other characters in the series. It is titled Special A, but the story mainly focuses on Hikari and Kei. I personally would have liked to learn more about what happened to Ryu and his lover before the conclusion, or whether Akira and her old friend could get along. It had more chapters on Hikari and Kei than any one S.A. member. Lastly, I was not a fan of outside girls, interfering with Kei and Hikari. I am not saying I was protective of Kei and Hikari, but I found it rather obnoxious. It was framed like the S.A. were a special elite group, which they were, and everyone else, who wasn't rich at least, was an outsider to the group. It was like the author had to put the characters on a pedestal to make the series work, which wasn't necessary. It seemed almost like the group was discriminatory towards anyone not of wealth, and when I say discriminatory, i mean they behaved like elitists rather than hateful. Hikari was an exception from an early age, mind you.

All in all, Special A was a comedic read that was pleasurable and realistic. It had good momentum until the end, and was interesting to see how the schooling system works in Japan. I would give it more stars if not for the misleading paneling.

I will now conclude with my favorite quote from page 10 of volume 12:
"Ryu: YOU DON'T GET TO PICK! And why a mountain?!!
Tadashi: A MOUNTAIN WOULD BE ANY GUY'S DREAM!!
Ryu: Go eat a s'more.
Tadashi: That's amore.
Ryu: Mahjongg!
Tadashi: GAME!"

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

[Rehero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is really cool.

[Lexington Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this volume . it gives me a lot of ouran high school host vibes but I still like it cause it gives me nostalgia of OHSHC . the only small complaint I have about this manga is like every chapter they basically all re-introduce themselves which can be a little irritating when your reading the whole volume in one sitting but besides that this was a fun read.